'Fraidy Cat Eventing

Ok so there is **ONE** thing I really appreciated about the last boarding barn, that is proving to be just slightly tricky in my new horsey world order:  The farm was big enough that we had 2 (at one point, 3) farriers who came every week, each with a specific day. Obvi most boarders were regular clients of one or the other, but it was understood that either could handle tasks like replacing lost shoes, etc for anyone.  finally remembered i picked up these boots for charlie during his abscess apocalypse...  All boarders had to do was add their horse's name to the 'board,' and everything would magically be done!  Well. Not everything, and not magically lol bc over the years some things kinda started getting lost... like invoicing --- used to be that the charge would be added to your board bill, plus a convenience fee. But the farm's bookkeeping fell apart literal years ago ((whoops!)), so it was best to pay the farriers directly.  they were the wrong size for charlie, but are just right for doozy! i pulled out all the extra foam padding tho Regardless, tho, it was a pretty streamlined and easy system, and you were only ever a few days away from having a farrier imminently onsite. Plus there was a staff member (who remembers Charlie's groom from the covid lockdown?) who would hold for the farrier (again for a small fee). So it really was as easy as could be. shoe freshly reset, now just hold onto it for another week lady! Considering both my horses are now at different farms, and each with different farriers, and EACH MANAGING TO THROW SHOES ON THE SAME DAYS... Well. Ahem. It's almost enough to make me wanna go back haha. Almost... (not really tho).  charlie's turn! we're gonna give these glue-on Hantons a chance for a cycle or two It's just been a tough season. We were so dry for so long, then suddenly very wet. And now getting dry again, but with tons more grass out of nowhere... Horses everywhere around here are just walking out of shoes. In a way it's kinda reassuring that it's happening to both my horses -- at different places, with different farriers -- bc that definitely supports the whole "it's the environment, stupid!" hypothesis.** (**I guess you could say the owner is another commonality in both cases... but I prefer to blame the environment haha!) it's honestly a nifty little system! Anyway. I dug up an old Easyboot Cloud that I bought new from consignment a while ago for Charlie, but that was the wrong size and that I never got around to selling. Fortunately it seems right for Doozy so she got to have a little extra protection waiting to get the shoe reset.  Tho I pulled out the giant inch thick foam padding that comes with the boot, since it's technically designed for a foundering or laminitic horse, and that's a bit more than Doozy needed. it's basically just quick set epoxy, and covers way less surface area than traditional glue-ons  The farrier was having a bit of a chaotic week (again, horses walking out of their shoes everywhere, plus he had some unexpected vet issues with his dog, who I believe is ok but just needed more appointments and you know how that goes), so he just reset Doozy's missing shoe, and replaced a nail on her other.  Fingers crossed we make it without drama to the originally scheduled appointment next week for her to get a full trim! charlie liked sniffing the glue lol Charlie, tho... Well. Idk. He lost BOTH front shoes (again, recall he got Big Mad that I left town without him), and was looking just raggedy enough that we decided to try a cycle or two of glue-on shoes.  Like... Could we have nailed regular shoes on? Yea, probably. But, eh, this is a thing we haven't tried yet, so why not?? and self-service munchies, obvi Plus we'd love for him to stay on the same shoeing cycle as another barn mate to make it more worth the farrier's time. That original appt was scheduled for next week, so hopefully Charlie can eke out an extra week with the glue-ons and get back onto the same cycle as the other horse next time.  still some nastiness in that abscess on his RH We shall see, I guess! He still looks a little sad and gimpy after getting shod... tho not nearly as bad as last summer.  farrier advised flushing + painting with iodine to toughen it up That abscess from a couple weeks ago on his hind foot still looks atrocious tho. It's been almost two weeks since we stopped wrapping it, but the farrier wants me to keep treating with iodine to help it toughen up faster.  oh charles, you are never satisfied <3 Charlie doesn't seem particularly sore or sensitive on it any more -- esp compared to how much it bugged him at first. But ya know. It can never just be easy with this horse! seems to like his new field buddy tho <3 So we'll see. I'm expecting Doozy to be a little ouchie on the foot for another day or two, but hopefully we can ease right back on into a regular routine. Fall season is almost upon us and I'd love to get out and do some fun stuff! And I'll keep you posted on the Hanton shoes too -- and lmk if you've tried them! My hope is that Charlie will feel like they're just special + expensive enough for him to feel like he's getting the respect he deserves LOL....... [Read more]

Back in May when it became apparent we'd be moving farms, I'm not gonna lie to y'all... I was a bit, hm. Nervous.  my sweet little wine grape <3 Probably not unlike a lot of you who have dealt with horses for years, lived through all manner of experiences, I felt reasonably confident and secure in my abilities and knowledge. I was surrounded by peers who have been shoulder to shoulder with me through all the ups and downs over the years.  really can't overstate how dry it got in june and july, these two ladies picked this paddock clean in just a few weeks But it kinda struck me that... Ya know. Going into a new place, a new community that maybe wasn't so familiar with me, or my perception of myself... That it was realistic to expect folks to make first impressions based on what was presented to them.  but just a little rainfall (thanks Debbie!) and suddenly we're growing again! Which... If you recall back to May... Included a horse and rider who couldn't realistically trot around a circle without a non-zero degree of chaos.  and then omg the two moved into a smaller but rested + luscious paddock! Maybe in a way it was exactly the reality check I needed. Like. Yea ok, we are kind of ridiculous. But... Eh, I didn't buy Doozy to be perfect, or to go win all the horse show ribbons, or jump giant jumps. I bought her to learn with, to keep developing myself along with her.  knock me over with a feather, but the folks at this farm love mowing haha! Moving farms kinda stripped away a lot of my crutches... But also maybe some of my mental blocks too. It won't surprise any of you to learn that I can seriously overthink even the most basic activity. Which ring should we ride in, what time will it be, who else will be there, what impact will that have on Doozy...  oooh. we also went to more dressage lessons <3 <3 I'd gotten maybe a little reliant on thinking we couldn't do certain things alone or without help from other riding buddies... That everything had to be curated and set up just right.  had to stop the presses tho bc #cat And idk. Maybe there was some truth to that. Some of the more toxic qualities of the last place definitely created some unpleasant outcomes for my rides with Doozy.  shocker, did more simple gymnastics at home -- both solo and with trainer Kelly But. Eh. Since moving to the new place, the entire paradigm has shifted... and also basically just simplified. The horse needs ridden. Ideally daily. So... Go do it.  until it's boring, amirite?? If I didn't want to be the eccentric new (and possibly over-horsed) boarder, for whom "trotting a circle" was questionable.... Well. Go practice and make it better. Every day.  ooooh we did add in that green panel jump top left too -- with no placing poles!! And for fucks sake, get serious about getting REAL help --- lessons. Routine, regularly scheduled sessions with professionals who can provide that structure for me. flashback to last Dom lesson -- jumping without placing poles haha srsly tho look how much stronger she's gotten behind! And guys, Doozy is basically thriving. She's always been a trier. She's always "colored inside the lines," so to speak.  the schweetest critter But idk. My approach these last couple months has basically been to remove all the pressure, and instead focus on just getting consistent and relaxed. And goooooo figure, it's resulting in... a relaxed horse who is consistently responsive.  cookies for a good girl <3 We legit aren't doing anything any different in terms of specific activities. If anything, we're doing **less** when it comes to stuff like jumping course work or cantering fences and what have you...  doozy's new friends kept her entertained while i was away in Seattle! But idk. It feels nice. Feels easy, predictable, routine.  first ride back, after legit 10 days off, and we braved the great wide open to survey her #FutureLunch Not gonna lie, for months last winter and this past spring, it took more effort than I was entirely willing to admit to swing a leg over every day. And not bc I don't enjoy the horse -- I definitely like her very much. But every ride was So. Hard. It felt like it took so much concentration, so much focus, so much more attention to little details in posture and tension... It was exhausting and kinda a demoralizing spotlight on my diminished skills. lol and she pulled a shoe, WHOOPS. our companion was able to retrieve it for us tho! The slightest loss of my balance wreaked allllll kinds of havoc. The mare didn't go straight, popped shoulders every which way, spurted off into canter at the slightest provocation.  And I had zero tools other than trying to just strongarm her into obedience. Which... is itself 100% a losing proposition. Y'all read the posts, saw the pictures, watched the videos. You know what I'm talking about LOL.  "you should throw a shoe too!!!" -- Doozy, for sure But idk. It feels like we've turned a corner. Maybe it's just the natural byproduct of time spent together.... that whole pottery analogy thing I shared earlier this month... It might be, tho, that moving farms was just the shot in the arm we needed.  flat tire didn't slow this one down tho! The move has kinda given me the space to back off from any goals or pressures around performance expectations etc while we settled in... while also giving me a fresh start at being and presenting myself in a new place. If that makes sense.    but, eh, looks like another few days out of service, womp womp! Doozy and I went to our first few events together last spring in a somewhat slapdash (ahem) fashion. It was wonderful and invigorating and proved to myself that, yes! we can do this!  But I'm equally excited to put together a little fall season that maybe will have a slightly different feeling to it. Not bc we'd necessarily perform any better (obvi). But bc it just feels like we have so many more tools in place, and are on much more established footing.  Well. Ahem. If she can keep her shoes tied for more than 3wks!! Horses, amirite?... [Read more]

Oh Charlie.... He's lucky he's so loveable, guys, bc he is absolutely the most colossal pest, I swear to god. "i am innocent." -- charlie, probably "but also, never leave me again!!" I always semi-dread work trips and time away from home bc it's always a fairly safe bet that Charlie will do something massively destructive and attention-seeking in my absence.  i spent the week in seattle for work! view from my hotel room did not suck Luckily, the folks at his new farm are legitimately wonderful barn mates and excellent horse people. Plus, obviously Charlie has everybody wrapped around his little finger hoof. So I knew they'd be able to manage whatever he threw at them.  it was a promising start to the week for charlie too, tho he immediately threw a shoe... But oh lawd, he threw some stuff. First was a shoe, on day 1 of a 6 day trip. Obviously. And when that didn't bring me running back, homeboy went straight up apocalyptic on day 3. things escalated quickly tho.... Literally as my barn manager watched, Charlie bolted down his dinner with such manic violence that he immediately started choking. And y'all already know him well enough to believe the rest.  Trying to fling himself upon the ground, retching, snot-rocketing everywhere, acting like he was going to DIE, right then and there that very instant! the face of a horse who requires your full attention pls So ya know. Cool, bro, cool. Barn manager called my vet (emergency call, after hours, natch), then called me and obvi I gave her the green light to trust her judgement with whatever she and the vet thought he needed.  he's lucky the new barn family finds him endearing lol Tho. Uh, Charlie continued with his little temper tantrum bc then, to his horror, all the rest of the horses started getting turned out after they finished their dinners (having eaten like normal upstanding citizens, ahem).  Mr. King of the Dings over here ascribes to a lifestyle that includes maximal turn out with minimal riding (just unsound enough, ya know?), so when he realized his latest ding would keep him inside to wait for the vet, he ***immediately*** gulped down his choke and was like JUST KIDDING GUYS HAHAHA!! "honestly i just really missed seeing you!!" -- charlie, to his most favoritest vet, who got there just in time for him to clear his own self out.... it's ok tho, bro, i'm sure that sweet nose pet was worth the emergency farm call fee haha! This horse, I swear. He really is a LOT. Like, realistically, last time he choked, the vet and I stayed in constant contact and determined that she'd come see him if he didn't clear within an hour. At which point she'd want to tube and administer antibiotics and all the things.  But ya know. With being out of town and all that, it made a lot more sense to just marshal the troops immediately and not risk any unnecessary fuckery... looking forlorn when he didn't get any good drugs out of the deal As it was, there wasn't much for the vet to do when she arrived other than pet his nose (possibly the horse's secret ulterior motive anyway) and advise my barn manager to transition Charlie back to soaked meals.  the truth and nothing but the truth So, eh, Charlie then went ahead and threw his other shoe. Bc why not, right???  thanks charles. not sure how the farrier's gonna be able to nail anything to that situation ugh... In the world of Charles, everybody gets punished when he's sad and lonely!! He's like that tragic toxic ex who starts firing off clingy misspelled drunk texts after exactly 1.5 light beers... "no regerts" --- charlie, 1,000% That's all part of his charm, I guess, it's why we love him.... He's definitely a character haha. Neurotic and a little weird... but lovable all the same.   meanwhile, literally every update from Dooz Land looked like this, good girl Tho, uh, cough cough.... I'm also immensely grateful for the *other* critter haha, who is, by all accounts (and despite her somewhat chaotic nature) extremely normal.  She spent her entire vacation head down + eating, based on the pics I got LOL, and had the decency to wait to throw a shoe until I was home again, midway through our first ride back. Natch, bc she is, after all, still a friggin horse ugh lol.  this is why we can't have nice things... Never a dull moment, I guess!! Hope you all had a nice and less dramatic week!!... [Read more]

Somehow I managed to miss commemorating Doozy's actual one year anniversary since coming home.... It was technically last Friday, whoops!  amazing how easy it is to get the correct lead when the horse is balanced and straight lol It's been a very different first year with her, compared to Charlie. And maybe on paper, it doesn't look like we've "accomplished" much. Except... I'm actually honestly really happy with how the mare is developing. learning to half halt We have had to learn a LOT of soft skills together. Lots and lots of trust building. Day after day of going through the motions. Everything always felt so hard with this mare. Hand walking. Leaving the pasture after joining a new herd. Riding outside. Just like, trotting.  trying to find moments of soft release She's honestly kinda redefined the idea of "patience" for me. Bc it just felt like this giant mountain of "basics" that we had no choice but to overcome. And realistically, we're still in the land of basics. Except... Suddenly, the horse is so ready for it. It doesn't feel so hard anymore. this horse is such a trier it's not even funny I legit had to race out the door after my last work call, arrived at Doozy's barn with just enough time to yank her from her paddock and go directly onto the trailer (which I'd packed the night before), then get to this week's lesson with Dom with just enough time to tack up for our turn.  And Doozy was completely unruffled, good girl. walkin like a boss We spent the warm up phase of the lesson working on melting into the half halts. Working primarily on a 20m-ish circle, Dom instructed me to sit an extra beat (ie, change my post) about every 12 or so steps. But softly. Slower, softer, in such a way that the extra beat of sitting felt smooth and relaxed vs bouncy or jarring. Then increase the frequency to about every 6 steps. video from our warm up flat work He wanted it to feel like in that extra sit beat, the horse could exhale and I could release. Essentially, creating the half halt. And he wanted me to be more disciplined to wait it out, get all the way there --- don't get 75% of the way to the trot I want, the softness I want, and give up.  i know it's hard to see -- but there are three sets of white standards (we're at the middle element) with little bounce Xs Once the moments were really good and soft, he had us transition to canter. And same idea -- find moments to soften and release the contact on more or less a 20m circle.  In our last lesson he had us halting straight in a soft gentle polite manner after ground poles, and then wanted us to remember that transition feeling once we moved to the jumping. This time was basically the same -- except instead of a full halt, we would be focusing on using that melt-y exhale-y half halt to ease our way around. relaxed between trips I still about choked when he started us immediately through a bounce exercise tho haha. But it was fine -- three small Xs in basically the same configuration that we've been doing as ground poles for weeks and weeks. Doozy understood the assignment and happily stepped right through. bounces the other way! also lol @ the little filler panels "watching" us Dom advised to hold on for that last step of trot, not to give in too early, and that this would help us get the correct lead through the exercise. We kinda just circled around repeating the exercise a few times off each direction, and honestly I am so impressed with how patient Doozy stayed the whole time! jumping out in the open!! Then it was onto some modified course work. Still trotting into everything, planning down transitions and turns carefully.  omg it's an oxer haha We started with the bounces, then sorta just swept around to catch a few singles (including some without placing poles on takeoff omg) all around the arena.  and another oxer!! this time with a cross front and low vertical back rail (and a takeoff pole to help us) And I'm proud to say I didn't have any serious bloopers this week, yay me! Still a couple fences where I maybe gave in a step too soon (like the oxer above), and Dom still wants to see me keep my hands lower (with a taller upper body) when I'm trying to slow the mare down.  we repeated the course twice to reinforce the learnings But overall the little course rode pretty well for us! We repeated it again a second time just to really prove the concept to the mare.... And guys, she really got it! such a star <3 <3 She's such a cool horse, she wants to be good, she wants it to be comfortable, and she likes being right lol. Plus, she's so forward thinking --- she has plenty of desire and more than enough engine.  this is me, trying so hard not to tip inward lol The feeling I'm getting from jumping her now is lightyears away from even just a few months ago. Like my biggest fears have been worrying about shutting her down too much bc I couldn't channel all that energy. Or, on the flip side, letting her devolve into a frantic out-of-control maniac.... what a good patient mare! Rides like this give me hope tho that we're on the right track -- that she's learning the skills and beginning to understand the game. wheeeee!! I just wish it was a little easier to keep the momentum going haha, ya know? But bc life is the way it is, it'll probably be another 4wks until the next clinic at this venue, womp. Tho maybe we'll be able to sneak in a trip up to PA in the meantime. It's annoying to have to drive so far for just a lesson but c'est la vie, right?   video of the jumping It'll all work out one way or another hopefully. Probably lol. In the meantime, I really appreciate that these lessons build off very simple exercises and constructions that I can keep working on at home.  visiting with the adorable minis before going home <3 Plus, there's local trainer KGK to help us fill the gaps and get our reps in. One day at a time, right?... [Read more]

"Hello, Peta? I'd like to report a murder :( " -- Charlie, probably. the poor, long suffering sir.....   yepppppers, i did it again   "how could you do this to me, tho??" -- charlie, definitely trying to hide how much he loves getting fussed over haha   still a handsome horse, tho, chuck!!   "i'll see myself out :( "   probably commiserating on the difficult life they lead LOL   unrelated. enjoy some gifs from volunteering at fair hill last weekend! here's a shot of the USEA Volunteer Program's first gold medal winner -- 2,000 recorded hours wow. (my thoughts on this program remain unchanged, for those curious)   Sally Cousins & Wizard sailing through the Intermediate coffin complex   Laine Ashker & Call Him Paddy make easy work of the Prelim coffin   why go all the way to Paris when the Olympians are right in your back yard??? here's Boyd Martin & Joey Fiddlesticks on the Modified track   Caroline Pamukcu & HSH Sebastion wrapped up our day in the Training division   I'm doing a lot less volunteering this year now that I actually have a riding horse, omg haha. Ya know. The whole "Keep the Main Thing, the Main Thing" deal. But it's still fun to get out to my favorite venues once a month!  Might actually be jussst enough to button up my bronze ranking (500 hours at recognized events) in the Volunteer Medal Program!! Gotta get that pin and certificate, yo.... lol....... [Read more]

Happy Friday!! This past week was spent mostly dealing with the fallout from both ponies losing shoes. Nothing crazy or anything.... But a new twist in adjusting to managing horses at different locations.  the legend himself <3 <3  also... wow, my barn manager's phone takes wayyyy nicer photos than mine. hm. Charlie continues in his infinite and unending quest to be just unsound enough to not get ridden (while still maintaining his carefree lifestyle of maximum turnout with his friends). He threw us through a loop when after throwing both front shoes (on different days), he was suddenly very very lame on his RH. slowly splitting stuff up between farms. threw this kit together for charlie: vet wrap, cling wrap, elastikon, animalintex poultice pads, plastic hoof soaking bags, epsom salts, duct tape, flushing syringes, gloves, various types of gauze and cotton pads, left over metro from the last abscess, and a pill crusher Luckily (??) it's just another abscess. This horse, I swear. His history is spotty enough that just managing him through a basic ailment can still drive me crazy, torturing myself about what choices to make. Turn him out / Keep him in? Wrap or no?  farrier tried to dig it out a little, but couldn't get it to drain And bc Charlie's timing is always so perfect, these choices were complicated by the impending rainfall expected from Tropical Storm Debby.  guys. indoor wash stall + hot water = game changer for painless foot soaking! (also yes i'm aware this is a suboptimal bucket lol, you work with what ya got!) Finally, after much back and forth with his care team, we decided to continue turnout, tho added in soaking + a wrap after the farrier widened the defect trying to drain it. This meant some back and forth driving to Doozy's farm (a pleasant 25min cruise across the countryside) to organize supplies, something I've been willfully neglecting, not gonna lie. But we got it done. post-soak. y'all have seen me wrap a hoof so many times, i didn't take pictures. refer to this post if you're curious how i do it. in this case, i added a poultice pad to facilitate drainage. also --- guys, charlie has been barefoot behind for ~3 months and is doing way better than expected! It helps that the barn family at Charlie's place is legit wonderful. The folks there are great, everybody loves all the horses, and I get updates constantly. The farm is also laid out in such a way that "turnout" isn't such a complicated thing as at the last place.  next day wrap, with bonus drainage. just normal charlie things! Like, sure, the last place had lovely paddocks around the barnyard. But horses were normally alone in them, there was no grass (and possibly not much hay thrown), and it was definitely *not normal* to the horses, who would have preferred to be with their friends out in the fields -- which were themselves quite far away.  walking in thru the rain-induced foliage explosion for breakfast -- SOUND + wrap intact! At this point in Charlie's physical condition, it's so nice to have such well managed grassy lots close in to the barn. It's a lot easier for him to stick to his normal routine even if his condition is a little compromised, like by the abscess.  anyways. kittens. He seems to be on the mend anyway, so we'll probably keep him wrapped and keep an eye on him for the next few days just to be sure.  these critters have begging down to an art form In the meantime, over in the Land of Dooz, things have been a bit quiet too. For all my big talk about riding every day, well... bc of the lost shoe and resulting soreness, we only logged two rides last week. Recall that Ride 1 of the week was playing with puddles in the soggy ring, resulting in said pulled shoe (d'oh...!).  this critter tho <3 <3 <3 those donkey ears omg. she's patiently waiting for her foliage to explode too, lol, pls thx & hurry up That was Saturday, and she got the shoe reset early Monday morning. But was predictably a little sore on the foot when I returned that evening for an easy flat school. At first I got a little nervous bc we were slated to ride with Dom again this week... But then that got rescheduled anyway, so, eh, Doozy got another day off just to be sure. lil Debby, bringing that drama to our skies! Which meant that saddling up for our first ride after three days off, and only 1 ride in the last five days was possibly a questionable affair haha -- especially since we were planning to hack out. With a tropical storm literally brewing across the skyline. No big deal, right?  crazy how green everything got after even just a little bit of rain Right. Bc omg guys, the more ya ride the horse, the more rideable she gets. The training holds. So despite a somewhat spotty week, the last month of consistent routine schooling did what it's supposed to do, and the mare was relaxed, confident and pleasant for our little hack! doozy's tail almost looks full from this angle! My friend texted me a meme the other day about a professor in a pottery class dividing his students into two groups. The first group would be graded solely on the quantity of pots they created over the semester -- to be measured by literally weighing the pile. Group 2 would be graded on just the quality of a single pot they chose as their representation.  who can tell me what type of shrub this is?? these flowers are so gorgeous! But by the end of the semester, the best quality pots were ultimately those created by Group 1, who had been focused on churning out pot after pot. Bc it turns out, when you do something often enough, you get better at it. Group 2, meanwhile, got a bit bogged down in the philosophical quest for perfection, stymied by their reluctance to be only "good enough." obvi when presented with gigantic floral orbs, one must stop for photos! also lol i slowed the speed of this gif down but doozy is still just such a busy horse haha To my friend, this was a wonderful and empowering analogy for horsemanship and riding. To become 'great,' you have to first be 'good.' And to get 'good,' you maybe have to start with... something less than that. Let's say, 'neutral' or 'ok' or 'can more or less do the thing.' Dante and Doozy make good trail buddies <3 Obvi I loved the pot**tery class analogy too, bc it matches well with my approach to horse training. I might not be the most skilled rider, or most technically proficient. And let's be real, some of my habits can actually be considered significant shortcomings... But consistent routine boring mundane practice goes a long way in closing those gaps.  (**I also lol'd bc somebody recently misheard the mare's name and thought I called her "Doobie," which... obvi I joked that maybe THAT'S what she needs lol. So ya know. Maybe more pot is what we all need around here? jk jk haha, sorta!) nbd, just stopping to smell the roses pot flowers <3 So ya know. Have a great weekend. Go ride your horse haha... Unless they're like Charlie, I guess LOL(sob), in which case, ya know. Hope you get to enjoy some quality time with them all the same ;)... [Read more]

I hinted about it in recent posts, but it's been DRY around these parts lately! Which isn't super unusual, I guess. Seems like we never get much rain from about June to August, with the exception of concentrated hit-or-miss T-cell storms. welcome to Rain Watch 2024 This time of year was always the worst for Charlie -- a real balancing act between keeping him in some semblance of work, without beating his feet into the hard dry ground.  always interesting watching the storms roll in from 9 floors up Doozy doesn't seem to have the same sensitivities... Or at least, certainly not at our current level of work LOL!  pictured: driving north to charles, looking west where it's raining near doozy It's a good thing, too, bc one of the biggest challenges in moving barns after so long in one place is the resulting shakeup in my team of pros. Charlie's new farm is still within my original farrier's territory, but Doozy's is not. So my original farrier made a referral for us. increased turnout + growing grass + daily rides = HOLY TOE GROWTH, BATMAN! pic taken at 4wks 3 days since last shoeing Tho I'm not sure we made the best first impression on the new guy either, whoops!! I had to cancel our first appointment at the last minute bc of jury duty... so by the time he first met the horse she was about a week past due (at 6wks when ideally she'd get done at 5wks).  Guys. Pro tip: Any good professional will do a good professional job.... but it's still in our best interest to present the horse as clearly well cared for, maintained, and managed lol. Like, it's hard to take claims of high standards seriously when the horse looks like a hot mess, right? playing with puddles But ya know. This new guy did a very nice job, put very beautiful shoes on Doozy, and we scheduled our next appointment based on how her feet looked at that time --- which again, had been at 6wks.  He has other clients at this farm, so we figured if Doozy could stretch to 6wks again I'd be able to get on the same cycle as those other clients -- a win win for everybody, right? calling it right now: at some point this mare is probably gonna roll with me in some water lol Meanwhile, Doozy's lifestyle has changed dramatically over the last month. She went from quarantine in a dry lot, with only very low intensity riding.... To overnight turnout in a large grassy field, with the addition of finally getting into regular daily work.  Oh, and another unintended bonus from switching farms?? Doozy (and Charlie too, actually) got a significant upgrade in her daily nutrition -- at less cost to me. Crazy how some farms just have quality feed included in board like that, LOL(sigh). possibly an ill-advised ride overall lol... sand all up in'er bits! and we pulled a shoe, womp All this, plus Doozy's innate thoroughbred qualities mean that her toes have straight up jumped the shark.... At legit only 4wks and 3days, you could probably host the Miniature Winter Olympics off those ski slopes omg! well well well, if it isn't the consequences of my own poor choices! I was absentmindedly weighing options for how to present this conundrum to my brand new farrier, while strolling around in the immediate aftermath of one of the aforementioned T-cell storms. We'd just gotten like an inch of rain in about 30min, and yours truly thought it would be fun to play around with the puddles in our soggy outdoor ring.  Ya know. On my long-toed creature, who's been living in more or less draught conditions for a few weeks. Do you see where this is going? eh, she needed done anyway and the farrier was able to come out asap! Yea. Uh, whoops? Poor Doozy made a good effort of the slop (esp considering it was her Ride 1 after a day off), but predictably got a bit bogged down and pulled a shoe. Womp womp. fresh kicks!! new farrier has a plan, and i'll be curious how her feet develop over time, esp re: lateral symmetry given her conformation Turns out, Charlie pulled a shoe too in the same thunderstorm (tho he did that by himself --- no stupid pilot errors involved there!). I guess if it rains hard enough after a long enough draught, just about anything can happen with those poor shoes. charles got in on the fun too -- tossing one shoe a couple days before his farrier appt, and then another shoe AFTER OMG said appt. brosef, why tho! Luckily both farriers have been super responsive and both horses were able to get reset without a lot of fanfare. Obvi Charlie will be sad sore and pitiful for a little while bc... Well. He's retired for a reason, right?  my lame ass gelding's literal face after he chased Avi away from his fence-line girlfriend.... But ugh. Summer is my least favorite season for exactly these kinds of situations!! If you need us, we'll just be hiding out, biding our time and waiting for better conditions come Fall.... Well. Except for Charlie, who is clearly already living his #BestLife, sore feet be damned LOL... [Read more]

Happy Friday, y'all!! It's been kinda interesting around these parts lately, but in like.... a really familiar and comfortable way that almost feels like.... settling in.  barn mate snapped this epic misty morning shot! It has probably been YEARS since I've ridden 5-6 days a week so consistently. But Doozy seems to absolutely flourish in this routine. And for reasons beyond my comprehension, it's been easier to stick to the schedule at the new place. finally, new tall boots! Mondoni Whitehaven, ordered from Divoza The daily riding, plus re-introducing my favorite riding apps (a metronome + interval timer that dings every 2min), have helped us rapidly develop a standard "package" for our sessions.  Instead of just trying to keep a lid on things while existing through all three gaits in a more or less balanced posture.... Well, we're actually working on refining stuff now! Practicing transitions! Trotting figures for literal minutes on end. Cantering only when asked. **Half halting omg** finally, a decent zipper too haha And like. Don't get me wrong. Doozy still comes out a little wild sometimes. Esp on Ride 1 after a day off. But it feels like we've got mutually agreed upon parameters -- more of a shared vocabulary.  ok ok so they're kinda knockoffs of the mountain horse boots... just ya know. $200 less lol, nbd For months, the overwhelming feeling of riding this horse was just that.... everything felt so hard. And I do mean everything. But suddenly.... Idk, we're starting to see some light at the end of the tunnel LOL! spectating lauren nicholson casually hopping around the P course at Hunt Club good lord, tho, that grass looks thirsty! Which, obvi, is a very welcome and reassuring feeling. Esp considering, we still aren't exactly doing anything truly ground breaking at the moment. But I honestly just get such a strong sense from the mare that, once she understands the game, once she knows the rules etc... all the rest will come fairly easily to her. So we keep plugging away! doozy hackin about with her new friends <3 And almost without me quite realizing it, we hit kinda a big milestone this past week. For the first time probably since 2015 or 2016, I actually had three lessons omg in the span of about a week, give or take!! our grass is getting a little desperate for rain, not gonna lie I wrote about our clinic ride with Dom Schramm last week, and then this Sunday we made it over to dressage trainer C!! We've actually seen her a few times in recent memory, but I haven't written about it bc... ya know. It's still just the basics and without any videos or photos, ehh... It's all been said already haha, now we're just out doin it. ooooh --- dooz out in the wild for a dressage lesson! Still, tho, it's worth it for my obsessive documentarian self to at least capture that the lessons are happening. And this was a good one in that, there really aren't any big notes or takeaways other than "keep going!"  legit such a pro at the trailer these days Doozy was able to strut around showing off her new and metronome-improved trot rhythm, while politely acquiescing to small adjustments in bend and posture. Then the wheels fell off a little bit in canter --- but in that perfect "this is the work" kind of way where nobody (including the horse) got flustered or undone. drive-by charles!!! whose grass has somehow managed to get more rain?? We just worked through it, and focused on helping Doozy find her balance. Trainer C wanted me to ride a little more off my thighs in canter -- which at first kinda worried Doozy, she didn't quite know what to do with that. But so long as I could stay soft (vs. rigid), it ended up helping.  he's already cultivating new minions <3 <3 <3 Overall, Trainer C wants to see me get more weight into my lower legs and heel ("Feel as tho you could stand up at any moment"), and maybe move my seat far enough to the left that I feel off center --- since I actually trend toward sitting too far on the right side. This jives well with Dom's observation that I tip too much off the right side too. Not news, but still needs work! meanwhile. what is it with cats wanting to stand on top of our feet lol So that posture work continues to be my main focus in our solo rides, even as we keep up with all the same gymnastic and footwork practice. Tho -- big news! Our most recent practice session was actually in eager anticipation of the last of the 3 recent lessons --- the return of trainer Kelly! oh hey look, it's **another** picture of poles on the floor!! WOW! I rode with her somewhat consistently throughout 2022, before Charlie's hoof injury. She has an impressive resume in both upper level eventing and grand prix show jumping, all with the same horse who remains (I believe to this day) hale hearty and sound. My hope with her had been to get good coaching that was also empathetic to my protectiveness around Charlie, and she definitely fit the bill.   ha i tried a new arrangement too. turns out we aren't quite ready for straight lines tho So ya know. Everything is different now... But the new place lets us bring in outside trainers, and she bases nearby! Perfect!! It's too early to get my hopes up, bc the logistics of "regular lessons" always prove more complicated than anybody expects... Plus ya know. Humans are humans and sustainable coaching relationships require good cultivation (on both sides).  we love the big X's tho! But Kelly's first session with us felt promising. We spent a lot of time catching up, and talking about what Doozy's done so far, etc, and then she basically observed while I put the mare through a typical flatwork session. I'd set up our standard exercises the night before as a practice run, since Doozy does so well with repetition, and everything was still in place the next day so we kinda just repeated all of it for Kelly. and getting to be nonchalant about all the fill too And guys, Doozy was on her A-Game for sure. Like, was lovely on the flat, still obvi green, but very game and pleasant in her pacing. And she was perfect to our little jumps!!  Kelly made a few adjustments to my standard setup -- she encouraged me to set my takeoff pole at 7' instead of 9' if I'm planning to trot it, just to help Doozy not have to make a big move at the last minute if she does actually trot all the way in. To make this set up realistic for me when I'm on my own, she suggested using one of the jumps more toward the middle of the ring so that I could approach the jump from both the right and the left while always jumping it the same direction -- so the takeoff can be 7' and the landing can be 9'. I will definitely adopt this method, tho also think the 9' takeoff was what we needed to first introduce this gymnastic, given how frantic and launch-y Doozy was post-Jenny Camp. The extra space gave us a little more room for forgiveness when she predictably rushed. She's over that, now, tho. So we can refine! good girl, dooz <3 maybe one day i'll get video of our rides again! It was a great session tho bc we got to the point where I'd usually call it -- after a couple nice reproducible efforts -- and Kelly said, yea ok but let's do a little more. And while Doozy remained lovely and game, she did make a couple little mistakes, which obvi meant that we had to keep repeating the exercise.  But it was just like with the canter in our last dressage lesson with Trainer C. It wasn't a big deal. Nobody got flustered, including the horse. It was just one of those, "gotta work through it" educational moments. Doozy just had to figure out how to be patient to this shorter distance takeoff pole in order to have a comfortable clean pass over the vertical. That's.... literally the lesson lol. And she figured it out, good girl! days are getting shorter tho!! Also was a good reminder to me that, this is legit what the lessons are for. Having that ground person guide me (and reset the jumps when we clobber them lol) and push me for that extra effort needed for the breakthroughs.  Here's hoping we can keep it up lol. Happy weekend, y'all!... [Read more]

Happy Wednesday, y'all! Anybody wanna waste a little time ogling a whole bunch of pics and gifs of adorable bebe racehorses?? Yess?? YES!! Last week I swung by the Maryland Horse Breeders Yearling Show at the Timonium Fairgrounds to hangout and watch some friends show off their program's latest crop of future prospective racehorses.      The show offers 4 main classes, all of which feature yearlings foaled in Maryland. One class each for colts/geldings and fillies, and one each those sired from Maryland stallions, or those sired from out of state stallions. There are cash awards offered, and winners are also eligible for additional purse money throughout their lifetimes.       The format is essentially an in-hand halter class, with all entries in the ring together. This is a bit distinct from similar classes in the eventing world, like the Future Event Horse series, where one entry is presented for judging at a time.      First, the judge observes the class parading around the arena. Which, as might be expected, can often include a few fireworks haha --- whether bc omg tents! spectators!! holy mother of metro crossing!!! ahem haha....     Then everyone more or less lines up so that the judge can make their way through the class for individual inspections.       Not gonna lie.... This seemed like a pretty big demand on these baby horses' limited patience haha. Tho, as entertaining as the few little blow-ups were to witness, I was extremely impressed by the professionalism and expert handling across the board. Clearly wasn't this handler's first rodeo!! Poor colt was not thrilled about being closest to the {horse-eating} tents, but calmed considerably when he relocated deeper into the crowd.       This phase of the class definitely made it easier to study each individual entry, or at least those that were positioned closest to where I stood haha. Some of these yearlings were grown, omg!       It proved to be good practice too, because after watching the first two classes and taking note of the judging and results, spectators were invited to participate in the "Amateur Judging Contest" in the third class!!       And I didn't do too terribly either!! Judge's final picks, in order, were: 51 ~ 47 ~ 40 ~ 6 ~ 45       Anyway. Onto the judging itself. The judge had each handler stand up their horse and inspected conformation. My understanding is that conformation is the primary basis of overall scoring. Angles, bone, straightness, correctness, etc.       Next, the judge observed the horse walking directly away, and then directly back again, looking for quality of stride and straightness of the conformation in motion.      All of these yearlings would have had practice and preparation leading up to the event, including wearing their specialty show halters... But even so, the atmosphere definitely got to some of them!      A few competitors observed that the judge didn't give them a very long runway for showing off the walk, esp given the high likelihood for a few bouncy steps. And many were asked to walk a second time... But I'm sure it's a fine balance between giving the horses enough time and space to fully show off their gait, vs opening them up to further fireworks (or making the class take twice as long...)      Again, eventing classes are a bit different in that each horse is presented individually, and they do the "triangle" for assessing movement at walk and trot. Plus, those classes have two judges, complete with scribes. Personally, I thought it would have been cool to scribe for this thoroughbred show to hear exactly what the judge liked or didn't like.       But eh, it was also just fun to check out all the youngsters and base my own selections on whichever were the "prettiest," like this lovely rosy gray! Definitely a cool class to watch -- esp re: learning more about how horses are judged for sport, but obvi a slightly different sport than mine!... [Read more]

An interesting and unexpected side effect of moving barns after being in one place for so long.... is that I've suddenly come back into contact in a variety of circles with all sorts of folks from my horsey past.  doozy was a doll hangin out grazing next to the ring while our trailer mate had their lesson We all know the horse world is small anyway, but when you live in a city fondly referred to as "Smalltimore" .... well, connections and relationships always have a way of resurfacing. then it was our turn! From this cyclical and interwoven society, we found ourselves participating again in a jump clinic with Dom Schramm, with whom we last rode in 2016. A million years and multiple horses ago.... And so it goes, right? holy moley guys, she actually trotted trot poles And guys. It was just what the doctor ordered! And there is media, woot woot! well lol. she also cantered the trot poles too My (re)introduction was basically.... We're pretty green and raw around the edges. She's a good bold game mare who had a lovely go at starter a month prior, but has a tendency to revert to speed and tension. Meanwhile, I've been out of riding form (and consistent coaching) for years.  halt straight! but like, let the literal fence explain the task to doozy, nbd I outlined the work we've been doing on simple gymnastic footwork exercises, all while prioritizing relaxation and ease. And reaffirmed that, I haven't had eyes on me. Pls be relentless.  got a lot of feedback on my position. yessssssss! And ya know. Dom delivered lol. It's funny watching the video (below) bc you can sorta hear him getting increasingly tough with me. Notably, not tough with Doozy. Just me. And my bad bad habits haha.  that feeling when you tell a clinician how you've approached the work, and they take your word for it and build from there He started us over some trot poles that were already set up, but put together a parallel set of poles on the back side close to the arena fencing to be the "tunnel" in which we halt straight. The fencing in this case was intended to be the stronger aid, no yanking the mare down or floating her teeth. Just a nice straight gentle return to politeness before making the turn.  notably, Dom said this distance was shorter than 9'. Doozy still got the message tho! After establishing this "transition" practice (which you'll hear him reference in the video), he adjusted the trot poles into a similar configuration to what you all have already seen me describe. Placing poles on takeoff and landing of a big medium X.  omgoodness, not us jumping single fences out in the wild?! And guys. I am not a professional. I don't think I'm perfect at this whole 'horse training' thing. I know I need help. But it also felt really validating to have this clinician be like, "Oh ok so that's what you're working on? Let's start there and build!" whew actually we did a lot of this! We spent enough time on the footwork exercises to establish some ground rules. Namely, to allow Dom to start isolating and diagnosing my position flaws. Of which, natch, there are many.  occasionally requiring human as guide post to keep me from turning too early Chief, in his estimation, include: - My habit to lean/tip to the inside (particularly when tracking right, but honestly I believe it's a universal issue for me);  - My apparent inability to sit up tall with shoulders back;  - My bad hands. Obvi LOL.... He wants them lower, quieter, and following. oooook so there was a blooper. or two. lol.  True story, after a blooper moment when we moved on to single fences and then, OMG, a related distance, which naturally I totally biffed (above).... I explained to Dom my funny little joke about "clutching my pearls".... And, well. Similar to Martin Douzant before him, Dom was basically like, uh, yea but don't fucking do that.  we i blooper'ed this oxer too so Dom simplified it a bit for us me And basically zeroed in immediately on my 'excitability' about the fences. Which, let's be real, is a nice word for "wow you kinda lost your shit there tho." turns out, when ya let the mare jump, she jompies!! His actual words, "You can't lose your composure just bc a couple bad jumps." Which ya know. Will be the most essential ingredient for proving to Doozy that I am a reliable partner in all this. That I will be consistent, that the game doesn't change just bc things got exciting.  sorry not sorry for showing pics of every effort even if it feels redundant The course work was simple, but appropriate. Just nice singles off turns. Tho, notably, Dom wanted me to make more square turns in approach (you can actually see him standing in our way as a landmark in the video a few times), vs "feathering in" the bending approach.  cantering out of a related distance like maybe emma does know how to count after all My intent with the more oblique approaches was to minimize the length of our "straight on" line to the jump.... Which, I guess is kinda like avoiding the necessity to train that. Possibly why we still can't do straight lines in general lol, whoops... pictured: not panicking lol Really, tho, it was the real-time feedback for me that made the lesson, more so than the exercises themselves.  finishing strong with a little course work Dom's instruction on my hands was to keep them low. Which, was in direct opposition to the lesson I wrote about a few weeks ago, wherein that person wanted me to raise my hands as Doozy raised her head. I'm not sure there is actually a right or wrong, here, except that I honestly feel like "low" works better for Doozy, and "high" tends to increase her chaos. Ymmv.  wheeee!!! doin the thing!!! The feedback on my upper body position was also extremely helpful. Like, I know I'm tipping and slouching and tensing up. But I also know I can ride better than that.  link to quick clips from lesson A little bird said these clinics could become routinely scheduled. But y'all know I've been disappointed before haha. For real, tho, even if this proves to be a one-off, I'm excited about where Doozy is with her jumping.  The jumps are basically the least of her problems, let's be real. Once I can figure out how to ride her better, and once she understands a little more about how to adjust her own self and trust her own eye.... Honestly, she's a powerhouse. It's exciting :)... [Read more]

Doozy and I are slowly but steadily creeping up on one year of ownership, if you can believe it. In some ways, progress has felt slow. So slow. Esp if you compare to how lightning fast things went with Charlie's introduction to eventing.  But, eh. Charlie was older and I was still in a very productive weekly lesson routine at that point. Plus, let's be real. Charlie was a lot more straight forward to get going than Doozy has been, at least as it relates to alignment with my particular skill set.  some random pics today guys bc, whew, i've been trying to tone down the constant picture taking, lest my new barn mates think i'm a total creep!! so here we have my cats in my 9th floor apt when pigeons flock on the window sill LOL I dunno, tho, guys. I honestly feel good about the pace of our progress right now. I'm still constantly learning so much about (and from) this mare. Which.... Ya know, was kinda the whole point anyway, let's be real.  It also seems to me that so much of our progress to date, so much of what we work on, can't really be measured in jump height or movement score... But also absolutely cannot be skipped if I have any aspirations for success against those other metrics later on in our journey.  and an unexpected blossom on a poor potted plant the cats tried to murder! i'd given this plant to my green-thumbed grandfather, with whom i shared a beloved tradition of weekly visits where we'd drink exactly two glasses of wine and relentlessly dissect the current state of US politics. after he passed, the plant came back to me (along with a few others from his collection), and its unexpected bloom after so much cat damage feels.... hopeful. For example, Doozy is teaching me a LOT about what "relaxation" means, and why it matters. Charlie could more or less work through his tension. At times, actually, a little extra tension could bring out more sparkle in him. That's.... not the case with Doozy lol. She sizzles and whistles like a cartoon bomb about to blow haha, and ain't nobody wanna see that! I had an important breakthrough this month, tho: Whatever or however Doozy was yesterday, she is... moreso that way today.  In other words, if Doozy's ride yesterday was, "ok, I guess, in that it happened and nobody died...", then today she might actually be pretty good. And tomorrow? Very like to be: Wow, what a mare, great job!! It goes both ways, tho. Bc if she had off yesterday, and did nothing but eat and chill and enjoy her turnout.... Well. Today, she might be one step closer to feral. And god save your soul if you give her a third day in a row of that, bc she gone be..... untamed when you next try to ride! source: xkcd It's helpful to think of our rides in this construction, tho. It helps reinforce that if I need Doozy to be at her best on any given day, there's probably a multi-day lead up to prepare her.  It also reinforces that.... I can't just come into Ride 1 after a day (or more) off with expectations appropriate for the Ride 5 horse of our last ride. That's an instant recipe for stress, frustration, and disappointment.  So. "Warming Up" for Doozy is a multi-day affair at this moment in time, and Day 3 seems to be a very sweet spot, with 4 and 5 similarly pleasant --- esp if we can splice in some enjoyable and pressure-free hacking in there somewhere! anyway, onto the main point: apps for riding!!! this is a screencap from Soundbrenner, a very basic metronome app that's suited just fine for the task. i prefer to use it for a trot tempo. Approaching our rides with this mindset is already starting to pay huge dividends, too. On one hand, it helps me stay disciplined and consistent in keeping the horse ridden. And on the other hand, it keeps me realistic about expectations vs getting baited into the weeds of micromanaging the horse or fucking with her face when she's not fully ready.  As a result.... Holy shit, guys, the horse is becoming schooled! In our most recent "Ride 1" after a day off, I was legit about 10min into the ride, had already done 5min of trot... and was like, "Well shit, that was straight up fine work... Should I just canter and be done? Or like..... Keep going??" So often, it's so much work to just like.... Trot a circle.... that the ride time consumes itself and we're both properly puffed by the time it feels as if we accomplished anything at all.... So to be 5min in to trotting and feeling like, "Ok, now what?" was legit a Brand New Feeling for us hahahaha.  screencap from IntervalTimer, your standard issue running / workout timer app that lets you configure different routines. Thankfully, after years of Saint Charles, I had a technology answer for the next step of structure to our flat schools!!! This will not be news to long time readers, since both of these apps had been in regular usage for Charlie.... But this is legit the first time they felt productive to use with Doozy, so I'm going to reintroduce them.  First is Soundbrenner, a metronome app. It just... sounds time. Tick Tock Tick Tock, at a tempo of your choosing. But don't be fooled --- the first time I used this with Charlie, it shocked me how much strength it took (from both of us) to actually hold the rhythm. Like, true story, I tried the metronome with Doozy a few months ago and was instantly like, NOPE NOT YET lol.... It's honestly a great tool, tho. I came to consider it something like a "pocket coach" with Charlie, would legit keep it tick-tock-ing away in my pocket during competition warm up. It's the perfect thing to focus on, rather than getting drawn into nitpicky fussy tiffs with the horse. There's a reason rhythm is the first step in the training pyramid!  more unrelated --- i went to the Maryland Thoroughbred Horse Breeders Yearling Show this weekend and took ONE ZILLION PHOTOS, more to come Second app is also quite basic, but also quite revolutionizing for me: IntervalTimer. Literally just your basic interval timer that you can preprogram different routines into, based on your plans.  There are legit infinite ways to program this type of tool.... But I quite like my "Charlie Flats" program. After a 5ish minute warm up (which was about the time it took to walk from our barn to the ring at the last place), the program shifts into 2min intervals. You could get creative with high vs low intensity intervals, like 3:00min on, 0:30sec off, etc...  But I actually really like the 2min marker. Basically, for about half an hour, this thing just rings a bell every 2min. I don't always react to the bell, but it helps me attune to the nature of our rides. Are we staying symmetric in our exercises? How many intervals does it take for the horse to feel soft and engaged? Can we do 2 or 4min sessions of leg yielding exercises, followed by 2 or 4min sessions of serpentines or spirals? How long did we actually canter?? twas fun looking at all the sweet TB bebes! stay tuned (hopefully... eventually...) for a dedicated post! This week was my first time using both of these apps with Doozy, and it feels like the opening of a new chapter! Sure, she got a little wobbly when I started the metronome app, bc it changed a bit how I was focusing on riding her (ultimately, I think, for the better).  But overall, the introduction felt like exactly the next level of structure I need to keep guiding her, whether it be her Ride 1 or Ride 5, into productive and balanced sessions.  Think you'll use either of these apps? Maybe you do already? Or maybe you have other apps or tools that help passively guide your rides??? If so, do tell!... [Read more]

Everybody super excited for yet another rundown of how Doozy and I are deep into reestablishing the basics through building up gymnastic exercises that reaffirm both technique and relaxation over fences???  for a little visual stimulation, enjoy unrelated pics from doozy's first TWO trips into the proper woods at her new place!! see the river to the right side of the trail?? #gorgeous Lol... For real, I know it might sound repetitive and redundant... But, eh, it's where we are in the training. There are many many roads to Rome, sure, but I'd argue that few (if any) entirely bypass boring, consistent and progressive practice.  Lucky for me (if not for you LOL), I live for the day in, day out, nitty gritty practice. Which, come to think of it, probably explains why I like making my own horses, even if I'm slower and less effective than the typical professional. Ymmv! pink loop is my estimation of our first little solo jaunt across the grounds. we have since ventured WAY FARTHER !!! Anyway. When last we checked in with the intrepid red critter, she was learning the ins and outs of the 9' distance. Primarily with 3 ground poles in a line spaced at that distance. Learning to not rush, fling, launch, swan dive, or otherwise plummet / bomb / cannonball through said configuration.  Then we started adding in the same 3-element exercise, but now with the middle element raised into an actual jump, albeit very small. Doozy got a bit frantic about jumps since Jenny Camp, so the whoooooole idea is to prove that... it's not a big deal! You don't need speed! doozy had the #WorldsBest chaperones <3 <3 <3 That practice has continued through basically almost every ride, aside from the occasional trail ride or suuuper basic low pressure flat school. Aiming for at least twice weekly practice with actual jumps.  This past week, we hit a new milestone too! I decided we needed bigger X's in our lives. Two main reasons: 1) to do a better job of capturing Doozy's attention than tiny speed bumps, and 2) to passively encourage straightness and form.  anyway, tho, the beat goes on. and what we're really talking about are gymnastic exercises to help doozy both improve her jumping technique AND get a little more relaxed about it all. here we have a big medium X, with flower fill, and 9' takeoff / landing poles  And it worked! She was still a bit frantic her first time through, but then really nailed it the second time! Then we changed directions and knocked the rail a couple times --- which is annoying bc I have to dismount and reset each time... It was my own fault tho bc I only used one flower box under the center of the X**. See below pics for future efforts where I wised up and used flower boxes on BOTH sides for a ground line.  Eventually, tho, she really figured out the footwork, and was able to trot all the way up to the first pole and bounce through. Good girl! **Obvi in the pic above it's not centered but instead was placed on one specific side, bc I was tired of knocking the rail and moved it out to be more of a ground line so we could execute successfully and be done. Ideally, it's a bi-directional exercise tho, so a box on each side is better. different ride, same idea. big medium X, **two** flower boxes as bi-drectional ground lines, 9' takeoff and landing. plus our "flat" version of the same exercise right along side. repetition, yo, it's a helluva drug After that nice little breakthrough, our next ride was a lovely hack through the woods, then a very vanilla flat school amidst an active lesson group (with zero fireworks!), and then right back to the jumping exercises again! It's nice that the ring is right next to the driveway, bc I can basically scope out the traffic / occupancy situation on my way in, and stop to set my stuff up if the coast is clear! For this last ride, I replicated the ground poles and X, and also set up takeoff / landing poles for a vertical. some variation within the structure tho: a small vertical, still with a lot of fill and 9' takeoff and landing poles And guys --- Doozy got the memo, in no uncertain terms! She was incredible this ride!! And the thing is --- it's not just the exercises where she feels good, it's everything in between too.  For example, a week ago she could canter cleanly through the 3 ground poles, but might kinda careen off afterward, requiring some work to regain balance. It felt like I was sorta "holding her together" through the exercise, basically only delaying the explosion vs avoiding it entirely.  And now? Guys --- she's holding her own self together, omg! She can canter away from the ground poles in almost exactly the same balance she had going in. Or, at least, it takes very little work or time to find that balance again, with almost no sacrifice on 'line of travel.'  aaaaaaand back to those cool pleasant and neon green woods! And for the actual jumps?? Ugh I was so proud of her <3 <3 She still had moments of getting excitable and breaking into canter before reaching the first placing pole (I'm still trotting into everything except for the flat ground poles at this point), but even then still understood the footwork and could bounce through nicely! We knocked the X once, but it was just a normal run of the mill mistake for a big horse being asked to compress through an exercise --- vs a frantic horse flatly rushing through. Nbd, just dismount, reset, and jump it again! lots of pets for a good girl, even if she was a bit suspicious of the ferns! Doozy finally gave me the feeling again of really lifting her wither and jumping around the fence, rather than launching over it. Finally!!  And it was reproducible too, we had like 5 good efforts in a row, and I broke my own habit of quitting too early and said, Let's go one more time! And so Doozy went right on ahead and executed the vertical again perfectly. What a mare! power walking up the big hill! I really love these exercises and this practice.... Bc other than me using my voice and some gentle cues, it's mostly just Doozy figuring out the exercise construction on her own. Which, ya know, since she's Queen Of Jompies, Knower Of Everything, she much prefers that style of learning vs me manhandling her around.  My only real job is to keep my hands soft (aka -- hold the neck strap!), and go with her.  and obvi, a bonus charles <3 <3 here he is standing right in the middle of the aisle, the better to greet everybody as they walk in the barn So I think we're about ready for the next step --- reintroducing jumps without the placing poles. Or perhaps, if I get cold feet about that (which... y'all know me LOL!), just increasing the distance. Instead of bounce poles, let's bring back the 18' short one stride and see where that gets us. Or ya know, maybe a little bit of both, right? Like, I still expect Doozy to bolt the occasional fence. My hope, however, is that the gymnastic exercises and practice will help her better figure out what to do if she runs past a distance, or ends up at a less than ideal takeoff point. That, instead of being uncomfortable and punishing and, thus, frantic, we now have options and technique.  he also just likes the view <3 Or at least, that's the idea haha! In the meantime, it's fun practicing and seeing progress <3 There were glimmers in our ride yesterday where I thought to myself, "holy shit, are you actually becoming schooled??!?" not to mention the many MANY moments where I had to remind myself to soften and let go, bc the mare is starting to maintain her own carriage now, thankyouverymuch.  Tho, as with Newton's third law of motion, so it is with Dooz: for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction lol. There's always more to come, I'm sure!... [Read more]

We've been laying low in the heat, keepin everybody as cool as reasonably possible... But mostly just taking it easy. Which is kinda nice, not gonna lie! brace yourself for unrelated gratuitous charlie photos <3 <3 <3 I don't really have any "big plans" for Doozy at the moment, let alone anything requiring any significant preparation or 'stepping stones' along the way.  Which is probably a good thing, bc we've slowed down considerably since moving to the new farm. I remain extremely pleased with how well the mare coped with the move... But she's still Doozy lol... She still challenges me basically every time I swing a leg over. charles, in his indoor wash stall with warm and cold water! She's grown up so much in subtle, easy-to-miss ways. Like standing at the mounting block, for example. Or traveling alone on the trailer. Or basic riding stuff like accepting leg aids, and even just like, trotting. I say "easy to miss," tho, bc realistically it's natural to obsess on the weak spots, the problems, the "holes." charles, looking cute in his new outdoor ring <3 My tendency is to get frustrated when the horse frantically rushes, yet again, through a ground pole exercise, rather than recognizing and praising her clever footwork as she organizes her legs into a right lead canter transition, her notoriously more tricky lead. happy to be riding with friends! This mare absolutely thrives off praise, tho. So... Right now, basically everything we work on is designed to be "easy" and "boring," routine recognizable exercises from which I can tell Doozy just how amazing she is. From which she can learn the feeling of being "petted and praised" down to walk after a job well done. the humble plastic curry, my #1 must-have grooming tool. naturally had to buy a second so each horse has one! Doozy was a super star at Jenny Camp last month, growing in confidence, experience and strength through each phase of the event -- ultimately finishing cross country in beautiful form. She walked away strutting like a newly minted champion, convinced that she is Queen Of Jompies, Knower Of Everything. we desperately need more rain, but there's still a little grass out there! Except, lol, she obviously does not know everything...    In particular, she doesn't have an answer yet for tricky distances --- doesn't quite know how to use or adjust herself. And while she has a very good eye naturally, and good footwork, her default is to speed up and rush the fence -- launching and lurching flatly at it, vs stepping up and under for a strong push off from behind. doozy, lookin uncertain in the cross ties at TM for a recent dressage lesson So that's been our focus area ever since getting back to work post-quarantine at the new place. I promise we are still working on getting regular lessons. Coaching relationships take time and I've been spoiled by having some really really excellent past trainers. I'm also learning that not every approach will work for Doozy. back at doozy's new farm, indoor wash stall also has hot and cold hydrants omg! Specifically, relaxation must remain sacrosanct, IMO. Twice now, I've worked with trainers who could coach us into very good work in the moment --- but at the expense of increasing tension in the horse. Which, in my experience with this mare, makes that good work increasingly difficult to reproduce in future rides -- and takes us backward in the quality of my solo schooling rides. ground poles until death or boredom, whichever comes first! plus, peep all this cute jump fill we get to play with! So we carry on in our independent #privateer style. Which lately involves revisiting the basics with ground poles and footwork. Utilizing poles spaced at 9' -- like in the picture above. I like this distance for Doozy bc it works for both trot and canter, and is generally forgiving.  We work on the same or similar exercises in every ride, with slight variations in method and no ride lasting more than about 20min in this heat. One entire ride was spent trotting up to the poles, walking just before them, then trotting away after them, until we could actually trot the line in rhythm with soft contact. Until it was boring. simple footwork exercises like pole to X to pole, 18' distances Each ride has built on that exercise, until we were trotting into the ground poles -- and now picking up the canter at the first. Carrying that canter around on the circle, then back to trot into the poles, pick up canter, rinse repeat.  Aiming for hyper soft contact. Letting Doozy make mistakes like lurching awkwardly or stepping on the poles. And showing her the mistakes aren't a big deal, aren't reason for panic. sensitive red mare started going a little bald Also aiming for "boring." For both of us. If she got too amped, then back to trotting up to the poles, then walking instead of cantering. Trying to make it feel easy, quiet. Nbd.  Next we progressed to holding canter the whole way around the circle and through the poles. Working on holding the correct lead, finding a balance, waiting. And again, interspersing walk and trot as needed to regulate the excitement lol. new fuzzy gifth from consignment! replacing the old ovation gel form, that was actually a hand-me-down from isabel if you can believe it! Next we started re-introducing small jumps. Little X's, like the one pictured earlier, and also that flowery lattice gate from an earlier picture and other flower box filled small jumps, always with placing poles at takeoff and sometimes on landing too.  it's a simple style girth but i quite like them! The more fill, the better, IMO. While "building up" the jump might make Doozy more excitable, the ground poles and flower boxes also help encourage her to get more "up and over" vs "through." My takeoff poles are generally at the 9' distance, to replicate the same exact question as our ground pole exercise, and we experimented with landing poles at both 9' and 18'.   lady got new shoes with a new farrier too! Doozy definitely gets more excited at the actual jumps, and wants to rush at them. It's really really hard for me to keep my hands soft when she does that, but catching her in the mouth just makes her even more inverted and awkward, reinforcing exactly the wrong feeling. So I hold the neck strap and let her make her mistakes. he recommended putting her in bell boots to protect some of his shaping plans But this is where all that praise comes in to play: Doozy knows when it doesn't feel good. She knows when she clobbers a rail and steps on the landing pole. I don't need to explain that to her, ya know? But I can use the ground pole exercise to show her the difference, and praise every single moment of softness or patience. also at doozy's farm, another cat! this one might be a house cat, tho - i've only seen him once We had a really great moment in our last session, with the flowery lattice gate jump, with takeoff pole at 9' and landing pole at 18', to be ridden on a circle. Her first time through was heinously frantic - including scrambling all over the landing pole (considering her natural step is def 12'+!). he has beautiful eyes but wouldn't show the camera lol But we just went right back to the ground poles like nbd, which she did very nicely, then held the circle right back to the actual jump. And wouldn't ya know it, right from the takeoff pole, it was apparent that she "got it." Like, absolutely aced the trot up to the pole, stepped up perfectly to actually jump the gate (instead of essentially hurdling it), and balanced through the 18' distance to the landing pole.  Perfect! Good girl! I'm an absolute junkie for that feeling haha, not gonna lie. When it "clicks" for the horse, like she really understood the exercise <3 <3 <3  doozy, with field friends In a weird way, this season's intense heat has maybe been beneficial in forcing me to stay efficient and economical in these rides. Like, we need the consistent repetition --- but in short sweet and boring doses. I'm reminded of a lesson years ago with former trainer Dan C, and a very green Charlie, with instruction along the lines of: "Don't take forever to get there. This work is exhausting - don't lollygag around waiting for him to soften up before we can do the exercise. Do something, change something. Make a difference. Slow him down. Soften him."   her grass is similarly parched, but still there! That's been a useful mantra to keep in mind while we work on our ground poles and footwork exercises. No endless circling -- Only good productive repetition, aiming for clear positive stopping points, knowing that we can keep slowly building in the next session. So we're making the most of the nasty weather, one simple boring ride at a time, with the hope that maybe once things cool off we'll be ready for anything!... [Read more]

A byproduct of moving both my horses to new farms last month is that it gave me the opportunity to think more seriously about what I really want in a boarding facility.  doozy + lacey continue to do quite nicely as new pasture buddies! It's all fun and games to hypothetically consider "must haves" vs "would be nice," but things get real when it comes to actually evaluating available options. kitties are good too, clearly eager to be frens with whoever will feed them LOL Every farm is unique, with its own way of doing things, own community ethos, and combination of resources (land, water, shelter, riding facilities, etc).  for today's post: our first solo hack about adventure! there are trails in the woods too, but i'll get a guide for that Personally, I've always preferred spacious barns with lots of room to roam and plenty of options for riders, on top of good turnout. It's nice to have a little variety, ya know? explored a few little pasture lanes, tho! When I first toured Doozy's farm (over a year ago, bc good lord, this change has been a long time coming!), access to open fields, hills, and trails was a major point of interest.   there are nice little dog leg trails so you don't have to hack the gravel utv roads Doozy and I have honestly done very little hacking. There were a few field jaunts during her cellulitis recovery last year, sure, but I can probably count on one hand the number of times we properly hacked out or did trails since she's been in regular work. And even then, it was always with a friend or group.  eventually we reached the back field --- only direction is UP! also, peep those fun little jompies! Tho obviously Doozy has come a long way over the months. She's traveled to all sorts of new places for lessons and schooling trips and competitions. Not even mentioning all the little wanders around the last farm getting to and from the riding arenas. It might not have been "proper hacking," but maybe it had the same effect on the horse.  poor dooz was NOT expecting the huge climb, 30m vertical gain! felt like we were on top of the world, looking back over the low spots toward the big blue indoor in the distance So when I determined that we'd worked hard enough in the rings lately, and it was time for a little low-key wandering, Doozy was game!!  previous pic taken from the first peak high point, blue indoor sits on the second, slightly lower peak. there's a stream crossing the property (apparently the trails cross it!) that accounts for the lowest point Eventually the timing will work out to ride along with some of our new boarder friends, many of whom seem to love trail riding and hacking. Until then, tho, I felt brave enough to go exploring along the various laneways and back fields.   more little jompies!! kinda narrow and small, more like hunter pace jumps than proper schooling fences, but still fun! There are little gravel lanes all over the property for UTVs and tractors and what have you... Tho I was pleased to find that most were also crisscrossed by grassy and wooded paths for horses and riders who maybe preferred the scenic (and less steep) routes around the farm.  the hillside ahead of us is where i opted to turn back toward home. it is SO STEEP i'm not even sure we could safely walk down it in such dry hard ground conditions!  And the back fields are wide open for hacking. Tho, I'll say, the hills around here are no joke. It's going to take a little time figuring out the best ways for traversing the ground without constantly going straight up and down the fall lines! turning back toward home base Doozy was hilarious about the first big march up the hill --- I just got up off her back and gave her her head, and for the briefest second she thought about bursting into trot up the hill. Which, like, fine haha -- if that's what you want! But she thought better of it and pushed onward at a walk. And was quite happy to pause at the top for a deep breath lol! there are little laneways everywhere! We really don't have a lot of experience riding together on hills yet, and conditions right now aren't super forgiving --- hard slick dry ground isn't great for traction, ya know? doozy was so so SO good for this solo hack -- honestly really her first ever solo hack into the unknown I'll eventually map out all the laneways on my elevation app to try to figure out where the best conditioning spots might be for longer, less steep climbs and descents. Ideally there will be some sort of loop we can put together for trotting over the more gradual inclines.  really really smitten with this critter <3 <3 And I'm really interested in seeing what the woods are like too -- supposedly there's a nice big creek crossing in there somewhere! Not sure how Doozy will cope with that, to be honest, but we'll find out eventually! just generally a big fan of all the critters too haha --- behold my future frens! One thing's for sure, tho --- we're both definitely going to get a lot of passive conditioning just from constantly navigating the hills haha. All that terrain makes for a nice counterpoint to the typical schooling on flat surfaces we do in the ring.  just another day in paradise <3 Plus it's just nice to get a break from the ring sometimes. Thankfully so far Doozy seems pretty game about it all!... [Read more]

One of the biggest advantages of our new digs is new coaching opportunities!! Particularly on-site coaching, omg!  AND! Imagine my delight when I learned this farm is frequented by a local upper level eventing pro who's been on my coaching short list for a few years at this point! Let's call her KO, and we had our first lesson last week. Much excitement, guys! no new riding pictures, so instead let's revisit trotting pics from doozy's first couple months with me -- august 2023 to january 2024 It's going to sound like déjà vu, and maybe basic, but we all know riding is more than just knowing the words "inside leg to outside hand." For me, it's all about the real time coaching and corrections. The puppet mastery etc.  d'aww, who remembers that scrawny neck tho <3 KO started the session by explaining her interpretation and understanding of the French philosophy of horse training and riding, then dove into tweaking and adjusting my way of sitting on the horse.  First instruction? Inside leg to KO really means inside seat. She wanted my weight sinking down from my inside seat bone, down a long leg, and through the heel. We started here, bc duh, but also this is maybe my most original sin faux pas. august 2023 -- doozy's second post-track ride!! She suggested Doozy is putting me on the outside, but we all know the truth lol.... I've always loved sitting on the outside of the horse lol, and am notorious for wanting to sit more to the right than the left.  KO was adamant, tho. Her whole point was that by sitting deeply on my inside seat bone, Doozy should respond by lifting up her inside shoulder and ribcage -- effectively pushing against my push, and straightening her posture in the process. From KO's perspective, this must become my new and most fundamental raison d'être. september, still recovering from the cellulitis Bc, obvi, next came the hands.... my hands, my terrible horrible bad hands. My fait accompli, my seemingly irreversible habits...  Lately I've been riding with my hands more or less pinned to the front of my saddle. Mostly just to keep them anchored and reliable, rather than wandering off hither and yon. I know it's not necessarily the most "correct" hand position, but it's kinda worked well enough for us in at least giving Doozy a reliable and consistent contact, from which she's learned to balance and bend and even trot omg! october schooling at home -- starting to get consistent! Tho, KO might rightly observe that what I've actually trained into Dooz to date is more trompe-l'œil than anything else. Meaning that my too-low hands aren't doing anything to actually help the horse adjust her longitudinal balance up off her forehand...  This matters bc all horses, but especially racehorses, need help learning to raise their carriage up through the wither, in order to give space for the hind legs to step under themselves.  november, in doozy's first jump lesson! KO's method is to basically position the rider's aids somewhat passively but very correctly. She wanted to see me raise my hands to level, particularly my left hand. Shorten my reins (surprise surprise) and keep a stable outside elbow. "Tidy." From this position, just passively, gently, almost incidentally.... ride the horse straight. She encouraged me to spend more time tracking left to establish the straightness, then track right to use that straightness to strengthen Doozy and help bring her right hind up and under. also november in one of our first dressage lessons All normal stuff, obviously, but these are the kind of postural adjustments I've historically had trouble getting consistent without routine coaching.  It was honestly incredible to feel Doozy respond, tho. Guys, she stayed with me the WHOLE ride, really showed a natural savoir-faire, if ya know what I mean!  december schooling at home We mostly stayed on a 20m circle the whole time, and worked on holding the same passive but steady position through transitions. KO observed my tendency to kinda get a little rushed and garbled in asking for a transition, and instead coached me into a more laissez-faire style -- asking for the transition almost as if I didn't care whether I got it or not. Especially the canter.  I really wish there were videos tbh. There were some really incredible moments, at least from what I could feel, and it's exciting to see Doozy learn and develop. This was a hard and intense lesson, but Doozy kept trying the whole time. Didn't get frazzled or tense at all. Progress, y'all!  january at kealani It felt like a really solid first lesson, and I'm already looking forward to the next one. Hopefully we'll also start integrating jumping into the mix too, and I may also try out some of the other available on-farm coaching options just to get a sense of the new local flavors haha.  Now that the mare is settled in, feels like we can just dive right back in to things! It's an exciting feeling ;) Happy Monday, y'all!... [Read more]

Happy Sunday, folks! Hope everyone is staying cool... It's been a bit warm around these parts! honestly only a couple days have been properly miserable, tho the folks at Charlie's barn do a nice job of keeping the horses in a little later when it's really nasty, so they can stay chilled under their fans vs baking under the sun.   Charlie's doing well, too! he's coping with having bare soles better than expected, and the thrush seems to be drying up more or less apace. we're still treating regularly, tho.   but i dunno, guys, i kinda got a wild hair the other day...  i just.... ya know.... was really hankering for a good old fashioned sit on my good friend Charles <3 so we saddled up and did exactly that!!!   just went for a nice little plod around this farm's cute outdoor arena. guys. this place might be small and modest, but these folks take pride in their management. check out the fresh drag lines! and those freshly placed fence posts at the end, to eventually enclose the ring completely. it's kinda weird, my horses have each been moved for less than a month, and yet BOTH of their farms have dragged their rings more often in that time period than this entire year at the last place LOL   enough about that tho, bc this is about Charlie <3 <3 he's obviously ya know. not very sound. tho not as unsound as i expected. like we actually did a little bit of trotting -- a circle or two in each direction.  it's hard to know if he's only stiff and creaky, sore from the thrush, or just generally janky. or maybe all the above? but it would be nice to maybe do a little more 'active sitting' on him to feel him out, see if maybe some trails might be in our future.    and i swear, i only really rode him around for about 10min total. just enough to push a couple buttons and see how he is. homeboy still sweated up a storm tho -- look at that foam thru the billet strap!   we had fun tho <3 i swear this horse loves being the center of attention. so long as like, it doesn't require work lol, and also involves plenty of treats! he's already cultivated an entirely new crop of worshippers among boarders and friends of the farm, and loves holding court in the center of the aisle, demanding smooches and pets from anybody who tries to get past lol. what a horse <3   i honestly really enjoy the time i spend with him at his barn, so maybe it's one of those blessing in disguise situations to have the two horses at different locations?   regardless, it was good to sit on him again. i still don't know exactly what his future holds, but that's ok too. this is good enough, and Charlie obvi owes me nothing!... [Read more]

Happy hump day, y'all. Things are chilling out a little bit now that the most intense phase of the heat wave is behind us.... we even got a few sprockles of rain the other day! Big stuff, y'all.  But even bigger news, Doozy finally graduated to the next intermediate step in her introduction to the new farm: post quarantine paddock turn out with a friend!! Much Rejoicing!! Getting her out of the tiny dry quarantine pen and back onto grass is a BIG DEAL, especially as it massively reduces my burden guilt related to managing her day to day life --- like alllllll that hand grazing, dear lord.  So let's keep it light and happy with a quick pictorial run through of what we've been up to lately! pictured: hand grazing, forever, everywhere. literally about an hour a day of just this, and even that felt painfully stingy... but it was also perfect for getting familiar with all the various views --- seriously, how picturesque is this place?? we are standing right behind the blue indoor here, so these are the same views you get while riding!   pictured: hot and sweaty at the absolute peak intensity of last week's heat wave, right around the longest day of the year... and so eager for grass that she's barely made it out of the quarantine pen (behind her) before diving down for some mouthfuls. our typical habit was for me to arrive after turnout and give her a nice good hosing + hand graze... maybe sneak in a ride, with more hosing and hand grazing as needed lol.... aiming for late enough in the evening to start to see temps fall and the sun angle lower behind the hills by the time she had to go back into the pen.   for our rides, we've mostly stuck to the outdoor, since the sun exposure is counterbalanced by pleasant breezes... plus there are often fun little exercises and jompies set up --- like these two lines of trot poles, one straight and one bending!  ooh and a little foreshadowing: peep that luscious green paddock in the far background!   poorly framed shot but another nice footwork exercise that was just begging for a little action!   we also jumped the cute little flower box. bc why not, right? we've been keeping the rides light and fluffy until everything feels more settled, but doozy has honestly been great   ooooh we ended up in the blue indoor the other night too!! look how bright it is, with windows and nice open doors --- i'll need to get better pictures out the doorways too bc the views are great. and obvi lots of fun footwork exercises set up in here too   hacking the path back down to the barn like she's lived here her whole life, good girl <3 also visible in this pic: that tiny little brown square quarantine pen in the distance directly above doozy's left ear, and then her new paddock in the farthest back beyond that!   guys. i love spending oodles of time with my horses. really truly. but sometimes it's nice to just go ride, then hose 'em off and chuck 'em out and go home lol. graze yo'self, dooz! #handsfree   new friendship is blossoming quite nicely too!! bebe morgan mare had a little run + cry when we first left her, and doozy answered a call or two... but honestly, it was way less drama than i expected. this paddock is actually easily visible from the indoor bc of this farm's crazy hills, so i could see that the bebe was hanging out at the fenceline with the neighbors and not running. perfect! and she didn't even scream at us when we returned. no joke, this pic is about two seconds after i put doozy back out, and they're both just doing their own mare things. soooo much easier than massive attachment!   obvi i'll still be sensitive about stressing the ladies while it's just the two of them, but things feel promising. and having doozy on grass and with company is just such a relief! this was kinda the big milestone still ahead of us before getting back to work in any serious sort of fashion. it's timely, tho, bc guys --- there might be some exciting new developments in the coaching landscape! stay tuned ;)... [Read more]

Charlie had his first shoeing appointment since moving yesterday, very exciting! His new farm is still inside our normal farrier's service area, thankfully, so he's staying on basically the same hoof care plan. friendly kitty at doozy's barn! Tho, as mentioned a few posts ago, he sprang a nasty case of thrush about two weeks ago -- so I was eager to get the farrier's input on how to handle.  skittish kitty at doozy's barn! I'd been treating with Tomorrow paste, basically a mastitis treatment for cows. And the new barn manager had been kind enough to keep up the daily treatments while I was out of town in Chicago for a few days last week.  and charles, at his luxury resort lol <3 Charlie had originally been very sore on the foot -- quite prominently lame at the walk, and pointing that toe. Such a drama queen... trying to get a grip on this thrush tho.... 06/14 treated with Tomorrow But after all the regular attention he's gotten wayyy more comfortable, whew! Tho I was still curious what the situation would look like underneath the leather pad on his shoe. Like, how deep did this thing really go? this stuff --- apparently the Today stuff is also good. the narrow tip in particular is great for getting down into the crevices Fortunately, once the shoe was off things actually looked decent enough! To the point where the farrier didn't think Charlie really needed soaking or anything like that. Just keep going with the Tomorrow, she suggested every other day. She also shared that Thrush Buster seemed to work well enough for low grade cases, but generally finds the applicator tip on the Tomorrow to be more useful. about a week later, 6/23, not visibly very different but a lot less sore update since this pic: we nixed charlie's pads yesterday to open the whole thing up, doesn't look terrible tho We opted to not replace the leather pads on Charlie's new shoes anyway, tho. I'd already been toying with the idea --- normally I pull them off over the winter to let the horse's sole get a bit more air and exposure... But with Charlie's precarious soundness last year, we didn't dare make such a big change. treated And who knows, if he seems to have trouble staying comfortable, nbd, we'll just add them back on again. I'm optimistic, tho.  and half-heartedly stuffed with a thrush-buster soaked piece of gauze lol. pro tip: maybe use less gauze than you think if you try a similar approach hahaha... This new farm is set up so nicely relating to footing and ground conditions, not to mention how much closer everything is (no more walking a quarter mile down the gravel driveway to his turnout!), it honestly seems like he could have a very good chance at being sound with less intense shoeing! farrier thinks he's gained weight since moving <3 <3 Actually, I might not have specifically shared, but we pulled Charlie's hind shoes at his last appointment - before he even moved. Longtime readers will remember how last summer Charlie went through a relentless cycle of stepping on his own self behind and constantly twisting off his hind shoes --- naturally stepping on the clips in the process, half the time.  bonus treatment for charlie's other little ding, lol --- moxidectin for his summer sore For some reason, he didn't twist a single shoe all winter, but I think his hooves get a little harder during the more dormant season. As soon as they start growing again in the spring, it's like they get more shell-like and tend to crumble. And once he twisted off that first hind shoe of the season, I figured it was worth a shot.  area was already kinda schmootzy since i'd started treating with swat first. 06/14 Not gonna lie, Charlie was intensely sad for the first 2.5 weeks. And I wondered if it was really wise to pull his hinds esp on the same day he got trimmed up front, knowing that he often walks away from a trim feeling sore anyway. It felt like a mean one-two punch, ya know? summer sores are characterized by almost perfectly circular ulcers that crust and weep but never heal. 06/16 But then he honestly kinda rallied, and has been basically fine ever since. Well, aside from the whole thrush thing. Which, imho is mostly an environmental thing relating to the crazy dry / wet cycles we've been having anyway.  can't tell if we either killed off the first one so it sprang a second, or if the whole infection or whatever is just spreading... 06/22 Charlie has worn some variation of complicated expensive shoes basically the entire time I've owned him. He's been shod all the way around since his first appointment with me, and spent the majority of every year in either full or rim leather pads. Not to mention staying drilled and tapped for competition seasons...  it can never just be easy, charlie! Go figure, tho. Things change! Charlie is officially now sporting the same pedicure as Doozy: plain shoes up front, and just a clean little trim behind. I might actually be spending less money to shoe both horses right now than Charlie has typically cost the whole time I've owned him lol.... enjoy another shot of the stalker cat as reward for the gross wound pics ;)  Tho being real, farriery is not an area I'd consider trying to be more thrifty or whatever. My horses get the shoeing they need for their jobs / wellbeing / quality of life. Like I fully expect that Doozy will eventually be shod all the way around, esp if the jumps ever start going up.  But I also like being able to do less to their feet vs more, if you know what I mean. And who knows, maybe this will be just the ticket for Charlie? He's being such a pest these days lol, I think he's generally feeling quite well and FULL of himself... Who knows, if we can get this thrush knocked out, maybe we can start sneaking in some saddle time??? Cross your fingers for us!... [Read more]

Not gonna lie, the last few weeks have been just a touch intense around here. Between a few important projects at work, setting up the competition xc courses at Shawan Downs (and then actually competing there for Doozy's 2nd proper 3-phase HT, omg), plus hosting a friend in town for that same weekend... And then, obvi, moving the horses to entirely new barns...  quarantine life is what it is, but the promise of so much grass to come is very real!!! It's been a lot. At times, even a little bit overwhelming, truth be told. lot of redundant photos today bc our first few days followed similar patterns: LOTS of hand grazing! But it's also been very very good. My courses at Shawan rode fine, and I learned a lot along the way -- with really useful feedback from people who, uh, actually know things.  new patterns, too, tho! doozy moved on tuesday, and by thursday was under saddle again! And the horse moves have been legitimately GREAT! It's so hard to know what to expect, to transition into entirely new environments after years in one place.  "selfie" lol Tho, one thing is for sure --- I've ridden at a LOT of different barns, and drawn paychecks from quite a few too, and it is a proven fact that there are many good ways to keep horses. Everybody does it a little differently, everybody has their preferences. But... Ya know, mostly it all works out! i feel SO GUILTY about her dry little quarantine paddock surrounded by grass, so we graze a LOT Safe shelter / turnouts, clean water, good food and forage... Not to mention maybe a few nice amenities for the intrepid rider (whether that be nice arenas or extensive trails!)... And ya know. You've got yourself a good horsey life! the neighbors are nice and visit often We've been extra lucky too in feeling extremely welcomed. Doozy, for her part, settled in basically immediately. She kinda just looked around and was like, "Yep ok, I live here now!" lol... we graze all over the farm, tho! note -- that topmost background field to the left, if you look closely it's dotted with little logs and xc jumps!! our future awaits us! For real, it's so funny... Charlie is my best boy. Always and forever. But.... welllll... He can be more than a little neurotic at times, LOL.  for now, tho, hand walkies and grazies! At first I was grateful that he moved first, bc it took him a little time to settle in. And I felt it was a good reminder for me to be prepared for anything with Doozy. But Doozy was just like, "Meh, nbd!" and has since literally gotten right back to work again haha.  second ride on the farm was another success! Nothing against Charlie, obvi, he's the best. But he just always needs a little hand holding, he feels everything at an 11 (out of 10)... Sometimes the vapors get to him, ya know? Poor soul! she's getting used to the grooming bays! Doozy has been great, tho. And it's been good to get back into a normal routine. We both benefit from that, I think. please note: there are kitties <3 So we've kinda eased back into a daily riding routine. I wasn't entirely sure what to expect, given that Doozy's last ride was running xc at Jenny Camp, lol, but go figure, she was a professional. another day, another few grassy mouthfuls before being consigned to the Q paddock We kept it to just walk-trot the first ride anyway, tho. Rome wasn't built in a day, and all that. Or something haha. I just figured we could familiarize without a ton of pressure. ooooooh but there are also friends!!! But by the second ride, she was clicking on all cylinders and we did a proper school. And then for the third ride, we actually got to enjoy some company, when friend Sandra stuck around after a ride to hang out with us and get to know Doozy! shoutout to Sandra, who snagged some footage from our third ride!! Doozy apparently appreciated the audience bc she was legit foot perfect for this ride! Like, who knew, but this mare **can** actually trot, omg! can't wait for more lessons with someone who will remind me to sit up, chin up! She just went through all her paces in an orderly polite fashion, including some nice canters and even a couple little jompies omg! ok sometimes i remember to sit up myself. the neck staring tho, oof LOL And obvi I was tickled to get some footage too --- Doozy's always been so interesting bc she doesn't always look how she feels. And it's anybody's guess what I might be doing with my position in any given moment haha... ok for real, tho, doozy was legit low key strutting in this ride, so so good, i think she was showing off for Sandra! It's all good, tho. Maybe even better than good -- considering we might finally be getting the opportunity for more consistent coaching and oversight.  quick clips from our 3rd on farm school, thanks Sandra! So it's all good around here. Business as usual. Well. Almost haha.  oooh and in big news: a new neighbor in quarantine! cute little 3yo Morgan mare, and they'll likely buddy up for eventual herd introductions <3  The next big milestone will be getting Doozy integrated into her new herd, hopefully in about another  week or so. I've already met some of the other mares, tho, and they're lovely.  so much happier with her new neighbor! onward!! It won't be a day too soon, tho, either haha --- Doozy's one and only complaint is having to cope with the little dry lot paddock they use for quarantine. She is, in fact, coping tho. Just a few more days, princess, and you'll get there! In the meantime, we're looking toward a bit of a heat wave this week so it'll probably be pretty quiet, all things considered. Hope you all had a nice weekend too, and are staying cool!... [Read more]

A few of you who have coped with keeping horses at different barns shared how, in some ways, it made the time with the retired horse more special and intentional.  picturesque -- looking across from charlie's paddock #3, over to #2 and #1 in the far distance I can officially confirm --- that's definitely the case with Charlie these days! look at all that grass tho! I've been diligent about keeping the same high frequency visit schedule he's accustomed to... Bc we all know how needy he can be LOL. For years now I've been hypersensitive to his needs, keeping him groomed religiously lest he try sticking yet another limb through another fence... chart not to scale, obvi, and paddocks rotate often. charlie and avi have since moved in with Dom in #5, yay friends! Go figure, tho. At this new farm, with a higher degree of land management, and a turnout schedule in sync with weather conditions... The horse is suddenly... Just having a better time of things. He's less crusty and grimy from sweat. And wayyyyy less bug eaten. We likey!  stalls are quite large with lots of ventilation and fans He's easing into the routine, too. Change is hard. Horses fucking hate change. And in a weird way, I'm glad that I had to move Charlie first, and get that reminder with my best boy that... Actually, there's an adjustment period and the horse will be stressed.  it's a traditional rustic style barn, a lot of horses have lived here over the years Charlie and Avi were a bit co-dependent and attached for the first week or so, as can be expected. But I kept up with the daily visits, including pulling Charlie out for grooming sessions, despite their mutual protests at separation.  cute grooming bay! And ya know. They get better. Routine is a helluva drug, even if it's just for low key grooming sessions. Plus, the boys have since graduated to having a third in their group! All the better, as far as I'm concerned, esp since Avi is still a working riding horse and needs to be able to come and go without causing mayhem.  charlie likes being able to spy on the paddocks out the doorway The paddocks at this farm are so communal, tho, they're all nestled right up against each other, with really clear lines of sight in almost every direction. So it's almost like two bigger herds on either side of the barn, just with fence lines in between them all. outdoor ring comes with a view! The people have been wonderful so far, too. Really great vibes, really friendly energy. It's hard to know what to expect coming into a smaller barn --- I've honestly only ever really done big barns. But this just seems like a cool place with people who just love their horses. attached indoor is modest in scale, but has a lot of natural light and modern fiber footing Riding remains off the table for Charlie at present, as he's been a little unsound. Tho, mercifully, there appears to be a direct and simple explanation for his current woes --- a touch of thrush under one of his leather pads.  three's company!! out in #5 here It's been a weird spring, with strange swings from wet conditions to very very dry conditions, then a torrent, then dry again... I imagine the bacteria in the dirt is doing all sorts of funny things. It's apparently the year of La Niña? Sorta strange weather patterns.  avi is a little co-dependent still, but charlie is a lot more zen with the extra friend. also look at this nice stone dust footing in high traffic gate areas! A bunch of horses I know all came up with hoof complaints right around the same time, so I'm chalking it up to that.  even the halters get a nice house <3 I've been treating with Thrush Buster since that's.... what I already had lol. But I'm never sure if it's particularly strong medicine, tbh. Most folks I know who have dealt with significant thrush seem to gravitate toward Tomorrow, the mastitis treatment. I have some on order so will switch to that when it arrives, and might also ask my farrier about ditching Charlie's leather pads at his upcoming appt.  meanwhile, bc charlie will be charlie, our latest little 'ding' is a touch of thrush....  I never love soaking a hoof with the pads anyway, so hopefully we'll just have more options overall. Lmk if you have any go-to remedies for thrush too! homeboy is looking handsome, tho! He also possibly has another weird little summer sore on his LH pastern too... Sorry I didn't grab a pic of it. It's another weird sorta crusty / weepy / circular wound that just isn't behaving totally normally, and the flies were going nuts over it.  i'm enjoying the extra time dedicated just to him <3 <3 Tho, I'm not entirely sure since it went 24hrs without weeping after a betadine scrub and treatment with Swat... But I went ahead and ordered two tubes of moxidectin anyway, one for an oral dose and the other for topical treatment. Probably won't hurt, right? and he's enjoying his well kept grassy paddocks and tidy automatic waterers! this view is looking across from #5 back to #3 (see the shed), past the attached indoor visible middle left So yea, that's basically the state of things with Charlie right now. I'm feeling pretty positive about his arrangements, and more hopeful than ever that maybe we can get in some toodling if at all possible.... [Read more]

somehow managed to pack all my remaining junk... once both horses are settled in and i have a feel for each of the boarding barns, i'll get serious about thoroughly reviewing inventory to split between locations. for now, it's all in the truck and trailer.... managed to fit in a last-minute dentist appt too!! gotta keep checkin off all them boxes, amirite? much better to get this done in the comfort of 'home' and not need to think about it for another 10months... morning appts ran early so doozy spent her last 45min at this farm in a paddock with a pony friend flash forward to a little bit later and --- we've arrived! settled in with a little hand grazing! mare will spend a week or two in solo quarantine, so she'll need a lot of attention in the meantime those nostrils omg haha the farm is enormous with hacking everywhere --- see the little lane going up over the hill? stalls are nice! have window, will peep two main barn aisles are connected by grooming bays in the middle and end middle bay also fitted for washing yep, looks like a barn!   tack room cubbies come complete with little box. this will be an adjustment after years in a full locker lol pretty sure all my stuff can fit nicely, will just need to be a little creative! ideas welcome! onto the riding facilities --- it's a short walk to the first indoor! and slightly longer short walk to the second indoor outdoor ring is cute too!! sorry just snapped a shot on my way out the driveway, but obvi we'll see more of this soon! there are also little logs and xc jumps in a back field <3 <3 onward <3... [Read more]

Happy Monday Tuesday, folks! We had a great (and long) horse show weekend here --- finally getting back to ride the full 3 phases at MCTA's Jenny Camp at Shawan Downs, for the first time since 2017 (omg)!!  out with her ponies, unaware of the fate awaiting her!! also sad to only have a few more days with these sweet ladies... and Rosette is already gone from the farm! the group is scattering into the four winds :( And fun fact --- we came in last place this time too, just like we did all those years ago with Charlie... Consistency, yo, we got it!! LOL For real, tho, it was actually a great day. And I was absolutely bound and determined to not get too stuck in my head or too stressed out or anxious about anything. Bc... Ya know. This was kinda our last big outing with our longtime barn mates. It had to be a good one!   but first, one last hurrah with everybody at Shawan Downs!! My friend Katie went over earlier in the morning and absolutely slayed the Novice division with a 17%** in dressage and clear jumping!! Which was a perfect swan song, as their plan was to move directly from the horse show into their new boarding barn. No going back, y'all. (**More on those crazy dressage scores later...) she was a very good girl at the trailer - even after accidentally locking eyes with Rosette across the field!! Then Amy and I had a very civilized morning schedule for our rides in the starter division, dressaging around 10:30 and jumping around 1. Considering how close this venue is to home, it all worked out for a very pleasant cadence to the day! Plus one of my longtime horsey friends came to visit for the weekend and was an awesome set of extra hands around the show. Also meant for TONS of media!! Even tho my ridiculous self managed to forget my helmet cam at home, whoops.  it was also perfect that Amy and I were able to do all our rides together we could see xc warm up from the trailers too, was nbd!! So anyway, we got to the show nice and early and had a relaxed preparation for dressage. Amy and I rode at more or less the same times all day, which was nice bc we got to kinda go everywhere together. Doozy and Punky got sliiiightly attached to each other, which was a little complicated, but it was nbd.  Even so, Doozy was.... not great in the warm up. She's been making incredible progress in our rides at home, but it was always just going to be harder at the show. Esp without our martingale, gulp! So she was pretty wild and explosive. Oh well.  picture not representative of our test LOL, but she was a good girl We managed to royally piss the judge off before even going into the ring, too. The ring was empty so I walked by the judge's car and all, so Doozy could see it. Which, the judge kinda felt like that should be illegal. At an unrecognized show. For the local club. That's already down on entries, and basically uses the starter event as a fundraiser.  But no no, no ring familiarization for the bebe horses --- it's an unfair advantage, y'all. In fact, don't even stand over here, don't even look at that ring, go away, be gone!!! the judge was already mad at me bc she thought i was riding too close to the (empty) dressage court -- but even she had to give us a decent walk score haha So she punished us for that by basically ringing the bell immediately when it was our turn to start circling the ring, and then proceeded to judge us a bit harshly thru the test. Which, well... honestly the scores were more or less fair. Doozy was.... tense. And we did have a few little breaks to canter, plus never quite managed to find our right lead in the second canter circle... oh Dooz, one day we'll get all the pieces moving together I was proud of the mare, tho. She kept it together, managed to find a few moments of true bend in the test, had surprisingly timely down transitions, and basically just clocked around the pattern. Plus slayed her free walk, as always, which even this judge had to admit deserved a 7.  So ya know. We'll get there eventually. And in the meantime, our 45% is fiiiiine and fair lol. for now, tho, this was good Tho, this judge... I know y'all probably get tired of me complaining about dressage judges. But some of them are real pieces of work. This one seemed to think she could choose the winners and losers at a horse trial all by herself, the jumping be damned.  One rider in my division got a 9.7% final score. Not a typo there, guys. An actual 9.7%, in the starter division. Scores in the teens abounded, too. Plus ya know, a whole bunch of scores in the 20s and 30s, and then those poor souls among us who managed to hit the 40s. Silly me, I thought it wasn't just a dressage show. But what do I know anyway, right? (For the record -- that 9.7% horse was LOVELY OMG, and ridden by a very nice professional who has always been a wonderful human. The horse did have a stop on xc tho... which obvi bc of the crazy scores only dropped her a little bit down the ranks....) and this was better!! But eh. We were NOT here for the dressage lol.... No no, we are here to JUMP!! And after a little break, we went ahead and did just that!  The show jumping ring is set up in the same field as the dressage, so Doozy seemed a little more at ease out there for being her second time over in that area.  not a lot of screen shots from the jumping bc somehow almost every single jump was blocked by another jump in the video whooops! And she handled her warm up fences quite nicely! Tho... it occurred to me as I observed the show ring... I've never actually schooled the mare over 2'3 show jumps, let alone 2'3 oxers. Like, she's jumped the height before, particularly that height and dimension of xc fences... but not show jumps. Uh, oops?  she was a good girl, tho, and jumped around pretty much ok, aside from the scary nature So we jumped our first real oxer in the warm up LOL, but obvi it was fine. She's a nice jumper, she's bold and brave. Kinda likes it. Nbd.  Even so, I was a little tentative through our round. The course started with an oxer, set on a straight line that was fairly long enough to be unrelated, but barely. I opted to whoa! immediately back to trot in the middle of the line, tho we ended up having the rail anyway.   Next two jumps were kinda on a line across the diagonal too, and we did end up cantering the whole way down, tho Doozy got a bit squirrelly on the way out.  good over the finish next to the spooky judge's tent Then we trotted by all the scary grass omg along the rail over another jump, then sharp turn to an end jump by the crowd. I again brought her wayyyyyy back down for the turn to this end jump... which, idk, maybe was unnecessary. Except that I honestly think we might have had a runout if I'd let her just plow forward.  As it was, we were good over that one, then had a nice little circuit back across the ring over another oxer, then up to another vertical at the other end of the ring (which we also knocked, whoops), and then finished strong despite a little wiggle over the last.  link to video of the show jump round It's easy to watch the course and think maybe I should let the horse canter on more, since she seems a bit happier jumping from a canter... But, eh, honestly I think this was probably the right choice for where we are right now.  It's not hard for her to end up getting a little ahead of herself, ya know? Like remember at Thornridge when she sorta skittered out the side when she arrived at the jump a little forward and out of balance and didn't quite have an answer?  So ya know, we're still learning and growing LOL. And honestly I'm pretty happy with the round! then onto the BEST part!! It was also a useful experience to have before the cross country, too! We had a little bit of a hack over to the xc fields, and just jumped the little telephone poles a couple times as prep, then headed to the box. Doozy was actually a bit sticky about leaving the group, tho my friend helped us into the box.  She was a little sticky out of the box too... which you can see in the video, but it was nbd. Leaving the box is honestly one of the hardest things for young horses, I think. And it always seems to catch a lot of riders off guard -- with lots of silly refusals at the first couple jumps. easy and brave over the big box! Luckily Charlie trained me well about the importance of not taking those early jumps for granted haha... and I was ready to keep Doozy pushed up to the fences. She jumped 1 fine enough considering it was a log, and then was pretty wiggly to the second but jumped it well enough.  I eventually got her back down to trot for the 3rd, which she also jumped fine... But then when I tried to get her back to trot again for the 4th, she kinda just like declined lol, and instead offered up a very balanced polite canter. So like, ok cool. Fine. Let's just go with that! tiny dot jumping beautifully at this gorgeous iconic venue! And we just proceeded to canter the whole rest of the course! At first a little tentatively, but then sorta eased into a rhythm and I was able to start trusting her more and more as we went along! I'm honestly sorry not to have the helmet cam from this trip bc I think it would have been really helpful to study... But she really just clocked right on around! finishing strong over the barbie dream house  Not every jump came up perfectly out of stride, but nothing was uncomfortable or chippy or gappy either. Like clearly still just learning how to jump from a good balance, but honestly was just so so good!! link to clips from xc here - includes almost the whole course! sorry guys i left my helmet cam at home womp... I was proud of myself too for being a little more trusting of her, and just focusing on keeping her straight. Once we were out there, it really felt like she was interested in each of the jumps, focusing on them, drawn to them.  None of the surroundings were spooky to her either, and she was super up the hill to the last jump heading back toward home and the warm up -- what a good feeling! what a superstar <3 <3 <3 Obvi we were never really gonna close the gap up the leaderboard with the dressage scores being what they were, plus our added 8pts from show jumping... But if you had asked Doozy, she would say that we won and she's Champion of the Goddamn Universe LOL... And I have zero intentions of telling her any different haha!  All in all a solid day. Bittersweet in some ways because things are changing and I'm sad to part ways with my barn mates who have been such great friends over the years... But new adventures and friends lie ahead of us too. It's possible that by the time you read this, Doozy will be settling in at her new farm. Cha-cha-cha-changes, y'all!... [Read more]

Buckle up, y'all! And brace yourself for like two dozen pictures of jumps that.... if all goes well, you'll see again very very soon.  it's the most shawanderful time of the year! Because Amy and I took our horses for a cross country schooling session at the iconic Shawan Downs yesterday!  This is important for a few reasons. First of all, our local association, the MCTA, only runs 2 events at this venue each year: a recognized HT and then a starter trial on back to back weekends. Natch, with schooling open the full week between events.  itsy bitsy spider ground pole Shawan Downs is such a cool venue, and I have a lot of really great memories here, including my earliest outings as a volunteer in 2015! Plus obvi a lot of riding memories... Charlie's last outing was here too, tho just as a babysitter... jump 1: welcome to the doll house! I also started designing the lower level xc courses for their events here a few years ago, but with all of Charlie's soundness issues never actually rode anything I set before now. lot of pictures today bc this was a ride for the memory bank with one of my best barn friends! hopefully not the last hurrah, but a good one for sure! Maybe most important, tho, among all the reasons why I was excited for this ride... Was that, ya know, it would be another special outing with one of my longest and bestest barn friends --- Amy, and her gelding Punky <3 <3  jump 3: mojo dojo casa house (jump 2, apparently not screenshotted, was the man behind the tan) Guys, the feelings about moving barns are extremely strong. In every direction, everywhere, all at once. Our current barn is BIG, I love big boarding farms. And I'm nosy AF and in everybody's business and have strong attachment personality traits... Plus, ya know, I have a trailer and have been eager to cultivate friends over the years who wanna share adventures with me.  jump 4: "beach"... just... beach But Amy is an OG around here. We've been through a LOT together. Ups and downs for both our horses. And... As soon as it became clear that I had to move on, my focus shifted to having the best possible end run with Amy -- including lessons and xc schooling, and, hopefully (ugh so superstitious these days) an awesome grand finale at this weekend's starter trial. punky <3's beach! So. Obviously we'd go schooling together! Actually we were supposed to go the day before and catch a lesson with Sally... But, eh, timing got tricky... and then a goddamn thunderstorm from hell blew thru, complete with all manner of tornado warnings... And, eh, we opted to just wait another day LOL. jump 5: get in the box, you jezebel!! for real, tho, this was maybe the biggest seeming fence on course but it rode great at the event, probably bc horses were just relieved to have a plain brown jump LOL And I think it worked out perfectly. We had the place to ourselves, the footing was soft after the torrent... And ya know. After all these years, we both have a good feel for what we need to do, what we want to do, and how we wanna get there.  jump 6: weird splits (it's split rails, guys, c'mon, we tried hard with the names!) So we proceeded in a fairly straight forward manner to essentially school the full course. Which, it's worth noting, is not really a "normal" thing in this area. girls night water option, woot woot! Actually, it's downright RARE around here to be able to school a venue's jumps from start to finish in advance of a horse trial. And, not gonna lie, it kinda felt a little bit like cheating.  nice little stack-o-poles if water ain't your thang But, eh, fuck it, right? It was fun! And that's the whole point lol... Plus it made me feel confident! jump 8: just allan... Doozy was, obviously, a super star. Don't tell anybody my secret but... When I set the course, I did it with the explicit hope that I'd ride it with Doozy. Not to say I made it easier or harder, per se, but I did set it hoping to ride it.  jump 9: it's better than bad log, it's good log! (yea yea not a barbie reference but iykyk) Most of these starter jumps are brand new too -- and omg SO CUTE!! The gal** who built us 9 new starter fences this year absolutely slayed in the construction --- straight up well built jumps, and also each of them unique in profile and style. And all built exactly 2' dimensionally -- perfect for setting to fit! (**Fun fact: it's a very female-forward event, with lady organizers, ground jury, designers, judges, and even one of the builders now!!) punky knows! Doozy hasn't actually done any 2'3 classes yet... But, eh, I figured that these are very nice jumps, and should therefore jump well. And ya know, she's brave and seems to enjoy the job! not gonna lie, it was really useful to FINALLY get to actually ride jumps i set So we went out and jumped 'em all. Doozy had about a month off from jumping after Thornridge, when she got kicked a couple times, and we've kinda eased back into it. I haven't really let her out to go canter courses again yet.  jump 10: stereotypical bench And I didn't for this schooling, either, even tho she made it a bit clear that she felt somewhat constricted at times. But actually, weirdly --- I like the way she's telling me she feels constricted. Bc she's being so honest. So genuine. Even as she's like, "ugh this fucking trotting everything is bullshit!1!", she's .... still getting better at it! jump 11: barbie dream house! Which, honestly, is the whole point. I want her to keep getting better at arriving to her fences. And patience is a key to that. I expect that at the actual horse show, I'll let her roll on a bit more. And hopefully it'll mean we can find a good rhythm together... But at least with this "pre-work" she should have a good idea about what we're doing out there! link to helmet cam video here Anyway, virtual cookies if you read all of this lol. the best time <3 It was a great ride with a great friend, and I'm so grateful this special little mare of mine was game to play! my sweet little dream doll <3 <3 Wish us luck for the weekend that we can hold on to this feeling of really just enjoying and appreciating the ride together!... [Read more]

Charlie moved to his new farm yesterday. I'd be a big fat liar if I didn't admit to having pretty complicated feelings about it all.  homeboy hasn't stepped onto a trailer in almost exactly one year... still a pro tho <3 <3 Sadness at leaving.... leaving a lot of happy memories (for both me and presumably Charlie); leaving friends; leaving familiarity... was slightly suspicious unloading across the street from the new neighbors tho! Sadness at facing the reality that this is probably Charlie's official transition into at least semi-retirement. (Bc the denial** has been very strong with yours truly for a very long time...). (**Tho he's actually looking pretty sound right now, even tho we pulled his hind shoes a couple weeks ago! Like, maybe sound enough for some toodling around!! Probably not ever sound again for "work," but ehhhh toodling would be nice!) was immediately right at home inside this nice traditional barn. they even made him a fancy nice new name placard! But I also feel relief. Like a burden has been lifted. For years, now, I've had to be a ruthless and zealous advocate for my horses in the face of frankly indifferent management. If I wanted my horses to receive a basic minimum level of care, it was up to *me* to make it happen. Going more than 2-3 days in a row without a trip to the barn was absolutely out of the question. stalls are BIG That has all changed for Charlie, now. His new barn has the most wonderful and relaxed vibes. They were ready for us, and Charlie settled in immediately. got to chill in his new stall with a snack and some hay for a few minutes before turnout In some ways, the barn reminds me a lot of where Isabel lived (minus the lesson program). It's small, intimate, laid back --- with a lot of people who basically just love their horses and enjoy horsey pursuits, in a whole variety of flavors.  charlie and avi moved together, which is nice bc they've already lived together for years Obvi most of my decision to move Charlie here revolved around general lifestyle for him -- like turnout. I've always tended to prefer large group turnout for Charlie, but it's increasingly difficult to find (land prices being what they are). And where you can find it, it's often done at the expense of the land itself.  instantly at home <3 <3 That's honestly the biggest reason Charlie stayed where he was for so long --- straight up access to large tracts of grassy pasture.  The new place is different in that it's predominantly paddocks instead of pasture, tho the paddocks are HUGE. And the number of horses kept on the grounds is an explicit function of what the land can support. For example -- there are at least another half dozen empty stalls in the barn. But mgmt will not fill those stalls bc the *paddocks* are already at capacity.  these "paddocks" are unbelievable. relentlessly managed to ensure continual grass  Paddocks are rotated carefully, with 1 of the 7 always vacant and resting at any given time. They keep 2-3 horses in a paddock at any given time, and in this way manage to continue growing grass through the season.  all this, plus automatic waterers and a run in shed That attention to detail, that careful planning and management.... It all honestly kinda hit me like a ton of bricks LOL, after years of... well... the absence of any of that haha. I was basically like, "Woweee, who do I make the check out to??" lol... obvi they were quite interested in their mare neighbors, but even more interested in #datgrass It is, in fact, a working riding barn, too. Charlie might be the only semi-retiree here. So you can expect to get a tour of the new riding facilities eventually.  They are relatively humble in scale, but quite nice and complete. There's an attached indoor with nice fiber footing that gets dragged regularly. And the outdoor ring is actually pretty generous in size -- I estimate it's about the same size as the outdoor dressage court at the old place. i haven't moved all my stuff yet, but the tack is transferred. just in case! There are apparently trails, too. And every time I've been there so far -- whether for tours or actually moving in -- there have been a variety of people all out and about doing things with their horses.  then back to doozy's barn for a bittersweet schooling ride Honestly. I have high hopes. I have a good feeling. This farm is farther from my house than either the old place, or Doozy's future place -- but it's triangulated fairly conveniently between the two, such that if I'm already at one barn, it's quite easy to get on over to the other. So that's the plan for now. she's still got a little time left at this farm, but these strolls are numbered.... It was easy enough to get back to the old place after tucking Charlie in for the night, and still have time for a wonderfully pleasant (and pleasantly productive!) jump school on the redhead.  The times, they are a changin', folks! Still a little more time tho before I rip the bandaid off completely....... [Read more]

It isn't exactly ideal to ship out for lessons two days in a row... But then again, it was also quite convenient not having to unpack the trailer in the rain after our jump lesson with Sally, knowing we'd be going right back out again the next day to see dressage trainer C! the countdown til the move is on, but in the meantime -- we're fitting in lots of adventures with our favorite barn mates!! this time = dressage lessons with Amy + Punky!! Amy and I have had this lesson on the books for a few weeks now, and we were both pretty excited. And ya know, now that the cat is out of the bag re: moving my horses to new barns in the next couple weeks, it feels important to soak up as much fun with my best barn friends while we're all still housed under the same roof. mare showed up for our turn too! Doozy was an absolute super star waiting for our turn, including loading politely back on the trailer without the aid of a second human during a brief rain shower. We've been getting more serious about stripping away reliance on external help for loading, given the impending change in circumstances, and so far so good.  insert random flashback to the horse i bought in August 2023 Then the sun came out, and Amy and Trainer C moved to the outdoor to finish the lesson with a little test riding. So Doozy and I meandered over to hand graze until our turn. Good mare. it never looks how it feels, not gonna lie Admittedly, once it was our turn, Doozy lit up a little bit, as is her way... I gave Trainer C the rundown on our last month of work -- namely that it was mostly downtime, but that we'd been working on homework since picking back up about a week ago. And that it was going really well! her moments of bracing+racing look... honestly pretty mild to the camera So Trainer C opted to guide us through a continuation of progressive exercises aimed at bringing Doozy into better balance and posture. We basically did two main big stints of work -- one of which is captured almost entirely in the video below. One direction per stint, tho, so if you're confused as to why we're tracking left in all these photos, it's bc that's what we have on video. tho, obvi haha... not every moment looks quite so lovely either LOL We started with some work on spiraling, with Trainer C reminding me to be really precise on my outside aids in the work. In other words, now that we've established bend to the inside, with a neutral consistent outside rein, it's time to stabilize the outside aids even more -- and reintroduce staying straight on the outside aids.  she's definitely figuring it out tho As we spiraled in to a smaller 15m circle, she reminded me to keep ourselves equidistant all the way around from where she stood stationary on the center. Then, very gently, feeling like I could actually counter bend at any moment (so as to not "fall" out), start pushing with a leg yield feeling back to the full 20m circle.   we're both focusing so hard here haha We repeated this a few times, then would find a good moment to leave the circle and continue travling straight down the quarter line, aiming to slowly, oh-so-slowly, leg yield back to the rail.  mare can walk tho It's crazy watching the video bc it felt like Doozy wanted to Blast Off! into trot as soon as we hit the straight line. Felt like we were jusssst barely contained. But ya know. Doesn't really look it. Go figure lol.  not quiiiiite so sure about the lateral stuff yet tho LOL Tho Trainer C definitely saw it, and worked on coaching us into containing all that forward energy. We'd get into one end of the ring, do a circle or two to again establish straightness on the outside aids, and then come down the quarter line for a leg yield.  Tho, given Doozy's proclivity for zipping on down the line, Trainer C instructed us to come down to walk half way through the leg yield -- but while still actively moving laterally -- and then pick up the trot again. honestly can't wait until we have enough tools to properly channel this trot tho I'm not gonna lie, this was really hard work. Doozy is without a doubt the hardest horse I've ridden, it feels like every single step takes careful management. Tho, interestingly enough, it really doesn't look it in the video LOL. But I was absolutely puffed after a bit of this work in each direction.  in time, tho, all in good time A couple times Doozy wanted to blast off into canter, as she does, but Trainer C more or less said she wouldn't let her call the shots at this point. The mare knows enough now to start learning how to cope better with being "contained." Yes yes, the running is fun. But ya know. Sometimes ya gotta earn it! link to clip from lesson After repeating the whole series of exercises tracking right, we finished the ride with just a few short repetitions of a figure-8, mostly to give Doozy a chance to confirm that she learned the lesson of the day. And she did, good girl!! she's getting quite good at traveling tho! Watching the video is useful for helping me understand both some points of homework, but also areas where we're getting stronger. An exciting feeling! Homework includes continuing to work on sitting more on my left side, particularly while tracking left (a particular weakness of mine), and continuing to stabilize and lower that outside hand. And continuing to try to keep a lively nuanced touch to the contact, vs a dead hold.  Areas of strength, tho? Doozy is developing rhythm! Sorta! Like we might *almost* be ready to try playing with the metronome again! I also feel like I'm seeing some improvements in my rider posture, or at least fewer obvious asymmetries.  Plenty more to do, as always LOL. But feels like progress. We'll take it!! And we'll definitely be back for more, regardless of barn moves!!... [Read more]

We finally made it back to another jump lesson with Sally, yay!! And it was honestly really really great, maybe hopefully continuing on our recent theme of 'breakthroughs.' back for another lesson at the beautiful Kealani with Sally C! I actually hadn't jumped the horse since the Thornridge CT almost exactly one month ago... Recall I was out of town for a week, and then the mare kept finding new and exciting ways to get her best friend Rosette to kick her... Mare. Pls.  this horse is an actual professional at the trailer now. 15min from unloaded to mounted, nbd. But it was all good. I'd actually kinda waffled over maybe jumping a little bit at home in the days leading up to the lesson... But ultimately decided not to.  wheeeee jompies!!!! It felt like we were kinda having a good 'moment' with that whole 'inside bend' breakthrough, and also figured if we were gonna knock some rust off, might as well do so under Sally's expert guidance. is it really 'counter bent' if it's 'counter canter' ?? #asking4afriend And ultimately I'm happy with that choice. From the perspective of 'exercises' or whatever, it was a VERY basic jumping lesson. We exclusively trotted into single fences, one at a time.  bold mare will be bold to the boxes And honestly? That was perfect. Like, sure, we have cantered around some courses at competitions. But we've also made a few mistakes. Remember Doozy squirting out of the combination at Thornridge bc we got there a little bit forward and she didn't seem to quite have a confident answer?  d'awwww lookie at her go! She's a bold game mare, the jumping is easy for her. But sorta in the same way she doesn't really philosophically agree with... trotting... She kinda feels like jumping is maybe a task best done FAST. Except. Ya know. It absolutely is not LOL... wait no omg not like that And this ride was the perfect little microcosm of all of our schooling to date: She started out bold and easy, then grew strong. And then stronger. At first, even when she'd make a bid for the fences, they'd still come comfortably out of stride.  lololol ok she mayyyyy have gotten a little fired up But then as she became increasingly strong (and as I managed to somehow not really change anything at all whatsoever in my ride...), things got a little more frantic and a little less comfortable.  pictured: fired up Sally is the best tho, so practical. So methodical. She advised that we basically hold onto the walk until alllllmost reaching the jump, and then trot. And Doozy.... lapped it up, actually. She went for the fence, but held her trot, and then put all her pieces together for a lovely effort, vs just flinging herself over. pictured: toning it wayyyy back down again, walking almost to the fence Honestly it's all in the video -- you can see us sorta unspooling, and then see Doozy really just have one of those "click" moments after walking to the fence.  turns out, she liked the balanced jump better than the fling, GO FIGURE It also helped at this point in the ride that I remembered to try actually utilizing some of those buttons we installed earlier in the week relating to inside bend off inside leg. And I started sitting my trot on the approaches and using the bend to try to help Doozy hold a better posture.  this horse, i swear, she really wants to be good -- the better i can help her find the comfortable way, the more she wants to go there But honestly, the change was all her. It's like she felt the difference in how comfortable it was to jump from balance, and was just like, "OH, ok." omg ok here's a little bit of pictorial proof of that whole inside bend thing we've worked on <3 <3 Whatever the case, I'll take it! So our last few efforts of the lesson were quite pleasant, and we were actually able to carry on canter in decent balances on the back side of fences, vs trying to pull a bolting mare to a stop. eeeee lovely over the barrels to finish! Doozy is so brave, none of the fill or anything bugs her. Sally even made us jump the barrels, which obvi I knew Doozy would do, but also said *I* didn't wanna lol. (Luckily Sally doesn't particularly care what I do or do not wanna do!). quite pleased with this kiddo I honestly think this horse really wants to just be a good girl. She wants to do the right thing. Seems to quite enjoy this game, actually. But she also just doesn't really understand it yet (esp when it comes to speed). Sally reminded me that it is part of my job to know more than the horse, and sometimes that means protecting the horse from their own instincts.  link to video clips here Sally was also really realistic in her advice for me. I can get really preoccupied in thinking about how it *should* be, but she's always very quick to remind me that... Yea, ok, sure, but also ride the horse you have RIGHT NOW, to get to the horse you *think* you *should* have later. The horse is still just really really green. It'll take time, but that's A-OK. clever girl <3 Doozy, for her part, was a super star. You'd have never guessed she had an hour-long meltdown last time she came for a lesson here. She's grown up and matured so much in the last few months.  Like, even if maybe it kinda looks like we're still doing the same stuff under saddle, it FEELS completely different. Feels like the horse understands so much better now too, and like I have a little more say in the matter.  Whatever the case, Sally advised to keep getting her out. Keep exposing her. Which, ya know, hopefully that's the plan!... [Read more]

Charlie has lived at his farm since 2017, almost exactly seven years now. And it's been 10 years since I started shipping in for lessons here with Isabel. How time flies! pictured: a group of silly boys looking restless in their hot buggy midday turnout It's a lovely farm, with extensive grounds, riding facilities, turnout, and a lot of freedom. Plus all the other boarders --- they are some of my best friends!  when you're dry lotted weirdly late into spring, even the trees start looking tasty i guess? But ya know. As with all things, this place is run by humans. And humans will be what they will be. This multigenerational family farm is slowly, oh-so-slowly, creeping toward an eventual changing of hands, from one generation to the next.  finally moved to the summer pastures (just behind the tree line) but... now it's hot buggy and miserable during the day... most local farms doing 12/12 turnout already switched to nights out, days in... but, eh, not here, where the changing of seasons is a perpetual unexpected surprise! And.... There is a LOT of uncertainty with that, with a not unrealistic expectation of a possibly bumpy ride. Well. Real talk. It's been bumpy already.  the herd is small enough that it's not unusual for all but 1 or 2 to be in for rides at the same time notably -- the other geldings herd has something like 10 horses, compared to this group's 5... Charlie spent some of his best years here, but if I'm honest with myself, his herd life hasn't been great for a while now. I used to always tell myself that, even if *I* wasn't happy with the care or management, at least my horse was happy! But... That's just not really true anymore. It's not the same farm from a decade ago, let alone 5 years. trying to at least look semi presentable for first impressions! Add in the difficulties with getting onsite lessons... and... yea. It's time. It's been time. So both of my horses are moving this month. Tho... somewhat gut wrenchingly, they're going to different places. At least for the time being.  freshly shampooed mane = check Charlie is moving first, hopefully in just a few more days. And he's moving with another horse from his herd. His new barn is very different -- much smaller, quieter, more intimate, but well managed with good casual vibes. I honestly can't wait! clean + brushed tail = double check Doozy will move later in the month. We have a few bits of unfinished business around here to button up --- including hopefully a few last hurrahs with all our favorite riding buddies!  just a few more days, boys! (red head pictured here is moving with us) I'm honestly excited, and maybe a bit relieved, too. It's time. Part of why I went out on a limb with a new horse this year was to push myself, ya know? To not get lulled into complacency or get so comfortable with the status quo that... maybe isn't really all it could be, ya know?  There's more I want to do, more I want to learn, and getting out into a new environment could be just the shot in the arm I'm looking for. Like, think about it: It's hard to go out among new people and be like, "Oh yea, I've done things, been places, I know what's up!" when I quite literally may or may not be able to reliably trot my horse around on a circle.  oh icee, we were just getting to know you! Maybe it'll be a reality check, right? Or just the motivation I need to be serious and disciplined. We shall see, right? -- it's (quite obviously) all still ahead of us.  In the meantime, my head is buzzing with all the nitty gritty practicalities of having my horses in two different places. How to split inventory? What can be realistically divvied up, and what needs to be duplicated at each farm? I've always been that person who has everything, from power tools to charging cables to all the random hand tools and gadgets and medicines and spare everything in multiple sizes.  But... Now all of that is going to have to get organized, assessed, and fit into new and different spaces. here's to new open doors windows! So, eh, definitely lmk if you have tips or tricks for keeping horses in multiple locations -- esp when it comes to what supplies and equipment to just buy more of to have in both places, vs what's reasonably easy to move back and forth.... Also let me know if you have any good tips for moving (horse) house. It might be easy to forget, but Charlie is my first horse, and he's lived at this farm for almost the entire time I've owned him. I, personally, have ridden at a fairly wide variety of farms, including drawing paychecks (in cold hard cash or in-kind credit, and everything in between), from half a dozen farms... But ya know. Every place is different.  Success stories are welcome. Or ya know.... instructive nightmarish stories of "what not to do," or "dear lord that should have been a red flag!" are also always a good time (esp if they can help the rest of us avoid similar fates!)!!... [Read more]

Happy long weekend for readers in the US, happy Monday to the rest of y'all. We've had a pleasantly quiet week around these parts, easing more or less gently (if somewhat damp from all the sweating...) into summer. my sweet beautiful red mare. i swear, sometimes i really do groom her! Last you heard of my intrepid red rockette, we had a dressage lesson originally planned as preparation for another show. She had been kicked, tho, so we missed other prep and I was on the fence about the show even tho it was a great lesson.  stall noshies are best noshies Well, she got kicked again, ugh (mare tho, really??), and this time was pretty sore. So. Eh. We took a little time off, and are just now getting back onto the weekly schedule again.  oh yea... also, she got kicked AGAIN. this time a direct hit to her hock It's honestly all good, tho. That earlier dressage lesson was really valuable and timely, esp with letting Trainer C sorta zero on in what she sees as our most immediate key issues. Number 1 among them? Inside Bend.  "my legggg, it hurtssss" --- sad mare diary entry #1,034 And the second biggest issue? (at least from my perspective...) My outside hand's general fuckery. Bc as far as I'm concerned, these two issues are related. I think I've been riding Doozy fairly counter-bent mostly as an emergency braking mechanism, with that outside hand ready and willing to do whatever to bring that train to a whoa. not a significant wound, but a big ol' hot swollen bruise right on the joint It's really just in the last couple days that we've gotten back into daily schooling sessions again (vs general hack-abouts), and that's been my primary focus: inside bend. But always.  in the meantime, somehow without any of us noticing, doozy turned into an extremely pleasant hacking horse! I'm trying to keep my outside hand literally pinned to the saddle, and my inside leg straight down under me, but **on** the horse to push out for a leg yield feel (with outside leg also down under vs braced out in front doing only-god-knows-what), and inside rein just working that lateral supple --- keeping Doozy's nose visible to the inside. she doesn't do the gates yet, but honestly isn't far off! Sometimes Doozy wants to Ping! off the leg contact and shoot off... Often she wants to fall in toward the inside flexion vs staying up straight and moving off the inside leg... And occasionally she wants to go whole hog and exaggerate the whole exercise, falling wayyyyy out onto her outside shoulder with hyper inside flexion.  she is, however, the "normal" one My job, as it may be, is to basically not get distracted or baited by any of these slightly not-quite-right responses, and to just stay hyper disciplined on the one thing I'm asking for: inside bend while moving off the inside leg. That's it. Beginning and end.  Like in the case where she goes way overboard and falls out on the outside shoulder? Fiiiiine. Good girl, that is inside the line I've drawn. (And we'll refine later, right?) the most pleasantest <3 <3 <3 I also keep repeating in my head advice from erstwhile coach Dan C, when he said, "If what you're doing isn't working, slow it down." Always good advice for Doozy, let's be real. But also good for me to remember that instead of just sorta spiraling into some weird pretzel-y tug of war at trot... Just come back to walk again, and reestablish the posture.  shift gears to --- spring clean up! holy f'ing lord how did i get so many blankets?! also. ahem. yes, these are CLEAN. i SWEAR. stop looking so closely tho omg And guys! Omg, it's working! Absolutely ground breaking to find that.... inside leg to outside rein actually like, WORKS and stuff! We had three rides in a row last week that kinda blew my mind, not gonna lie. Not bc they were like, amazing or whatever. But bc it finally felt like I could lay down some mortar on Day 1, put some bricks on it on Day 2, and by Day 3 --- we actually had a solid wall!! just doing normal dooz things The first ride really sucked, tho. Not gonna lie. Again, we'd had some time off, Doozy hadn't done any proper schooling in a little while. She was wild. Friends riding with us were cantering and doing things. It was stressful and hot and Doozy had a white lather on her neck despite us not doing anything more than walk and trot. Oh and I also damn near fell off at one point.... shifting gears again: it's the most wonderful time of the year, guys!! lookiee at all my pretttttiessss!!! But it resolved well. And I reminded myself that what I'm looking for is a response, a feeling. It doesn't matter if that feeling comes from just walking. The feeling is what matters, and what I want to end a ride on.  why yes, we are embracing a barbie theme this year, why do you ask? The next ride was... very different. We rode in a different ring -- the dressage ring instead of the jump ring -- and we were alone. Actually, it was the middle of the day on a week day so the whole farm was quiet. And we just picked right back up where we left off the day before.  poor Icee, tho, not his favorite time of year! it's hard being a svelte pelted Barn Panther in this humidity! Doozy still sweated more than what was necessary, but seemed less stressed. Actually seemed to be thinking and thoughtful. Focused on ME, not the wider world. Obvi since we were alone I basically spent the whole time singing her praises and verbally encouraging her through every step (which she loves), but she really seemed to get it.  turns out, tho, the heat makes this Icicle a Nice-icle!! we'll take it! We actually **Trotted** OMG. Sounds stupid. Isn't tho. It's real, it's where we are, and we celebrate the trot, yo! Went through a few cycles of repetitions too, to confirm that the feelings were reproducible. Got canters on both leads -- including the right lead that's been a bit elusive with her kick-sore hock, and then a little more trot, and a LOT more praise. Short sweet, and done.  speaking of nice!! look who showed up in one of my lockers --- hello snek fren, pls take care of the source of all those mouse turds! Third ride really proved the whole concept. Which, again, is staying really hyper focused on extremely basic and gentle fundamentals: inside bend, moving off inside leg. Nothing more, nothing less. Not "on the bit," not leg yields, not shortening or extending a gait. Just.... Inside bend, moving off inside leg.  a better nice tho --- cute pony frens  And guys, Doozy clearly felt like she'd had a breakthrough. Like she's starting to understand that... Yes, I'm asking her to do specific things. But... It isn't really hard, and it's definitely not fast. She just needs to tune in, trust me, and try.  doozy looking sweaty and tired after her 2nd ride of what was a 3-day breakthrough session And the moments where she gets it??? Omg, GREAT!! She's obvi got a HUGE trot in there, but she also has a stretchy trot just waiting to be understood. And a collected trot too --- tho obvi will need a lot more strength and balance for that.  figuring life out, learning lessons and stuff <3 Once this horse really understands that, actually, we kinda just wanna trot for the sake of trotting... I think she'll love it haha. But for now, we'll keep staying hyper focused on the basics --- and keep taking lessons --- and see where that gets us! On that note, hopefully a few more lessons coming this week! Hope you all have a wonderful Memorial Day Weekend too!... [Read more]