Big BreakThrough With May!

Fiiiiiinally! Don't you just love when  you work at something so consistently for so long and it finally comes together! It has taken a lot of patience and dedication but yesterday when I practiced with May I could feel her starting to get it. We did a lot of slow patterns with big emphasis on her slowing down with my seat and the voice command "EASY" when coming into the barrel and when I went to run one I could feel her really slowing down. The best part is we did it WITOUT having to snatch her face off or 'slam her down' like a lot of people insisted I would have to. I walked her out and praised her like crazy and even put a few treats in  her feed. What a good girl!

Moose and I also had some what of a breakthrough yesterday. The ride started off a little difficult. He was very strong and forward due to the wind and because I hadn't rode him in six days but I just hung with him and let him trot out his energy and than come back to me. After a while he started relaxing and moving VERY nice. I wish I could have gotten some video or pictures. His transitions were even a lot smoother and he wasn't pulling and was staying together in the downward transitions a lot better instead of falling all apart! GREAT improvement. At the end I let him go over a small cross rail a few times just because he was so good but I think I'm gonna keep the serious jumping for just during lessons so that I don't teach him (or myself) any bad habbits. As much as we both love it I would rather be safe than sorry. He is also getting too excited when we jump so when I'm not doing lessons or flat work I'm going to do alot of cavelleti to get him to slow down and pick his feet up and think. Maybe even some very small jumps in succession so he has to stay in control and pay attention. I will see what our trainer says during our lesson next week.

Horse-nalities! (Riley)

And no I'm not talking about the clinician kind. I'm just talking about horse personalities. They are all very different just like people. You can learn a lot about a horse by just watching how they interact with the others in the pasture. Are they dominant or submissive? Who are their buddies? Do they like to run around a lot and play or prefer to take naps and graze the day away?


Cantering bridless bareback in the arena.



"Free Jumping" with Riley

Barrel racing at Lazy W. We got 2nd in 1D!

Riley has a very unique personality. If you don't know him he can be hard to read and he is not as quick to trust like some horses are. When I first got him we didn't get along at all. He was my mother's horse and he was a BUTT! He had pretty much been a pasture pet his entire life so in the saddle he was very strung out and all over the place. He braced against the bit and was very lazy. He didn't want to be messed with and would have been perfectly content with no human interaction for the rest of his life (except for food of course) He was given to me after my first horse Khemo, a little bay Egyptian Arabian, injured his shoulder when we both took a bad spilll and would be off for three months, it was also pretty evident he would bever become the barrel racer like I dreamed off. Khemo had been my first horse and he taught me a lot and it pained me to sell him but I knew if I wanted to be serious about the barrel racing I would have to. I sold him to a close friend (whose dad, ironically, ended up marrying my mom so now Khemo is happily grazing in the pastures at their home, fat and happy like he deserves :) ) who mostly played with him on the ground and took great care of him. The best part was they boarded him at the barn where I was so I could see him anytime. After that I still didn't have enough money to buy another horse so Mom gave me Riley. It was a long and challenging road but in the end our bond is stronger and deeper than if we hadn't had to over come all the obstacles. Riley is dominant in the pasture but some what of a loner. He rarely ever gets bit or kicked because he keeps to himself. He doesn't take any crap but he won't start it either. Lately he has been sort of hanging with May. I think its funny how horses that belong to the same people kind of band together and form their own 'mini herds' sometimes. It's even funnier because they used to H-A-T-E eachother. Riley is very laid back but would do anything in the world I asked of him. He is definetly my 'heart and soul horse' and I know I will never have another one like him. I can barrel race him or trail ride or chase cattle or do trail competitions or just hop on bridless bareback if I want. Two years in a row we competed in the Alabama competetive trail competition and both years got second in our age group by less than 2 points. He is also my trick horse. He bows, picks stuff up, parks out, rears on cue, gives kisses, sits like a dog (in water :P), nods his head yes and no, 'shakes' like a dog and in the saddle I tried to teach him the Spanish walk but he ended up only doing it with one leg so now we call it his "one legged Lippizaner walk" LOL My friends and I joke that if Riley was a person he would be the big sarcastic jock. He is very independent by nature which makes our bond even more special as he is so trusting in me. I have been the only one to ride him for so long and he has so many cues and 'buttons' that when other people get on him he kind of just shuts down. He doesn't do anything bad, he just doesn't do anything PERIOD. lol He is a one person horse. He is a very sweet and loving horse but in his own way. He's like a big dog but not in the "in your pocket" kind of way. His shows of affection are more subtle: a soft nicker, pressing his head to my chest or resting his soft velevety nose on my cheek. I am so blessed to have him and would truly be lost without him.

"My horses feet are swift as rolling thunder
He carries me away from all my fears
and when the world threatens to fall asunder
His mane is there to wipe away my tears"

Riding Riley over an onstacle at the trail competition

Teaching Riley to lay down and sit. We started in water.

Cue-ing Riley to rear

All parked out and he ain't even a walker! :P

Bowing on cue

Picking up a halter on cue

Race Recap Saturday March 26, 2011

The race went well. We fell in the crack between the 2D and the 3D which means we were too fast for 3D and too slow for 2D. I was fine with this though because we had a clean run and Riley tried pretty hard even though he had never raced there before. Also he slipped pretty bad on first but caught himself. Second barrel was almost bad but I could feel him fixing to duck and turn before the barrel and pushed him past it. It was a huuuuge pen, apparently where Troy University does there competitions. Very nice well groomed arena but by far the biggest we have run in. Riley, as I have said before, is a very 'ratey' horse and really sits down around a barrel. He goes into the chute hunting them and does very well with small indoor pens or large outdoor pens. (May on the other hand would have ate. this. pen. UP! She thrives in the bigger pens because she is so quick in the straight aways and is more of a free runner, definitely not very 'ratey' on her own. I hope to take her next time we race there!)This was a small indoor and I think maybe he got a little confused and anticipated the turn.  He is used to the indoor pens being small. As we were coming into second I could feel him wanting to turn right before or right on top of the barrel but luckily I tapped him with my inside foot and he went on and turned the barrel close but didn't touch it. Third was good and he ran home fine but we slowed down before we hit the timer. It felt like he ran out of gas. He is in pretty good shape but maybe I need to work on his cardiovascular strength? Longer distances of extended trotting and slow loping perhaps? The fastest, clean, time of the day (that I saw) was a 16.9. Beautiful pattern they ran but also goes to show how big the pen is. We clocked an 18.2 which is good but he is capable of much better. Still besides the pen being big there was a lot of distractions, cows everywhere in holding pens in preparation for the roping event that was after the race, and just lots of things he wasn't used to seeing at just barrel races. Riley seemed to love the cows. He wasn't scared of them at all and every time we passed a bunch he perked up and tried to stick his nose through the fence at them. Poor cows were terrified lol. Sadly, I did not get any pictures of us racing but I do have one of Riley and Tovah (my dog) and of Riley checking out the cows. 

I was surprised by how kind Riley was to Tovah at the show. Usually he HATES her especially when she tries to lick his nose, he pins his ears and squeals! Silly boy.

I will have an update coming on Moose and May later today or tomorrow. They are both well but I haven't been doing much other than feeding and grooming them due to all the rain. Moose has become quite the jealous butt in the pasture and took a chunk of hair out of May when she got to close to me. I just hope he isn't brave enough to try that with Riley because he will regret it! lol Riley isn't a dominant, problem starter, but he doesn't take any crap either. Well, I'm off to go doctor the injured (luckily none of which are mine!) and feed and groom my mud ponies! :)

Quirks: The Little Things That Make Our Horses Who They Are!

All horses have them. It is not one big thing but rather a thousand little things that make these magnificent creatures what they are. And the best part is: Their all different! One of my favorite things about working with horses is learning all their quirks and personalities.  All three of mine have a few things that make them alike but over all they are very, very different horses.
Riley is my best friend, partner, 'child', and deepest heart. His personality and mine go together great. In some ways we are a contrast but in many we are so alike from riding together so many years that some times all I have to do is think something and he responds. Some of our best times together were the most subtle and silent. Riley has a few funny quirks. He yawns whenever you brush or scratch his chin, he always licks and chews when I put his protective leg boots on for racing, he pees after every ride before he eats and if you accidentally pull one of his whisker hairs he squeals.  

Moose is my goofball and his quirks are totally different from Riley or May's. I think his are partially developed from having been stalled and for so long and they were a boredom reliever. Some of his most notable are he stretches on his own EVERY morning after I ask him to bow, he drools worse than a Saint Bernard almost all the time(though he has been vetted it's just him! haha) if he gets anxious or bored he will start flipping his lips around and making funny faces or even "dancing" by rocking his head up and down exactly like a parrot does.  He is very sensitive and I have to brush him very carefully, especially around his flanks, he loves the insides of his ears to be scratched and he nickers almost constantly.

May is my ball of fire. Most of her quirks I think are just product of being a hormonal, attitude filled mare. She never offers to kick or bite but when I push her over while she is eating she sometimes squeals. She loves to lick stuff: your hand, the fence, her bucket, another horse...haha and with the constant licking she likes to stick her tongue out. When she gets through eating or drinking she always lolls her tongue for a few seconds and it makes for some cute pictures.  Everyday when I go to pick her feet she always intentionally picks up the OPPOSITE foot first and when I horse her she always tries to step on the hose. At first I thought is was coincidental but now I see her shift around and step on it than sometimes she tries to refuse to move. Some days she comes trotting up to me nickering and others she walks away with her ears pinned. Awww for the love of a mare :)

Knowing your horses quirks and personalities is also very important. It helps you to know if you horse isn't feeling so well one day or just acting plain out different. The next post I write will be on personalities so stay tuned!

Thinking About Our Future In The Show Ring...

Moose is a very forward guy. He loves to move. He loves to run and he loves to jump and he loves trail riding and well, anything that gets him on the go! Very true to his racing background. He isn't crazy like some horses get or overly hot but I have noticed he get bored pretty easily. When he gets bored sometimes he will pull a little bit and his transitions get sloppy. He isn't really bad about it and I know this comes with the territory of being green but I'm starting to wonder about his future as a Dressage horse, even on the lowest levels. Right now I am thinking we may just lean more to (low level) jumping and just see where we get. We are both still so green and have a lot to learn. Anything could change at this point but for now we will train in that direction. Of course basic fundamentals at this point are more important than anything else, and we will only jump once or twice a week but he definitely seems to just LOVE to jump. He never ceases to amaze me when he takes a 'scary' jump as if it is nothing. Even when he has his doubt he seems to say "well Ok I trust you" and goes for it with all he has. I certainly don't want to over face him and we wont be going over 3 foot for a long time. As I have said before until both of us are completely balanced and comfortable with it and get the go ahead from the trainer. On our lesson Monday he did really well. We spent majority of the time working on leg yields in the trot and transitions. He picked up his right lead the first time I asked...YAY for progress!!! When we finally got to jumping we did some ground poles and small ones than the 3 foot vertical. he did well but we were out of sync a couple of times so we went back down. Sometimes we seem perfectly together and sometimes...not. P, the trainer, talked a lot about learning distances and strides coming up to the jump and keeping his straight both before and after the jump. That for us so far is the most difficult aspect. Learning the distances and canter strides coming into a jump. We have been working a lot on lengthening and shortening his stride and he is starting to respond fairly well. Again we are 'greenies' and have a lot to learn but I am proud of him and happy with our progress thus far. We ended on a good note and I walked him out and gave him a  good hose down and fed him before walking across the road and hand grazing him for a while.

Riley and May are doing well. I have been working Riley everyday this week in preparation for the race we have this Saturday. I will work him today than give him Thursday and Friday off so he is fresh and ready. It is just an Open barrel race. No other classes and the arena is supposed to be nice. It is one I haven't been to before and we are excited! I won't be taking May for a few reasons. I still want to get a few more practices in on the rating before I take her again and also I am hauling with a friend who only has one open spot. I am just thankful I am getting to go! Hopefully someone will take a camera so I can get more race pics to post on here. Today Im going to do loooots of long trotting with Riley and maybe a little hill work to change it up than a hose down and good grooming so he is race ready! Hope everyone is having a great week!!

Bedazzled Horses!

Yep thats right, we did the unthinkable....we bedazzled our MALE horses LOL

Well, not exactly. Yesterday was one of my best friends' horse's birthday. JoJo who is a totally awesome walking horse turned 8 yesterday! He is what we call a 'barrel bending walking mule'! He barrel races, pole bends, gaits and looks rather mule-ish with his big face and giant ears! We got some (safe washable) blue hair spray paint with glitter and sprayed their manes, tails, forelocks, and wrote their names on their hips. We than rode them up the road to the nearby gas station where we were given free drinks and peppermints and carrots for the horses.....SCORE!

Now onto the pik-chas!!! :)

I will add more later when Erkle (JoJo's owner) uploads them so I can steal them :D so stay tuned!

3-14-11 Jumping Pictures

I have two jumping pictures from yesterday of Moosey and me jumping just under 3 feet. I was so proud of him. I also took one of him right after his bath. I gave him a big bath and show sheened his mane and tail and he looked sooooo pretty and than it rained! fml jk I guess now he will just be suuuuuper clean.....at least until he rolls :) Enjoy