Bittersweet: Tribute to Kiley

Today is a bittersweet day. I want to tell you about how much FUN I had last night with Riley 'trick or treating' through the neighborhoods but first...I will do a little tribute to Kiley. Two years ago today I lost my 4 month old Quarter horse filly, Kiley. I had only had her for 2 months but oh how you can become SO attached in such a short period of time. I had gotten Kiley from a guy who is a total JERK and didn't need horses to begin with. Kiley, her mother and her older sister were in a barb wire fenced in pasture with no feed and only a nasty little pond to drink from. Kiley's older sister who was a long yearling had one leg she was permanently cripple on due to an injury that had gone un treated. From the day Kiley was born I was in love with her. I would go in the pasture and play with her and I would always tell her how someday I would rescue her, "Someday Kiley, you are gonna be mine!" Well that day came soon enough when one day we found Kiley tangled up in the barb wire fence by one of her back legs. She was standing there so calmly but the barbwire was wrapped completely around her tiny leg, a few inches above her fetlock. I called my friend who lived right down the road and we cut her loose. My friend offered her owner $500 for all three horses and thankfully, he accepted. We took them home and my friend gave me Kiley. We called the vet out for her and he treated her and all seemed well...
 She was beautifully built and an amazing mover! I would often watch her canter perfectly in the pasture, stop, do the most beautiful little pivot on her hind end and than spring away! She was naturally athletic. Kiley's wound healed (or so we thought) and all was well until one day a few weeks after the injury I went out to find her with one leg grossly swollen. I instantly iced it and called our vet. He was out of town but told us to ice it and cold water hose and see if it went down. Monday morning, after treating it religiously all weekend, we found it to be worse so we called our vet than loaded her and her mother up and headed to Harrington. There, they took x rays and found that Kiley had a nasty bacteria eating away at her coffin bone. They thought it was clostridium and instantly started treating her aggressively with medicine. I was 17 at the time and spent over a thousand dollars trying to save her and would have done whatever to get ten thousand more if it would have saved her...She stayed at Harrington for a week and we took her back home for a week. That week I spent all day and all night washing her leg and giving her medicine and injections and cleaning her stall. I also had to tend to her mom as she wasn't weaned and wash her poor little tail and hind end as she had bad diarrhea from the medicine. I prayed and prayed and BEGGED God to please save her.  I swore I would do whatever it took, just please save her! But alas on October 31, 2008 her hoof capsule was starting to slough and she was becoming depressed. She had stayed so strong and happy up until now. We took her back to Harrington and with one last ditch effort to save her they took her into surgery to remove the hoof capsule. The outlook was poor but the vet told us if she had healthy viable lamina tissue she could possibly regenerate a new hoof. They said they had seen it happen before. I laid with her in her stall before they took her back and balled my eyes out. I didn't care who say me I just cried and held her and prayed with everything I had but told her good bye just in case. I told her I loved her and how amazing she was and what a fighter and than watched as they carried her away. It was 20 minutes later when the vet came out...shaking his head and told me her coffin bone was 'dead' and they put her down.

I turned away and sat down to keep from throwing up and passing out. I cried more that night and had conflicting thoughts about God...why hadn't he saved her? What had I done wrong? Could I have done more? Sometimes I still wonder... but time heals all wounds. There is still a hole left than could never be filled or replaced. I understand now that everything happens for a reason and I'm just thankful now that she has crossed the rainbow bridge and is galloping sound and beautiful in horsey heaven. She deserves it. If it wasn't for her I would have never found May. There is so much more I could write about her and her story. I could go on for days about how amazing she was and how everyone around her was touched by her good spirits and strength. All I can say now is that I am thankful I had the time with her that I did, and I'm thankful she at least had a few months of great quality life. I love you Kiley and thank you for teaching me what it means to truly to fight with everything you have. R.I.P my baby girl.

With all that being said right now I don't think I could muster the cheer to type. about how awesome last night was so I will save it for later today. For another post.  "Death leaves a heartache that no one can heal...but love leaves a memory that no one can steal." -Anon

Water woes..

When it rains it pours....or well at least here it does! We needed rain sooo bad but it would have been nice if we didn't get is all at one time.  Yesterday morning after all the rain the arena was pretty wet. Luckily it packs down good due to the sand so you can still ride. I stay along the rail though or the upper corners where it is most dry. The middle gets a little slick and creates a suction and I don't think that pulling would be good for tendons, so I avoid any bad areas. I rode Moose first and he did pretty good. He was not thrilled about the puddles in the arena but once he walked through a few of them he got over it. We did a lot more work at the trot. He's doing fairly well but still wanting to throw his head up a little bit. We picked it up to a canter and it became quickly apparent that he wasn't ready so I brought him back down to a trot. He didn't do anything crazy but he became super high headed and tense so we stayed at a trot the rest of the ride. Right now our main focus is for him to r-e-l-a-x and stay soft. After about twenty minutes he was warmed up and riding nice. He really moves good once he starts to relax. I also introduced some circles and started working on getting him "round" in his turns which he did ok with. Once he relaxed and became very responsive we called it a day.   Here is a pic my friend took of me hugging him once I got off: awww he's so sweet!

Today when I rode him he did better in the saddle but did something funny while I was tacking him up. My vet made a funny, but very accurate, observation: "He spooks but he doesn't react". I have often noticed this when I am leading him or saddling him. Every time he spooks he does the tiniest jump and than instantly is over it. He doesn't pull back or lose his head, he does snort for fifteen minutes or rear back and flip over. He just jumps and than its over....Weirdo lol Well today while I was saddling him I girthed him up and than turned around to grab his bridle. Upon turning back around he pulled back just a little and than he laid down. Just as gently and quietly as if he was taking a snooze. I looked at him in disbelief and said, "Moosey! What in the world are you doing?! Get up!" He looked back at me as if it was the most casual thing in the world to lay down while be saddled and than stood up like, "Well, If you insist.." Aaaand that was it! He just stood there like a perfect gentleman. I brushed his belly off and than put his bridle on. I guess whatever he did stretched him real good because he rode great! :-) We warmed up at a walk like always before I started asking him to get on the bit. We also did some work on leg pressure. I picked him up to a trot and he was just as relaxed and quiet as could be. My friend stood in the arena with my phone and took some pics. Here is a few of what she took:

I also rode Riley yesterday for a little while. I didn't do much schooling with him but rather we just played. I tacked him up and we went in the arena and warmed up really good and than did lots of trotting with rollbacks, serpentines, figure eights and lots and lots of circles. We also did a good bit of cantering and we worked on our cantering circles as well. He keeps them nice and round but I have to really use my outside leg to keep his butt from trailing off the circle. After that we just did some extended trotting on a loose rein to loosen him up and stretch him out. Now that the temperatures are dropping I have to make sure I exercise him really regularly or he stocks up. At first I was a little surprised when I saw him stocking up last year because he is turned out all the time and worked regularly but when he's out in the pasture he pretty much parks his happy butt in front of the hay and eats all day with the occasional walk to the water trough and salt block. Not enough movement to keep his circulation going good enough I guess. I could pressure wrap him but with him being out I don't want him pulling the wraps off and messing them up so instead I just keep him exercised good. A better option for both of us.  I also did some stretching on the ground with Riley before I turned him out. Our chiropractor says it's good for him to loosen up his muscles. Here is a pic of him stretching in anticipation for a carrot lol. Such a cutie pie! His legs look wet because I had just cold water hosed them. I always do after a hard work out.

This morning I rode May before I rode Moose. (I know this post is a little "all over the place" I apologize but I'm trying to include their rides from yesterday and today lol) She was HOT! She always gets a little more hyper when the weather changes and it cools down but today was ridiculous! She wasn't acting up but was just tense and full of it! She is a naturally very touchy and temper mental like I have said before so you really have to "negotiate" with her when you ride. You can't just tell her what to do and expect her to do it. Oh no. She's very opinionated and has no problem telling you when she doesn't like something your doing. She has never offered to kick, bite, rear or buck (except when we fiiiirst got her) but she still has other ways of letting you know.  She does this thing where she nods her head sometimes while you are saddling her or riding. Mostly when she is tense, hyper or anxious. She doesn't pull the reins out of my hands or anything like that. Really, she doesn't pull at all. Just very quick, compulsive, slight head bobs and it is so ANNOYING! I hate when she does it but there isn't much I can do other than get her to relax. Sometimes if I hold my reins to where there is a little contact and just keep them there she will bob her head and pop herself and stop but usually you just have to reaaaaally take the edge of off her and get her to relax.  It's so compulsive it has gotten her the nickname "Tourrettes mare". 

I took her in the arena and we started warming up. We were doing ok until I started picking her up to a faster trot. She started pulling on my hands and I tightened up. Wrong answer! Now she was tense and I was tense and neither of us were getting anywhere. Finally I just stopped her and took a deep breath and told myself to relax and loosen up. How is she going to relax if I don't? Well what do you know, our next round of trotting was almost perfect! There was still a little tension but the more I relax the more she relaxes. I just really have to 'breath' with my reins. She does best with  a little contact but not too much. Just enough where we can feel each other and communicate and she's happy.  After a good 45 minutes of just exercising her and getting her to relax I stopped her and walked her out. The difference in the way she rides sometimes is amazing. She can go from being so up tight and tense and coiled to relaxed and like butter in my hands. Silly, touchy, MARE! I love her to death though and everything is always worth it when it comes to my horses.  Horses and humility certainly go hand in hand.May trotting up to me in the pasture. Love her face in this one. She's such a good girl!

I think its the weather....

because May and Riley have both been hot heads the last two days! I pulled Riley up yesterday and gave him a good workout in the arena. From the second I got on I could tell he was hyper. He started walking off while I went to get on and he neeeever does that. Never. So we stopped and I dismounted and told him to stand and re mounted. Problem solved. He had a very active walk while we warmed up and than when we started trotting he had the most springy forward trot ever! It was very nice and had a lot of impulsion which isn't normal for him. He always tries hard but you usually reaaaally have to use a lot of leg to get him truly engaging his hindquarters like he is supposed to. I certainly wouldn't go as far as to say he was collected but he was definitely forward and his transitions were lovely. We did a lot of trotting in circles and figure eights and than in the canter I asked for a few nice stops on his hind end. He always stops good but not always on his butt. A lot of times he will use his hindquarters some in a stop but not be fully engaged. He doesn't slam down on his forehand but Id still like him to use that big ole butt of his more! lol We even did a few really nice cantering rollbacks off the fence so I stopped him there on a good note and walked him out. He was reaaally sweaty. Its been 80 degrees here and HUMID but he is already getting his winter coat in. I hosed him and sweat scraped him and than walked him dry before feeding him. As soon as I turned him out he rolled and rolled and rolled right in the mud...*sigh* Thanks Buddy, love you too! And just for fun here is a pic from almost 2 years ago of me and Riley. It was my high school graduation picture we put on the invitations! lol Back when I still had bangs and was about 30 pounds heavier haha!

I rode May early this morning after feeding everyone. Boy was she a wild woman! Hot headed and temper mental as ever! Like I said it has been humid but also raining a fair amount this week so I have not been able to ride them quite as consistently as Id like. I think that and the weather itself being so unpredictable has had them a little revved up. She was really tense when I got on her so we walked a while until she relaxed some and than started trotting. You really have to warm her up good before you start schooling anything or else she is just hot headed and un cooperative. Her and Riley can be quite opposites sometimes. Riley does great riding about 5 days a week and taking a day or two off and than two always before a race. May on the other hand you have to work her almost every day and than one day off before a show or she gets anxious and really hot. You have to take the edge off of her for her to focus. She is a pretty supple mare and works off her hind end very nice. I don't fool much with her head. She keeps it pretty level, not too high or too low and as I said before just because their head is lowered doesn't mean they are collected or on the bit. Also she is very sensitive in her mouth...well everywhere really! You have to be very soft with your cues or else she is a rocket.  She sometimes reminds me of a coiled spring ready to just launch away at any minute. The nice thing is if you can channel that energy and get her focused than she is quite the machine! A true equine athlete and she loves to work. I do a lot of 'off pattern' work with my horses. Yes, barrel racing is our forte but that doesn't mean that's all we do. I rarely practice a horse after it is patterned for a couple of reasons. First off I don't want one of those horses that you see at a race that stands tied to the trailer the entire time pawing and anxious and all worked up until the person gets on it ten minutes before their run, beats it all the way into the chute and snatches it around the pattern than beats it all the way out and jerks it to stop just to get off and tie the horse back up. Uhmmm no thanks. I refuse to ever let it come to that. My horses are never sour about their job and if they ever decided they didn't want to do it anymore, fine. Its not all about racing for me. Its about my horses. Also I think about their future soundness. Barrel racing is very physically demanding for a horse so even when I do practice I do some slow patterns to reinforce basics and than maybe one or two actual runs. Both Riley and May are on monthly Adequen injections to help protect their joints and all three of my horses get an MSM supp in their feed.  I'm also VERY picky about arena footing and if an arena is crappy, I wont go.

After I walked May out I hosed her down and let her cool out. She's pretty chunky right now but she will slim down and get in shape quickly as the weather gets better and I can ride more. Of course her and Riley being short and stocky are always gonna look 'thicker' and more muscled than Moose who is tall and lean but right now they have prego looking hay bellies! lol Especially May. Can you say EASY keeper?! 
Oh well tonight is supposed to be the last night of rain for the week. I know we need the rain but its sooo frustrating when I want to ride and the arena is a swimming pool!  Hopefully it will dry out a lot tonight so I can ride in it tomorrow morn...Here is a pic of May from today. I know the halter is huuuge on her. Its Moose's. I turned him out and she came up so I just slipped it on her to bring her up. oh and no her right hind tendon isn't swollen or bowed...the picture just made it look funny. Isn't she adorable though? :-)

Today I also went with a friend of mine to look at, and ride, a 6 year old, over 18hh Percheron gelding. Holy CRAP! He was HUGE...and I loved him! The lady has two mares that I worked with for her when she first got them and she wanted me to see how this horse rode before she considered getting him. He was really nice actually. A little bit green and out of practice(he hadnt been ridden in 6 months) but as far as being pretty safe he was a "point and go" trail riding kinda guy! Really a gentle giant and riding him was like...wow. His trot was big but his canter was gi-nor-mous! What a stride and what an incredible,  powerful animal. Here is a pic of me on him. I look like a little kid! I am really looking forward to working with this beasty in the next few weeks. 



Making Adjustments...

Both chiropractic and under saddle! Moosey got adjusted yesterday for the first time. At first he was a little apprehensive about it all.  He thought I was kidding.....

But afterwards he was one happy camper! He was a train wreck to say the least. I had figured he had never been adjusted in his life and what the chiropractor found pretty much confirmed it. He had his shoulder out, three lumbar, 2 thoracic and 1 cervical. She had me trot him before and after the adjustments so we could see the difference. He took it all like a champ other than being a little wiggle worm. He wasn't to thrilled about the cold blue lotion she used to massage him but after it warmed up and she started rubbing those sore muscles he started leaning into her hand and closing his eyes. He even started drooling a little! (nothing new for him though. I swear he drools like I have never seen...) When she was done and I fed him and turned him out he stood at the gate like "Wait!!! No more massages?! When can we do that again?!" 

Oh and by the way I don't have a nice, expensive, wonderful camera...I don't even have a camera period. Sooo please excuse my crappy phone pictures. Better than nothing right? :-)

This morning I rode Moose and he did...so-so. He wasn't bad at all just kind of...off focus. I warmed him up really good on a loose rein just at a walk before I started asking him to get on the bit. We also did some lateral flexion as always and than I picked him up into a trot. He was lowering his head nicely and with just a little encouragement he began reaching under himself great and was really moving nice. He has a lovely headset but I know that's not what its all about. Collection comes from behind, engaging the hindquarters and I have seen some horse with lovely headsets that were completely on their forehand. Their rider was practically "carrying" their head for them.

After we trotted a good few laps I walked him for a little while to let him stretch and catch his breath (he is not in real good shape yet) before we went back to trotting. This is where he got a little distracted. I forgot about the new TWH in the side pasture and it was right than that he decided to come flying up to the gate whinnying at Moose. After that it took a little bit to get his focus back on me. He didn't do anything stupid but he just kept 'gravitating' towards the TWH and trying to watch him. "Rider? what rider?!"

I picked him up to a trot and we started doing lots of transitions from trot to walk and back to trot and changing directions a lot to get his attention back on me. Luckily it worked and we were back in the game. I am glad that he had to work with the distraction though because its good for him and he is going to have to learn to pay attention to me even when a lot is going on. Today I even did a few canter laps on him. He was very high headed in the canter but smooth and controlled. I kept my reins 'playful' and kept him moving with my legs and the instant he lowered his head a little and relaxed I woahed him and we called it a day. He was pretty sweaty and for the life of me, I could NOT get all the sweat off once he dried so I think I will hose him tomorrow (if it doesn't rain tonight...) after I ride him.  A little dirt doesn't bother me but I can get a little OCD when it comes to the care and grooming and well...everything with my horses! Call me the over anxious horse owner 2! lol There is even a joke around my barn about me calling the vet for everything but I would rather be safe than sorry and my horses are my world.

I also rode Riley today as well and am hoping to ride May later. I will post later on how they did\do as I don't have time right now. Just wanted to throw together a little post on how my big, sweet, Moose is doing.

Tack? What is tack..?

This seems to be the question any one would guess I would ask, if they had seen me and Riley's last few rides. I pulled him up much later than I intended to last night. I had a pretty busy day and lost track of time. Still, I wanted to at least give him a little exercise so I pulled him up and took him in the arena tackless. No, I do not ALWAYS ride him like that. As a matter of fact I usually only ride him tackless every once and a while but the last few times I have gone to ride him it has been late and we had the arena to ourselves so why not? (It also didnt help that I was sooo lazy that I didnt feel like going to get my saddle) Either way Riley certainly didnt seem to mind and did very well. Got a little distracted at one point when the new Walking horse in the pasture by the arena came over and started nickering at him and pacing the fenceline. And  by distracted I mean he turned an ear to him and gave him the "evil eye". Other than that we went along our merry way trotting laps around the arena and throwing in some circles and a few serpentines for good measure. What a saint of a horse I have been blessed with.
We also did some slow canter laps and circles as well as worked on accelerating to a controlled gallop and than decelerating back to the slow canter with my seat. He picks up his leads great but we still have to work on his flying lead changes. Under saddle he does them pretty well but tackless he tends to change in the front but not the back. I think it is just my timing with the cues but either way we will eventually get it. After the ride I walked him out and after he cooled I fed him and turned him out quickly. Someone had told me a storm was coming but it seemed to be rolling in a lot faster than originally thought. Lightning lit up the sky rather frequently which always makes me a littler nervous. Maybe I am paranoid but I have the only horse with shoes on the place and with that I always wonder if it makes him more likely to be struck by lightning than the others? Perhaps it is only a silly thing to presume but I worry none the less. I put him out in the pasture and kissed his nose and gave him the biggest carrot either of us had ever seen, and than headed home for the night.

The pictures below are "before and after" shots of Moose. The first one is a pic of him the day I went to look at him. The other is a picture from this morning after I fed him. Look at the difference! :)

Moosey's 10th ride!

As the title suggests, today I rode Moose for the tenth time. He was waiting at the gate when I got here so I pulled him up first thing and gave him just a handful of feed. I have finally gotten his feed straightened out and he is gradually putting on weight. I have decided to feed him XTN which is what all my horse's eat. It is a feed I really like and have never had any problems with. It's high in fat without being too high in protein so it gives my horse's the calories they need when they work hard without making them hot. I also feed him some beet pulp soaked and a little corn oil. I have had a lot of luck with some of the older Arabians putting on weight with beet pulp so I put him on  it to. The corn oil is good for weight gain but also supposed to be good for their coat and digestion. His coat does look a lot better but some of that is probably his winter hair growing in dark and soft.
He stood like a perfect gentleman while I saddled him up. I tried on the new bridge shoulder pad I had ordered for him and I was NOT impressed. It made my saddle sit uneven so I took it off...back to the drawing board I guess! I really need to find a good build up pad. I can't afford a new saddle right now just for him but I can easily save up and get a new pad to make him more comfortable. I use an English bridle on him which has brought us a lot of funny looks and questions at my barn. The only reason I use the English headstall is for the flash and cavesson. He had a problem our first few rides with chewing the bit obnoxiously and opening his mouth a little to evade the bit. He was never really bad about it and doesn't even do it anymore but I used the flash and cavesson to discourage him from the behavior. I actually use it pretty loose compared to what I have seen a lot of people, do but I want to just discourage him, not force him. I still have not decided if I want to pursue actually riding him English but for now I will ride him Western and perhaps try him on the pattern. Either way we still have a lot of training to do before I have to make any major decisions and I am in no hurry. It has been very nice to be able to have a horse that I can just "play" with and do whatever I want with no expectations or anything. With May and Riley being my barrel horses I have a lot I have to do with them to keep them in shape and racing at their best and of course whenever you get decent at anything and people start noticing you at races than they start to expect you to do good and the pressure is on. Im not trying to imply that me and my horse are perfect but over the last few years we have greatly improved and can hold our own in our age group. With Moose it has just been slow and fun and no real "pressure" which has been really refreshing.
He tried walking off once when I went to mount up but a quick little tug on the reins and a vocal reprimand was all it took and he stood quietly the second time. I always make him stand still for a few seconds or minutes after I mount up. It helps reinforce the standing still while I get on and also keeps him from anticipating anything. I walked him on loose reins for a little while before asking him to collect and get his head down. He's starting to drop his head and tuck his nose with just the slightest pressure, I love it! Actually what he does now is sometimes he will try to drop his head too low and tuck his nose too tight. Even on the ground when I put his halter or bridle on he drops his head so low sometimes that I about have to kneel to put it on him! lol But I would much rather this be the dilema than him throwing his head to high. He isnt doing it to be bad, hes just trying to figure out exactly what I want. In the saddle a little nudge with my heels and a soft upward check with the reins and he gets back where I want him. I am just trying to get his head down enough to where he is straight from his poll back with his nose lightly tucked.
 After the walking we worked on some leg pressure and he is starting to respond to my calf better and I have been having to use less heel. His transitions from walk to trot and back down again have been much smoother as well. I referred to him last time as having the "stick shift" trot but now he goes into an easy jog with a simple click and back down again if I just sit a little deeper.  We began and ended with lateral flexion and after about a 20 minute ride I ended it on a good note and dismounted. I have been gradually increasing the trot time and have started adding a little leg pressure to move him in and out of the rail while we trot to. He still takes that as a cue to go faster sometimes but I'm sure it wont be long before he has that down as well. His trot was lovely and he collected nicely. I still cant believe how naturally he works off his hind end. He kept his head down except for a few times when something caught his attention. He still is VERY goofy and un focused sometimes and it doesn't take much for something to catch his attention. Thankfully he doesn't dwell on it though and you can redirect his focus just as easily. 
He also enjoys trying to pick stuff up and is a little mouthy but is getting better about it. He has never bitten me but just likes to lip everything. He tries to grab his reins when I bend him and unties himself if I don't tie him just right. I let him play with one of those inflatable balls and he had a blast picking it up and tossing it around. He also likes to hold the hose in his mouth until his cheeks blow up with water. Its the funniest thing and I keep waiting for water to shoot out of his ears! lol  I unsaddled him and cooled him out and fed him his morning ration before turning him out. Plan on riding Riley at some point today and if I do I may post later tonight. I rode May yesterday as well and just exercised her.
At the bottom are pictures of Moose picking stuff up. He's so good natured and his happy-go-lucky attitude about everything is infectious! He is a pleasure to work with. Enjoy!

Three good rides!

I rode May first today since I didn't get to ride her yesterday or the day before. Ive been trying to ride them at least every other day or 4-5 days a week to get them back in shape before we start racing again this month. She did pretty good. She was very tense and hot when I first got on her but that's pretty typical for her, especially this time of year when it cools down. After about 20 minutes she settled down. I didn't work on anything in particular but rather just did a lot of jogging and extended trotting and than slow loped her. We did some canter circles and I worked on slowing her down with my seat. She's a very sensitive horse and does really well on the pattern but does not slow down for the turns on her own. I refuse to just pull on her mouth so I often just work on trotting and loping the pattern and breaking her down for the turns. If I come to the barrel at a trot, I will slow to a walk and if I come to the barrel at a canter, we will slow to a trot. I really exaggerate my 'sitting deep' for emphasis and the verbal cue "Easy". I don't say whoa because I don't want to confuse her. Whoa means stop and only stop. I side passed her a couple times which she did great but wanted to go 100 mph as usual. I didn't make a big deal out of it though. She crossed over fine so I praised her and we moved on. After her ride I hosed her down real good and after she cooled I fed her and turned her out.

Next to ride was Riley boy. As with May I didnt work on anything specific but just exercised him. We did LOTS of collected trotting and than some extended trotting both ways. Being so post legged in the hind end I really have to help him to keep him in frame and on the bit. Once he warms up he does alright but its so much harder for him than it is for Moose and May. He also has difficulty with keeping his hip in when we canter tighter circles but with a lot of outside leg he eventually gets were he needs to be. Makes me wonder sometimes how he gets around a barrel so smoothly and efficiently. He has never refused a turn or fought me anywhere on the pattern. He loves to run and has no chute sourness either. I think part of it is just how hard he tries for me and how much he truly enjoys his job. I turned him loose in the arena about a week ago tackless and just let him run around and burn some energy and after a few laps he ran straight for third barrel and turned it like we were at a show! It was very refreshing to see him have so much fun doing his 'job'. I never want any of my horses to become sour about working. To me it is only fun and enjoyable if BOTH horse and rider enjoy it.

I never got around to riding Moose but its ok as I will have plenty of time Sunday and Monday to ride him. I did work with him on the ground a little bit and hand grazed him which he enjoyed.
This afternoon I also took an English lesson. I have never officially taken a lesson in English riding before and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The lady who taught me gave me the lesson in exchange for taking care of her horses a few days ago. I rode her horse Jubil for the lesson. Jubil was amazing! Really nice Fjord\Anglo Arab mare. She was extremly patient and tolerant of my limited abilities in the English saddle and I worked very hard to be careful with my cues. It was definetely different but I look forward to taking more lessons from her. She has agreed to give me one every week or every other week in return for working one of her green horses for her.
Even though Western is my style, I dont mind learning about both and I believe it will help my technical riding. I love learning new stuff I can apply to my riding. Within the next month I would really like to start also taking lessons again on Riley with a friend of mine who competes locally in reining. She has done everything from Dressage and show jumping to novice cutting and reining. She is an excellent rider and has a lot of the same beliefs that I do. I really look up to her and enjoy when she teaches me. Its always fun to work on new skills and better my horse and myself.