First (Schooling) Show

I decided to take Cat to her first schooling show on Saturday.  MIL and Shari were planning on showing so I figured it would be good to get Cat out and about in a new environment.  I knew she wasn't ready to show so my intention was to just walk her around and let her see all of the different sights, sounds and horses.

When we got to the show grounds and unloaded she was dripping with sweat.  The temps were high, the humidity was heavy and apparently the air flow in the trailer wasn't that great.  Once unloaded she looked around a bit but wasn't too worried about her surroundings.  I only had a half an hour to ride prior to the show starting so I opted to skip my gw and went straight into the arena.

She felt great!  She had a little pep in her step but nothing I wouldn't anticipate from her first time out.  She wanted to be with Sis so I made sure I kept her on the opposite side of the arena.  When it came time for the show to start I decided she was calm enough so I went ahead and entered her in a few classes.

Our first class was walk/trot.  I knew going in she would be too fast and would have too high of a headset but figured at least I didn't have to worry about other horses blowing past me.  She was a bit nervous going in but it didn't take her long to relax.  At the end she even "almost" started to get a headset.  We ended up placing 5th.

Areas I need to work on: 

- going clockwise she wanted to move with her hips off of the rail.  I'm fairly certain I created this problem by trying to get her hips in to get her right lead departure.  

- speed control

Our second class was Ranch Horse Pleasure.  This was a pattern class so I figured it didn't matter how bad we messed up the pattern, we were getting exposure to the ring.

Below is the pattern:

Walking over the poles was no big deal although Cat did give them the once over as if to say "hey you weren't here earlier".  I was dreading the side pass to the right as I have just recently (last week) started to teach Cat to side pass on the fence.  I had yet to side pass her off of the fence and going to the right is her not so good direction.  With a little bit of practice before our class I was thrilled with her side pass!

After the side pass was the 360.  This is also something we just started working on and I hadn't worked on it from a standstill.  Again, she did awesome!  She took her left lead like a champ (no surprise there for me).  When it came time to switch leads it wasn't happening! lol This again came as no surprise as I have been having issues getting her to pick up her right lead.  Her stop was dead on however her back was a bit crooked.  We placed 5th in this class.

Areas I need to work on:

- Lead departures

- Backing straight

Our next class was Horsemanship.  She wasn't sure what to do standing in line while the other horses walked off one at a time but she wasn't bad.  Her stop was not as good as it could have been and her pivot fell short of her pivot in the ranch horse class.  I wasn't horribly upset as again, we've just started working on the pivots.  Her lead departure (a left lead) was spot on! Her stop was sub par but her back was straighter.  We placed 5th in this class however there were only 5 entries.

Areas I need to work on:

- My own performance since this class is based on the rider not the horse

After the "performance" classes I "ran" her in barrels and poles for shits and giggles.  No, we didn't place in these classes, but I was very happy with her steering.  She didn't get all worked up and moved well through the poles.

Between classes she stood on the outside of the rail and watched the horses go by.  In the beginning it was pretty exciting and she'd get nervous when Sis would leave to go into her classes.  It didn't take her long for her lazy side to kick in and for her to take it as an opportunity to snooze even when Sis left.

Ready to head home for the night.

Looking over at Sis.  Wondering if she's ready to go home too.

She doesn't look all that bad in a short mane.

Dressage

dres·sage  

/drəˈsäZH/

Noun The art of riding and training a horse in a manner that develops obedience, flexibility, and balance. Last weekend I took the plunge and had my first dressage lesson with a German riding instructor from Missouri named Heidi. Saturday I was able to watch Heidi work with a horse and a few of her students before having my own lesson.  It was nice to see how she interacted with her students.  On Saturday I rode Dexter.  Dexter was originality trained in Western Pleasure so Heidi thought I would be more familiar with his gaits.

Online with Dexter

Heidi started me off online with Dexter.  This was nice as it gave Heidi a chance to assess my riding skills (or lack there of) and gave me a chance to get used to Dexter without worrying about steering.  After going through all of the gaits online and having Heidi give me some pointers on how to correct my position she finally turned us loose for a little offline work prior to ending the session.

Sunday I was able to ride Freely.  Freely is a "Premium" Oldenburg mare that was exported from Germany 4 years ago.  Freely is a 3rd level dressage mare and was quite the change after riding Dexter!  

Heidi and Freely

Again we started online so I could get used to Freely's movements.  Freely felt quite a bit different from Dexter and very different from my little ponies!  After working online Heidi again turned me loose and tried to teach me how to do leg yields.

The saddle wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.  It actually felt similar to my CA saddle w/o all of the extra leather.  

Trailer Loading

After I returned from trail riding I decided to see if I could get Duke to load in the trailer.  I had the trailer backed up into a "dip" so it didn't sit very high off of the ground.  I didn't expect him to be bad, he has a pretty good temperament, but I never expected him to load this well!

Sorry for all of the clucking and poor camera skills.  I'm not the best at running a camera and a horse at the same time.

I'm hoping to start hauling Duke off property a little bit so here in the next few weeks he's going to have to learn how to get in with the trailer on level ground.  This means he's going to have a pretty high step up and down!

Ridin, Ridin, Ridin by the River!

The weather was perfect last weekend for a ride so a small group of "trail sisters" met up at Walnut Woods for a ride along the Raccoon River.

Some of the trails were still covered in snow.

Some more then others.

Some trails had no snow and were perfect for riding!

She must' have been listening to me as her ears were perked forward most of the ride.

Sporting her new CA headstall.

And her new saddle! (she looks embarrassed. lol)

 We only rode for an hour but it was a great hour spent in the saddle.  I think Lucy enjoyed getting out and about and the work Trish has been doing on her seemed to make her move better.

New Year - New Goals

The New Year always seems to bring new goals.  This year my goal is to ride at least once every month.  I know that doesn't sound like much but in my sometimes hectic world that can be a lofty goal.

I was able to get Lucy out for a New Years Eve ride.

Lu and I pulled the kids around on the sled for a while and then headed down the road.

The wind was brisk and I was ready to be done by the time we returned to the barn.

New Years day it was Cat's turn.

I didn't take her out in the road but instead played in the snow drifts in the pasture.

I asked Shari to come down and get some pictures and video for me since someone *cough* John *cough* is always complaining but this is what I found on the camera.

Myofascial Release

My-o-what?  Yep, that is what I was saying too.  A while back Duke got caught up in the temporary fence so I decided to call a chiropractor to take a look at him.  I have used chiropractors in the past however lately when I've heard people talking about them the name Trish kept coming up.  After talking to some friends I finally got a number for Trish and scheduled an appointment.

Trish isn't your typical "crack'em" chiropractor.  She works more on soft tissue manipulations and what she calls myofascial release or MFR.  I must say when she was working on Duke I wasn't overly impressed as it looked like she was just touching Duke softly and not really manipulating anything.  Oh how I was wrong!

Prior to the fence incident Duke's back legs were nice and straight but after the incident his back right had started to toe out.  He seemed lethargic and just wasn't Duke.  I mentioned the leg to Trish and before she left it was straight again!  Trish worked on Duke 3 times and he's back to his normal ornery self.

I now have Trish working on Lucy.  I've always had issues w/Lucy's back right leg but since she isn't blatantly lame the vets don't seem to think it is a big deal.  Within the first session Lucy was walking better, more freely in the back end then I've ever seen her walk.  I'm so excited to see how Lucy will perform next year now that she is feeling better.

Here is some information about MFR.

Myofascial release is a manual therapy technique that is used to elongate foreshortened connective tissue and muscle. Fascia is another term for the connective tissue of the body that forms a three-dimensional system of support, cushion, and movement. The fascial system forms a web from head to hoof surrounding every muscle, bone, organ, blood vessel, nerve, and cell. Actually, muscle is made up of 98% connective tissue with biochemicals attached that produce a shortening of the connective tissue strands (contraction). When the horse is acutely injured or sustains repeated trauma from training, the fascial system tightens as a protective response.
Over time this can lead to poor muscular biomechanics, altered structural alignment, decreased strength and endurance, and produce overuse muscular compensations. Resultant is decreased performance and functional capacity of the horse. By elongating the fascial system we can restore the efficiency of this system. Therefore, restoring the natural abilities of coordination, strength, and power to the horse. During treatment the therapist identifies areas of hardness or tenderness and applies a gentle pressure into the tissue were the restriction is felt. This is held for 90-120 seconds following the releases through the connective tissue barriers. We have had great success with this treatment approach especially when utilized with other treatment techniques such as joint mobilization, therapeutic exercise programs, and modalities. The combination of these techniques are beneficial in creating pain free movement for the horse.

Here are some before/after videos of a horse I found on youtube (I have no clue who this horse is) that received treatment using MFR.

Here is the same horse after MRF.

Lucy isn't where this horse is YET but she's sure feeling better then she did.  She's striding out further then she ever has (just not quite as much as I'd like).

I get to have Trish work on me tomorrow so I'm excited to "feel" what Lucy feels.

A Clear September's Night

We are finally getting nice weather but we aren't getting to utilize it as much since the sun is going down earlier.  Last night the boys and I headed out to the farm early to check water as my nephew had accidentally left the hydrant on and dried up the well.  My dad had run a hose from the house and filled the tanks for me and then had me help him get some veggies from the garden for his critters.

On my way out of the barn I grabbed the catch rope and turned the electric fence off.  I headed down the pasture to open the gate so all of the horses could get to the big bale.  Cat and Belle immediately ran to the bale while Black and Duke ran to the back pasture.  I guess they thought the grass was greener on the other side.

I walked up to Cat and threw the catch rope around her neck.  As I was leading her to the barn decided it was to nice of a night not to ride.  I walked her over to the mounting block, hopped on and away we went.

It felt good to just "mess around".  It almost reminded me of when I was a fearless child.  She had me laughing hysterical when I stopped her and she automatically started to flex both directions.  I didn't stay on long.  I walked for the most part but did do a little trotting and cantering.

Here is a short video (from my perspective).  If you watch closely you can tell which way I'm asking her to go by her ear(s).

Stephens Forest

Monday I decided to meet up with a friend (Bobbie) and go to Stephens Forest for a ride.  Since it was the holiday weekend and Cat has been on vacation I opted to take Lu.

Bobbie doesn't live far from MIL so she stopped by and picked us up.  It has been a while since Lu was in a two horse but she went in without too much of a fuss.

Can you tell which one is Lu?

Bobbie and I were saddled up and on the trails by around 10:00.  Bobbie took me on some new trails I didn't even know existed.  They had most of my favorite trail features!

For not being out on a trail for over a year I thought Lu did very well.

After a few hours out we returned to the trailer to give the horses a quick rest while we ate our lunch.

Back out on the trail I quickly became very dissapointed in my fellow equestrians.  It was apparent some didn't believe in the "carry out what you carry in" saying as there were quite a few beer cans left on the trail and along the side of the trail.  

Up in the pines Lucy and I stopped for a rest as Bobbie rode through the pines.

Lucy was happy to stay and guard the tree while Bobbie explored.  During her exploration she found a trail I didn't know existed so we headed out to see where it would take us.

I had a nice, enjoyable ride w/Bobbie and Lu.  Lu was a pretty tuckered little pony though.

As the pastures turn!

Last week I decided to make the move and wean Duke.  He's just a little over 4 months old but he's very independent and wasn't spending a large amount of time nursing.  The drought has been hard on all of the horses and I didn't want to tax Lucy's body anymore then I needed to.

On Tuesday, MIL came over, loaded Lu up and took her to her house.  All of the while Duke was munching on his grain and never even noticed.  He's been very good about Lucy being gone and is adjusting well.

Wednesday I went over to MIL's as Black had managed to cut up her leg (we still haven't figure out what happened).  Poor Lucy!  Her bag was full and streaming onto the ground.  It must not have bothered her too much though as all she seemed concerned with was when she was going to get more food.

Duke got fitted with a new DUH halter on Thursday.  It is a bit too small so I need to check to make sure they have it tagged correctly.  It is supposed to be a weanling.  He doesn't have a big head so I can't see him needing a yearling halter already.

Shedding AGAIN!

Sunday the boys and I went to visit Lu at MIL's.  She was drying up well so I decided to go ahead and saddle her up.  Would you care to join me for a ride?

Yep, I saw Lucy's signature ears. lol  I really won't complain though.  I can't tell you when I rode her last and I'm guessing minus the bb ride a few weeks ago it was well over a year ago.  She was a pretty good girl.

After my ride Ty wanted to ride.  He loves Lucy!  So much I'm afraid I'm going to lose her to him in a few years.

I about fell down laughing when I heard him say "Lucy! Don't make me use the spanker."

After his ride he "informed" me he needed to wash "his" horse.  I'm not sure who had more water on them at the end of the bath - him or Lucy.

Rock Creek

MIL and I have been trail riding together as I want to get more miles under Cat's feet before going out in a group again.  Saturday we headed up to Rock Creek to ride.  It had been 9 years since we rode there last!

The ride we had Friday night was anything but relaxing.  Sis was a ball of nerves.  Lately she has been spooking at silly things like butterflies and a bunnies (damn those can be scary!  They just jump out at you from no where!).  MIL and I have discussed Sis's behavior and hopefully MIL will decide to fix it.  For now, my only concern is the horse I'm riding.

As MIL and I were going down the trail we were talking about different situations we've encountered on the trail and about how our riding styles have changed.  I was telling MIL about the time Chase and I ran into some turkeys up at Brushy.  Can I just say I hate turkeys!  Deer run from you but turkeys hide and then when they fly off they sound like a jet engine coming up out of the grass!

We were trotting down the trail doing ORS when all of the sudden Cat planted her feet, pricked her ears forward and her head went up.  I looked down the trail to see turkeys!  Lots of turkeys running down the trail we had to go down.  I looked at MIL and she looked at me.  I think if I had suggested going back to the trailer and calling it a day she would have been ok with it.  I refuse to become a prisoner to fear so instead of heading back I dismounted and made Cat do gw down the trail until I felt we were past the point of the turkeys.  I mounted back up and felt Cat let out a huge sigh.

The rest of the ride was pretty uneventful.  The trails were either wide and open or a little bit narrow but not horrible.  There were two bridges to cross that I don't recall being there the time before.  Cat kept the lead the majority of the time.  She gets nervous being in the back so I decided to work on one thing at a time.  I practiced whacking leaves with my new dressage whip which didn't go over well at the beginning of the ride but by the end both horses were ignoring my antics.  I'm starting to get some pretty good aim. ;)

MIL and Sis

On the way back Cat was nice and relaxed so I decided to shot a little video.  You might want to turn down the volume as I didn't realize it was that windy.

Not long after I took this video I felt Cat tense up yet again and yet again I saw a turkey running up the trail.  I decided again to dismount as I was pretty sure this one was going to fly up and spook her.  I put her to work doing the C pattern down the trail while Mrs. Turkey shuffled off somewhere never to be seen again.  I remounted and felt Cat let out a huge sigh again and then continued on our way.

At the end of the trail there were some beautiful pines so I decided to get a picture of MIL and Sis.

Since someone *cough John* was complaining last time that I needed to hand the camera over I decided to let MIL try to take a few pictures of Cat and I.  The first few I was headless, then there was a finger over the lens, then she finally manged to get one.  Cat was having nothing to do with putting her ears forward.

I forgot to empty the nuts out of my pocket I had gathered for my dad's squirrels so I promise the "buldge" isn't all fat.

Sweatin to the Oldies

Maybe that should read Sweatin to the classical, country and whatever other songs are on my blackberry!  I was sweating at the end of the ride too but not nearly as bad as Cat.

It is amazing at how quickly 10 minutes seems to go by when you are enjoying music.  I'm not sure Cat would agree the time went by as quickly for her.

One Pooped Pony!

I'm in the process of trying out a Cinch Hook.  I bought one hoping it would make saddling easier for the kids (this mom is getting tired of saddling all of the ponies).  Last night was the first night I used it so the jury is still out.  I will admit it felt really weird not lacing my latigo strap back up once I was done with the ride.
 

Drenched!

Friday night MIL and I headed up to Brushy Creek.  I had plans for Sunday but we wanted to get an early start on Saturday so we went up Friday night to spent the night.

Cat and Sis at Camp

The forecasters had predicted rain around noon.  Each time they've predicted rain we've gotten barely enough to knock the dust down so MIL and I weren't too concerned.  We were riding out in the morning anyways and would be back to camp before noon in case it actually did rain.

About a mile out it started to mist.  MIL and I decided to keep going.  Pretty soon that mist turned into a light rain.  We were really enjoying ourselves so we continued on.

MIL looking a bit wet

The rain wasn't horrible under the cover of the canopy.  When we hit the open areas we picked the pace up just a bit to get back under the protection of the canopy.

I had wanted to take Cat on this particular trail because of all of the water crossings.  Cat hadn't really crossed large amounts of water so I wasn't sure how she'd do.  She was first to go at all of the crossings and didn't hesitate for one minute.

MIL & Sis

We passed one other set of riders on the trail.  You could tell they were enjoying themselves.  Right after we passed them the rain let go and drenched us.  The entire trail became a small running stream and was becoming greasy.  Cat slipped going up one hill and I thought she was going to go down to her knees but she regained her balance and continued on without missing a step.

About 1 1/2 miles from camp we met up with the park ranger.  He informed us they were closing the trails and asked us a specific trail head to return back to camp (it is rocked so less chance of damage).  MIL and I returned to the trailer around 11 and packed to head home.

I sure wish we could have ridden more but I'm glad we got the rain.  Cat is doing better on the trails but I still have lots of room for improvement.  I have a feeling one of these days she'll be my "'ol reliable"

Things you find around the farm

Last night I pulled Cat out for a ride.  As I walked her to the trailer to saddle her up I noticed a tarp on the ground.  It must have blown off the hoop coop this past weekend when we had the "storms".  It looked like a good object to use to tantalize Cat to so I  picked it up and had a bit of fun.

Doesn't she look thrilled?

It kind of caught her by surprise when it started to come off (if you look you can see her cock her ear and kind of "scoot" out from under it) so of course I had to do it again!

Please ignore the poor filmography.  It isn't very easy to record w/a cell phone and hold the rope.

She still "looks" at it with her ear when it comes off but all in all I think she did pretty well.  After it came off I grabbed the tarp and dragged it back over by the coop with her following behind.

My "fun with the tarp" was followed up by a nice ride.

Elk Rock

Saturday morning we loaded up and headed to Elk Rock.  When we arrived DH and MIL went out on a ride while the boys and I unpacked.  Ty kept wanting to take Nikki to the arena to ride so I saddled her up and we headed towards the arena.  There was a gentleman in the arena and he was having trouble with his horse so I talked Ty into going up to the obstacle course instead.  When we arrived I could hear voices and then saw MIL and DH coming out of the trail.

Ty, DH & MIL on the obstacle course

Ty thought the bridge was pretty cool and after some struggles finally got Nikki coaxed into going onto it.

Victory!

Over the poles

After lunch DH was tired and Ty needed a nap so MIL and I headed out on our own.  It was a nice ride and both horses did very well.  When we returned we helped Ty mount up and took him out on a short ride.

Back at camp Ty worked really hard to keep Nikki's area clean.

DH started the campfire up for supper and then we felt a few sprinkles.  It sprinkled on and off with a few hard rain drops here and there but we managed to get a good meal cooked on the open fire.  Chase still hadn't gone out so he suckered MIL into going out in the rain.  She wasn't very excited about it but when they returned she had a smile on her face and said it wasn't too bad in the canopy.

Returning from a misty ride.

Sunday morning we all saddled up and went out as a family.

Ready to ride

We had a nice ride.  It was just long enough for Ty and all of the horses did well.  We saw LOTS of deer including a fawn that was lying down just feet from the horses.  I'll admit, it did make MIL and I (and probably Chase) a bit nervous but we made it through just fine.

When we returned Ty stayed back with me to help me pack up the trailers while MIL, Chase and DH went out for one last ride.  I had hoped MIL and I (and Chase) could have ridden on the yellow trail before leaving but we didn't get to so we will have to try that one next time we go.