Gizmo

Tuesday was another chilly evening.  I opted to ride Blondie, and will now try to switch off every other ride so that both horses are getting the attention that they deserve.  Blondie was only a little spooky by that back gate, and I was able to keep her moving forward in a fairly straight line.  After a few times of trying to veer off, she settled down and stopped trying to do it.  This made me realize that I didn't have balance to ride her last year, and that my riding has improved since then.

We really worked at getting a bend at the canter.  Blondie is very stiff on both sides after her long vacation, so we cantered circles in both directions, concentrating on getting her to bend.  It was hard work, and, again, a year ago I wouldn't have been able to do this.  It was a good lesson, and she is starting to get more balanced than she was when I first brought her inside.

Last night was cold, cold, cold!  I rode Nyk, and for being so cold out, there were a lot of participants in the group lesson.  There were 8 horses total, which is the largest group we've had for months.  We worked on circles and bending, and trying not to run  into each other.  The lesson was very uneventful, and it was so cold that I was happy to put Nyk away and go home to try to warm my feet up.  I will be so glad with the temps are above freezing.  Riding when it's in the teens or below is just not a lot of fun.

Thursday night, I was able to ride one of the nicest horses that I have even had the privilege to sit on – Big Bob.   Before I got on, everyone mentioned that he is squirrely and a little timid.  I didn’t find that the be the case at all.  Arnold was spooky and scared of his own shadow, and if you’ve  been reading the blog, you know that Blondie is hardly the bravest horse out there.  She is afraid of steaming piles of poop, and that should speak for itself.

Bob is the most up-headed horse I have ridden, and it was a struggle to use the curb rein.  Every other horse, my own included, it’s more snaffle, less curb.  More curb and less snaffle was confusing me!

This was a fun, fun lesson.  Bob was rock solid for me, and I didn’t have to worry about him getting stupid and me falling off.  Sure, he looked around the ring, but he didn’t react to anything.  At 20, he’s a seasoned pro, and he acted like one.  He’s a great horse.

I rode Blondie on Friday night, during my not really a lesson, and she was on her best behavior.  She even stood without fussing while one of the kids ran through her pattern for the Saturday academy show.  Her canter departs need a lot of work, though.  Ugh.

I helped rebraid Nyk’s tail after I put Blondie away.  There is a patch of gray hair mixed in it, which was really cute.  His tail is pretty long, but it just looked like a bird’s nest to me.  I’m not so skilled at picking tails out, and I think it showed in the results.  I have to do this to Blondie’s tail, too, and soon, but it’s been so cold out that the thought of doing it fills me with dread.  Double ugh.

Blondie

Today was the third academy show of the season, so of course it was about 20 degrees colder than yesterday.  It was very cold in the barn aisle, but it wasn’t too bad out in the arena.  Still, everything would be so much more pleasant if it was above freezing.

I was riding Nyk in three classes, a showmanship class and two equitation classes.  I hate the equitation classes, but figure it’s good practice to get out there and get to understand him a little better.  Still, I don’t think it really matters how far you arch your back or how far you can drop your heel.  Maybe I am only feeling this way because I did so poorly in these classes today – who knows.

The first class was great – M warmed Nyk up, then after chilling (literally) in his stall for about 15 minutes, I got on and walked him around, and then cantered one rail to make sure I could pick up the correct lead.  Then I didn’t want him to get fussy so I went and stood in the middle of the warm up ring and waited.  And waited.  And waited.  Then everyone finally got it together and it was show time.

Nyk was doing great until he fell out of the canter the second way.  I thought that we blew it there, after having a great class otherwise.  They read the placing in reverse order, and I was surprised when we were in first place.  M said that we were so far ahead that the little bobble, which I quickly fixed, didn’t matter too much.

After a victory lap, we circled around the warm up ring and went right back into the arena.  I was sweating, out of breath, and so was Nyk.  He felt like a car that had run out of gas, and I didn’t have enough strength in my legs to get him moving.  He fell out of the canter the first way, and it took a long time to get him going again.  I have been forced to accept that I am not as young as I used to be, and doing two classes in a row is a bit much.  I am going to have to work on my stamina between now and the start of show season.  It will suck to not do well because I can’t catch my breath (though going and finding out one way or another whether I have asthma, which I am strongly beginning to suspect, might help, too.  Will have to work that into the schedule in the next week or so).

We were last in the first eq class, which disappointed me, because I didn’t think we were that bad.  While I waited for the next class, I asked for a whip, which I didn’t really want to use because Nyk won’t flat walk when I have one, and we just stood in the middle of the warm up ring to catch our breath.  I was starting to get cold before it was time to go again, and then things started getting a little disorganized.  M told me and Laurie to get ready to go into the ring, so we both started trotting.  Nyk felt like a million bucks, and we went around the arena twice when we were told that it wasn’t our class.  They had split the previous class, but hadn’t told M.  What a freaking drag.  Out of the arena we trotted, to stand and wait again.

This show was a little more chaotic that the previous ones, and there were two other times when I was told to go into the ring, only to be stopped at the gate.  After all of the confusion, when I was entering for my pattern, someone standing at the gate held her arm out, and I thought she was telling me not to go in.  I swung Nyk around again, and M started asking me what I was doing.  I  explained that I thought I was being told not to go in, and then the person holding out her arm told me she was just trying to help get Nyk’s ears up.  Argh!  That was so frustrating – I have never been to another show where I have had as many false starts as this one.  One of the times, one of the other trainers wanted her rider in first – I was in front of her and was going to go in, because no one mentioned this to me.  My trainer started yelling for me not to go in.  I don’t have a problem with letting another rider go in first, but, come on, guys, let the rest of us know this before the class starts, not when we’re about to go into the freaking ring.  Nyk turns on a dime, though, thank you very much for helping me figure that out.

The pattern class started with rail work, and then the pattern.  I thought we had a great class, and the serpentine wasn’t bad, even considering the false start.  The judge must not have agreed, because we were dead last.

Sarah rode him in the judge’s pattern class, and she did a great job with him.  I thought that she should have placed better, and that the girl who won shouldn’t have.  Her horse was doing everything but what it was supposed to be doing, but again, I must not understand all of the nuances of equitation, because the judge placed everyone in a far different order than I would have.

I am also feeling a little down because a person that I used to really respect was very critical of my riding this show and the last show.  This person used to be very active in my training, and in my horses’ training.  Things were challenging, unexpected, and fun whenever this individual was around.  Sadly, things have changed, to the point that I feel like I’m inconveniencing this person when we are both at the barn.  I try to avoid being there at the same time.  This is really getting to be a drag…

Friday's lesson was canceled because of the cold spell that has been plaguing us.  This week was very frustrating, as I dealt with insurance people who didn't know what the heck they were doing.  We had to change health insurance because of a 46% increase in rates, and the boss insisted I deal with the same idiot sales people from the last time we switched.  It's 20 days passed the day they promised we'd have all of our employee information, and we still don't have our insurance cards yet. Best yet, both of the agents avoided my calls and ignored my emails for days.  I have never had such a horrible experience with insurance. Ever.

Sunday was even more disorganized than normal.  I don't know why I let it bother me, because it's often not a smooth operation.  It must have been a general lack of patience due to the insurance fiasco at work.   It just irritated me to no end that I had to wait so long in the cold before bringing my horse out.  Then, the lesson was interrupted, which led to about 20 minutes of walking in the cold with my already frozen fingers complaining the entire time.  It is no fun riding when it's that cold out, and even less so when things don't go very smoothly.  Nyk was fussy and irritated by the time I took him back to his stall.  It took 2 and 1/2 hours to work in a thirty minute lesson. 

There are 10 riders going to the show on Saturday, and M is going to see if Hannah can handle Nyk.  Since her lesson is on Wednesday, I'll be riding Blondie during the group lesson.  I don't think she's ready to work for an hour, but I'm not going to push her very hard. 

Tuesday's lesson was all about practicing the serpentine.  I was letting Nyk just charge through it at first, but I was getting better at checking his speed by the end.  We had a nice canter, and called it a day.  It was really cold again, so I wasn't unhappy to climbing in my car and heading home to warm up.
 
I arrived early for the group lesson to watch Hannah ride Nyk and so that I could longe Blondie before the lesson.  Hannah did a pretty good job, so I'm curious to watch her show him on Saturday. 

Blondie was nowhere near the wild pony I thought she's be after being on vacation for so long.  She was so good, and she tried so hard to do everything I was asking of her.  She tried to trot like a western pony, though, so I tried to get her moving, regretting all the time that I forgot to put on my spurs.  Her mouth is nice and soft again, and she wasn't bearing down on the bridle.  She had a problem standing still while we took turns working through a pattern, but she settled down after a while.  She didn't want to pick up a  canter when I  first asked, but when she did, it was the slowest, most collected canter we've ever had.  Now we have to work on getting her fit again.  I think I have gained more confidence as a rider in the last four months, and I am so happy to have two very nice horses to show this summer.  I can hardly wait for the season to start.

Sammy

Thursday night, it was out to Barn 2.  I was really, really, really looking forward to this lesson, since I had graduated to another horse.  I didn’t know which horse, but it would be a new horse.  It’s always exciting to ride a new horse.  I bundled up, grabbed my iPod, and off I went, a little earlier than normal because I was full of anticipation.

When I arrived, I learned that I would be riding Arnold.  He’s 5, and he is the horse that almost fell on his face a few lessons ago.  He also had blinkers on, which isn’t usually a good sign.  Blondie certainly goes better in them, but that’s because she’s a chicken shit.  Arnold is also kind of squirrely, and he feels like he’s going to jump out of his skin at any moment.  I haven’t ridden a challenging horse like this in a long time.  He’s different from Ritz, whose canter just freaks me out.  She will just go along, if you let her, with no problems what so ever.  Arnold is jumpy and surgy and everything that pretty much terrifies me as a rider.

He used to be a 5-gaited horse, though most of time he didn’t feel like a 5-gaited horse.  His trot was nice and reasonable – until S had me open him up and let him trot like a 5-gaited horse.  I was pretty much hanging on for dear life at that moment, wondering why I still don’t have enough control of my balance to ride effectively at speed. 

Arnold’s canter was quite lovely, which was a surprise.  For a horse that goosed at least once each time around the arena, all in different spots, I expected something more chargy and scary.  Nope, his canter was smooth and slow, which was a relief because we cantered a lot. 

This was an exhilarating ride – it was tough and hard, hard work.  When I got off, I was tired and sweaty.  The sweat had soaked through three layers of clothes! Ick!  I’ll take the sweatshirt off if I ride him again next week. 

Today, we braved the cold, wind, and snow and traveled down the street to Sawasdee for lunch.  Actually, to be brutally honest, if we hadn’t needed to pick up a bag of dog food, we probably would have stayed home and just ordered out.  I wouldn’t even have cared where, as long as I didn’t have to go out.  It was dreadful outside! 

First, we took Buu to have his stitches removed.  He was a little (ok, big) trooper.  I was concerned about the incision on his chest, because it felt hot and swollen to me.  Dean thought I was making a mountain out of a molehill.  The vet remarked that it is a hematoma, and that we could treat it with either an ice pack or a heating pad.  Or we can do nothing.  It will eventually go away.  I was all for buying a few instant ice packs on the way home, but Dean was all for leaving it alone.  I will just keep an eye on it and see how it goes.

After picking up some dog food and a special can of moist food – Duck, Turkey, and Pasta -  because Buu was so good, we headed to a restaurant that was on the way home.  We decided on Sawasdee.  I thought spicy food would taste really good on such a cold day, and Dean, honestly, didn’t care where we went.  So Sawasdee it was.  This was our first time eating there. 

About two seconds after we were seated, bowls of soup were placed in front of use.  It was a cabbage soup with green onions and a little bit of spice. I liked it.  In fact, I ended up eating most of Dean’s, too.  He wasn’t so thrilled with the cabbage.

Ignore the shadow. I guess my head is bigger than I thought.

Next up, tea!  Look!  I was given a whole pot just for me!  It was very mellow and piping hot.  I think I drank the entire pot.  By myself.

This is a big bowl of rice.  It was just for Dean.  I ordered noodles, so my lunch didn’t come with rice.  There was a lot left over, and we brought it home for the dog.

/p>

Dean’s potato curry.  It had many, many slivers of water chestnuts.  And onions.  I might try this in the future.

Here is my lunch.  Pad Thai Curry.  It had shrimp, tofu, green onion, and bean sprouts.  And not enough ground peanuts.  I ordered it with medium spice – I probably could have gone up that extra notch to hot.

Overall, this was a satisfying, inexpensive meal.  The portions were very generous, and we both had leftovers to take home.  The service was brisk and efficient, and our food was quickly delivered to our table.  Lunch was $20 with tip.  Will certainly eat here again.

Trying to play catch up – here’s a quick post about Tuesday and Wednesday's lessons.

An Arctic cold front has moved into town, and let me tell you, it sucks!  Temps are hovering right around zero, with winds chills in the dangerous negative zone.  I learned that toe warmers fit comfortably inside gloves and keep fingers nice and toasty.  I don't like to put them in my boots, though, so my toes were like little lumps of ice.  Surprisingly, though, it hasn't been terribly uncomfortable. 

M is trying something new, and it seems to be working.  She had me think of the horse's head as a ball, and in order to keep it up in the air, I have to flick my wrists up.  No pulling, just popping my wrists up.  It worked pretty well with Nyk, even at the walk.  Another thing that is helping with his head set is practicing turning on the haunches.  When cantering, I think about how I sit when I want him to pivot around, and he slows down and starts moving more off of his back end.  Who would have thought something so simple would be so useful?

Lessons have been shorter due to the extreme temperatures, and lingering at the barn isn't something that sounds very appealing when the walls are coated with a layer of frost.  It's only going to get colder, and then it will be a positively balmy 23 on Sunday.  Hooray!

It was really cold today!  I hate riding when it’s so cold your fingers get numb.  Every breath left a billow of smoke lingering in the air.  Ugh!  We have three more months of this crap!  An Arctic cold front is supposed to blow into town this week, with temps below 0.  Something to not look forward to.

Today I changed something so simple, and I can’t believe what a big effect it had on my riding.  I have been using smooth reins, but I grabbed a braided rein for the snaffle instead.  I had been using a braided rein until I bought Nyk’s new bridle, when I started using the reins that came with it.  Guess what?  With the braided rein, he can’t pull the rein out my hands anymore, and I was able to keep his head bumped up during most of the lesson.

I rode with Audie this morning.  She rode Ritz, and we started off with a pattern at the walk.  It had a turn on the haunches, walk a circle, turn on the forehand, and more walking.  I am finally starting to understand how to cue for the turns.  I just have to remember to keep my weight back so Nyk doesn’t walk off in the middle of it.

The rail work went really well.  Nyk stayed collected and he didn’t keep pulling at the bridle.  His canters were nice and slow, but he trotted too fast the second way.  Chester was out on lines for that, and he kept jumping around and almost getting in the way.  I sped Nyk up to get by him, and then I had a hard time slowing him down again.  Over all, though, it was a good lesson.

The bit that I ordered a month ago finally came, and they sent the wrong one.  That makes the second item that I’m sending back.  I also ordered a pair of jods, but they were cut so small that even if you cut me in half, those pants never would have fit. Now, I realize that I’ve gained a little weight during the month long eating binge I’ve been on, but I haven’t gained THAT much!

Nyk, wondering where his peppermint is

My riding schedule changed after the 1st, and now I ride Tuesday – Friday.  Two of the lessons are later in the evening, which means I’m up past my normal bedtime, which makes getting up the next morning a challenge.  The worst part is that they are two days in a row. Ugh.

I had a couple of break through moments, finally.  On Tuesday, Nyk wouldn’t flex to the right, so we worked on making him give on that side of the bridle.  It finally connected how to make him hold his head in a certain place without pulling on  his face all the time.  I just have a hard time doing this at the walk with him.  He buries his head and it’s hard to get it back up without a huge fight.

Wednesday during the group lesson we worked again on flexing left and right, and on turning on the forehand and turning on the haunches.  I didn't get the turning on the haunches at all.  M had to come over, hold my leg, and walk in a circle with us.  After figuring out that I had to sit back, Nyk started to do it.  Then during the cool out I worked on it again, and started to figure it out.  I keep pulling him back instead of holding him from walking off.

Thursday, I braved the snow to drive to the other barn.  Ironically, S had me practice a pattern, which included a turn on the haunches.  I rode Lucky, and the first time I asked for the turn, he did it perfectly.  I mentioned that we had worked on it the night before, and then S had me practice a few more times.

One funny thing happened during the lesson. I was cantering with no stirrups, and one of the cats ran out in front of us, jumping up on the railing as we were going by.   It almost collided with Lucky.  Lucky’s only reaction as to bobble a little and get a little faster.  I started laughing, and S said that most of the other horses would have spooked at that.  I know that Blondie would have lost her tiny horsy mind if that had happened to her. 

I am excited about next week’s lesson because I have graduated to a different horse.  I wonder which it will be?

Last night, we worked on getting Nyk to give in to the right side of the bridle again.  I was getting frustrated with him at the walk, because he kept dropping his head and I couldn’t get him gathered back up.  I was getting frustrated with myself because I started pulling at him and locking up my hands, which only made things worse.  The lesson ended well, though, with a slow canter on the right lead without me having the keep checking his speed.

On the Blondie front – I have been working her  on a longe line every day I’ve been at the barn.  I haven’t been working her very hard because I didn’t want to have to wait an hour for her to cool out, but I have been trying to get her back in a routine again after her time off.  She is being better about standing in the cross ties and she is listening to voice commands on the line, but she is so out of shape I want to take things easy so she doesn’t hurt herself.

Blondie at Ludington

Things have been kind of quiet at the barn.  Blondie had a pissy fit on Friday when they brought her in, and she’s still not happy that her vacation is over.  She is on daily turn out now, in one of the smaller pastures.  M is afraid that they won’t be able to catch her if they turn her out with the mares again.

Friday we worked at perfecting the teardrop pattern with Nyk.  It’s nowhere near perfect yet.  I am leaning forward during the turns, allowing him to speed up, and I’m not asking him to move off of my leg enough.  It was better than the last time we tried it, but it still needs a lot of work.

Today I jogged Nyk.  JJ almost broke the cart yesterday, or so I have been told.  He is a little demon pony, and his stall is next to Blondie’s.  He keeps kicking the wall between them.  At first I, and everyone else, thought it was Blondie kicking, but, no, it was JJ.

Nyk was feeling very peppy in the morning chill, and getting him to flat walk was a pain.  We ended up walking a lot.  Then we trotted in figure 8’s and circles, to try and get him supple and off of the bridle.  Then we walked figure 8’s and circles.  My fingers and toes were freezing by the time we were finished – Nyk was steaming, so I guess I really do need to shed a few pounds.

Next up, M showed me how to longe Blondie.  I longed her with her halter, and just had her trot for about 10 minutes in each direction.  She was smoking when we stopped.  She is so out of shape!  She is out of shape and Nyk is turning into a tubby little pony.  Me, too! All three of us need to get back on that training track – the holidays are over!