Goals for 2012

A lot has happened in 2011. Some of it good, some of it bad. Its been a year full of self discovery, worry and hope all wrapped up into one year. So looking back on 2011:


Goals for 2011:

1) If we get to shows this summer I want to enter the ring as confident and as happy as I entered the show ring at the last show! None of this worrying about what everyone is thinking about, no one else's opinions matter EXCEPT the judge!

I'm not sure how well I did on this one! The first couple of shows I did ok (except for almost worrying myself sick at the first one and even that turned out ok) I kind of fell apart a bit in the middle and ended up having a great final show except for the fact that I cried my eyes out at the thought that it may be my last show with Lucas.


2) To win a showmanship class at an open show. Lucas is broke enough and talented enough, its just me holding him back! There is lots of local competition so it should be tough enough to keep me working all year.

We did this! In fact we managed to only get second twice, both times to very competent show women (that took lessons from me at one point or another!). If I could get the same commitment to my riding that I give to showmanship we would be unbeatable.

3) Hope that the RA stops progressing and that the new drugs continue to improve my symptoms.

So far so good. I haven't felt this good in years.

4) Go for a ride 'outside' of the ring this summer. Maybe just a walk on the lawn with the kids, but we both (me and Lucas that is) need to get more comfortable without fences all around us.

I did do this at a show, there were no warm up arenas so we warmed up without a fence. Not really the same thing but with some confidence issues this summer that was all that we did.

5) To put Lucas back into a 'normal' snaffle at some point this year. No twisted wires, no curbs, no ports. This will be a challenge but its time for us to try it, if we ever want to try dressage it is the one thing that we NEED to do.

Fail. But something that I am working on this week. See below for the follow up goal!

6) Either teach Lucas to ground drive, or refresh his memory. Its possible that he was ground driven before, but I think that's something that were going to start working on soon.

Done, but something that we will continue to work on this winter when it is too cold to ride. It was good for both of us to work on something outside of our comfort zone.

Considering that I gave up on goals sometime back in August we didn't do too badly. I had a very good ride on Lucas today, a confidence building ride for sure. I rode him in a bit very similar to the bit I show him in and managed to stay out of his mouth. It's different and good all at the same time. I mostly worked on keeping us both busy and not so much on what either one of us was doing.

So goals for 2012

1) To loose the weight that has been holding back my riding. Now that my joints are better, becoming a fitter rider will only help my balance and skill on a horse.

2) To stop listening to the voice in my head telling me that I'm not good enough, that Lucas is going to spook, that I'm going to fall off... any and all of it must stop!

3) To give up my crutch of a bit, the twisted wire. I'm a good enough rider, and Lucas is broke enough that we really don't need it.

4) To ride in a pattern class at every show (as long as it doesn't require dropping your irons, and if the English one does than I have to show horsemanship)

5) To trust in Lucas so that he can trust in me. I can do it at a show, its time to do it at home.

6) To do a trail class with Lucas (with me in the saddle) although I will be ok if we do not complete every obstacle.

7) To apply for my AQHA Amateur card. Its been more than 5 years since I last accepted money to show/train a horse or judge a show. I need to accept that an Amateur is what I am now and it is ok to compete at that level!

And as you can tell, the plan is for 2012 to include Lucas. My friend and I have been talking a bunch since he's come home and what my ambitions used to be, before I got sick. If you had given me Lucas 7 years ago I would have been over the moon. He was what I wanted, an English horse to show HUS, showmanship and halter with.

Safety first

Well Lucas is finaly home! Hes got thrush in all four feet and a couple of hock sores along with his cough but other than that hes fine. I was going to go ride but no one was around so I stayed on the ground and gave him a hair cut, cleaned up his feet, and put his tail up in a bag. I also turned him out in the indoor for some fun time and he had a good run while I took a picture or two. He seems to like being home, and I have to admit I have missed having him home. He is such an affectionate horse and likes to cuddle and pretend to 'kiss'.

A good one gone,

My first 4-h leader's (M) mother died today. She was 101, and until this summer lived at home on her farm that she and her husband built together. M retired from the vet practice that she bought from my Grandfather about 15 years ago now and she has always been a positive and encouraging force in my 'horse life'. She vetted my first horse, encouraged me when I thought nothing else could go right at horse shows, and taught me to barrel race. M and her mother are the longest established breeders of AQHA horses in the maritimes, started shorting after Marie started work as a veterinarian.

Her Mother was the group Grandmother. There were always cookies ready to be eaten and an ear for anything that might need to be talked about. Although she had 8 grand kids and 10 great-grand kids of her own she cared for a lot more than that.

When I would travel with my Dad on his rounds to breed cattle I would always ask to stop at her place for some cookies.

I spent the last two days at C and D's place looking after the farm and the animals (16 horses, 3 cats and 2 dogs). Lucas should be home tonight and I hope to go and ride him tomorrow afternoon.

A good ride and an eye opener

So I went and rode Lucas today. It was good and bad. Good because we had a 'stuck' free ride, and a good one where we worked together and had some fun. Its been a while and I realize now after working with the green horses at the 'home' barn how well trained he is, and how nice that can be! I've really missed his canter, although Lucy's jog was a lot easier to sit to!

It was bad however because the 'mild cough' that I was told about seems to be something more sinister. He's occasionally had a runny nose at odd times at home and at shows, and has always dunked his hay but now he has a nasty cough every once and a while. Hes not horrible, about 25% not right, and he is being treated for it, but I'm very glad he's coming home to our better ventilated barn. The old trainers place is nice for people (insulated and they use a lawn blower to 'sweep') but its not very horse health friendly.

The old boss did have some good hints about what to do and what to avoid, and like Mugs, http://mugwumpchronicles.blogspot.com/recommended that I not ride him in a nose band or ride in a very loose one. They've tried several different bridles with him and its not so much the bit, but how tight the nose band is, and how tight the curb is (if they ride him with one).

He also suggested that we mix the bits up, something different every couple of days to keep him from anticipating, and that Lucas needs a different program every ride. I just can't get on, do a little walk a little trot. I will need to keep his brain active and his body busy to keep him from getting stuck.

So we'll see how things go. He has a couple of weeks left on his meds, but the barn manager thought that a change in scenery (ie a barn with better ventilation, and more time outside in fresh air, along with better hay) he should be back to 100% in a week or two. Unofficially he's off the market for a couple of months although an old friend wants to come look at him, however any of that will wait till hes feeling better.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Its done

Lucas is coming home next week. I'm off to the old bosses place where he is kept, on Monday for a 'kick my ass' riding lesson on him, and then D and C are picking him up on Wednesday on there way home from the USA. They are taking there ZMGB stud colt to the US to be trained/marketed for a couple of months and can pick Lucas up in NB on the way back.

My parents have really surprised me this week, they are not really supportive of my 'horse addiction'. They have only seen Lucas twice the entire time that I have owned him and have never seen me ride him. However this week when we had to make a decision on what to do, they told me to bring him home so that at least I could go and ride him.

I got myself some brand new sneakers yesterday for Christmas to help with my fitness goals. My parents though that my broken down 3 yo sneakers were more of the cause of my ankle pain than the arthritis.

Well Im off to the family supper tonight at my aunts home, than my cousin and his family, and my brother and his girlfriend are coming over tomorrow night for Christmas supper at home. Hopefully I'll have pictures from our ride on Monday. Have a safe and Merry Christmas everyone!

Now What

Well we decided to back out of the deal to sell Lucas. The final offer was so low it was an insult to Lucas. Although Me and Lucas weren't always a great mix over the past year, he is still an extremely talented and quality horse, there was no way to even think about replacing him with something of equal quality in a western version with what we were offered.

In truth I'm not that upset.

So things are up in the air in the moment. I'm off to have a ride on him on Monday with the old boss and talk about options.

Meds are working.... kind of....

Winter is not the best time for me. I can never get warm (especially my feet, they are always cold). I deal with extra layers and heating pads, and heated seats and steering wheels, all of which help. Im sure there are a lot of us dealing with cold and joint pain even if you don't have RA!

Several RA blogers have made today a day to share pictures of our hands. "Like the eyes being the window to the soul, in the case of RA, the hands are the window to the bigger picture" http://thrivewithra.wordpress.com/2011/12/16/raising-my-hand-for-ra-awareness/ I couldn't really get a good shot of my hands, the drift of my fingers isn't that significant thankfully, and my veins in my hands have stayed looking normal thanks to the willingness of my nurses to use veins in my arms.

Today though I made a bit of a great discovery... for the first time in 6 years I can feel and see my knuckle on my right hand more than I can feel swelling. It doesn't look like much in the picture but compare it to the one following it of my left fist and you'll see what I mean:

Right hand in a fist, see the knuckles!!



Left hand in a fist, more swelling, than normal knuckles.

The Waiting Game.

Vet appointment is booked for Lucas early next week, cross your fingers all goes well and he'll be off to his new home before the New Year.

Still working with the Project Pony Max, who is doing very well with the saddling, and is just about ready to start driving next week. Hottie banged her leg up outside so she's getting a bit of a break while Max stays in more consistent work for another week or two.

I got to ride Lucy again last night and had some fun while getting her to lighten up her shoulders and front end. We are both horridly out of shape but we are setting some fitness and eating goals for me (and for Lucy) which should help both of us out over the next month or two.

Part way though the ride C remarked that I had now been riding Lucy longer than I had ridden Lucas for any one stretch last summer/spring. I guess that Lucy is just fun, and I can ask her to do stuff without having to worry about her reaction. We are still mostly just walk/trot with a little lope (well more like a canter) thrown in but that's something that will come with time. Its also SO nice to have a nice jog! Lucas trot wasn't bad but I don't hurt all over the next day when I ride Lucy.

Mixed Feelings x2

We are waiting for Lucas to pass a vet check.


In Project Pony news, Max got the saddle on for the first time today! Hes been wearing saddle pads and towels in the cross ties, so today after I lunged him for a bit I D to come out and toss a saddle on as I thought he was ready. So D came out, put the saddle on, tightened the girth up just enough to keep it in place and we went for a walk. He was fine. One of the kids came in to lunge her horse (only the second time he's been worked with another horse in the ring) and he was much more interested in her mare than the thing on his back.

So we banged on the saddle, made the training rings make noise, rubbed him all over, and bounced the stirrups on his side and then let him out on the lunge line where he walked around 5 or 6 times while being extremely board. The real bucks will come when he starts cantering and trotting and the saddle makes noise but he took it so well today it shouldn't be a problem. We're right on schedule to have him driving just before Christmas so he can have some time off to digest stuff.

I also took Hottie out and lunged her. Shes about 16.2hh right now at almost 3 and all western. She even bucks in slow motion which is really funny considering her size. She got to be a pasture pony as a 2 yo as she was growing too big to fast to even think about working her. (She got saddled and lunged as a 2 year old, and trailered to shows as a yearling but no riding) So she's on the hit list to get started come Jan when she'll be 3. Im not sure what we will end up doing with her, my guess would be that we'll put a light start on her then let her finish growing. Her legs are good, but with that much growth as a 2 yo its best to go short, sweet, and slow! Ill try to take my camera out tomorrow and take pictures.

Saddles and why I'm always fighting with them

Along with all of my other issues that I have, my right hip is set higher than my left. It usually means that Im riding with stirrups that are different lengths, or Im slightly off center. It almost always shows up in the horses I ride sooner rather than latter. When you now combine that with my right ankle only working at 50% my right side is always at a disadvantage. Most of the time I muddle though it, but I have a HUGE problem with some saddles. Unfortunately I found another when I rode on the weekend. Im ok, and I have an appointment with the chiropractor next week to fix it but its not exactly fun right now! I did manage a short little ride again last night, but it was a good confidence booster which I needed. So back to my saddle issues:

Ten years ago I had my first run-in with a saddle that did NOT fit me. It was a lovely semi-custom Antares saddles that was made for the pro rider I was working for. Now Im sure all of you are thinking, well its semi-custom of course it wouldn't fit her! Nope I rode in all of his saddles (in the end I ended up riding in his stirrup length because it worked!) and this was the only one that bothered me. It was so bad I had to leave work the next day, crawl into the truck and drive around town until I found a chiropractor that could fit me in.

I've ridden mostly in Collegiate close contacts and German made saddles since then (Passier and Stubbens) and haven't had a problem until Sunday. I rode in C's cattle penning saddle (think almost a barrel saddle). Ive ridden almost exclusively in Billy Cooks', Hubbard's, and Wengers and I've never had one bother me. But it does give me something to think about when I do go to buy another western saddle, I really need to go with a pleasure seat, and I should seriously try to ride in it before I buy.

I think alot of it has to do with the restriction of my hips and could be why I'm always happier in a flatter seat on a saddle...

Another update

Well things have been good here, Lucas is still not sold but we have had several promising phone calls so our fingers are still crossed.

Max is doing good, he now walks, trots, and canters and halts both directions with very little going wrong. He does occasionally try to stop, but if that's the worse that he does, that's not so bad! We hope to have the saddle on him in another week or two so that we can start ground driving him a bit in December. Once that is done he'll have a bit of a break over the coldest months to grow up a bit more.

And I actually got to ride a little bit on the weekend! Lucy, who gave birth to Chilly last March, is finally over the cut she got to her leg in early August. (Shes been sound on it for 2 months but C and D wanted to play it safe) So C got on her for a few minutes to make sure she wasn't too fresh and then I got on. It was so funny! Lucy is only about 15.1 hands (but old style QH, she wears the same girth as Lucas, on almost the same hole) and short backed. Lucas is too, but it was so different on a smaller horse! It also felt like she had NO neck, but I know she really does, its just not as long as Lucas. I realized that shes the first horse that I've ridden since I bought Lucas that wasn't him. It was just weird (although in a nice way too).

I kept trying to make Lucy trot out, and C kept telling me to slow down, poor Lucy must have been very confused. It was extremely nice to have smooth gaits and the slower speed of a WP horse. Even though I thought Lucas wasn't too rough, my back and joints didn't even bother me the next day after riding Lucy, and they would have if I had ridden Lucas.

Its been a couple of months now but Im sure now Im making the right direction. As much as I love Lucas hes not the right horse for me anymore. If the WP thing works out I might be able to ride for more than an hour without being completely exhausted and sore.

World results

For our Nova Scotia People! (DH)

Top 5 open preformance halter geldings
Top 5 Amature preformance halter geldings
3rd Jr Trail
Jr HUS 9th and 7th (although the 7th place horse is owned localy the horse lives in the USA)

There were also several horses that were out of mares bred by HB that were in the top 10 in several events.

Not to bad for little old Nova Scotia!

Good bye old man,

Another death in the Canadian show jumping world. Beth Underhill's famous horse Monopoly died today.

Unlike Hickstead Monopoly was a horse who had a full and complete life (born in 1979), and had a chance to enjoy retirement and being the 'top' horse as his years stretched on. It was at this point in his life that I got to meet him in 2003. For about a month and a half I lived over top of Beth's stable as a home base while grooming horses in Ont. Monop was the king of the barn. He had a huge 14x14 box stall in the middle of the barn where he could see everything, he was turned out first in the best paddock, and got the benifit of having his stall door open every night (with only a chain across his door) so that he could keep an eye on everything. It was this habbit that had me interacting with him at 3 am. Every night when he ran out of night check hay he would get board and start playing with things. Usualy by 3 am it ended up in him slamming his sliding door back and forth to make noise, which usualy resulted in him getting more hay so that we tired grooms could have another 2 hours of sleep.

Good bye old man, you had a good run.

http://equinecanada.ca/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1322%3Aequine-canada-extends-condolences-on-the-passing-of-monopoly&catid=190&Itemid=413&lang=en

Project Pony, and Congress/World results

Meet Max, the Project Pony. Hes a March 2010 baby so hes just learning how to lunge, showmanship and trail in hand. As of today hes 14.1 in the front and 14.3 and a bit in the hind. (And yes he got used to the scary measuring stick today too!)

In other news we got word that a top trainer/judge about 1.5 hours away was 3rd in Trail at the world show today! And the mare is bred, raised, owned, trained and shown by people from Nova Scotia! This barn still has one more horse waiting for finals in the HUS so we wish them continued sucess.

When you think that our area had 3 finalists, 3 top tens and two top 5's from Congress, and now a top 3 from the world show and another 2 finalist horses, our show horses are extreamly strong in our little area! When our biggest QH show this year brought in only 70 horses it makes for a tough time to even break into the top 2!

CBC.ca | The Sunday Edition | Horse Whisperer

A lovely essay by Michael Enright about horses, and Hickstead;

CBC.ca The Sunday Edition Horse Whisperer


In other horsey news 'Project Pony' aka Max the 2 year old I'm working with is coming along in leaps and bounds! Hes now lunging both directions at all three gaits, although still not very smooth, he is staying out on the circle and not changing directions unless asked! We're also working on setting up for showmanship/halter and that is going well too! (Hes a very smart pony) We started working on teaching him the basics of a showmanship pivot and hes got the correct idea "oh I need to cross my front legs to do this!" but gets tangled up in his own legs at that point.

Its so much fun to TEACH a horse something instead of having a horse just be mad at me because Im not doing it correctly. On that side Lucas is having some fun being a temporary lesson pony while he waits for a new person. Hes likes the work, and the variety of it so I guess hes happy. He looks fitter than he was with me so I think I made the right choice for me at this point.

The RA is ok, the changing temps always do a number on me at this time of year. I would really like to loose some weight but the walking/biking/working outside thing doesn't work when I hurt. Bad cycle of not enough exercises causing weight gain which causes more pain which causes less exercise.

Visit with Lucas

Went up on Friday and had a bit of a vist with Lucas. He looks good, hes lost a touch of weight, but has gained some muscle in its place so its not a bad thing at all. He looks really good. No firm offers on him, but lots of people love him. (no surprise there!)

Went out to the barn today and played with one of the babies (well hes coming two) If he was a larger horse he would seriously be on the 'replacement' list but hes still on the small side. I also brushed a couple of the other horses and cliped a few too. Hopefully I'll take my camera out tomorrow and take a couple of pictures.

My Eric story

So once upon a time I used to be a high level show groom for several summers, in part to pay for college. Horses that I looked after were showing and winning at the Royal Winter Fair (although I never did get to go to the fair!) in the Hunters and the Jumpers.

In 2003 the owners I was working for had a promising up and coming jumper. IM had been courting them, calling them every day, wanting to ride him. So when we got to the first show IM showed up to ride the horse, and everything went fine for the first couple of days until the Horse dumped IM in the show ring in front of everyone. The next day 2 of us had to hold the horse for IM to get on, and then watched in horror as he proceeded to hit the horse several times HARD with his crop (this was the NEXT day! ). If you know anything about Canadian showjumping you will know who IM is, and believe me the niceness that you see on TV is a front.

The next day Eric gets the ride on the Horse. There was no fake attempt at conversation, just a professional and fun conversation about the horse, what he liked and didn't like and what Eric would like us to help with. He was great to work for. Professional, nice, and let us do our jobs because we knew what was best for the Horse.

I hope he doesnt retire, but I can understand why he would want to step down to just coaching and training. Either way the loss of Hickstead was a huge one for Canada and for Eric.

RIP Hickstead

Canada has lost a great horse,



My heart goes out to Eric, the owners and the barn family of Hickstead.

Update

Lucas is good :) And very happy at the old boss's place. Hes being ridden by some of the better riders who are currently horseless. We are still waiting for the final word from a lady that tried Lucas out.

Its been hard, but for the best that Lucas is away from me while this process is going on. Its been easer to say good bye when I dont see him every day. I still miss him but I think its a good transition to his new life.

Everything else is ok, not doing to much on the horsey front. Just playing with the weanlings at the barn and helping out there on the weekends.

I am such a bad blogger!

Sorry I've been missing in action. Im getting over a cold, and just about everyone horsey is away at Congress. Good news is that a kid I used to teach (whos now an amature, yikes) horse made the finals in the 3yo HUS Open, and a girl that stabled across from Lucas and me last summer made the finals in the Novice youth showmanship! This weekend is a busy one for the kids with the NYATT classes, and most of the Amature stuff goes next week so hopefully we'll have more great finishes!

In Lucas news, I drove up to the barn he's at and had a great visit with him. (and no tears!) Hes happy and well looked after, which is the most important thing. Lets hope we can find a great home for him.

Lucas up-date

So Lucas is doing good at the old boss' place. They call and give me an update every couple of days and hes getting lots of cookies from my friends. They have a couple of good leads, but he isnt sold yet. The really good part is that the Boss is riding him a couple of times a week to keep him tuned up, so that even if he comes home he will be an easier horse to ride.

Things are good at the barn, very quiet now that most of the horses are off on the Autumn vacation. Seems like everyone is off to Congress in the next week or two, makes me miss going and showing but atleast you can watch online.

http://envisionfilmvideo.com/live.html.

The dairy world and 4-H

I was very lucky when I was growing up to be in a fantastic area for 4-H. In our county of NS we have some of the top breeders of Holstein, Ayrshire and Jersey cattle in the world. With my Dad being the only guy in the area that knew how to do artificial insemination and embryo collection (at the time he was the only one, although its more common now for the farmers to do it themselves.) I grew up visiting farms, and farmers that are famous in the dairy world.

Believe it or not, I am actually a better judge of dairy cattle, than horses. Ive won more awards and trips with cattle judging than horse judging! This all came to a head one winter in 1997 when visiting a farm with a top breeder and judge of Holsteins. He asked me what I thought of one of his bull calves in a pen. I (being the outspoken brat that I was) told him it wasn't good enough. The farmer snorted and walked away. My dad ripped a strip off of me when we got back to the car! He w.as a good guy though and he and dad had a good laugh over it the next time we visited

Two months later its 4-H judging time, we go to a different farm and the judge who will be hearing our results is the same breeder that I ticked off a couple of months earlier! So I place the cows, walk up to the Judge and give my reasons and places. He smirks a bit during my results but no big deal.... Two months after that we receive our placings at the local exhibition.

I won.

Out of all the farm kids, who live on farms I won and had the highest score in the county. Turns out that bull calf wasn't good at all, and I placed the cows exactly the same way he did during the competion. And the farmer got a hoot out of it, he now calls me George, even years later, said I needed a real farmers name!

The real reason I'm writing this is that one of the breeders I showed for recently had some significant success. One of his cows Pine Haven SSM Marmie, is the 2011 World Dairy Expo Grand Champion Jersey cow! She won over 360 other Jersey females to win this honor.




For dairy breeds this is the equivalent to winning the grand champion at the AQHA world show.

Eric still donates calves to all of the 4-H groups, and has had several bulls selected for breeding.

Pictures!

Not the pictures by my friend, but some very nice ones put on facebook by a friend of a friend.

Getting ready for showmanship (I love this photo of him!, And I dont look too huge!)


HUS class, I dont know what I was doing, look at the face on me!

Lucas sticking his toung out at a walk like he likes to do (we have a 3yo gelding who's mother is a 1/2 sibling to Lucas that hangs his out all the time)

Turn in showmanship (and we finaly had a back to the judge and set up for inspection like we've practiced all year!)

Halter set up for the judge

Trot in for showmanship

Waiting for placings

Alot has happened

Well alot has happened since my last post, Ive almost been to busy to write about it. I saw my RA doctor on the 23rd and shes decided to hold off on changing my meds for a bit. She is worried about the level of damange the RA is doing to my hands and my right ankle, but those are the worst, the rest are not as bad. So I have x-rays to be done on hands and ankles and then we go from there.

I ended up taking Lucas to our fun show at the barn (not like we needed to trailer to it!). And he was a super star as usual. We won our Halter and Showmanship classes, blew a lead (surprise) in the stake, and got second in the HUS class. I did well until that last class, and then I cried like a baby the entire second direction. We did ok but my lack of concentration hurt our placings. Thankfully my best friend only brought her barrel racer to the show and had time to get me sorted out before our Trail in hand class. So we ended up getting 5th out of 25 in the in hand trail class which I was impressed with as this was his first trail class. I will have pictures, my best friend took a ton as she knew how special and how hard that day was going to be.

The very next day I received an email from the former boss saying that he has some clients that were interested and asked me to send him up for a couple of weeks. So Lucas left on Thursday night for some time at his place, the old boss is going to ride him some and tune him up and have some of the kids that are looking ride him as well. Hopefully he will find a home up there as I know they will take care of him and show and enjoy him. I thought that I would want to go up with him but decided that I should just let him leave without upsetting us both. I have plans to go up next weekend to see him if hes not sold... Two good friends that have horses in the barn are taking him treats, and sharing some love with him until he gets a new person or comes home.... Im still not sure which would be better.

Riding

Well my feet had finally healed enough that I was able to go and ride last Wednesday night. I had a great ride on Lucas and we even did most of the trail obstacles (including the bridge!!!!). My friend mentioned that I would have had no expectations of him, and maybe that's why we got along better. I had nothing in mind to work on other than getting him moving under saddle. Looks like Im going to be having one last show with him next weekend, I hope I make it though it without crying.

Still waiting for someone to come and buy him, lots of interest but no serious people yet. I went to the local AQHA show on the weekend and the trainer that I took lessons from in 08 (I think I have them listed under Lessons or Bunny) told me that he had a call from the first people who tried him. After she had been out to see Lucas she called the Trainer and asked him if he would go out the next time with them. He's waiting just like I am for them to call back.

Also found out that someone at the APHA show on the 4-5th not only took down all of my posters they also went around and told people he was sold. very weird....

The AQHA show was extremely small (58 stalls in use) and considering that it was split combined (halter and english one day western the next) all of the classes were done at 1pm after starting at 9:30. The Youth classes were the only ones with more than 5 entries, and they combined the jr and sr HUS and had 5 (we had 6-13 in just the Sr last year!).

Lucas is getting his hind shoes off in the next day or two so he can start going out with other horses again for the first time since last winter :) Im off today to clip him and get everything ready for the show next weekend.

progress

I dont know if anyone has been either to a APHA or ApHC show where they have in hand trail, but it is a class where a horse and leader complete a regular trail course (no lope overs though!). Our fun show thats coming up in 2 weeks has this class so Lucas and I have been practicing the obsticals this week in prep for the show. That would give us 3 classes without the riding classes. Im not sure if I want to show him under saddle or not...

The girl that did the video for me a couple of weeks ago, rode him again on Thursday night for me, and had a great ride. Lucas was almost excited to go back to work and he worked well for her.

There is somone coming to look at him 'hopefully' on Monday night so cross your fingers.

Oh and were getting a truck load of weanlings from out west next week (6-7) so it should be an intresting week.

I have no problems with balance

Other than the fact that I keep falling, and tripping. Yesterday my dad scared me (in fun, or at least it was supposed be in fun) and I slipped and fell out of my sandals and cut my feet to pieces on the shells. Mom & Dad were afraid I would bleed out before we got the blood stopped, but it did. No stitches needed, just alot of shallow long cuts. Thankfully my Dr made me get a tetanus shot 2 years ago. So Im ok but very, very, very sore.

I mentioned to my family Dr that I've been having moter issues not exactly related to the RA, he thinks that its physiological stress on my body from the RA and the drugs more than anything is actually wrong with me but this is starting to become an issue. Would it even be safe for me to ride?

So on the Lucas front I still have a couple of people trying to make time to come see/ride him. The kid that did the videos for me is going to ride him some this week while im taking it easy, Im planing on showing him in our fun show at the barn in halter, showmanship, and in hand trail. Im not sure if I want to show him under saddle or not.

Another day, and off to the local ex.

Its been fairly quiet, no new people have been out. Lots of tire kickers but noone biting. Lots of crazy people are into horses too! Some of the emails I have gotten are just strange.

Crazy maritimers...

So with hurricane Irene making its way here I'm somewhat laid up on the coach fighting though what I'm assuming to be the changes in the weather.

In typical maritime fashion tomorrow (as in hours before Irene is expected to make landfall in the maritime) our family (my dad's side) is scheduled to to go 'brown' river rafting on the Shubenacadie river. Its a river that joins the Bay of Fundy and as the website states "The incoming tides of the Bay of Fundy enter the "V" shaped Cobequid Bay, as the tide progresses into the shallowing and narrowing river, the water begins to "pile-up". This phenomenon creates what is known as a "tidal bore", The tidal Bore represents the lead wave of the incoming tide. Behind the tidal bore, tidal rapids form. The Tidal Bore itself can range in size from a few inches to up to 10 feet! The tidal rapids range in size from 3' to 16' in height. "

The best part, Dad booked this weekend at the first of the summer knowing it would be an "extreme tide", and that was before the hurricane.........

I will only be going on this trip as a van driver, but I have a feeling that they (meaning the rest of my family) might not be going in the water either! Last year at about this time we had a hurricane, but all it did was nock out some power, and some trees but we are a decent distance from the ocean.

On the Lucas front, I've had several interesting phone calls including one from Maine so keep your fingers crossed for him. I went out this morning and lunged him as he was going to stay in for most of the day (too hot for a black horse to be outside!) and gave him a good brushing.

Still alive

Hi everyone,
Im still alive, and each day its a little bit easer to work on selling Lucas. I have come to accept that I havn't liked riding Lucas for a while. I loved it when we got 'it' but I havn't had fun riding him in a long time.

Id also like to thank everyone for your coments and concerns. It has helped. Although, like Becky, if I could take RA into a dark building and shoot it, I would.

We got some sale videos done up last night, one of the kids (well she's 16 but still a kid!) to ride Lucas and I just started shooting. The past two people that have ridden him have made me realize that this is the correct decision. Hes gone extreamly well for them. Im not too proud to admit that my riding ability has been holding him back from how well he can look.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9l0qWNbHRg

I wish I had something nice and fun to write about but I dont really. My sunburn I got on the weekend blistered and I think it is now infected (thanks lovely immuosuppressents). So Im slathering myself in Bag Balm and crossing my fingers, if it doesnt get better soon im off to the hospital. Im going to the barn every day and doing chores (C and D are away at a horse show) but Im too hot and tired out to do much with Lucas other than brush him. The people that tried him out this week plan on coming back for the son to ride him but are having some scedualing issues due to him going back to university.

Im not crying everyday, but I havnt started looking for a new horse either.

Mixed Feelings

Well someone came and tried Lucas out last night. It went really well, which bothered me and made me feel better all at the same time. She had a great ride and Lucas went extreamly well for her. I think that I am doing the right thing even though it still hurts. He has so much potential, it would be a waste for him just to do showmanship with me.

But I am seriously going to miss him.

The only way I got though it was by thinking that it was someone else's horse that they asked me to sell.

I know its the right thing for both of us.... Its just hard.

A tough decision

Im sorry I havn't posted much things have been a little crazy here at home. And Ive had to make one of the most difficult decisions of my life so far.

Lucas is being put up for sale.

Although its killing me to do it, and breaking my heart in the process, I just have to admit to myself that he is just to much horse for me and my RA. He goes wonderfully for everyone else in the barn but I dont have the strength or consistency to keep him going correctly. Heck I cant get a left lead canter on him some days, and then someone else gets on and its fine. He has lots of miles left in him and would be an excellent horse for someone, just not me anymore.

My best friend brought it to a head when she asked me if I was keeping him for myself, or just because I was making up for his mistreatment before I bought him.

I wont be getting out of horses completely, and will keep riding and showing Lucas until he sells (heck with the way the market is, I could be still showing him next summer.) This week has been tough enough and its only going to get worse... please cross your fingers I can find him an excellent home

Anyone looking for a HUS horse?

You want to act like a 2yo you can get treated like a 2 yo!

And that is how things went tonight. Lucas went to boot camp last night but it got called off on account to thunder and lightning. C and D kicked us out of the barn so that they could turn off the electricity!

I lunged Lucas hard tonight, and in his bridle which I hardly ever do (and tied him around just a bit). Lucas started off being a dink but D talked me and Lucas out of it and got us working again and trotting forward. Hes acting like a baby so hes going to be treated like a baby, hard work and lots of bending. It basically comes down to the fact that Lucas needed his ass kicked again, and more than likely will need it kicked again tomorrow. Its a pain, but we seem to have this continuing circle. Ride him and beat him up for about 5 rides, ease off some, have 2 months or so of good riding, bad behaviour starts escalating, beat him up again.

My friend seems to think there are a couple of reasons for it. If the work is too easy he would like to have even easier work, so he acts up trying to get his way. And he only knew discipline until he came to us. If he is in a hard, almost abusive work, he doesn't need to think, just react to what his rider tells him to do. I think with me hes thinking way too much on our everyday ride.

Bad and good.

Lucas is a tool.


He had a good lunge, we did some walk work and then he just refused to go forward. We haven't had a 'stuck' moment in a couple of months. So I got him moving again, and he reared. He hasn't done that since March/April before D got hurt.

D was right there and grabbed him and lead us both around for a bit while i got my nerve back and he checked Lucas out to make sure nothing was pinching or rubbing him that would cause him pain.

Then he told me to get off, he was going to ride him.

D has only ridden 2 horses about 10 times each since he got the go ahead from his doctor. Both are quiet beginner safe horses so that he could work on his arm, and gain some balance back.

I was more scared for D at this point than myself so I did try to talk him out of it but he was insistent that he was going to get on to fix it. I held the off side stirrup so that he could get up on Lucas. (The arm that he broke was the arm that he uses to pull himself up, and that is still a little rusty) And away he went.

D put Lucas to work, and it was much like the first ride D had on him back in January. Lucas pulled out all the stops, spins, bucks and rears, and D stuck to him and pushed him though it. It was like he never stopped riding. He did get a bit loose at one point when the horses in the field next to us took off and so did Lucas, but he stuck with him and put him right back into work.

Once he got to a 'good' place with Lucas I got on him and did some trotting, and transition work with him. He was still in a really pissy move but at least the behaviour was better.

D could hardly walk (using leg muscles he hasn't used in 4 months), but was extremely happy that he was able to ride Lucas though it.

Im going back out tomorrow night when the older kids are having there lesson to ride him again. This way C and D will both be there as well as some good quiet horses who will be working hard to keep him motivated.

I just dont know what to do with him anymore. He can be such a dick when I try to ride him some times, and other times hes fantastic....

If this doesnt change your mind about helmets:

Courtney King Dye

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=awJDYBhBPzk&feature=youtu.be


"Everyone is a role model for someone"

More pictures!

So one of the kids was nice enough to take a couple of pictures of me and Lucas from the show last weekend. I wore my hunt seat clothes because we only had a 5 min tack change between the showmanship class and the HUS stake. (and although I have my hunt cap on I did change into my helmet for the riding stuff). It's been poring buckets of rain all day today along with thunder and lightning so Im sticking at home and getting to bed early for a good nights sleep.

Picture...

This is a picture that the show committee took at the last App/Open show. I must say that Lucas looks fantastic, me a little silly! I have the "I just won a ribbon!" look on my face!




Things are ok at the barn, Lucas is having most of the week off from riding although I might get on him on Thursday night. I lunged him tonight in the side reins trying to get him to work a little more from behind on the line, mostly it seems that we're using the lunge to get energy out but I need to get back to using it for more fitness and collection again.

Im still not sure how I feel about the whole showing thing... I do think that we need a bit of a shake up but im not sure what form that will take. There is a dressage show about 40 min away next weekend so Im heading out to that to watch.

Things are still crazy on the family front. My mom and dad are fine but we have some serious issues with my Aunt and Uncle taking advantage of my Grandmother.... Just more stress I guess.

2nd to last show

Well we had a very good day, three ribbons in 4 classes. He got 5th in Halter Geldings, 2nd in the HUS stake, and 2nd in showmanship. We didn't place in our sr HUS class due to him spooking at a noise, but we recovered well (which is almost more important!)

Im not sure what we are going to do about his kicking in the trailer. It wasn't too bad when we first got him (only when the trailer was sitting still and we were loading or unloading horses) now hes doing it all of the time no matter how long the ride is. He seems to do it no matter what type of trailer, size or how long the trip is any more. Thankfully this was the last show we had to trailer to. the last one is at our property.

So me and C had a little talk yesterday and she agreed with me that once the last show is over in September, Lucas will have his hind shoes pulled and he goes back out with "the herd". Right now the herd is out to pasture while the turnout paddocks are re-graded and re-fenced. Lucas has no respect for electric wire so hes stuck in privet until then anyways.

Im not sure what direction I want to take Lucas into. As much as I love the breed show format, Im board, and I don't really enjoy going in circles any more. Lucas doesnt like the pressure of the pressure of the pattern classes. Would dressage be better?

Thanks everyone

For your words of encouragement on my last post (seems like Im doing this alot lately, I promise I will have a good post soon!)

Lucas and I are both doing good, thankfully missing out on the heat wave that seems to be hitting the rest of the country! We've had alot of rain and humid days mixed with thunder and lighting storms which has made for interesting horse keeping.

I went and had a ride with Lucas and the kids last night, working on getting that elusive left lead that seems to come and go. Apparently I need to bump slightly on my right rein, throw my left leg off and kiss. My friend watched me go on the weekend and agreed that my legs were correct in the way that I was asking before (when we kept getting the wrong lead) but it was obvious that I couldn't keep the pressure even between my legs and Lucas was getting the cue to canter off from my outside leg.

Were off to a show down the road on Saturday, showing in halter, showmanship, HUS stake, HUS, hunt seat equation and if were still having canter lead problems we will go into road hack (they ask for an extended trot and canter). Should be a fun show with a good judge. Cross your fingers for correct leads!

Clinic breakdown

So the clinic on Sunday was so-so. The judge from the day before did the clinic. He liked Lucas' walk and trot, but thought I was having him go way to fast in the ring.

He didn't think much of Lucas though, he recommended that I look at purchasing a young prospect as he thinks all Lucas is good for is the HUS and showmanship. (Even though he still gave him a reserve in halter)

And I agree, Lucas does get extremely worked up over the pattern classes, so much so that we never practice a pattern at home or at a show with cones. I only have one good pattern, after that I might as well just not even bother. So when we practiced several patterns on Sunday Lucas just couldn't handle it. Hes so worried about messing up that if I as him to do anything he panics and just shakes, and loses complete focus.

The judge was good in giving his opinion on how things look from the middle of the ring but didn't have much of an opinion on how to improve things... Once Lucas had done his 'freek out' over the patterns the judge wanted to know what exactly had led up to this point. He is very 'anti-trainer' (not that that is a bad thing, and he is a breeder, not a trainer) and was not surprised with Lucas' back groud. He was also sure that Lucas' tail had been done at one point.

He referred to Lucas as the "Monster english horse",,,

It kinda pisses me off, is that how the industry should be? Horse doesn't fit your exact specifications, sell, and buy new? If people didn't work with the horses that had minor issues, what would happen to them? And I don't mean horses that try to kill you, but not alot of owners would be willing to deal with Lucas' issues. Such a disposable society....

Anyways Lucas isn't going anywhere!!! Even when I cant ride we will still be able to do showmanship and halter :)

Another halter point,

Yup Lucas went reserve in Open Halter Geldings! That was just about the highlight of the day! We got second in the showmanship against a bunch of tough Novice Amateur's. We blew both left leads in our under saddle classes, which was very disappointing. With only 4 or 5 horses in a huge ring I didn't have time to fix it before the judge saw us. We had a clinic today with the judge but Im exaused so it will have to wait until tomorrow.

Sigh

Thanks for the words of encouragement last time everyone. It really meant alot to me. Things are going as planed for the weekend tomorrow night will be busy with packing but Im looking forward to the show and the clinic.

D gave me a lesson last night and we worked on keeping Lu straighter though the corners of the ring so that he doesn't collapse to the inside and loose the sweep of his stride.

In other news, we're having some family issues with my Aunt and Uncle (sister and brother to my Mom) taking advantage of my grandmother and her fragile memory. Over the past 3 weeks they have scammed over $25,000 out of my grandmother. Things are bad... to the point where we are going to have to press charges.

The worst thing is that most of it is ending up onto my Mom and Dad's shoulders to deal with as we are the closest to Nanny (physically anyways). Thankfully my Aunt will be home from Alberta tomorrow night and my Aunt from Ont will be in next week... hopefully they can help my Mom out with this crap. Im kinda glad that Im getting the weekend away from it....

Drama

So last week, the show committe that runs the Appaloosa/Paint/Open shows posted a rule change to there facebook site. I had ridden Lucas in a snaffle in the horsemanship class, and he is over the age of 5. The show however at that time had no rules. And I mean no rules. I did what I needed to do to get though the class, the judge knew that Lucas was an aged horse due to the halter classes in the morning. She still chose to place me.

So I didnt dispute the fact that they introduced the rule, what bothered me were the comments after the post. I wont go into them on here but they were extreamly hurtfull and attacked me personaly.

Thankfully a friend of mine saw them and requested the coments be pulled or else, and they were.

The worst part was that several of the people posting have broken rules at other shows that Ive been at. One of the directors rode a horse in a walk trot division last year (the horse was 6 she's applied several times for her AQHA judging card) riding in a shank bit alright, but with 2 hands... talk about throwing rocks in glass houses.

So emotions have run the full spectrum this week, everything from thinking about getting out of horses entirely to just switching to dressage.

My BF who knew what was going on in my head called me that night and offered me trailering to the Introductry AQHA horse show this comming weekend for less than it would cost me to take my own car there. C and D were unable to go and I didn't think I would be able to aford a ride to it. Its going to cost less than going to the next Appaloosa/Paint/Open show, and has a clinic with the judge on the second day (which is inculded in the price). Several friends have emailed me excited that Im going to get to go to this QH show, such a difference from people being pissed that Im going to a show....

I dont get it, If we were winning everything I could see some sore loosers, but were not, in fact we are very beatable somedays!

Anyways we're off on Thursday night, having a sleep over at my friends house that night, going to the show Friday, showing Saturday, clinic Sunday (im in showmanship and HUS) and then back to the friends untill Monday night. Im showing Lucas in Preformance Halter Geldings (AQHA), open showmanship, open sr hunter under saddle, and Open Hunter Under Saddle (AQHA) We had a huge rainstorm yesterday so it was too wet to ride outside today, and no one was home so I couldn't ride in the indooor but we did showmanship and got Lucas clipped.

Great ride!

Lucas was awsome tonight. Great trot and canter work, we worked on pushing his haunches around, to the inside, to the outside in hopes that it would help with our canter transitions to the left (which it did). He was much lighter tonight I guess we were both just out of practice.

One of the kids in the barn (our little slave who does anything) has been buging me for months that she wanted to ride Lucas. (although shes only 12 shes a very competent rider) So I let her get on tonight and have a trot around. I think she and Lucas both had fun. Its nice to see him go with someone else :)

D is doing much better and has even ridden a couple of times this week on the kids horses. Hes not on for long or doing to much while he is up there but he is much happer that he can ride again.

Lots of horse fly's

But we had a good ride last night. He was sound when we lunged him again, so on went the saddle and we did a good workout on the nice footing in the outdoor ring. He getting a bit heavy on my hands which is making him heavy in the in the front end, and tipping me forward (also not helping our transitions).

D had me working on keeping him light and in front of my leg, (and maybe over bridled just a bit) and we had some excellent moments at the canter where he was very light and soft with plenty of drive from behind. The more tired we both got, the worse it got, but we had some good moments at the trot as well where I was just picking my inside rein up and he was giving with slack still in the rein.

Today the kids at the barn were doing there achievement day for completion of their 4-H projects, so I watched them, and helped with barn chores. Lucas got another couple of hours in the turnout, as its been hard with all of the horse and moose fly's to turn anyone out for more than an hour. Your always watching the weather and waiting for a good wind or some rain to keep them away. We are now up to a high of 33 degrees (88 or so for you American people) so its gotten really hot in the last week.

Lucas is back to work

Well, back to some work. I took him out this morning and let him have a good run on the lunge line up in the outdoor ring. And then let him long trot some energy out. The farrier was confident that as long as we didn't work him on hard ground we should be OK, so he will only be worked in the outside ring and turned out in the sand pen for now.

My mom is off tomorrow to go back to school for her Masters degree in teaching, shes gone for most of the summer but will be back most weekends. Until then me and my dad are on our own for cooking! : Might be scary to see which of us gets sick of hot dogs and hamburgers quicker!

So hopefully I get a ride in either tomorrow night or Tuesday, the kids and C and D are off on the weekend to a local show so Ill be working the barn for the weekend. Wont be much work, I'll only have 7 horses in the barn, but it will mean no riding until they get back. Sometimes having parents that wont go to the barn is a p.i.t.a.

I just sewed on my first ever button!

I just sewed on my first ever button!!! I kept waiting for my mom to do it because I didnt think I could do it with my hands, but I did! Oh yeah and Lucas is doing good too, he got to go outside today for the first time since Wednesday. We did a little walk/trot on the lunge line just to get his legs moving, and he had a great roll outside, so back to some light work tomorrow and hopefully riding on Monday!

So far so good (and happy Canada day!)

Lucas's farrier came out this afternoon and fixed his feet. He was hoping that he would be able to clean up the foot and put a shoe back on, but decided it would be easier just to do his re-set a week early. He did have a bit of a nasty bruise where the clip had gotten stuck in but he was able to nail the shoe on without putting anything near the bruise. He didn't think that it would cause an abscess but to be on the lookout for one and to call him if it did become an issue.

Lu did trot off sound once he got his new shoes on. Well sound for him after having new shoes put on, I say its like him getting his 'sea' legs back. He weebles and wobbles while he gets used to the new feet for a day but then hes ok. Having a special needs horse can be interesting at times! Hes better in our barn, the old owners had to put him on bute for a couple of days to get him over it, and kept riding him. We've put him on a good hoof supplement and he gets a good day or two off afterwords and we avoid the drugs and unnecessary pain.

We did have a good laugh about Lucas and his behaviour. Our farrier was telling us about how when he first came to Canada, the trainer told him "don't get after this horse because he will make you regret it". Well Lucas jerked his foot away once too often and pushed the farrier at the same time, farrier got mad and got after him..... and in his words "I had to leave him and go back the next day to get the shoe back on him" Apparently Lucas wasn't going to let him anywhere near him again that day! You have to wonder what kind of nasty horse he was back in the day! Although even now he'll push the limits every once and a while, but nothing to the tune of what he pulled with the other owners and trainers.

Now I'm sitting at home watching re-runs of the Canada day celebration from Ottawa this morning. Have a great night everyone, and have a great 4th of July to our American friends.

crossing your fingers works sometimes!

Lucas is doing much better today. C and D took his wraps off this morning and left his foot open after they washed it out. I went out tonight and the more he walked (to the wash stall and back) the better he walked. C and D gave him a bit of bute last night but none today so I think it's not hurting nearly as much tonight. He let me clean out his left front foot with no complaints either.

I got the chance to flush it out on my own tonight and its not very deep at all, so keep crossing your fingers! D thinks that hes going to be fine, just needs his foot trimed up and a new shoe on (and he is a part time farrier when he's not broken). We dont have another show for a month or so, lots of time to heal from a minor accident, if it turns out to be more serious we'll deal with it when that happens...

Thanks for all the well wishes, they are helping me!

And Lucas gets hurt again...

Some how between 8 am when C and D turned him out and 10:30am when they got home, Lucas managed to particaly tear off his right front shoe (yup the same foot we had all of the problems with last winter). Only problem is that when he tore off the one side it managed to stay stuck propperly on the outside of his hoof. Thanks to the clip (he has clips on both front shoes)... but that was the issue with the other side, the clip didnt go back to its spot on the outside of the hoof, it dug into his hoof.

It's seems to only have dug into the edge of his hoof wall, right where the crack is that we've been trying to heal for about 6 months (its growing out but slowly) And only gone in about 1/8th of an inch. We've flushed it out several times and have a wrap over the hoof just to make sure that no more dirt gets in it, but it isnt very deap at all. D wasnt too concerned about the depth of it, but thought that the sooner we could get shoes back on him the better to avoid more cracking from the pressure of being suddenly barefoot

Lu is weight bearing and eating well, just tender footed, like he is any time he pulls a shoe off... cross your fingers that he can get over this without any further issues...

Thoughts on the show

So after having a day or two to think about the show on the weekend I have a couple of ideas on how to improve for the next show. So I'm thinking that Lucas and I still need some work on the canter transitions up and down, as well as some work on the patterns. I'm sure that I'm throwing around my body too much in anticipation of the lead so its going to come down to keeping my ass in the saddle and my head UP. And the patterns just need work to make them flow better. We have accuracy we just loose the pretty sometimes in the effort to get the pattern correct.

Our showmanship is right where I want it, so I guess I just need to put as much effort into our riding over the next couple of weeks as I put into our showmanship work.

At this last show Lucas needed to relax from the withers more, although this isn't usually an issue at home so I think it came down to his tension at the show.

And as for the show, we were in an extremely small pen (bigger than our indoor but about 1/2 the size of our outdoor) We only warmed up with 3-5 horses in the ring at a time, but the day of the show and the mass entry of horses just showing off the trailers we ended up with 20 horses in our first class. Not what Lucas or I was expecting. They were also a lower quality than what we have been used to... Not that its always a bad thing, but when horses are lapping Lucas at a trot its really bad!

Back from the show

We had a good day, Ill do a more detailed post tomorrow, but we did very well in some classes and did ok in others. We won halter and showmanship, had a disappointing run in the HUS stake class (too many horses, and a bunch of horses freaked out which caused a chain reaction which Lucas was part of). We did a decent pattern in the hunt seat equation (my first equation pattern in 6 years in an english saddle) and got a 3rd in decent company. We got 3rd in the Sr HUS but he was worried the entire class about several of the horses flying by him. I love the cost of the open shows but the behaviour of some of the other horses is questionable.

He's ok in a good group, that is well behaved but cant seem to handle other horses being out of controle. And we need to work on our canter transitions as he was raising his head during most of them... more than likely due to my new habbit of looking down to check his leads. However this weekend we got all of them right! Silly of both of us really, I should have known how I was asking incorrectly, and he knows how to get the right lead most of the time on his own.

How unbroke is my horse making me?

So I had a bit of a light bulb moment the other night. During my schooling session with Lu yesterday (in our english saddle but in the indoor!, more on our workout tonight in the outdoor later) I was asking him to side pass and at first he kept backing up.... One leg off one leg on and asking him to step over and he would just back up... I knew it was something I was doing, and eventually I got him to side pass by opening up my rein in the direction I wanted him to go in, but it got me thinking.

If Lucas is backing up with just one leg pressure, how often do I ride without even leg pressure? He was obvously thinking that I wanted him to back up like I do when I apply both spurs at the same time at the halt. Thankfully he's adapted to me and my differences, and I know that other people can ride him without issue but what will it be like if I ride a different horse? I realize that my right leg is always a bit further back and it has significantly less pressure with it but Lucas and I just deal with it. What would another horse do with me on its back?

In other news we had a mini showmanship lesson tonight with C, Lu was an idiot on the lungline, I really think he's bored going outside only with him self, and he had lots of energy to burn tonight so he ran a fair bit on the lunge line, he really needs a good rip every now and again!

Showmanship was good, hes being an occaional ass about the grass still but he needs to learn his lesson that he cant have it whenever he wants. And we kind of attempted the bridge, (which he refuses to walk on) even attempted to walk him over the narrow part, just to put one foot on it (its about 4 feet long and 3 feet wide so we attempted to go over the 3' part) And Lucas just decided to 'slow motion' jump the bridge! Very low and slow over it but extreamly funny because he was NOT touching the bridge!

Were off to an App and open show on the weekend that the Ex boyfriend is running with his sister. Should be an intresting weekend!

2x national champ!

Well thanks to the official re-count from ApHCC (appaloosa horse club of Canada) it turns out that Sassy and I were national champs 2 years in a row! In 2008 we won open yearling mares, and in 2009 we won open 2 year old mares! I'm a little up-set that it took them this long to get it figured out, but very happy with the results :) :) :)

AND Lucas was fantastic tonight! I lunged him every day this week except for when I was having a sick day from my IV. I figured we should work on his standing still at the mounting block as that is usually our biggest issue. So I took him over to the block and tried to get on, then we do the dance.

Hes not horrible but he always takes a step back when I get to the top of the mounting block. So we tried twice and the 3rd time he escalated it and started swinging his hip around. So I got down from the block and backed him the length of the indoor. He was a brat the first 10 steps or so but was backing nicer by the time we got to the end of the arena. So I walked him back to the block, put a little tension on the outside rein and got up on the mounting block.... and got on! No issues what so ever!

So we had a very nice 'dressagey' (is that even a word?) ride, lots of change in directions, change of gaits and speeds within the trot and walk. (we stuck to a walk and trot because the footing in the indoor is as hard as a rock). We did some leg yielding across the arena and he was very good. We only rode for about 20 min but it was good. Once I got done, I got off and I took him over to the block and got back on him just to reinforce the good stuff, we then walked a circle and then got off him.

Video!

This is the better video, we've come a long way in a year and 1/2. He almost tossed me today for no reason what so ever (he wanted to test out my helmet?) but the ride was good before and after that.

Video!

Video of Lucas and I from today! This was when he was decently good, before he had a spaz and almost threw me off :P I wish my appendix didnt have TB moments!

Wear a helmet!

Its International Helmet Awareness Day 2011!

I have to admit other than this year I did always wear my helmet at home when schooling, but at the shows changed into my western hat or hunt cap. This year Im sticking with my helmet. I figure that they can replace all of my joints, but they cant replace my head. And since I do have some balance issues occasionaly, everything I can do to make things safer I try and do it.

I grew up in a barn that no matter who you were you wore a helmet. The trainer relaxed the rules for shows, but for lessons everyone wore one. It was the same in most of the Hunter/Jumper barns that I worked in.

Not so much in any of the Qh barns that Ive been in. Most barns insist on helmets at home for the kids due to insurance reasons but those same kids will ride at the shows with nothing on. Out of 40 some horses at a QH show there will be 2 or 3 of us in the warm up pens in helmets. Most of the kids at C & D's wear helmets but the 16+ age group doesnt. And there parents dont think its a big deal, and neither do C &D.

And yes I have had judges tell me that in a western class it makes the judges doupt the horse, or the riders ability when the riding comes in wearing a helmet instead of a proper western hat.

Hopefully with increased awarness we can start to change peoples minds.

We did the western thing!

And we survived! He was a bit fussy becuase they were fencing in the feild next to the outdoor but he settled down after a bit. The one handed thing isnt fantastic, I mean I can stear him and do transitions but its not too smooth. But I guess that its taken us over a year to get the engligh thing down, it will take us a while to do the western thing really good as well.

I did forget how much I need to ride off my legs when I cant rely on my hands to help my stearing! Wow did I pay for it today! If nothing else it will make me a stonger rider yet again.

We had an easy night tonight, just a good brush because I've been slacking off with the brushing trying to get some more riding time in. Then he got wormed (which he really liked!) and then went out to the arena to eat grass and take picures.

Good english ride.

We had a good ride tonight, for not riding in a while. He was extremely forward tonight, but I guess that can only be expected. C and D both said that he looked fantastic which was good because it didn't feel so hot every once and a while. He was fighting against the bit a bit but he was driving from behind really really well!

We tried out a new western saddle on last night, the tree itself fit him but the gullet was too low for his big wither. No luck with that one, guess I just have to wait until I can save the money until I can afford a new Hubbards.

We did some trail stuff, but he gets really frustrated with the back thoughts L's and ends up rushing though them. We do it for practice and patience, but he'll never be a trail horse, he HATES the bridge. He will do everything but walk over it. Hes not scared of it, just doesn't like it.

Bad news is that I am apparently extremely allergic to dogs now :( The Nedi-pot has been keeping my nose and sinus clear, but this weekend hanging out with the barn dogs was too much. I'm feeling better now but for 2 days I had an awful runny nose.