Got to ride again finaly!

Well both Lucas and I were sound, and good to go today so we managed to squeeze in a bit of a ride. Now that the 'season' has started (training horses start arriving next week) its going to be harder and harder to get privet time in the arena on the weekends. Today we rode with one of the kids and her gelding, Lucas made faces at him once but nothing too bad. Having him being out with the other horse's is good and bad, good because he doesn't get so concerned if they bump into them but he does try to intimidate them with his ears/face if he meets them head on.

We rode in our new correction bit and had a decent ride. We split the arena in two which meant I only had about a 20 meter circle to work in (and in the 'scary' end of the arena). We did have a good work out, and worked on some accuracy with transitions and turns on the forehand/haunches and kept to a walk/trot. He was a little 'up' with the snow sliding off the roof but nothing excessive.

The cattle penning saddle seem to be doing the trick for us right now. Its got such a deep seat in it, I feel like I'm riding in a dressage saddle. But it sits off of his withers and has clearance for both of his shoulders so we're going to keep riding in it for now.

Ribbon Art

I'm trying to come up with a cost effective way of displaying the more important ribbons that Lucas and I have won. I had a 'storm day' vacation today so I made a quick trip to the local dollar store to pick up some frames that have a bit of a gap between the back of the frame and the glass. I don't think it looks that bad at all. Keeps my mom happy (they are dust free that way) and me, because they are not trapped in a container somewhere!

So these are a couple of my favorite ones, the one on the left is the first AQHA ribbon that I have ever won (with Lucas, in halter, and 1/2 point). The one in the middle is the Reserve Open halter award that we won last summer, and the one on the right is the 1st place that we won last summer (with 1 point in performance halter).

Shoes!

I've been following R Lil Bit Of Cash's progress with Lilly and going barefoot. Although I'm not a complete barefoot addict (trust me, around here the barefoot converts are NUTS, but I like the progress Lilly is making!) I do like the way Lucas' hind feet look after 4 months of being without shoes. I'm not so sure about going shoeless with his front feet, that right front foot is going to be the death of me.

He's a bit late on his shoeing/trim cycle and now were paying for it. So he's on a bit of a vacation until he's completely adjusted to having his feet shaped differently again.

Conversations with Lucas

Well me and my best friend went to a horse fair/expo today, the first one for the season. It was great to see old friends and see new products that the vendors brought. Lucas got a new training correction bit and a new rubber curry comb (hes starting to shed already!)

The horse communicator was there and we what I thought would be a conversation about trailering. I asked why he was kicking in the trailer, and got told that hes a bit claustrophobic (which we knew) but when hes on with other horses he complains until the other horses tell him to shut up, and then he starts kicking.

After she told me that she says "He wants to know if hes still for sale, or if you are going to put him down instead" out of the blue. Apparently he has been listening to us talk about the failed sale. I tried to reassure him that he wasn't for sale any more but he was worried because I had ridden a horse while he was gone that fit my body style more than him. (Lucy) He also knew about the failed offer, and though that he was going to be put down because it fell though. He was glad that I was going to keep him.

So the basis of my conversation was that Lucas loved me, but agreed that we didn't always see eye to eye. He told the communicator that I over think things, which causes him to over think things (she said that he internalizes a lot more than most horses, and is a real worrier) and sometimes he just doesn't know what to do anymore, so he rears to get my mind from going 100 miles an hour. She sad that I was a good rider for my size, but Lucas was a bit weak backed so I needed to work on my balance and coordination as well as him so that we can both be stronger.

He also said that my corrections were often to sharp for what has happened, and I'm not always consistent in my corrections which causes him to worry more. He thinks that I am maybe a too good of rider for him and maybe he needs a beginner rider.

She said she was a bit worried for the both of us, normally either the horse or the person will have a confidence issue, and the other can boost them up, but she thinks that both of us are having a self confidence issue and it might take a while for both of us to be good again.

Oh and I asked about Tanker (the horse in the video from the other day) and he said "I can't explain it, I just love her", and he thinks that its great that he gets to be outside with her every day and they can touch over the fence.

So I guess we have our work cut out for us, being happy, stretching and working together

The cattle penning saddle it is.

Well we had a ride in the Bighorn Cattle Penning saddle last night and had a good one! I need to figure out my seat in it (its a lot deeper than the pleasure saddles I'm used to) Lucas really liked it though!

Once we did some warm up walk and trot (with some 2 tracking and side passing tossed in to keep it int interesting) I got him to trot out and he went right into his 'happy trot'. His floaty, use his whole body but make it look effortless, trot.

It was easy.

Why did I fight with him so much last year?

I'm keeping the 'voice' in my head quiet and trying to trust in my ability and in Lucas. I'm still having my moments but were having more and more moments when we 'click'.

Were still working in the western version of his English show bit but were off to the trade show on the weekend to look for a horsemanship bit for next year. Hopefully were working on having him in a snaffle next week to take the contole that I now have over his hind end and start putting the package together and start suppling his body a bit more.

Well crap.

So I went out to the barn to ride on Thursday and it didn't go exactly as planned. Lucas was hyped up due to the storm moving in. By the time I got him lunged and got on it had started snowing which meant that I needed to get off and put him away so I could get home before it really got to snowing. I only managed to do some walking and side passing before I got off and headed home. Even so it was a rough drive home in a tone of snow.

Today I went out and finished the barn chores (C and D had a meeting a few hours away that they had to go to). Because I was alone at the barn I decided lunge Lucas for a bit, then let him play in the indoor. He had a blast! The weather hasnt been good for them to have a good run outside so it gave him a chance to blow off some steam.

I also went and tried every western saddle we have in the barn on Lucas (well, every different brand we have as we do have a couple of the same type of saddle). Out of 5 saddles the only two the fit were the Penning saddle that I rode Lucy in (big horn), and one of the kids 15" billy cook barrel saddle. NONE of the pleasure saddles really fit him so I'm going to have C have a look at them tomorrow and see if I can ride in the penning saddle for a while. I know of a barrel saddle like the kids for sale but the person who owns it isnt answering back....

Anyways for now, here is a cute video of Lucas and his LOVE Tanker. And this is the 'omg your back!' ritual that goes on every time they are seperated!

BURRRR!!!

Its cold here! We (my parents and I) did our walk on Monday (we think we are up to 2.5 km but its hard to tell when the person in charge of counting forgets to count!) and I went out on Tuesday night and did a bunch of showmanship after I let him have a run in the indoor.

I'm staying home tonight and going to bed early, there is a flu going around at work and if I don't keep rested I'll get it as well.

More western

So I rode Lucas on Sunday (we are trying to stick to a once on the weekend, and once during the week for the month of January) and we had another excellent ride. No spook no nothing and I was even able to get on him again without someone holding onto him.

So we did some side passing just to build on what we did last time. Hes really trying to figure out what my legs mean and I'm trying to be really consistent with what I'm asking and not just go to my hands to fix it. He is a really good boy, but I could tell when my legs were uneven by the way he was side passing (crocked) We then did some trotting and changing reins across the diagonals and worked into 2 tracking the second 1/2 of the diagonal then to 2 tracking the long side.

I'm not cantering yet but figured that I can work on that in another week or two.

I really worked on having him meet the rail at an even rate and using my leg gradually so that he didn't just go right to the rail but moved over gradually. I really tried to work on shifting my balance to 'open' a way to ask him to move into the rail as well which seemed to help. Any increase in balance and fitness will definitely help that! We also did a lot of work with one hand even some of a min pattern with come circles, turns on the haunches, backing up and trot poles.

We ended up walking the walking track 2 nights last week and again tonight, averaging about 2 and a bit km each time. Fitness goals are on track and will probably (hopefully) keep going they say the first couple of weeks are the worst :P

The first show of the year is going to be introductory AQHA so I hope to do the Showmanship, Halter, Equation, HUS, Horsemanship and maybe pleasure depending on the number of horses (Lucas can lope but his jog is still more of a trot and I wont ruin a class for someone else).

So about my ride last night...

Lucas and Tanker having a reunion after being separated for months!

Lucas got to go back out in a herd situation for the first time since last year at this time (due to his shoeing issues we had to keep him in most of the winter last year, then he was only turned out alone so he would keep his shoes on). It should make him a much happier horse, I really think it makes a big difference in there attitudes if they can have horse contact on a daily basis.

My ride was good, we had a low pressure ride, mostly just walk/trot. I dragged 2 poles out and set them up so I could either jog over them or ride though them across the diagonals of the ring. So we did that, and practiced stopping within the poles and backing out, and a bunch of different exercises. It kept both our minds busy. We ended up doing some one handed work which is something I have to keep practicing if I want to show some western this summer.

I also managed to get on him without issue, and without having someone to hold him! I need to use a huge mounting block to get on (thanks to a lack of mobility) and its hard to move around and Lucas learned that even moving a bit foreword or backward would result in me having to move my mounting block and try again. It usualy resulted in me having to find someone to stand next to his head so I can get on him without issue. Its something that I want to have under controle for when we go to shows next summer. Last night he was very good and waited until I had gotten situated on his back and asked him to walk on before he moved.

I seriously think hes trying to be good so I wont send him away again!

Another death

Only she was 17. She had cystic fibrosis but rode and showed AQHA when she could. A nasty bug caught up with her and her med's couldn't fight it off. Our entire horse area is in shock.


I had a good ride with Lucas today, but stuff like this makes you realize how every ride could be your last, no matter how old you are.