Final show with Chilly

Well today was a very bittersweet day, my last show with Chilly. We ended up High Point Senior Green Horse (won all of her green classes), and got 2nd in one of our AQHA NA showmanship classes. Our High Point award was a trophy chair, my first one ever!

This means that Chevy has now produced a point earner (well 1/2 a point) in his first foal crop!  I'm so happy of that, I belive in him and in his foals and its nice to show that to the rest of our showing community.

If you had told me a year ago that I would be helping to break out and ride a three year old all winter and spring and then showing her all summer and loving it I would have called you a liar. However the real risk takers were D and C, they gave me the opportunity to ride and show a great horse, when my health hasn't been the greatest (and there were a few people who questioned my decision to ride a green horse!). This summer we've shown what great minded and quality horses they are producing. Sure there were days when I had to take care of Chilly, but there were days that Chilly really took care of me. I did shed a tear or two on the way home, but the closing of one door just means another is opening up just around the next bend.

Our show was great, our final showmanship pattern for the AQHA class was one of our best, and she was fantastic in the ring to show in the pleasure classes.  In our first pleasure class we actually had to go against the assistant trainer of my former boss riding one of his horses.  Chilly was great and won the class.  Normally the old boss can be grumpy when his student get beat but he came over afterwords and congratulated me on my win.

Lucas was at the show, and totally bombed out the first day in showmanship.  So although I hate stepping on toes I asked 'I' if I could tune them up a little bit the next day.  I've forgotten how much fun showmanship was with him.  In under 30 seconds it was like we hadn't been apart for 3 years.  'I' then went in and got 2nd in a tough class filled with kids prepping for congress.

Although Chilly's showmanship is good, she'll never be the showmanship horse that Lucas was, but her slower mind (she needs a moment to process the command then preform that command) means that she'll never be the spooky hot horse that Lucas was either.

And in a month I will finally move out of my parents house and into my own place.  My parents took me back in when I got sick, then kept me while I went back to school and then while I paid off student loans from going back to school.  It will be my first time living on my own with RA.  I still have the lease on Oscar for two months, and his owners have told me that even when that is over if I'm home, to take him for a ride.  My brother is also getting married in October so the next couple of months will be busy!

Chilly had her head twisted to look at the horse being bathed next to the ring but I love this shot anyway.

Spring is coming, I hope

Well good news, bad news (like normal *sigh*).  Thanks to everyone that works on my floor at work being sick with the cold, I now have the cold as well.  Which is why I'm sitting home on a night that I would normally be at the barn.

Good news is that I did have a good ride on the weekend with Oscar, and Chilly continues to progress with D.  The co-op student at the barn rode her last week, and she went very well for him.  I hope to be back on her in a couple of weeks.  She is lacking speed or impulsion, but that can be taught, the fact that shes not in a big hurry to go anywhere is good for her future as a western pleasure horse.

So we have a clinic coming up on April 1st with Lucas's old trainer at our barn, and just found out today that we can get into another clinic the first weekend in May with the same trainer.  That will be good to have a follow up on what we have or have not accomplished in a month, but its also at the show grounds where the AQHA and APHA shows are held that we hope to go to by the end of the summer.  It will be a good chance to get her off the property, to a new place without the stress of a show and we'll have some extra hands on deck if I need them.

It will be nice to have an outside perspective that we (D and C and I) know and trust that can let us know if she's as nice as we hope she is.

A great Lucas update, and thoughts on things that have happend in the past.

So I went to the local show today and got a chance to talk to Lucas' owners mom.  They are such nice people.  They recently had to leave their original trainer due to some personal issues on the trainers end and had been bouncing around for the past 4 months trying out different boarding barns trying to find the right fit for them and Lucas.  Right after the show at our barn (I had thought he was a touch thin, but no ribs showing or anything) they ended up moving him a final time.  So Lucas now lives at the barn in NG that I took lessons at in 2009 when I was trying to start riding again see this post to get back to my posts at that time. 

Anyways the trainer is a very good trainer and is exactly what Lucas and his owners need.  He's changed the feeding program (and put Lucas back on haylage like he was with me), and is giving his owner lessons.  Herb has also agreed that Lucas can go to the September AQHA show.  (And like I posted before, if you are good enough to meet his approval then you are GOOD).  I'm so happy that they have decided to be part of his program.  Lucas looked great at the show and placed top 3 in every class they did in english and even placed in the western stuff.

So thats the update on Lucas. I had to smile to myself though as I read though some of my old posts from 2009.  I was so happy getting to finally ride once a week again, and to be learning to ride effectively again and not just be on for a pony ride.  And I had a Luck post, of the things I was lucky for and grateful for. 

The past couple of months have been very good for me.  My health has been very good, I can ride multiple times a week, and its FUN again!  I have a great horse to ride and show, and great horse lined up to start riding in September when Lucy goes on maternity leave.  And the plan for next year is for me and D to work on Chilly all winter so I can show her next summer!  Which will be so fun to take a baby around and show her how fun showing can be.

Home from the show!

So very happy with Lucy and our day at the show today.  We managed to show in 2 halter classes and 6 riding classes!  That's a huge show day for me, usualy its just 2 or 3 riding classes and I'm done.

So we didn't get anything in halter or showmanship, but I just wasn't feeling it this morning.  It was like the heat sucked the 'snap' out of our set ups and maneuvers.

Then we took our new to us english saddle and got ready for equation.  I warmed her up in the indoor where she would NOT canter.  I was a little freaked out and figured our show was over at that point.  But by the time we walked up to the cone for our pattern, she was ready to cantered!  Our transition was rough but she cantered.  We ended up getting 3rd!

Our english pleasure class was fun!  She trotted and cantered like no bodies business and pretended she was a serious english horse.  We got 5th in that class with about 10 entries.

Before our Western pleasure stake classes we went out and loped a bunch at lunch time, leaving the ring long enough to pick up my show jacket and put it on before coming back to do 2 classes back to back.  She got a 5th in the first stake but nothing in the second.  However I was finally able to get a hold of her and slow her down with one hand and my legs without her breaking.  That was our big breakthrough for the weekend and was worth the heat and sweat for that moment.

I got off her at that point and tried to cool her out a little while waiting the 3 short classes before our horsemanship class but it was tough on her and me.  It was too hot for me with my RA ,and her and the 'baby on board'.  Shes only 4 months along but we've decided to skip the next one day show as there is no shade there and we would be stuck at the trailer all day with little shade for Lucy.

Our horsemanship pattern was awesome!  Our lope transition was late but that is something that we have worked on all spring/summer and that happens.

Our final class was the Sr Western pleasure class where we got a fifth place ribbon.  She was slow and easy and came back when I asked her to.  I was happy with that and decided to scratch trail, it was a good place to end the day.  Lucy got a shower, her bands out, and then she got to go back out to pasture with her buddies.  I went to town, got a milkshake and now getting ready to nap on the couch with the air conditioner on!

PS -  Lucas and his new owners were at the show, she won the English pleasure stake, and placed really well in everything else.  I am so happy that she bought him, we just were not right for each other anymore.  I did feed him about 7 pink peppermints once he was done showing :)

Updated to add pictues!  No english ones yet though!

Love this one of her loping!

Lucas update

So I saw Lucas at the show this weekend.  He looked good, way fitter than when I had him (and he was in halter shape then).  His girl is having occasional minor behavior issues but I helped with some minor adjustment in tack which she said helped.  She did very well, placing in halter, showmanship and getting second in her hunter under saddle class.  Today she posted the following picture.  Stuff like this makes me feel good about my decision.  Lucas is the horse in the middle.

 

RA and horse post all in one

Rheumatoid Arthritis Day is tomorrow!  

And its my birthday in 3 days so tomorrow I'm bringing hotdogs and a cake to the barn.  I'm going off my gluten free diet for one day.  I go in for my scope next Thursday, and I'm still not excited about it but Im not 100% and we need to get to the bottom of it.  I do notice that the gluten free is really helping my RA but my insides are still upset a little too often.

 On the horse front:
Oscar is good, between the wild weather, and no one at the barn (just in case, I never ride without someone on the property) his owner is back this week for spring break, I'm not looking foreword to 'fixing' Oscar again once she goes back to school but he is her horse.  Its not that he gets bad or anything but she lets him get away with his little bad habits and it drives me crazy for a week or two after she leaves because I have to fix it :P

I read this on Mugs blog about a horse she was working with:

"She's taking over because you're not telling her what to do. You're reacting to her instead of directing her, so she takes charge."

Umm wow, was that not me and Lucas??  I was scared to make that first step all the time, so he was often taking over and controlling the situation. And now I'm not scared of being in charge of Oscar and we get along great and he follows my directions.  Makes you think doesn't it??

Goals for 2013

I know that setting goals should be a positive time, looking foreword to the future, and for us horse people, show season!  However last year at this time I was in a much different situation than I am now.  I had just brought Lucas home from my old bosses training barn where he was to be sold, thinking that we could give "us" another chance.  Even reading though the old posts, its hard to see where it went wrong, it just wasn't right for either of us.

His new owner loves and appreciates him.  And in the end that's what matters now.  I'm happy riding Oscar, hes given me confidence back, and let me realize that the issues I was having with Lucas were not all my fault, and that I can actually ride reasonably well!

So onto the goals for 2012 to see how I did!

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.
Well that didn't go so well although I have made a good start on it this year.

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!

Yeah so not such a good goal with Lucas but I haven't heard that voice in my head for about 2 months now.  Its kind of funny, that's not something I think about on a regular basis anymore but I thought about it all of the time when I was riding Lucas.

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.
Again something that I don't even use now that I'm not riding Lucas. 

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)
Yeah only got to one show and only did showmanship at it.

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.
Again only got to one show and only did showmanship

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.
See above. (4 & 5)

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!
Done and sent in, should have my Amateur card in my hand in the next couple of weeks,

So onward and foreword for 2013!

1) Ride different horses.  Even if its just the kids horses, more saddle time on different horses will make me more confidant.

2) Try to continue to ride Oscar at least twice a week.

3) Take more pictures of the horses and try to get someone to take photos of me on the horses.

4) Try to get to 2 horse shows this summer and show!

5) To loose 20 pounds before show season. (May)

6) To have more "wow look what we just did" moments weather at home or at shows

7) To keep on top of my finances, If I want to seriously start looking for a new horse in 2014 I need to have a decent size budget to do that with.  Most of Lucas' money went to fixing my car, and paying off loans not so much saving for a new horse.

Pictures of Lucas and his new owner

Good / Bad saturday.

Good: fit into jeans that didn't fit last summer

Bad: It was 25 Degrees C for my lesson and I'm still pealing from last weekend

Good: I got Lucas summer sheets and turnouts soaked and washed and hung out to dry.

Bad: Did I mention that my face, neck and hands are pealing from the burn I got last weekend?  Itchy!!

Good: Lesson day

Bad: I didn't make it though the lesson on Lucas.

I did some trot work, jog work and weaving in and around the trail equipment he got stuck but I got him out of it.  He's really hard to keep going lately, in the last two lesson so I think its time to re-introduce the spurs after a bit.  So the trot was ok and then we started working on the canter.  Our good direction was good but our bad direction wasn't so good.  I can only get the correct lead about 50% of the time going left so we were working on that and I just ran out of gas.  I couldn't keep my legs on him enough to keep him going, plus work my hands, plus dealing with Lucas attitude AND listen to what D was telling me.  I got a good canter the other direction and then because D was stumped about why we couldn't get him to go on the left lead (consistently) I asked him to get on.

D got on and had some issues with 'foreword' he was so lazy by that point and just didn't want to put the effort into trotting and cantering. But he got him going and after a bit had him picking up his left lead consistently.  D is a talented rider and a good coach but he has a hole in his teaching ability to be able to tell you what to do with your body to get the results.  Yes Lucas should pick up the correct lead all of the time, and the fact that everyone but me doesn't have issues says that its an issue in how I am riding but I cant figure it out on my own and D cant see it from the ground....

So by this point Lucas was wet and sticky, and I knew that we needed to rinse him off so it was a bit of a good thing that he was tired and sticky because he walked right into the wash bay and let me spray him all over with the hose and get him cleaned up and cooled down.  I didn't tie him, but I was happy with how he walked into the wash bay and stood quietly for me, so I guess we ended up with a good day after all.

Here is a cute video of Luca jumping the other night, I'm trying to work some different stuff into his lunging so that he doesn't get too board and keeps his body working. 

Trail super star (in progress)

Lucas' trail training is really coming along! Last night we did a 'course' of 4 obstacles that could be done at least in both directions and I could back or walk threw a couple. The cone was set about 3 feet from the cooler/wall which made it a bit complicated but he never even looked twice at it. And we had a pole laid on top of three walk poles (see bottom right of the photo). He gets really worked up with horsemanship and equation patterns so I practiced the same pattern over obstacles a couple of times and didn't have any issues with him wanting to rush...

We did only walk last night, but took 1/2 hour to work on each obstacle then run though a simple pattern a couple of times. Considering that earlier this year (I guess that was only a month ago) he would rush over them in a hurry to just get it over with. (knocking everything down in the process)

We are still mostly doing walk trot work (with of course the trail stuff thrown in) we have been throwing in some canter work but the indoor and its uneven footing is holding us back a bit. I'm also having some trouble with Lucas' left lead again so next week I see the chiropractor then the week after that the massage therapist (my brothers girlfriend) so hopefully they can get my back and hips worked out and get me straight again. And yes I'm home again tonight with a heating pad on my back trying to work out the knots that I got last night....

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.

Snow, cold, but new shoes!

Well we didnt make it to our horse expo today. The dumping of snow that we got yesterday (16cm in 5 hours) just made the roads too bad. So we spent the day puttering around with her dogs, cats and husband. And then she broke her tooth of (her front one!) Its the one that is 1/2 fake due to a freek accident when she was a kid, so not like a 'real' tooth breaking. Thankfully she was able to get in to see the emergancy dentist, and got a temporay cap on it untill Monday.

Shes also scedualed to go have surgery, to repair the tendon in the knee that she broke last year, in a couple of weeks. Its going to mean some serious time off for her 3 year olds (a HUS gelding, and a WP mare) so we had a talk about what shes going to do with them. Shes in the same frame of mind that I am, we love QH's, we love the people that love QH's... we just dont like what some people are doing to 'win'. She had her HUS in training for Nov. and Dec. but pulled him due to the trainers antics. And this is a guy we KNOW, shes 10min from the barn and there every night but there was still bad stuff going on.

For example we worked the two 3yo today the WP mare got shown last year but the HUS horse just got broke out. We figure they are going to need a couple of months each to go and show localy. The HUS gelding needs travel miles, the WP mare needs a refesher (shes been off since sept)

Compare that to the 3yo the 'trainer' was riding today. That gelding was so distorted and crooked going down the rail he never got to go straight for more than a stride, hes been ridden since he was 2 and had his hocks injected 2x already. His owner is a nice lady but thinks that if she paid big money for the horse and training she wants to win.

I guess we just love our horses too much.

Lucas got his shoes on Friday Am so the plan is that Im going to go drive him tomorrow and do some more playing around, hopefully next weekend Ill be riding again!!