Last Day of Horse Camp

The plan was to get up early and go for one last ride before heading back to the cities. I got up early, before everyone else actually, and fed the boys and started getting ready to go. By the time everyone else made it up and had breakfast and started getting ready it was getting to be past 9am. We had planned to leave at 10 to make it back in time for WCR. Everyone was finally ready to hit the trail and we set off. I decided to ride Cody as I hadn't ridden him since the first day. I've come to the conclusion that he likes everyone else better than me, though. We were only a few minutes into the ride when it became apparent that Cody's feet were really sore. So at the next fork in the trail we split off from the rest and headed back to camp. Of course there had to be a big argument between he and I over which way to go. Cody wanted to stay with the main group being the ever herd bound horse he is. But we made it back in the end.

The rest of the group ended up returning earlier than expected because they couldn't figure out which way they were supposed to go on the trail. We had everything packed and ready to go on time with the exception of the horses. Axel hopped on the trailer like an expert, and Cody decided he wasn't going to leave. So after 20 minutes or so of "help" and "advice" from everyone we finally got him on and hit the road.

The trip home was smooth sailing until we pulled into Monticello to take the county roads to the barn. At that point we had actually made really great time and thought we were going to be early. Axel squeezed out of his halter and turned himself around backwards, blocking Cody on the wrong side of the trailer all the while biting at Misty in the back half of the trailer. We stopped and I had to unclip Cody so he wouldn't get tangled up. The rest of the drive was a little scarier, with more stomping and moving around than normal and some nasty traffic but we made it back in one piece. We rushed around unpacking and unloading the horses so we could rush off to WCR as close to ontime as we could make it.

Poor Cody is going to have to reestablish his position in the herd. Corey took his herd back while we were gone and was chasing Cody and Axel around non stop while we were unpacking. Hopefully things will have settled down by next Saturday and the boys will be back to their old selves and not sore.

Day 3 of Horse Camp

We decided that he adults needed to get up early and go for a ride with no children. This was our longest ride of the week, still only 2.5 hours though. We chose the trail the long way around the meadow we had rode in the night before. I think 2.5 hours might be my limit for sitting in a saddle, atleast right now. Anything more than that and I bet I wouldn't be able to walk much after. When we returned to camp we had some lunch and tended to the horses. Anne went out in the afternoon with the kids while I stayed at camp. Cody and Axel needed a break and so did I.

Before dinner some of us rode down to Beers lake. The trail there was a bit more difficult than any we had been on so far. Very rocky and narrow in places. Our plan was go to swimming so I was wearing shorts, sandles, and no helmet. Luckily I decided to use a saddle and not go bareback. Halfway there we ran into Tara and her son. They were going to meet us at the water but couldn't find it. So we doubled up again to ride the rest of the way. This time Axel did double duty with two adults. I don't imagine he was overly impressed with me at that point. We made it to the water and did a little swimming. The boys were pretty much the only two of that group that wanted to get in the water so everyone took turns riding them while they splashed around. After dinner the other campers went out to swim while Anne brought her mom's horses and the kids home.

Day 2 of Horse Camp

Since Anne's mother's truck broke down Anne went to pick up the horses. Most of the morning she was off getting that done. I hung around the camp and horse sat while some of the other group went on a ride. I think their ride turned out to be a bit longer than they expected when they got lost and went around the lake. When Anne returned with her two Paso Finos and two ponies we let them rest for a bit and then saddled up. I think we did the small loop by camp so the kids could figure out the ponies. Later in the evening we took the kids on the trail through the meadow and woods near where we had hiked the night before. Luckily we wore the kids out and everyone went to bed early and quietly.

Of course sometime in the middle of the night we were woken up by snorting and snarling outside our tent. Upon further investigation we discovered a couple racoons having an argument on top of our picnic table. One of the racoons must not have won that fight, there was blood all over the place. The horses were completely unconcerned. Misty was laying down sleeping as was Axel, while Cody kept guard.

Day 1 of Horse Camp

We woke up with the sun at some god awful time like 5 a.m. Fed the horses and hung around for a while waiting to hear from Anne's mother about her horses or from the other campers due to arrive. There was some issue with Anne's mother's truck leaving them with nothing to haul horses and we had no idea when the other campers were going to get there. We decided to use the time to go for a short ride to get acclimated. We just rode a small loop nearest to the camping area. Anne's neices arrived for lunch and the rest of the camping crew also arrived and set up camp. Sometime in the middle of the day it started raining so we all huddled in tents and under the overhang of the camper. Luckily it was a very short rain. Later in the evening we drove up to one of the hiking trails around a lake and went for a little hike. Upon getting back to the car it started to rain yet again. When the rain cleared up the kids wanted to go for a ride. Since there were no extra horses at that point we rode double with the two girls around the small loop near camp.

We Made it to Camp

Camp all set up.

The big day finally arrived. We changed our plans to leave on Monday and decided to leave on Sunday instead. We were hauling a third horse and her owner, Pam, was going to follow in a truck on the way up to the park. Axel loaded perfectly but Cody gave us some issues. He really wanted to stick around and be with his girlfriend and the rest of the herd. After a few tries he did finally get in the trailer. We had to take Axel out and let Cody go in first, maybe he didn't think he had enough room or something. Misty, the third horse, loaded like a champ as well. We were on the road around 5:30 p.m. To get out of the cities we figured the easiest way would be to stay off the freeways that were under construction and just take some local highways up to I94. There were a lot of stops and turns but the horses all did pretty well considering. Once we were on the freeway north of the cities it was smooth sailing. Surprisingly the drive didn't seem very long (atleast for me and Anne, I think Pam was quite bored). In total it took us 5.5 hours. That included one stop for dinner and gas as well as some slight detours as we tried to find the entrance to the State Park. We arrived after 10 and it had just gotten dark. By light of the trucks we were able to set up the electric fencing, feed the horses, and set up our tents. We were in "bed" around midnight. I don't think any of us really slept much that night. Misty's rope broke and she wandered away from her picket line, we were all still awake and Pam managed to catch her. I don't think she would have gotten far, she was just looking for a better place to graze and sleep for the night.

No Rest For the Wicked

After We Can Ride today Tricia and I went out and rode her's and her fiance's horses. We just wandered around between the fields for a while. We swapped horses half way through so I could try out the saddle I am borrowing from Steph for the trip. She has a very nice saddle and it is very comfortable.

After riding there we went out to the barn to ride Cody and Axel. It was starting to look a little gloomy and was thundering a bit but we went for it anyways. Tricia tried Steph's saddle on Axel and man does it look good. I'll have to get photos of it for sure, it's a dark reddish brown and matches his black hair well. I had a ride on Cody in the saddle I might buy. It turned out to be a pretty comfortable saddle. We took it easy and just walked the whole ride with the exception of the big hill. I missed it but I guess Tricia asked for a real canter up the hill and Axel let out a full fledged buck instead. Hehe. Goofy Axel will hop up the hill until he's about 2 strides from the top and then he gives up and walks. Walking behind him I could see that he's really starting to get some muscle definition in his hind end, that was nice to see. We made it back up to the barn and turned out the horses. About a minute after we got in the car to head home, it started pouring down rain like crazy. I guess we have some pretty good timing.

I told the boys to rest up tonight, they're in for a long trip tomorrow and lots of riding this week. Hopefully we can all handle it.

Dressage Lesson #8

I had been wondering if our good lessons were just flukes or if Axel would remember what he learned from week to week. Well this week he proved he is retaining what we teach him. We probably trotted for nearly an hour and he was very willing. He's bending more without me having to do contortions to keep him that way. And now he's even using his rear end a lot more. He's still tripping quite a bit but hopefully we can get that sorted out with the farrier.

And apparently some of this "stuff" that riding instructors tell you do actually work. There's actually some sort of connection between the rider doing things right and the horse being able to do things right. Even an unexperienced horse will start doing what you want when you get out of his way and ride properly. Imagine that. So rumor has it that my riding has improved quite a bit from this winter. Since I've been concentrating so much on getting Axel to move and bend and all that, I've been less concerned with things like "sitting up straight" and in turn things are falling into place a lot easier.

Most of tonight's lesson was concentrated on how I ride. I've gotta work a bit more on how I post but my sitting trot is getting a lot better. For the last portion of the lesson we worked on trotting on the circle and downward transitions to walk without having Axel yank the reins out of my hands or fling himself onto his forehand.

Tricia will probably ride him on Saturday so he'll have to work for her but then Monday we head out for a big trail ride. Hopefully both horses will enjoy a change of pace and not hate me forever for making them ride in a trailer for 4 hours.

Test

This is a test-cool saddle though.

Not quite a real ride

Saturday after Jeff's cousin's graduation party, we went out to visit the horses with Amanda and Matthew. Of course they were all hanging out at the bottom of the hill so we had to walk down and get them. Amanda rode Cody bareback and Matthew rode Axel bareback back up the hill while Jeff and I lead them. Luckily they got that riding in. We groomed for a few minutes and put some saddles and bridles on. Cody was acting his usual annoying self since his girl friend wasn't with us. Matthew sat on him for a little bit in the little western saddle but Cody wasn't calming down so we decided to just take turns on Axel. I put the english saddle on Axel so it'd be easier to adjust stirrups and Amanda got on him. As soon as Jeff led her out into the pasture it started pouring down rain. We stood under the overhang for a while hoping it'd die down but it showed no signs of cooperating so we gave up. I had already turned Cody out and watched him run down the hill calling the whole way. He ended up turning around and running back up the hill, still calling. I wasn't quite sure what he was up to but it turned out he was trying to get Axel to follow. We untacked Axel and turned him out and Cody was finally happy again. I think I liked it better when Cody wasn't herd boss. So maybe next time the kids are in town we can go for a real ride in the woods.

Practice Trail Ride

We didn't get a chance to practice the trailer ride but Anne and Steph came out on Wednesday to go for a ride anyways. We're still trying to find the right saddle for Cody but we might have come up with something that will suffice. He's deceivingly wide at the withers. Unfortunately the really nice Tex Tan did not fit him. Anne ended up riding him in the last saddle we tried and she said it was quite comfortable. Of course now there's Axel's saddle which is hard as a rock. So I'll probably end up borrowing a saddle for him for the trip. Shoulda tried the Tex Tan on him, I doubt it woulda fit though.

Steph rode Corey, Anne rode Cody, and I rode Axel. We made our way down the back hill to be greeted by firecrackers being thrown into a fire. The varied reactions of the horses was quite telling. I don't think Axel even noticed. Cody spooked but couldn't decide if he should get out of there or not, no one else was moving. Corey just stood at the top of the hill with his eyes bugged out. And Kiko and Kalani who had been following us turned to run, but Kiko decided to come back down the hill and try and figure out what that noise was.

The stretchy gate over the bridge had been left open so Tom came running to keep Kalani and Kiko from crossing. We ended up riding back up the hill with them following so we could lock them in the paddock and continue with our ride. We took a short tour of the little loop at the bottom of the hill and then went up to the clearing. Had a little canter that went very well for Axel, surprisingly, in the clearing. Cruised around the woods, went down the big hill on the opposite side and stood and chatted at the top of the overlook for a while. Corey and Cody were very patient with us standing there, Axel just wanted to eat and swat flies. Took the route through the woods back up the hill, nearly decapitated myself on a fallen tree, but we made it back in one piece.

Everyone was hanging around the paddock when we returned so we tied them all up and fed dinner and stood around and chatted a while longer before we all headed home.

Dressage Lesson #7

Axel gets an A+ for his lesson tonight. We just worked in the font pasture. He was responding really well in a circle, bending pretty well. He was fairly forward and was even stepping under himself a bit at the walk. Our trot to the left was a little touch and go but the trot to the right was awesome, we even made it around the circle more than 2 times without stopping. After some circles we used up the whole pasture and worked on getting him to extend more and really use his rear end. It went alright to the right but we really got some nice work done to the left. Even squeaked out a canter for a few strides, a canter that did not include any bucking and was actually pretty nice. We made it around the corner nearest the barn without stopping and the rest of the way up to the other end of the pasture, he wasn't extending but on the far stretch he really collected and actually got some good suspension in his trot so that was the end of the lesson.

After the ride I tried to brush out some of the saddle marks. Axel responded by rolling in the manure. We hung out for a few minutes while I searched for wood ticks. Then I followed him down to the pasture and brushed Cody a bit and picked a wood tick off of him as well. It was super nice out so I took a little walk in the woods before heading for home.

Got a little trail ride planned for tomorrow with Anne. Hopefully I can snag some sale saddles from Stephanie to find one that fits Cody better.

Axel and I go it alone

Inspired by the riding that Linda did at the Parelli demo on Sunday and the fact that the gloomy weekend weather turned into a really sunny nice cool day, I went out the barn Sunday evening. No one was around so I was on my own. The horses were back out in the bottom pasture so I had to take the long walk down there to fetch a horse and then the long walk back up the hill to the barn. I decided I didn't feel like a fight today so I brought Axel in and groomed him up.

He's still got some pretty evil scabs on his one foot. They just don't seem to want to go away. If we go swimming at this camping trip I'm going to have to scrub him clean with betadine afterwards or something. As I was grooming all the other horses came barreling up the hill to the barn thinking it was dinner time or something. After some clever maneuvering we managed to push the gate open (we've gotta work on the side pass soon). Surprisingly no one followed us down the hill. I opted for a long rein and tried out some of the tips that I picked up at the demo. No kicking, just squeezing and using my whole body for forward movement and turning from my hips and belly button to get the horse to turn. Seemed to work pretty well.

Had to dismount to open the gate to the bridge (again, need to learn sidepass), but I found a log to use to re-mount. It was a little slow going up the hill, Axel was doing a bit of huffing and puffing by the time we got to the top. But we still had a nice trot through the clearing. Couldn't quite pick up the canter, just ended up getting a super fast trot. On the way back through the clearing we stopped for a snack on some grass so we could watch the three hawks soaring around and screeching.

Headed off in to the woods and went down the big hill on the far side. Had no issues today keeping collected and on the actual trail. Our trip up the other side was a little clumbsy. It's a dead end so we went back down the little part of the hill. Usually we turn in the valley there but last time there was some really low branches so I opted to go back up the steep hill. Axel went for it but couldn't keep up the pace the whole way. One of these times he's going to figure out that it's easier to push himself up the hill with his hindquarters than to pull himself up with his forequarters. The rest of the ride back to the bridge was calm and uneventful. My darn saddle pad had slipped once again so when I dismounted to open the gate I just stayed off and we both just walked back to the barn. After the ride I grabbed my camera to take a few shots, forgetting I had it sent on some crazy setting for the colesium. So I missed some good shots. But I followed Axel down the hill and watched him pick a nice sandy spot to roll.

Dressage lesson on Tuesday which I might consider asking if we can work on side passing or something like that. Then Anne is coming out on Wednesday for a ride to practice for "Horse Camp." Hehe. Hopefully some time this coming weekend Jeff and his sister and niece and nephew will be out to ride as well.

Another guest rider

I should start writing down everyone that comes out and rides with me, or have them sign a poster or something. I swear every time I go to the barn I've got someone different with me. But I don't much care for riding alone so I gotta get whoever can go at the time. Ana came out and rode with me today. She audited one my riding lessons at Centerline and then took a few there herself before switching to a barn elsewhere. So she brought out her fancy pants saddle and rode Axel while I rode Cody. And it never fails, when I have someone new out to ride, Kiko is in season and Cody is madly in love and doesn't want to leave. It wasn't completely horrible this time. We still had a few of our usual arguments over who got to be boss, he always lets me win but not until I put up a good fight. I'd like to think he's getting a bit better but the progress is so slow it's hard to tell.

When we got to the clearing on top of the back hill we had a really nice canter that ended with a really nice downward transition to the trot. Best one I've had on Cody so far. Axel, of course, lumbered along in his painfully heavy canter. We wandered through the woods and down the big hill on the far side. Axel put his rider to the test and wandered through the sumac on the way down the hill instead of staying on the mowed path. He seems to behave really well for me and Tricia and a few others but certain people he acts like he has no clue. The only thing I can figure is that he's testing people to see what he can get away with.

So overall the ride went well. I've gotta get a flat blanket for under my english saddle. My fuzzy saddle pad isn't doing the trick, it just keeps sliding back especially with all the hill work.

Dressage Lesson #6

I love how when I go out to the pasture to get one of the horses, I can stop walking up to Axel and he'll meet me half way. I'm guessing he's looking for some treats but it's still fun. Brought him up to the paddock and just left him wander there while I got my stuff together. I took his flymask off and was confronted by a goofy hairdo. His forelock had been parted in the middle and each side curled up to the outside. He looked pretty silly. Chatted with Tom for a bit and Tricia arrived while we were talking. Got Axel ready and we went down to the sand hill again. Did some trotting in circles at the bottom of the hill to warm up but the ground is really lumpy so he was tripping a lot. Did some cantering up the hill and walking down the hill. We have a little difficulty steering when we're concentrating so hard on the canter. But our bending is getting a lot better at the walk and a bit of the trot. I could actually keep my legs where they belonged this time. After the hill we went back up to work a little on the flat. We were trying to get him to extend his trot a bit and get his rear end working. It was a little tough keeping him trotting, partly because he was distracted with the other horses watching, and partly because he has to think too hard. He was still tripping quite a bit but we got a few good strides out of him. By the end this time he actually had some sweat on his hindquarters. Usually he's just sweated up in the front. Some of the stuff Tricia has me doing is like patting your head and rubbing your stomach at the same time. Trying to cue him while he's trotting and keep my seat or keep posting at the same time, and steer. It's quite complicated.

We discussed me possibly learning to file his feet myself between trims to try and keep them a bit shorter. They grow so darn fast and that could be part of the reason he's tripping. Along with the fact that he seems to only be able to think about one thing at a time and forgets he's got to pick up his feet. His one foot is still kind of swollen but it doesn't seem to be bothering him. Not sure what is wrong. He's still got some scabs so the mud fever must not really be gone yet either. I should probably shave his foot with the electric clippers and get it really clean. But keeping a horse's foot clean is next to impossible.

After our lesson and the weekly apple distribution I swung by Tricia's to meet her new horse. Coincidentally his barn name was Axel as well. But he's a big Appendix palamino. She's probably going to change his name. She rode him around a bit for me so I could see him move and then she had me jump on him and trot around a bit. He's quite a bit more forward than my Axel but we didn't have much space so we didn't get a lot of trotting in. But that ride solidified my need for a dressage saddle. Her saddle is so awesome. You're just glued to the horse. I slip and slide all over my AP saddle but not in this one. So I guess my shopping list just got a bit longer.

Vacation Time

Cody and Axel got some vacation time, atleast from me, this past weekend. We stopped in to borrow a saddle on Friday on our way out to the farm. Everyone was busy grazing in the new section of pasture.



Visited with a couple new baby horses over the weekend. Wilma, who is a week old, and then the new baby that arrived on Sunday morning around 5am. We didn't make it in time to see him being born but we were there to see his first steps.

And then Jeff's niece got her first horse. His name is Buckeye and I think he's going to enjoy his new life of luxury. Sunday was the first time he's probably been groomed in 2 years. So far he's turned out to be a very gentle guy. Jeff's sister is going to maybe try and ride him this weekend. Could be interesting, but I'll be at the Parelli demo so I will miss out.

Supposed to have another dressage lesson tonight. Not sure what Tricia has up her sleeve, last week it was cantering up hills. It will be interesting to see if Axel is more forward today after a whole week off.

Not sure if I'll get a chance to ride this weekend. Trying to get Anne to come out next week after work sometime for a ride. Might get Jennifer and Amanda out to ride when they are in town the next weekend. Either that or maybe get Dick to come out and ride Beau. I'd like to take a trailer ride down to the trail nearby for a little practice run. Then one more weekend and we're off on Monday June 26 for "Horse Camp 2006."