Cavalletti

I tried to mix things up a bit for Cody last night and I put out some ground poles. And knowing how uninspired he's been lately I brought the carrot stick and plastic bag to help our lunging. He wasn't thrilled with my plastic bag but I think it got the point across. By the time I got on to ride he was moving out even with the tiniest of verbal cues. Prior to riding we had a few "moments." Some bucking and trying to spin around. He does not like going to the left away from the arena gate. He wants to go toward the arena gate.

It took a lot of trotting to get some cooperation and even then the slightest thing would set him off in a speed trot or heading for the gate. I'm still surprised when I say "easy" that he'll put on the brakes even when he's spazzing out. I should have just stuck to the trotting and the poles but I asked for a few canters that he didn't want to give, and there wasn't a lot of room with the poles set up. That was my fault. So there was more trotting. In the end I got some pretty decent rein backs that I don't usually get. And when I got off I lunged him a bit more hoping he'd stretch his back a bit and loosen up. He stretched a bit in the trot but the canter was a little spazzy still. After all that I did some stretches with him. He's pretty good at the back stretch when I drag my knuckles down the sides of his tail. We did the leg stretches, tail stretch, and tried the belly lift.

I'm not enjoying riding in that saddle, I think it's tipped too far back, I might have to adjust that somehow. Next time just trotting I think. No poles, just moving out and getting comfortable.

A Little Huntseat

No photos from last night's ride :( Video might have been interesting, not sure how I would have looked. I got out the huntseat saddle and swapped it with the dressage saddle. I figure if I ever get around to showing I'd be showing WSCA and there's no dressage classes. So I thought it'd be best to start riding in that saddle for a while. J said it looked good on Cody. I felt like a fish out of water. I haven't ridden with my knees that bent in ages. But if I'm going to play around with some jumping as well I guess I need to get used to it!

Cody had a bit of a bump on the outside of his right front pastern so I decided to lunge him before I tacked to make sure he wasn't hurting. He was lazy lazy lazy (gotta remember that stick with the plastic bag) but he didn't seem to hurt at all. After fidgeting with the saddle to get it to feel at least a little normal we were on our way (how in the world do you keep your leg on when your knee is bent so much?). I had the foresight to grab the whip so I didn't have to kick constantly. And actually having my legs up a bit higher seemed to help a bit as well. But with two other horses in the arena there was a lot of temptation to stop and watch them work. We manged to do quite a bit of trotting but Cody is a little confused on posting. He slows down quite a bit making it nearly impossible to post. So before we attempt any jumping we'll have to work on that. J was showing the stuff she was working on with Amigo to get him to calm down in the canter. J3 (heh yes there are 3 Js at the barn) gave it a try with Steele. He gets a little full of himself and speeds up so they were talking about doing some spiral-ins. He's back from the trainer so J3 has been riding him quite a bit it seems. He's still heavy on the front but he seems to go quieter than he did before she sent him away. I attempted some cantering with Cody, wrong lead to the left nearly every time. Finally had to counter bend the heck out of him to get that left lead. J said he had a really nice lope. Right lead he just didn't want to canter at all but when we got it he kept it up for a lap or so and did a nice halt when asked.

After all that work I was sweaty. But Cody was actually barely wet so I guess I didn't work him too hard. I'll probably try and ride him again tonight and if no one is in the arena we'll do some lunging over ground poles and then maybe just work on trotting. I'll see if I can just let him go and do two point or post and let him have his head and just move out. If no one else is around I'll try and video it despite my fear that my riding position will look like crap. Eek!

Training Ride

We're just going to call this one a "training" ride. I zipped on over to the barn where B and A were waiting to go on a trail ride. I decided it was Axel's turn and he hopped into the last spot in the slant load trailer. Last spot = not as far to back out + we've been working on backing off the bridge and out the barn door = easy unloading. WRONG. He refused to get out. The problem appears to be that with the corner tack room in a slant load, he can't see where he's going. He turns his head to the left and presses his body up against the opposite wall. He can't turn around and in that position if he started to back up he'd hit that opposite wall. He won't turn his head straight and move his butt to the left and back out. After a lot of swearing and pushing and pulling and tapping and hitting and just about everything we could think of, he finally pretty much fell out of the trailer. We had unbalanced him enough by pulling on his tail a bit that he stepped back and sideways and we kept him moving with the momentum and he was finally out. New lesson: backing up with blinders on.

So after we got him out of the trailer we went on our happy way. Nothing like having to hitch a ride in the first place only to have your horse do something as stupid as not wanting to get out of the trailer. When we got to the little pond/lake thing B decided Diva should go in the water. She hates water and we were ready for a bit of a battle. Axel and Danny jumped right in, and out, and in, and out ad nauseum. Diva did not want to get in. After a lot of fighting (similar to the trailer unloading event) she finally got some feet in the water. She was still not terribly happy about the situation but she stood there, walked around a bit, and didn't completely loose her mind. So we called it a success and headed back to the trailers. All in all it was a short ride but after two big battles we were spent.

Instead of the fight we put Danny in the slant load with Diva and Axel spent the ride home in the stock trailer by himself crying the whole way. Since I'm a glutton for punishment I chose to back him out of the stock trailer. Which he did. Perfectly. So I think that just reinforces the reason he won't get out of the slant is because he can't see.

Clean Pony

I had to look twice at Cody when I pulled him out of the pasture. His face was so clean I almost thought it wasn't him. Then his tail was so soft I started to think someone gave him a bath for me. J said he was playing in the water, thus the clean nose, and it had rained, thus the soft tail. Well I still thing someone switched my horse for a look-alike. J was riding in the arena so Cody and I joined her for a while. One lap around and I knew I was in for a slow slow ride. So I got off and grabbed the dressage whip. I only had to brush Cody with it once and he picked up the pace. It still wasn't the speediest walk in the world but it was greatly improved. We chatted with J for a bit standing in the middle, both of our horses were very patient and happy to stand there doing nothing. When J left Cody decided he was ready to be fast again. He seems to be slowest when other horses are in the arena. I'm not sure what that is about, he's trying to keep an eye on them maybe.

So we trotted around and around and tried some cantering. He's much more inspired to canter when I have the whip. He wasn't terrible smooth getting into it but he did it. He had the wrong lead to the left every time I tried but we can keep working on that. We also worked on some backing up. I had planned on working on that with just the lead rope and halter but since J was riding I thought I better just put the bridle on. Surprisingly he did fairly well even with the bit. So we'll keep working on that as well. I grabbed the chin strap from his bridle which pretty much matches the saddle. Hopefully I can find a bridle sometime that matches that leather. Of course Cody will go better when his tack finally matches! That's how it works, don't you know?!

When I was done riding Cody I brought Axel in just to get groomed and fly sprayed. Of course when I'm done that's when everyone else shows up to ride. Heh go figure. I guess I need to start going to the barn later unless I want to ride alone.

Threatening Storms

Goofing Around

Of course I forgot to take any photos last night but here's a nice one of Axel from last week that I hadn't posted yet. When I got to the barn B was just riding Diva in the arena, she suggested we head down the road a bit. So I grabbed Axel and got him ready as fast as I could leaving a bit of time to scratch some of his bug bites that itched. We made it down to the cows with Axel keeping a pretty decent pace, though trying to grab grass the whole trip. Diva wasn't so sure about the cows and positioned herself behind Axel while they looked on. I still want to take Axel and Cody to a cow clinic sometime.

When we got back to the barn we watched A load up Vinny and head out to her formation practice and then went back to the arena and goofed around. We trotted a bit and cantered. Axel canted more than he usually does so that was a win for him. Diva gets really strong in her plain eggbutt snaffle so B was working on that a bit. We tried some rollbacks and we worked on some lateral stuff which didn't go very far with Axel. We discussed jumping on the horses bareback and how exactly to go about that task. So we untacked and gave it a try. I can jump up on my belly from the mounting block but that's about it for now. B thought she needed a chair but she managed to get up on Diva with just the mounting block. So we rode around on our sweaty horses bareback for a while. I attempted an "around-the-world" for the first time. I tried to kneel on Axel's back vaulting style but he's not quite big enough for me to do that. One thing I did discover, okay two things, he backs up much better with just the lead rope than with a bit, and he understands the lateral cues a bit better with no saddle. He managed to do a turn on the forehand in one direction. So we have some winter projects lined up: bareback lateral moves. When we were done goofing off like kids and our butts had soaked up all the horse's back sweat it was time to call it a night. But not before Axel did his "rolling on command" trick. Okay so he doesn't do it on command but when he lays down to roll I've been saying "roll" and then praising him as he does it. Maybe it'll work the other way around one day.

Cody's Day

I only had an hour or so last night so I just went out to lunge Cody a bit and put his fly mask back on. He was super slow and lazy again as he has been lately. Now even the whip doesn't really inspire him to get moving. Until something clicks and I haven't quite figured out what it is yet. I was trying to get him to trot or move or something. I recall he got pissed off and threw out a buck and after that things were golden. I can't recall what it was I did to make him mad but it worked. Then he trotted out nice and big and switched directions promptly when asked. Still can't get him into a canter and I'm not sure what's up with that. Perhaps I'll grab the carrot stick and plastic bag next time I go out. If I can't get him to canter I can't reward him for doing it correctly right away and he won't want to do it ever. It's a vicious circle.

We worked on some halt from the trot and just trying to get a reaction immediately when I ask. He did alright on that. And then I worked on some of the turns on the forehand and haunches. Turns on the forehand are sort of okay and turns on the haunches are more difficult. Lastly we worked on our backing up issue. He'll back up really well with me standing facing him and doing either the rope wiggle or waving my hands and asking him to "back." He's been not so great at backing while I'm at his neck leading lately, kind of sliding in that area. I also tried asking him to back while standing by his hip, that really confused him. So I think we'll be working more on backing in general from the verbal cue from all sorts of places and then work on some ground driving and backing that way. So I might give up my backing under saddle goal until we can do it on the ground from nearly anywhere. We'll work on the leg yielding under saddle and hopefully some of that will help with the canter.

Farrier Day

Just got back from the barn. The farrier was out to trim everyone up. The flies make for trimming feet a little more tricky but everyone managed to stand pretty well. When that was all said and done I went to ride Axel in the arena while A worked with Vinnie. It's always a good lesson for Axel to be in the arena when someone else is working since he tends to not like other horses much. He managed to shake his bridle off, luckily I didn't have to reward him by dismounting, A put the bridle back on for me and we trotted off. Of course that just made him mad and he threw out a few bucks in response. When I got a few nice things out of him I dismounted and lunged him for a bit. I'm hoping if I can get him increasingly comfortable on the lunge he'll start feeling better under saddle. He threw a few good bucks and fancy moves on the lunge but leveled out and worked well so we called it a night.

Cody on the Road

Cody's new found slowness is going to have to change I think. I realize he's not a spring chicken but it's not like I'm asking him to run several miles at a time. Just walk at a decent pace. I guess you get what you ask for, previous years he would only trot.

So after grooming and fly spray in the barn aisle we went out to the road. He was armed with boots so there were no excuses. But it was slow as usual, he really wanted to go back to the barn. I worked on just keeping his nose straight and letting up on any pressure when it was. When I asked for a trot he'd keep aiming himself for the ditch, trip because he couldn't see the ground as it was overgrown, and then use that as an excuse to walk slow again. After letting him do that a few times (my bad) I gave him a good thump in the sides on the way out of the ditch and all of a sudden we had a new gear (sure it was only 2nd gear so much for my thoughts to canter). We walked a bit further before I made him stop and stand for a while. I even let him munch on some grass as an incentive to enjoy being away from the barn.

When we turned around to head home it was time to work. I'm not sure if I made him do enough work but we did serpentines most of the way back. Granted he could have bent a lot better. Since he had quite a bit more momentum I also tried asking for some leg-yield (forward and diagonal at the same time), though his bend at times (toward the barn side of the road) made it more like a half-pass. I think we'll work on that every time we head back to the barn, I'm not sure he was crossing his legs over quite yet, hard to tell when you're on the horse.

And as usual when we got back to the barn it was time to try and back up. He refused to back down the driveway and J and J came home so we had to get out of the way. So I asked for a back up in the ditch. I'm not going to settle for the tiny hesitant step any more, I need at least a real full step. I don't like to pull on his mouth but tiny jiggling of the reins wasn't cutting it. When he finally backed up a few steps it was because I picked up the reins and pulled firmly. We'll be back on the ground working on the verbal cues for backing up I think. I'm racking up a big list of things to work on when we can't trail ride (winter, or rain, or groundwork days). Anyway I dismounted when he gave me 3 decent steps.

Of course I put his fly mask back on after having it off all weekend (while it was sunny) and now it's raining. Good timing I have. A had some new treats so she gave me a few to give to the boys, now that they aren't getting the work provided apples. They gobbled up the treats like they were going out of style.

Cody's New Goals

• Back up under saddle


• Move forward


• Halt on a dime


• Execute all commands immediately when asked

On the Road Again

One of the other boarders, henceforth known as A, has decided to buy Vinny from the barn owner, henceforth known as J. So she wanted to go for a ride last night. Unfortunately the hunter girls were having their lesson so A couldn't lunge Vinny before riding so she saddled up Danny instead. J got Jessie ready and I got Axel and we took off down the road. Axel (and Cody) need to put on some serious moves here pretty quick or we won't be able to ride with all these TWHs. They are a fast bunch and even with Axel feeling pretty good lately, we still lag behind. We ended up trotting most of the ride. While that's probably good for Axel's weight, it's probably not good for his foot. In any case he was trotting very nicely. He had a few minor moments of crankiness towards the other horses but didn't do anything about it. It probably helps that they are never behind us. When we got back A and Vinny's new co-owner played around a bit in the arena. He looks a lot like Axel as far as preferring the halt to any other gait. But he's only 3 so it might not be too hard to train him to move out once in a while.

Old Friends

After nearly 4 years we finally got CJ to stop down and visit the horses last night. We rode around a bit in the arena and then headed out down the road for a ways. We didn't go for long since Jeff was back waiting at the barn for us. Luckily I got him to take a few photos (gotta use every trick in the book).

Cody was slow as usual, apparently that's just his new speed. I noticed he was much more willing to back up for CJ than he is for me (seems to always be the case). We trotted a bit and then cantered down the road for a little ways. Axel started to drop his head (in a bad way) right as I was about to ask him to walk anyway so we lucked out there. When we got back to the barn we goofed around a bit more. CJ tried to get Cody to canter. He kept picking up the right lead going left. I asked for Axel's canter from a walk again. He gets it, just doesn't necessarily get the correct lead and he doesn't get more than a stride before he stops. But at least he knows what I'm asking.

I had picked up some more fly spray so when we were done and Axel had his roll in the arena we sprayed the horses and put them back outside. Cody did do some yawning after we were done but not before so I think that's a good sign. CJ thought he looked good weight wise though I'd still like him to put on a bit more. Overall it was a success and neither horse acted like an idiot. I'm still trying to get more information about Axel. Once again I was told he was a twin and CJ swears he has seen a photo somewhere of Rose, the other twin. I'd love to see a baby photo of Axel so hopefully I can get my hands on that sometime. I still don't believe he's a twin but we'll see. I really just need Axel's parentage and maybe I could do some research.

Invasion of the Body Snatchers

Cody and Axel have switched bodies, that's all I can figure. Cody has been greeting me in the pasture with a knicker lately. The good news is that I groomed and tacked him in the cross ties on Friday and there was no yawning. There was one other person riding so we rode around in the arena with them for a while. Cody was as lazy as Axel usually is. It was all I could do to get/keep him moving. Part of it was that he really just wanted to sit and watch the other horse. I didn't even attempted to get a canter since the trot was so much work. I'll have to see what he does next time he's alone in the arena.

Axel, on the other hand, was all business. He lunged pretty well, big big trot. Took a bit to get that one canter lead but he eventually got it. I'm pretty sure he knows when he gets it right so now we just have to keep working til he gets it right on the first stride. He had a nice big trot under saddle as well. I decided to work on some canter from walk transitions. While he didn't want to pick up the correct lead he definitely knew what I was asking. So that was a cool discovery. He's got a few things other than food on his mind I guess! We finished up with some under saddle work on the bridge which included backing off the bridge. First just his front feet on and off then all four. It took some time standing before he made the attempt with all four but he got it. We'll get this horse backing off the trailer yet!