Fast Saturday Ride

Despite this cold I've managed to obtain, and despite all my potential riding partners having other things to do today, I went for a ride this afternoon anyway. I groomed Cody first and turned him out when I was done. Then I groomed and tacked up Axel and headed out on the trail. At the top of the first hill we met up with Tom's daughter and her two kids. We stopped and chatted for a bit and the kids had to pet the horse. The little girl, the oldest, was telling her little brother to watch out for the feet because her grandma was killed by a horse stepping on her head (sad and sweet at the same time) :( The little boy proceeded to pet Axel's leg and then hug his neck and tell him he was a good horsie. After we passed them we had a little trot in the clearing and then headed into the woods. The lighting was kind of spooky today. Light but cloudy out and then really dark in the woods. Partway into the woods we ran into Tom's son. I guess everyone was out for a walk today. Axel is really an excellent horse. He was a little startled by Tony in the woods but his reaction was to stop dead and look to see what was coming. On the opposite side of the woods we worked on the hills a few times. He did pretty well going down the hills, but the large hills he would only hop and buck on the way up, couldn't quite get him into a canter. After the hills we made our way back through the woods and got one good canter up a smaller hill before we got back to the clearing.

We had another little trot that turned into a canter circle, a really nice canter circle even. I tried for another nice canter in a straight line but all I got was a gallop. Fun for me but Axel's not much for steering when he's going so fast, so the turn at the end of the clearing was a little goofy. Made our way back down the hill to the bridge and ran into Tom and his sons checking out the cabin. Axel decided he wanted to run up the last hill back to the barn so we had to walk back down and try again at a walk. We can't be running back to the barn whenever we feel like it.

After the ride Axel had a little walk through the bushes to get rid of the bugs. Guess that's their best fly repellant. Cody was hanging out so he got his photo taken so I could try out the soft focus filter I borrowed from Jeff. And Cody's found himself quite the girlfriend. I was quite surprised to see Kiko in season and Corey actually letting Cody hang out with her. He was knickering away at her and Corey was off grazing not paying attention at all.

So I ended up with the cutest photo ever. Cody and Kiko's engagement photo ;) Too bad Cody's a gelding, eh? Wonder if I'll have a hard time with Cody tomorrow. One of the gals from my old riding lessons is going to come out for a ride with me. Hopefully he'll cooperate so we can have a fun ride.

Dressage Lesson #3

All this rain is not helping the bug issue one bit. Got out to the barn a bit early after work today. The horses were all hanging out in the paddock. Tom was unloading bags of feed so I guess they thought it was dinner time, atleast they hoped it was. Groomed Axel for a while. He's full of bug bites so every stroke of the brush must really feel good, he was making all sorts of faces (the good faces of course). He's still got some brown winter hairs that haven't shed out yet. I was done early so we worked on some "carrot streches" to the right and left. Got a couple good cracks even.

Saddled him up while I was waiting for Tricia to arrive. Axel was being annoyed by bugs right and left so I went to get the fly mask. I've been working on crocheting a fly net for him but I haven't finished yet. I ended up trying out one of the store bought fly nets that Tom had instead of the big mesh fly mask. Axel didn't seem to mind it at all. Tricia pulled up so we went right to work.

Since the round pen went so horribly last time we decided to just work in the pasture and see if that went any better. And it was much better, he actually was moving. Our theory is that the round pen is just too much bending for him at this point. In the pasture we did kind of an arena shaped pattern instead. So he only had to bend on the corners. Did some work at the walk, mostly just concentrated on keeping him from popping his outside shoulder. Walked in both directions and then worked on the trot just a bit. It's difficult for me to keep him supported while we're trotting, and keep him trotting on top of that. But there was no need for all the kicking this week so that was a win in itself. To keep him from popping out that shoulder I have to ride with my outside leg nearly in front of the girth and pick him up with the outside rein. As odd as that is it does the job. I just hope he gets the point soon so I can start riding normally!

We got a couple good passes where he'd stay bent and collected without me begging for it. Every time he did something right and I'd reach to praise and pat him, he'd stop. Heh, I guess he wants his reward to be standing still. Tricia could tell when he was just about to tune out so we made a couple more passes successfully and then dismounted right then and there.

So overall he is improving, he just needs more practice. And I am starting to be able to feel what he is doing so that'll be a big help when I want to work with him alone.

Between Storms

It rained all morning but I managed to get a ride in between bouts. We had quite a time on Tuesday trying to get and keep Axel moving in the round pen. My original plan was to do some hill work. Something I know we'd be successful at but something Axel really needs to work on. Unfortunately since it was raining all morning I figured the hills would be too slippery. Instead I went out on the road. We worked on some trotting and a working walk. Both of which Axel was very willing to do on the road. I didn't have to kick one bit, just a squeeze and he'd go. We couldn't quite get a canter going, just some bucks when I asked. So we stuck to just trotting and walking. We did a tiny bit of hill work in a large part of the ditch on the other side of one of the fields.

Not sure why he's so unwilling in the round pen. Maybe it's just the bending or something. I guess we'll see on Tuesday. The plan is to try a dressage whip to tickle his hind quarters into moving a bit. I don't think my legs can handle kicking him any more. And we will definitely need to do a lot more hill work. You can see in that photo of him that his forehand is all muscled up but his hindquarters are not.

Maybe by the end of the summer both of the boys will be all in shape and looking good.

Dressage Lesson #2

It was sunny all day yesterday, as far as I could tell from my desk. After leaving work a little later than normal, getting on the wrong freeway entrance, turning around, and sitting in some traffic, I drove right into the rain they kept talking about. Luckily as I kept driving the rain let up. By the time I pulled into the driveway at the barn the rain had stopped and it was nice and sunny out again. The horses were busy mowing the lawn. Tom had part of the lawn roped off so they could graze. If only they would graze in some sort of organized pattern so we could be sure to get all the lawn the same length. Tricia was on her way out from a trip to St. Paul so I chatted with Tom for a bit before getting Axel ready for the lesson.

I think I spend enough time out there not riding that he shouldn't be running away from me when I try to retrieve him with a halter in my hand. But he saw me coming and scooted to the other side of the yard. It wasn't blatant running away, just trying to sneak away in case I didn't notice. He did let me catch him and followed me back to the barn without protest. Groomed him up, he's still a bit fuzzy from winter yet. Gave him a good scratch in his favorite itchy spot, his inner thighs - if you can believe that - I suppose it's not an easy spot to itch yourself if you're a horse. Just as I was done tacking up Tricia drove up. Perfect timing.

We decided to work in the round pen to help him bend more. At first I want to say he's just being stubborn but I think it really boils down to he just doesn't know what I am asking him to do. It was like pulling teeth to get him to go around in a circle in the round pen. He'd take one step at a time and I'd kick and kick and kick until my legs felt like they were going to fall off. There was no momentum at all. We put out a few poles for him to step over to help make him use his rear. After we had switched directions a few times he started to move a little more forward. We managed a few trots over the poles and around the circle. Never more than one circle trotting though and Tricia was jumping around and waving her arms behind us to keep us going. By the end of the lesson, probably 40 minutes or more, he was finally moving a little better. He still will only bend for a few steps at a time and it took so long to get him moving that it's pretty frustrating and feels like we didn't make any progress. But I did get to stop kicking as much by the end so that was progress. We had a few moments when he did something well so we're trying our best to praise him for those moments, hopefully he'll catch on.

He's a lot more forward on the trail so I'm going to make sure when we ride out there he gets praised for doing things he's supposed to be doing. Maybe it'll transfer. Hopefully I can find someone to ride with on Saturday since Tricia won't be able to. I'd like to do some more hill work. It's good for the horses, and fun for the rider ;)

When we finished our lesson we ended up helping Tom deworm all the horses. Definitely not the horses' favorite thing to do. Actually most of the horses were really good about it with the exception of Cody. He just doesn't like having people grab onto his head and mess around with his mouth very much. Luckily Tricia is quick on the draw, and she has a lot more practice of course.

After riding Axel I ran up to one of the WCR barns to help train the new horses. My old riding instructor ended up donating two of her school horses when she closed down her barn. So there were some people out there getting them ready to start working. Looks like they will work out pretty well.

Saturday Trail Ride

Right as I drive up the road to the barn I see all the horses heading through the gate down to the back pasture. Really great timing. Luckily they had stopped right after the gate so they weren't too difficult to catch. I was planning on bringing my camera on the ride but Cody was acting pretty pissed that I took him away from his herd, I figured I better not risk it in case he did something stupid. He did calm down once we started riding. I just can't get him to cross the bridge on his own. He'll back away from it until Axel crosses first.

We rode around the top of the hill and then went into the woods. We rode to the opposite side of the property where the other hill is. We walked up and down the hills and then cantered up a few times. It's a good workout, they were getting sweaty at that point.

After the hill work we went back to the open area at the top of the hill and worked on some trotting in circles. Axel apparently needs quite a bit of help right now. He pops his outside shoulder out so Tricia had her outside leg in front of the girth to hold him in the circle, and her inside leg behind the girth to keep his hindquarters out. Basically riding backwards from how most dressage horses ride. He'll get it eventually. I guess he wasn't bending quite as easily as he had in the past so we're gonna work in the round pen on Tuesday for our lesson. So around and around and around we went. Cody doesn't quite understand the whole circle thing but he's getting it. He doesn't bend the right direction but I think that's in protest. By the end I think I had him pretty tired out, he was trotting slower and slower, which is a nice change from his usual frantic trot.

We had one small wrestling match when Cody wanted to go back down the hill and I wanted to take a small loop back through part of the woods. We fought it out a few times and I finally won, we walked back up the hill and made the loop twice before going back towards the barn. He fights with me less and less each ride but when we do fight over something it takes a while to win the battle. Eventually I want to start working with him alone, but that might be a while before we do that. He's pretty attached to his herd. But even after taking him away from his buddies and making him trot in circles and go up and down hills til he was drenched in sweat, he still doesn't hate me, comes to see what I am doing when I am still hanging around the paddock.

After our ride we hung out for a bit while the horses all took a bit of a nap under the overhang. Tricia had to head home and I took Beau for a little walk down the road and then he helped mow the lawn a bit. The rest of the horses had went back down the hill so I walked down there and took a few photos before I headed for home.

No Dressage Tonight

We cancelled our dressage lesson tonight but I decided to go for a visit anyways. I went straight from work and didn't have an barn clothes so I ended up just putting my coveralls and muck boots on. Muck boots are not good when its warm out. I groomed both of the boys. They're both still shedding. Axel is all splotchy and Cody still has long hairs on his belly and chin. It seems like they'll never be sleak again. Since it rained all weekend the paddock is once again a mud pit. And to make matters worse, the bugs are out already. I rode Axel around the pasture bareback for a while and then I groomed Beau for a bit. We let the horses out in the font pasture for a while before dinner. They were pretty happy to be eating some grass. I think in the next few days they'll be turned out in the back pasture. Hopefully we waited long enough this year.

Still raining

Horse Expo was this weekend so I spent all day Saturday at the fairgrounds. Went to the rodeo Saturday night as well. Today I went out in the rain to visit the horses a bit. Had to make sure Axel wasn't angry with me for making him work and learn dressage on Tuesday. I don't think he hates me, he sure spent a lot of time trying to drive me nuts following me around trying to take the brush out of my pockets. I just hope it stops raining so we can ride on Tuesday. I'm anxious to see if he retained any of what we tried to teach him. I've also applied for Axel to be a demo horse for the Parelli tour that will be here in June. I dunno if they'll pick him but it'd be kind of fun if they did or potentially embarassing ;)
I put some of the poles out in the round pen to get Axel to walk over them. He'd following me over the poles but he wouldn't jump over the barrel. He'd just walk around it and then push it out of his way with his head. Guess we'll have to work on learning to lunge so I can try and lunge him over some little jumps or something. Maybe when it stops raining.

Our First Dressage Lesson

So my head is swimming with the huge amount of things I have to think about all at once. Axel and I had our first Dressage lesson tonight. Riding and unfinished horse is a whole new can of worms for me. I think in the long run it will make me a better rider but the road there is going to be pretty bumpy.

We went up the hill where there's some level ground to work on. Unfortunately the bugs are already bad. There was a little head tossing because of the bugs, some snatching at the reins, and some pawing before the lesson was over.

We started with a walk in a figure 8 to get him to start bending. He needs a lot of support from me which is something I am certainly not used to. Lots and lots of leg, thus me sitting on the heating pad. I probably won't be walking too well tomorrow, yikes. So I use as much leg as I can and loose my seat more than I'd like to. I stiffen up my shoulders and back and my arms lock up. I throw away the outside rein and Axel drops his shoulder right into the empty space. And I cross over my outside rein too much. Luckily Tricia is able to see all this and try and keep me on the right track so we can keep Axel on the right track.

I'm a little afraid I didn't give him enough release from pressure when he did something right but I guess we'll see how things go next week. We attempted a trot but it didn't go very well. It was hard to get him into the trot in the first place, and then keeping him from falling out on that shoulder just wasn't happening, he just wasn't sure how to carry himself in the trot either. We went back to the walk but he kept calling back to the horses back at the barn, snatching the reins, and falling to the outside and wandering off.

We were going to head down to the other pasture where the bugs weren't as bad but we stopped in the woods where there's a little circle to work there for a bit. I was having a heck of a time getting him to bend past the exit of the woods, I was kicking like crazy to keep him moving and trying to keep some action on the outside rein so he'd move off it, he'd stop, snatch the reins, paw the ground. After much fighting we made it around successfully enough to praise him and stop for the night.

I think Sunday morning I'll do some work on the ground with lateral flexion and maybe do some work over poles. Something he can succeed at easily and get rewarded for but at the same time will benefit our training. I don't want him to hate me for making him work, I think he was a little frustrated by the end.

Dressage

This could be us one day, Axel and I are going to start our Dressage training on Tuesday!

Stormy Ride

So it's nice out all day yesterday but as soon as we get to the barn, it clouds up and looks like it's going to storm. I hate you weatherman! When we arrived we were greeted by a big brindle dog that must have been part St. Bernard, he was pretty big, but friendly. Not sure where he came from but he wouldn't leave us alone. He ended up in the paddock with the horses. The biggest scardy cat, Kalani, was the first one to go chasing the dog to see what it was. We caught the boys anyway and groomed, chatted with Tom for a few minutes, and tacked up the horses. It hadn't started raining yet so we figured we'd give it a try and hope for the best. I haven't had a chance to get some clips for my reins so Jeff was stuck with the regular english reins on Axel's new bridle. He thinks they're too short. And he doesn't like to ride with both hands holding the reins. Guess I'll have to put some clips on the split reins for him eventually.

Our new friend, the dog, ended up following us the whole ride. The horses were alright with it, so that was a relief. Tricia wants to bring her dog on Saturdays when we ride so she can get used to walking with horses, we hadn't tried it yet as I wasn't sure how the boys would react. I guess they passed the test. After Axel trotted partway down the first hill, we managed to walk up the hill to the woods. By following him I can see that hills are really a good thing for him. He doesn't step under himself on flat ground but really does a better job on hills. Guess we'll be walking up hills a lot from now on. We walked around the edge of the hill and had a bite of grass in the clearing before heading into the woods. We were probably only a few feet into the woods when it started raining a little. Cody decided he wanted to go home and actually turned around and took the initiative to lead, which he never does. I thought I could hear storm sirens so I figured he had the right idea. We let Axel pass and went back down the hill. Both horses tried to trot *down* the hill. The wind and rain and evil clouds must have really gotten them worked up, usually they are really careful on the way down hills. We had a small fight on the way back up to the paddock. Cody wanted to run and I wanted to walk. It wasn't raining at this point so there was no reason to hurry. Jeff said we hopped up part of the hill. If it hadn't started getting really windy I would have made Cody walk back down the hill and walk up again until he got it right. But I guess a thunderstorm isn't the best time to try and make a point with a horse.

We were going to take some photos but right when we got back it started raining again so we untacked as fast as we could. Then of course, it stopped raining. I told Tom we'd feed when we got back so we rounded everyone else up and put out dinner. Jeff did end up taking a few photos while the horses were eating hay. I don't think they really wanted to be photographed during dinner but they had no choice. And right as we were leaving, it really started to rain and rained the whole drive home.

I almost forgot!

When Tricia and I were on our way back to the barn on Saturday, Cody was having a difficult time keeping his gait down to a walk up the hill. We both steered the horses over a small branch on the ground. Axel just walked over it this time but Cody sort of jumped. Walked over it with his front feet and hopped over with his back feet. Nothing major but atleast we know they aren't completely against the idea of jumping over things.

Gonna try and get Jeff to come out after work tomorrow for a ride since we'll be at the farm this coming weekend. Of course there will be photos to follow ;)

Calm ride

As per our usual tradition, Tricia and I went out to ride after WCR on Saturday. Things are finally starting to dry up, it's surprising how quickly the paddock dried up considering how gross it was just the weekend before. Tricia brought her dressage saddle and I rode in my english saddle. I guess last weekend's ride was a little hairy for Tricia riding bareback. This time it was just Cody and Axel, no Corey. Cody did much better this time. He was a little hesitant leaving the main pasture but he didn't freak out or call back to the herd. He listened to me when I asked him to walk up the hill and we only had a few minor arguments about which direction we were going to go in. Tricia led the way and changed up our route a bit so the horses don't get set on a certain path every time. We cantered a few places, Cody was a bit excited about that and wasn't real collected but I guess Axel did really well. So overall it was a nice ride and a lot more calm than the weekend before. So I guess the plan is if Corey comes with us from now on, he's gotta stay in the back of the pack. I'm going to the farm with Jeff next weekend so I'll probably go out to see the boys during the week sometime after work. Maybe we'll play some more games with the big blue tarp.

A Visit From the Vet

The vet was due out yesterday to do spring shots. I wasn't able to get out there during the day because of work so hopefully I won't have a couple cranky horses waiting for me on Saturday. It's only a couple needles. It'll hurt me more than them when the bill arrives! I haven't heard any updates on how it went. I said if there's time the vet could peek in their mouths and see what he thought about having their teeth floated. I'm not sure if they've ever been done and Cody seems to drop a lot of food and fuss with the bit a lot, could be a teeth issue. Having their teeth done will cost me an arm and a leg but it usually results in some happier horses when it's done (after the tranq wears off of course).

They've moved back the threat of rain until Saturday night so I might get another nice day of riding in after WCR. Two more weeks and we can probably put them out on the grass, and then we'll have some really happy horses on our hands. And some nicer pictures since we won't be standing knee deep in mud.

And in other horse news, WCR is going to take two of the lesson horses from my old lesson barn. And they're going to be out at the barn I work at on Saturdays, so I'll still get to see them. This photo is from last night, one of our new horses, Ruger. He did surprisingly well and was squaring up so nicely I had to get out the camera.

The Big Blue Tarp

Back to the barn on Sunday. The weather turned out fairly nice. Warm but super windy. Surprisingly enough the horses weren't acting too weird. I brought Beau up to the barn to groom. Cody followed us and tried to make friends with Beau but he's just too scared and wants to get away. So I had to bring Beau inside to get him cleaned up. Found a scratch on his leg that looked fairly new so I got out the betadine and cleaned it up. I tried to clean up some of his spots that look like rain rot as well as his tail which was looking kind of crusty. I left him in the barn for a while munching on some hay and went and brought up Axel.

I ended up tying Axel inside so that he wouldn't chase Beau. Groomed Axel and tried to clean up his back foot. He apparently has Mud Fever, which isn't as bad as it sounds. I guess when they stand in the mud too much bacteria can get in tiny scratches on their legs and cause an infection. It's itchy and the hair falls out but it's just a matter of keeping it cleaned up til it goes away. In this case it's probably a lost cause until the mud goes away. But I cleaned it up the best I could. Axel didn't really enjoy putting his foot in a bucket of cold water so I could get the mud off but he was polite about his objections. Goofy horse has gotten so good at picking up his feet for me to clean them now when I just touch his foot he picks it up. Made scrubbing it kind of difficult. I guess you get what you wish for!

I did a tiny bit of work with Axel in the barn on the lead rope. He's backing up like a champ now and moving his hind quarters pretty well. We even had a bit of the driving game going on. I let him go and I groomed Cody quick just out in the paddock. It was way too windy to even think about riding so I tried to take Beau for a walk. He wasn't really into it. In fact he drug me up to the water and then drug me back to the barn door. That horse has a lot more strength in him than I thought! And he's been eating like he's starving to death yet at the same time he's probably gained weight this summer. I guess a good appetite is a good sign in an old horse.

I decided to do a little work with the Big Blue Tarp. Cody was all over the tarp, standing on it, smelling it, had it wrapped around his legs. Unfazed. Kiko wanted to kill the Big Blue Tarp. She stomped on it and bit at it but she wasn't really afraid of it at all. Kalani stood back for quite a while just watching. I held the tarp up and the wind just took it like a flag while Cody, Kiko, and Corey stood there inspecting it. Finally Kalani joined in the fun by biting it. He was still a little skiddish about it. Kiko would shake it and he'd shy a bit. But overall they thought it was a toy more than a scary monster. I'll have to do some more work with it. We didn't really wear the tarp yet. Cody and Kalani wore it a bit folded up.

It's still muddy in places but it should be drying up pretty quick here, thank god, it's such a mess.

Axel is going to learn dressage!

A couple weeks ago my riding instructor announced she was closing up shop due to medical reasons. I've talked to Tricia and she's going to maybe come out once a week and teach me and Axel dressage this summer. I don't think we'll be entering any competitions but hopefully we'll get Axel moving a little smoother and using his hind end more. I'm pretty excited, I might have to take my video camera out for the first lesson and tape it so we can see his changes over the summer. Now I just need a dressage saddle and bridle and fancy white polo wraps :>

Spring Adventure

Why is Cody so sweaty, you might ask? Because he was a complete spaz on our trail ride today. Tricia came out after WCR so we could go for a ride. We invited Tom along to ride Corey. Tricia rode Axel bareback, I rode Cody with my english saddle (and brand new stirrup leathers, yay), and Tom rode Corey with a little western saddle. Tom had just been down the back pasture doing some work on the cabin so he suggested we ride down there since it was dry enough. Things went well on the way down the pasture and across the bridge. Corey led the way up the big hill and started to canter a bit. Cody decided he would not walk up the hill and scrambled up after Corey. After walking around the edge of the hill Tom cantered Corey in the open space. Cody freaked out and ran after him, at that point we had zero brakes. Tricia brought up the rear cantering Axel. She said he really wanted to buck but she must have been able to keep him from doing it.

At this point I could tell Cody was just going to ignore me no matter what. In hindsight I think that Corey leading the pack was just too much competition for Cody. We went through the woods with a few issues. Dancing around a bit when I tried to hold Cody back from running as fast as he could through the trees. A couple advanced level dressage moves that Cody doesn't actually know how to do but managed to pull out of his hat when Corey got too far ahead. In the end, even with all the dancing and me in an english saddle with slippery jeans, I stayed on and kept my composure as best I could.

Tricia had Axel in good control, made him walk most the way and kept him collected as best as Axel will collect himself. At one point after Corey and Cody took off running spastically in the woods, Tricia was holding Axel back as she walked him down and back up a ravine. He started to canter up the other side and got to the top where he tried to rear and his legs slid in the soft ground. Neither Tom nor I saw it, but Tricia said it woulda been quite the site. Once we got back across the bridge we went around the opposite way through the pasture. I did my best to walk Cody up the hill but he bounced his way up anyways. He did calm down a bit when he was leading and not chasing Corey. By the end of the ride he was soaked with sweat. Behind us Axel really wanted to run as well. Tricia was trying to slow him down so she steared him towards a low branch thinking he'd walk over it. He jumped! Well, more like he hopped over it because he was scared of it. But she said he tucked his legs up so she just let him go.

Man I wish I would have seen him jump (or hop)! So Cody was drenched in sweat when we got back to the barn. Axel was a little sweaty, and Corey was dry as a bone. Tricia brought all sorts of goodies with her this time. She had treats for the horses and brought me some Show Sheen. That stuff really does a good job on big thick tails like Cody's. I could comb right though it after spraying his tail with the show sheen. I'll probably go back out tomorrow and just groom and hang around for a while and maybe walk Beau up the road a bit.

Weekday Visit

Drove out to visit the horses right after work today. Now that it's finally light out past 6 I actually have time to go out there. Ended up hanging out for a couple hours. I groomed Beau and took him for a walk down the road. After our walk I just let him hang out in the barn and munch on some hay. He seemed pretty hungry. I got out the shedding blade and went out in the paddock and groomed both Cody and Axel. There wasn't nearly as much hair coming off as on Saturday, which surprised me. But they're still fuzzy, especially Cody. All the other horses decided they wanted to be groomed as well. I can't leave anyone out so everyone got groomed a bit while I was there. I was kind of hanging out waiting to see if Tom would get home so I got out the camera and took a bunch of pictures as usual. I was standing on the fence when Corey came by so I sat on him for a while.

I decided sitting on the back of a horse with no reins was not a good place for me to be with my new camera so I hopped off and put the camera away. I grabbed my helmet and some clip on reins and Corey's halter. I rode him around bareback in the other pasture for a few minutes but he really didn't want to go for a ride, I think all the horses were more anxious for dinner. After fighting with Corey for a while I decided to ride Axel a bit. I wanted to see how he'd do with just a halter and clip on reins. It's quite the difference riding a little Arab and then riding big ole Axel. Axel and I managed to ride around the pasture a few times and even had a little trot. But it was pretty evil of me to make the horses ride around the pasture and not let them eat any of the grass. Poor guys have to wait probably another month before they can get on any grass.

April Fools

Well it was supposed to be nice out today. They lied. The sun almost peeked out for a minute or two and it wasn't 60F like they said it would be. But, it wasn't raining so we went out for a ride anyways.

First I had to go help at WCR with a barn clean up. After, I got the barn manager to come out and ride with me. I fetched the horses from the mud and we did our best to clean them up. Not an easy job this time of year. Put the western saddles on even though Cody's isn't fitting him well. There's a really nice one that I might be able to buy from WCR if it fits him. We figured for a ride down the road his old saddle would be fine. He actually doesn't act out at all because of it, that I can tell, it just looks uncomfortable.

We went up the road and planned to go across an unplowed bean field but it was way too soft and the horses were sinking in too far. Cody only tested me twice at the beginning of the ride. Hopefully that means we're getting past this whole issue of trying to get back to the barn. Axel was an angel as usual. He's really a diamond in the rough, that big goofy horse.

Tried out the new bridle on Cody this time as well. The cavesson doesn't fit at all but I think if I punch some more holes in it, it might work. He didn't mind the new bit, just a loose ring snaffle I borrowed from a friend. But he didn't love it either. I might try Axel's D-ring on him next time just to see. It's a bit thinner. He didn't start fussing until we were headed back towards the barn.

After our little ride we took Kiko and Kalani out for a walk up the drive way. Kiko wasn't overly scared but she's kind of a handful on the lead. She is in season so perhaps that a lot to do with it. Kalani is a big 'fraidy cat, but he did well despite. Hopefully we can work with him more and get him some training as well. It's almost time to go on some trail rides. Today was actually Kalani's birthday as well, guess he's just an April fool.

While we were walking the pintos, Corey was back in the pasture having a coronary. Running around, snorting and calling. Then Cody started calling, and even Axel started calling. Despite all the calling, the pintos didn't call back and were fairly unaffected. There's hope after all ;)

If it doesn't rain tomorrow morning I think I'll go out and take Beau for a walk down the road as well. I should take Corey for a ride but I don't think his saddle is in the tack room and we can probably wrap Axel's girth around him twice.

Saturday and Sunday

I couldn't get out to visit the boys last week so I made up for it by visiting both Saturday and Sunday this weekend. And on top of that I have a new camera so I have a large pile of photos to choose from. I managed to catch Cody and Kalani playing their little game which I wouldn't have been able to get with my old camera (it reacts too slowly). I had picked up a pair of dairy boots last weekend and boy am I glad I did. It was mud up over my ankles. The horses were covered in it. All I did on Saturday was groom. I gave Corey and Beau their birthday treats since it was both of their birthdays this week.



The amount of mud and hair I curried off the horses was insane. I guess they roll in the mud to help the shedding hair fall off easier. I bought a shedding blade to help with that. Not a whole lot else was happening on Saturday. Most of the horses were hanging out in the paddock where the mud isn't quite as bad. I did manage to get Cody in the barn to groom him without Corey driving us nuts. And out of the mud it was easier to pick out hooves.

This morning I went out and got two new bridles from Fleet Farm. Nothing special, just brown leather english bridles with cavessons. I also stopped at Petsmart and picked up a D-ring bit for Axel. I have a loose ring snaffle from Tricia to try out on Cody.

I decided to take Beau for a little walk down the road. It's pretty tough for the horses to get around in the mud, they slip and slide all over. And Beau being as stiff as he usually is, just stands there. So we went out where there was solid footing and walked around for awhile. I think he enjoyed getting out a bit. I hope to walk him every time I go out there. My thought is that moving around like that will help loosen him up a bit so he'll be ready for a little trail ride this spring.


While we were on the road the other horses were playing in the lake in the middle of the pasture. Four of them were in the water pawing and splashing. It was pretty funny to see, too bad I didn't have my camera with me at that point. Cody was the only one not in the water. Seems like maybe he prefers to stay dry if possible. When the rest of the horses took off running through the water, he brought up the rear trotting as high as he could.

After walking Beau a bit I groomed some of the horses again. Of course as soon as I was done with Axel he rolled in the mud. I brought him into the barn and groomed him again and tacked him up. Got his new bridle on and adjusted. It's kind of stiff right now, I'll have to work on that. We just went up the road and back, probably 2 block lengths each way or a little less. Just a quick ride. It was pretty windy. Axel did well though, we even had a nice little trot, a very little trot. I think Axel has mastered the jog, too bad I had him in an english saddle and was planning to post the trot!

Axel is a Dressage Horse!

Tricia and I went out for a ride yesterday. After last weekend's ride I was a little wary on how the horses were going to act. Tricia brought her dressage saddle and bridle to try out on Axel. Mostly we just wanted to see how he'd go in a different bit. After we did our best to brush a thousand pounds of mud off them, I put my english saddle on Cody and we went out to the yard. Right from the start they were acting like dorks. It was super windy and it was supposed to rain.

We walked around to the front of the house and right as we got there Tom opened the house door. Both horses spooked. So that was a fabulous start to our ride. Tricia must have really gotten to Axel, because after that he was an angel. Cody on the other hand, was still all worked up. We got up on the road and road past the nursery. They had some piles of mulch or something covered with big white tarps that were blowing around in the wind. Neither horse really reacted until we were past. Then Cody refused to go any further. He'd back into the ditch and try and head back towards the barn. It took several tries, with Tricia ponying us, or getting off and leading us, to get Cody moving in the right direction. I finally managed to figure out what to do with him, with Tricia coaching. I guess we have two problems. One is that now that Cody is the #2 man he's even more herd bound than before. And the second issue is that he doesn't think of me as the boss. Luckily Tricia was able to get me some pointers on how to keep Cody thinking about me so that he didn't have time to think about the herd or the scary tarp. In the end we made it down the dirt road, turned around and rode back to the barn, into the wind. It was like a wind tunnel.

Cody was pretty well behaved on the way back, he was a little high strung but atleast he was moving in the right direction the whole time. Tricia gave me a different bit to try on him next time as well. Axel was a complete superstar in his dressage outfit. He loved the big and chewed on it the whole time. She said he needed a lot of leg but he moved right into the bit and was even foaming a bit. So I think we havea winning combination for Axel - a nice D ring snaffle, lots of leg, and a direct rein. Of course having a really good rider doesn't hurt ;)

Now I'll just have to figure out Cody's winning combination. Atleast when he gets high strung he doesn't bolt or runaway. He just likes to back into the ditch! Unfortunately my photos were really blurry this time. Time to get a new camera ;)

Not the best ride ever

Jeff and I went out for a ride yesterday. It was pretty windy out so maybe that was the reason all the horses were acting like goofs. Or maybe it was the warm weather, spring fever. The horses in the pasture were running through the mud puddles and bucking and kicking. As a matter of fact, so were Cody and Axel, while we were riding them!

I was in the tack room looking for the weight tape and Jeff was out in the pasture with Axel. I guess he decided to go for a little ride before we got the tack out. I came out to see him riding around on Axel bareback with no halter or bridle. We all think Axel isn't the smartest horse out there but I think maybe he's got more going on in his head than we give him credit for. He went straight for a low branched tree and brushed Jeff off his back right onto the ground. So that just started the day off on a good foot!

We groomed and saddled up and went out to the road. Axel proceeded to trot around into the ditch while Cody had his own little freak out circling around. We decided it must be the wind or something but neither horse would calm down. We just went back and forth on the road right in front of the pasture trying to calm them down. Cody kept sticking his tongue out and avoiding the bit so I finally got off and loosened his curb chain. That seemed to calm him down quite a bit but he was still a bit agitated. The rule was as soon as we walked calmly down the road and back we'd stop. Axel decided he didn't want to wait and started bucking like crazy. It was actually pretty entertaining to watch but I don't think Jeff felt the same way being the one on the horse.

We did make it down the road and back calmly after that. I'm afraid that now that Cody's moved up to #2 in the herd he's even more herd bound than before. But since all the horses were having issues it was probably just the wind.

Anyways ... after that we brought Beau in and took off his rug so he could roll. I brushed him and measured him with the weight tape. He's about 959Lbs according to the tape. Condsidering his age and all that that seems like a pretty decent weight. He's similiar to Cody and only 200Lbs lighter. Cody came up at 1111Lbs and Axel was at a whopping 1350Lbs. Without moving him to more level ground I remeasured his height, still at 16 or even 16.1hh. We wanted to confirm that since Noah at We Can Ride measures at 15.3hh and we didn't believe that Axel could be taller.

New Toys

The boys have some new toys. On our way back from the farm last night we swung by the ranch to visit the boys and drop off some tires. We got three race car tires for them to play with. They used to play with them all the time when they lived at the shop so we thought maybe this would help them stay out of trouble. ;)

It was dark when we got there and most of the horses were kind of afraid of me rolling the big tire at them. We just put one tire out for now, we'll see how that goes. I'd like to hang one in a tree this spring when they get out into the other pastures. Cody and Axel knew what the deal with the tires was right off the bat. I expected Axel to be a little more into it but he did chew on the tire a bit before walking away. Cody surprised me by taking command of the tire. He played with it a little before Corey, Kiko, and Kalani had their chance to see what the fuss was about.

On our way out I had Jeff turn the car so that the headlights were facing the pasture. We ended up sitting there watching Cody and Kalani play tug-o-war with that big tire for the longest time.

Time to buy a new Jollyball

Another calm day despite the wind. It seems like maybe Cody has put himself as #2 in the herd. And Axel didn't chase Beau around at all while I was there, so hopefully he's not really doing that much any more. Tom must really be working with Axel when he feeds because he was backing up a lot better today. He'd take a good 3 steps before stopping. I did get to see Cody and Kalani play a little bit, but they weren't rearing up at each other, I had hoped to catch that. I was only out for a little while, curried and brushed manes and tails. Maybe when it warms up a bit I'll go for another ride. They must be really enjoying the Jollball. Every time I go out there I have to retrieve the ball from the other side of the fence. The poor ball has seen better days. Axel likes to bite the the ball instead of using the handle. Maybe I'll have to get them a tire to play with as well.

Another Sunday Visit

Sunday I just went out for a quick visit since I was starting my new
job the following week and wouldn't get in as many visits as usual.
Did the usual cleaning under the overhang where I like to think the
horses stand when it's windy or rainy or something. Then I went out
and curried all the horses and brushed manes and tails. Even Kalani
was willing to stand there for it. It was still pretty mellow and the
sun was out so everyone was eating and soaking up the heat.

Axel isn't quite the most graceful of creatures so I decided it was
time to work on backing up. I got out the Parelli carrot stick and
string and put Axel's halter on him. First we played the friendly
game with the stick and string, he pretty much just wanted to eat the
stick. He didn't care if I swished the string around him or over his
back or neck, or smack it on the ground next to him. Then we played
porcupine game trying to get him to move his hind quarters. He seemd
to figure that out after a while on both sides. The backing up didn't
work out quite as well as the hind quarters did. Right now he'll just
take one step at a time back. But we'll keep working on it.

I ran into Tom on Monday and he mentioned that when he had been
outside on Sunday he saw Cody and Kalani playing a couple games
together. One game that Kalani and Rusty used to always play is when
the two horses rear up on their hind legs at each other. That game
was dubbed "Stalliono," and now Cody is playing it with Kalani. The
other game they were playing was pass the Jollyball. Just like they
had been passing the stick a while ago, now they were passing their
Jollyball back and forth (a Jollybally is like a plastic ball with a
handle on it they make for horses so they can carry it around). I
knew it was just a matter of time before Cody made some new best
friends. You could tell he really wanted to play with the other
horses but was biding his time until they invited him.

Sunny Saturday

I didn't have a lot of time today so it was just a quick visit. I had Tricia come out with me and we went for a ride around the pasture bareback. When we got there we found most of the horses napping in the sun.

Axel did not want to get up. Tricia even sat on him for a while and he just wanted to nap.


We decided to use Axel's laziness for a photo op.


We finally got him up to go for a ride. I rode Cody and Tricia worked with Axel. He's starting to catch on pretty well.

Goodbye Rusty!

Rusty's owner came out today to take him to another barn. His arthritis is getting pretty bad and she wants to keep him indoors more and also closer to where she lives. So out in the cold we went to load him in the trailer. Cody was eating with Rusty when I got there. They've been hanging out together a lot, so I think that Cody will be a little sad to have Rusty gone. Rusty's owner put some polo wraps on his legs to provide some protection while in the trailer. Poor Rusty hasn't worn wraps in a while so he was high steppin' it for a while, it was pretty cute. And good ole Rusty loaded into the trailer like an expert. He was sad to go and kept calling to the herd, and the herd all lined up at the fence and called back. It'll be interesting to see what happens to the herd dynamics now. Rusty was kind of a protector of Beau. Hopefully someone will step up and take over that job. I think maybe Cody would be the next best canidate. Someone needs to keep Axel from chasing Beau around all the time.



And just for fun, I'm going to start calling Axel, "Sugar Lips" from now on.

Farrier Visit

Yesterday was the 2 month mark. Tom and I were out grooming when a big bald eagle flew over.

We had the farrier out yesterday to trim. Axel really needed it. And now he looks fabulous. It was super sunny and warm. I almost had to take my jacket off when I was grooming it was so warm, but I didn't want to get my shirt dirty.

So much mud!

Only two short weeks of freedom left before I start another job. Well I suppose that's a good thing but it means less barn time. Went out to visit the boys today. This warm weather and rain has left the paddock and pasture a complete muddy mess. It must be tough getting around because everyone was up hanging out by the barn today. No halters and lead ropes today, I just went around and curried all the mud off of everyone and then I did manes and tails. Raked some of the manure out from under the overhang so there's atleast once dry, clean place for everyone to stand. Played some friendly game with Axel but he didn't want to play the porcupine game. Which was fine with me since he insisted on standing in the mud. Cody and I played some other Parelli games and he did really well. Slowly we should be working up to a good relationship. It'll just take some time. Right now he certainly knows me as the girl with the treats in her pocket.

Saturday Trail Ride

I had my friend, Stephanie, the barn manager for the Minnetonka barn (for We Can Ride), out to ride with me on Saturday. We decided to go for western saddles since we wanted to go up the road a bit for some site seeing. The pasture was pretty gross to begin with and I'm tired of riding around in circles. The road was actually a good choice. It was wet but not icy and it wasn't all rocky like it is in the summer so the boys didn't have to tip-toe. We went down the dead end road until we spotted that dog that had chased me before. That was our cue to turn around and go down a different road. It's not a busy road by any means but the one SUV that did go past us (twice) didn't even bother to slow down, he just sped by waving. Some people are very rude. Cody was having some issues at that point but they weren't due to the being scared of the car. He was fussing with his bit and cranky that we weren't heading back to the barn, I wonder if maybe his bit is pinching him, it almost looks a bit too small. So we did a little dance in the ditch while the car passed. A few feet from where the pavement starts cody decided there was something scary and he wouldn't go any further. So we decided that was a good time to turn around anyways. Since the road was so nice we decided to go for a little canter on the way back. Cody was pretty excited but he collected pretty nice when I asked for it. Axel was feeling his oats and took this opportunity for a little buck. Steph said he picked up the canter right away and even went on the lead she requested, might have been a fluke but that's ok. We made it back to the barn right before it started raining and spent a little time cleaning out the barn and under the overhang. We also took Beau's rug off and brushed him a bit as well. So all in all, it was a good day.

Windy Thursday

Went out to hang with the boys a bit. It was a pretty uneventful day. Super sunny and nice out but a little windy so every once in a while everyone would take off running. Tried to work with Axel on some lunge work but I think we gotta start at the beginning. He had no idea what I wanted him to do. So we did practice some ground work, walk and halt. Couldn't quite get the trot in hand going. I let him go and went to halter Cody. Had the halter on but not buckled when the herd started running from the evil horse eating wind. Cody wanted to run with them but he stopped when he realized he had a halter on. He could have stepped away and the halter would have just fallen off at that point but he didn't so I rewarded his repsect by giving him a scratch and letting him go.

So after all the excitement of the wind died down the fun began... I think they call this, pass the stick.

Gorgeous day today

I spent most of the afternoon out at the barn with all the horses. Groomed Cody up and played a little Parelli friendly game with him. He's getting a lot more people friendly, mostly I think he's looking for treats though ;) I put Beau in the barn and took off his rug and let him roll in the dirt for a while. While he hung out in the barn and ate I groomed Axel. He must have been laying in the snow, his whole right side was soaking wet. And that combined with his black hair in the sun, you could see the steam coming off of him. I put the english saddle on him and we played around in the front pasture a little bit. I don't quite have the hang of the figure 8's yet, but I think Axel is starting to get it. The snow is pretty weird right now so we only got a little trot on the way back to the paddock. Though it was a very smooth trot. I am excited for summer to come so we can go for some real rides.

I untacked Axel and put Beau's rug back on and let him back out side with the herd. I was just kind of hanging out wasting time when Corey started following me around and wouldn't leave me alone. Tom had said to ride him whenever I want so I grabbed a bridle and took him into the round pen. I actually coudln't find his bridle so I just used one that looked like it might fit. And I just decided to ride bareback, he's close to the ground so I figured if I fell it wouldn't be too bad. I couldn't quite get him close enough to the fence to get on so I kind of had to fling myself at him. But the little goof was so good, he just stood there solid until I was on all the way. We walked around several times and he decided he was done and just stopped. Not wanting to end on that note I did get him moving again before *I* decided it was time to stop. He's a fun little guy and it'll be good to get him out on some trail rides this spring too. That way we'll have atleast 3 horses to go on rides with, Cody, Axel, and Corey. Now we just have to get Kiko and Kalani working under saddle.

Right before I left I put out the Jollyball to see if anyone wanted to play. Actually everyone took their turn carrying it around a bit. Cody seemed to like it the most this time. It's supposed to be nice again tomorrow so I'll probably go out again and see what kind of damage I can do with lunging. :>

Happy Birthday, Rusty!

Thursday, January 19, was Rusty's 25th birthday, according to the barn calendar. We didn't have a party or anything but I gave him some extra treats when I was visiting on Saturday.



It was pretty chilly out on Saturday so I just groomed the boys a bit. Cody's been hanging around a bit more than usual but I think he's just looking for some treats. He and Rusty were hanging out while I groomed Axel. Cody had his turn and got the treats he was looking for. And since it was Rusty's birthday I groomed him a bit too. Not sure if his owner made it out to visit him or not. One day I'll meet her. It was pretty chilly out so I didn't stay for very long and the front pasture was open so everyone was interested in checking out if they could find every last bit of hay out there.

Axel meets his match

I had Tricia out for a ride after conditioning Saturday afternoon. It was nice and sunny out and a great day to ride. Tricia rode Axel bareback and I put the english saddle on Cody. Tricia began the ride by vaulting up on Axel. Then she took him around a couple trees in figure 8s until she got him to bend with the turns, something he usually just doesn't do. She said he was a completely different horse than he was the first time she rode way back in the beginning. Cody couldn't figure out the reasoning behind doing figure 8s, when we'd get half way around a tree he could see Axel coming around the other side so he'd take the easy way around. I think he thought the point was to keep his eye on Axel the whole time. I probably should have pushed Cody a little harder to listen to me but just staying out in the pasture and not trying to get back to his herd was some good practice for us. We took a few laps around the front pasture in both directions. Tricia kept fighting with Axel when we'd pass the one corner that would take them back to the paddock until he finally gave in and would listen to her. She had him do some trotting circles in the middle of the pasture as well and he really started to collect. He's got a really smooth trot, but of course she could probably sit even the bumpiest trot. So Tricia thinks if we keep working on Axel he could make a pretty darn nice horse. Maybe it's not so far fetched that some day we'll get Axel to jump or something. She's probably going to come out every other Saturday after conditioning the therapeutic horses with me.

A weekday visit

Went out for a little visit today. The plan was to do a little Parelli with Cody and Axel. I brought out the rope halter that I had made and Corey was following me around practically putting his head in the halter. So I figured I'd practice on him. He was a pretty good boy, but he's had quite a bit of handling and whatnot in his life. After that I tried to work with Cody a bit. My rope halter doesn't really work very well, it's all crooked and doesn't fit right so I think I'll have to break down and buy one sometime. Mostly with Cody I just worked on the "friendly game" and getting him to pay attention to me and not the other horses in the pasture. We stood in the paddock and faced different directions and I petted him. He'd start pulling his head and nodding up and down towards his friends so I'd slowly pull the lead until he'd face his head to me then I'd pet him some more. We didn't have any breakthroughs but we'll keep working.

My intention was to work on the "porcupine game" with Axel but the rope halter just wasn't working on him and he was a little confused about it. So we ended up not really playing our games. After that I just kind of hung out for a while and tried to clean up the paddock a bit. Cody spent some time with Koko the cat at the water trough. He kept trying to smell Koko but the cat would step away from him. They are cute little friends.

A winter ride

Jeff and I went out to the barn on Saturday to do a little riding. It was actually pretty sunny and nice out for once. We put Beau in the barn for his little personal hay buffet and we took off his rug and brushed him a bit. He's looking pretty good as far as I can tell, I don't think he's lost any weight. We left Beau in the barn and groomed Cody and Axel. The boys are getting very good at picking up their feet for me, I'm so happy about that. I imagine the farrier will be happy as well. We decided to just go for a bareback ride in the front pasture. Getting on Cody bareback is quite a bit easier than getting on Axel. I looked away for one second and Jeff was already on Axel. I think he got on from the fence, which I always have trouble doing because he swings his rear end out. It looked like he stood pretty good and didn't walk away. I used the mounting block and hopped up on Cody and we were off into the pasture. Cody was still pretty reluctant as none of the other horses were coming with us. We made it around the pasture twice, only a little discussion about who was the boss. Atleast I know one way of keeping Jeff and Axel at the walk, take away their saddle! Hopefully I can get Cody out a couple times a month for the rest of the winter so he stays sound for some spring riding and learns that even if he leaves the group for a little ride they will be there when he gets back.

It's supposed to be pretty warm tomorrow so I will go out again and visit the boys and maybe work on some Parelli or something with them. Tonight I have my first Teaching Assistant class for WCR. My own riding lessons tomorrow night. Horse training on Thursday, and winter conditioning on Saturday. I'm also thinking of signing up for this workshop that the U of MN is offering in February on various topics for horse owners.

Where is the sun?

Since I am once again unemployed, I went out to visit the boys today, on a Thursday. I put Beau in the barn with some hay so he could have some peace and quite and a little lunch while I was there. I haven't taken off his blanket yet but felt around under it and he almost feels like he's gaining weight. If I can get someone to help me on Saturday I'll take off his blanket and see what's going on under there and maybe brush him a bit. So while he was munching away I went and groomed Axel. He was very good about his feet this time. Picked them all up pretty easy, only a little trouble with his left rear but not nearly as much trouble as it usually is. His head is still scabbed over so I can't really tell what's going on with his wound. I figure when it's healed up he'll start scratching his head on trees and the scab will fall off on it's own.

Cody came over to see what was going on so I groomed him next. He was such a good boy. I picked up both his front feet from the left side. I went to both sides for the back feet because all the other horses were crowding around and I didn't want him to loose his balance. I brushed the other horses a bit because they were hanging around. And everyone got some apple treats. Cody was being quite friendly today and following me around and just kind of hanging out with me. That was a nice change, usually he's off being a horse with the rest of the herd.

When I was done grooming I decided to jump on Axel for a quick spin around the pasture. He tries to pretend he doesn't see me coming with his bridle but I know better. It took us a couple tries to stand still well enough for me to mount from the block. Part of the problem was Corey trying to get Axel to move away, once Corey got bored of that then things went ok. Axel wasn't completely into the ride but we made it around the pasture in once piece. He's so funny, I cue him for a turn and he turns 90 degrees. He doesn't quite bend, he just stops and turns. Silly boy. Hopefully Tricia will come out and ride with me on Sunday morning and maybe she can offer some tips to get him to move a little more smoothly.