Riding Alone

It is evident to me that I'm way too used to riding my slow steady guys and getting on Booker scares me a bit.  He moves so much faster and I'm just not used to it. So I decided I need a lot more saddle time to just get used to him and he used to me.  So my first lunch ride alone  we went down the drive way. He wanted to go left.  So we went left for a few steps then turned around and went right.  Walked for quite a ways.  Had a little trot (seemed crooked), walk some more, trot some more-snuck in a canter I didn't ask for but it was a left lead so I went for it, walk some more.  Was thinking about turning right at the town hall but the wind was pretty bad and I didn't want it up our butts when we turned around to come home so we just turned around and went back.  More trotting - okay super crooked, stirrups must be uneven, little canter, walking - swearing at drivers going by at 60mph thought Booker hardly noticed, more trotting and a final canter up to the driveway we usually start/end our runs at.  Can't remember what lead that last canter was, I asked for right but with the saddle crooked who knows what I got, I was busy concentrating on my position and trying to get him to lift his front and use his back.

Did some bending while mounted in the driveway, took a few tries to get him to stop spinning but he finally got it.  Untacked, inspected the saddle again (wishing I had thought of putting yours back on and pushing it back further - doh).  Did some stretches with treats and back out to the paddock.

He was a good boy, nice and calm.  Need a few more rides like that and I think I'll start feeling pretty good.  His canter wasn't horrible, he doesn't like to downshift so that takes some nagging but it's never an "OMGWE'RE GONNA DIE!" type of thing.  Just a few extra reminders to finally get down to a walk.  I think the more transitions I did the more he got it.

OH and verdict on the crookedness, holy cats the saddle was crooked, I must not have looked at it after I cinched it up or something.  Whoops.

We're working on finding a saddle that fits him so we've spent a lot of time putting saddles on and off and whatnot.  Nothing perfect yet but

Back in a "new" saddle

I had to try out my "new" saddle.  I couldn't wait any longer.  I had ridden in the saddle before but you never know, maybe it wasn't as awesome as I had originally thought.  Lo! It's still awesome!  Cody is happy that there's snow in the paddock so he can walk instead of skating.  He was, however, wondering where my little plan ran off too (I had planned to ride bareback in a halter for the winter to help keep me off his face and help me establish some more subtle cues).  But I couldn't help it, he's been sound for over a month now so it was time to jump on quick.

So we did a little walk and trot and he even gave me a nice little right lead canter.  He did everything in his power to avoid going left though.  Didn't really even want to walk left, would cut the corners and try and circle around the other way.  He wasn't lame or anything in that direction just avoident (is that a word?).  Might have to dig out my massage and stretching book and see what I can find and maybe get the chiropractor out this spring again.

So yeah, rode in a saddle for the first time since I can't even remember, fall sometime I guess.  It was good. The sitting trot was awesome. The canter was nice.  I still need work on my hands, I'm too fidgety with the reins. Also need to swap out stirrups and leathers, the one's that were on the saddle are brown and too short.  I should get a new girth that has the extra buckle for the saddle flaps.  And I hate riding in my winter boots.  They're meant for riding but they are just so huge and I have to adjust my leathers and blah blah annoying.

And Axel! The swelling has gone down both sheath and belly (you can't even see the swelling in the picture, that's just fat).  Earlier this winter the barn owners got one of those big round bale nets. The horses were wasting hay and eating them out of house and home so they thought they'd give it a try.  I had my hopes.  After a month or so I had my suspicions.  And now I think it's official.  Slowing down their free choice hay has reduced Axel's swelling.  Similar, I think, to spring when they go off the round bales.  So I will be purchasing a round bale net before I move the horses out to our farm.

Checkin' In

Just a quick visit last week to make sure everyone was upright.  They were until I put them in the arena.  But getting them to the arena was an adventure.  Leads me to make plans for our own place as far as ice goes.  Cody and I skated to the barn, Axel and I skated to the barn.  Cody skated back from the barn and almost fell on me.  Same with Axel.

The difference between the two boys is interesting.  Cody is cautious.  If there's any potential of ice, he goes so slow I think he might be dead lame.  Axel is the opposite.  "OMG ice!  I better RUN!"  Which looks as little like Bambi, legs flying everywhere until he gets to something not icy.  Of course he doesn't aim so he usually ends up dragging me further into the ice before I can stop him.  Really looking forward to spring, I'll say that much.

I found my self in possession of a new (to me) dressage saddle.  I rode in this saddle last winter in my lessons and it was the most comfortable saddle in the universe.  I like my cheap-o no brand dressage saddle but this one was awesomeness.  So in the end it ended up being mine for a steal.  Crosby Prix St George.  Very used but still very much life left in it.  Might need a little billet strap replacement but it looks like it'll be a simple job whenever I get around to taking it in (remind me to do that before I move out to the middle of nowhere).  I haven't cleaned it or replaced the brown leathers or even ridden in it on my horse. Maybe in the next couple weeks - still waiting for my back to heal up from this latest bout of pain.  I don't think it fits Cody perfect but it is better than my other.  Sadly it seems to fix Axel like a glove.  Hopefully it'll fit the new horse (when we find him) ;)

Back in the saddle?

Okay so Axel is not back in the saddle yet, but he is sound in the pasture at the walk at the very least. And he's as obnoxious as he ever is. He had 2g of bute on Monday noon and Monday around 4pm, 2g on Tuesday morning, and nothing on Wednesday. And when I saw him in the pasture on Wednesday he was feeling good. I don't think the bute sticks around quite that long to be masking pain but I'm letting him have some time off anyway. Then we'll ease back into it, with boots on for sure!

So poor Cody has to do some work while Axel is on vacation. I wish I could figure out what Cody loves to do besides be with other horses. But until then I guess we just keep trying things. So I wanted to try the low back pad again since all I did was walk last time. Cody was calm for tacking and didn't even yawn. And I'm sure it was a fluke but as soon as I put his bridle on, he walked over to the mounting block. Albeit a little too far away for me to use but it was like he was saying, "fine, we do this everytime, just get it over with already." He lunged lazily but sound so we walked and trotted in the arena. The low back pad seems to make a huge difference in how the ride feels. It seems a lot more lateral or "wobbly" for a lack of better words. The trot was still "sit-able" and after a bit of prodding Cody would maintain until told otherwise. He wasn't happy about the left turn in the middle of our figure-8s though. I had a few minutes left before I had to leave so I decided to grab his hoof boots and head out on the road. One of the bad things I noticed about the low back pad is that it pretty much takes away Cody's withers which means spinning saddle when mounting. So that was a bit frustrating.

It was, as usual, a painfully slow departure from the barn. I really wanted to trot or canter and just let Cody go for a while. So when we got to the first little drainage ditch between fields we went that way. I haven't ridden in them yet and don't have permission to but I went for it anyways. I really really really love those ditches. The corn is high on both sides so it's a perfect place for a canter with the safety of "walls" so discourage any runoffs. The grass was probably a little too long to see the footing but when we got to a spot that looked like it had been mowed we went for it. Cody took a little while to get into the canter and was kind of weaving all over but he was calm and had brakes and I think he enjoyed it a bit. I would have kept going but I didn't want to be late for ballet so we had to turn back. But you can bet we'll go back before they get the corn down. I have to call the tack shop in town and find out if they have any of the pads that go inside the hoof boots. I'm a little afraid his boots are a bit too big for cantering.

On the way back I wanted to make Cody do some work but we weren't in a good spot for it so we trotted then walked then trotted then walked. I don't typically like to "run" home but Cody likes to trot so his reward for walking when asked is to trot again. Maybe that lesson is "if I listen to the rider I get home sooner." When we hit the drive way Cody wanted to go in but after realizing we don't do that he kept going. We stopped and did a little reluctant backing up and then went back to the barn.

I've been doing some of the massage techniques to get Cody to stretch his back, namely the one where you run your hands on either side of his tail. He stands well for it and it seems to get him to lift a bit. I also did some tail circles. I saw something once where they said if it's hard to do a tail circle to one side that is also the side the horse doesn't bend to as well. So I was testing that theory since Cody didn't want to turn left. My results are inconclusive.

A Whole Week Off

The horses ended up with a whole week off after the big trail ride. Jeff went out to drop off the trailer last Wednesday and confirmed that both horses were still alive but that was about it. We stopped by Friday to get the trailer to take it home to the farm and I checked on both horses but my back was having some issues so it was a quick visit with just a little scratch here and there. In the end the pickup brakes were stuck so we didn't bring the trailer back after all.

Jeff had to work on Sunday so we were back in town early and my back was just about 100% normal so I spent some time at the barn. I wanted to try out a low back pad on Cody to see if that's something I should buy for him. He's not totally swayback but his withers are so high and he's lost a bit of topline so his saddle isn't in the most ideal place on his back. Hopefully the low back pad will help keep everything even and comfortable. Unfortunately he was feeling a bit off on the lunge, not to mention he's been way lazy lately. So after walking around in both directions and a little bit of reluctant trot I got on for a few minutes of loose rein walking just to try out the saddle pad. From what I could tell he was just generally stiff/sore. Though his feet are pretty chipped up already so that could be the culprit also.

Axel, on the other hand, was feeling pretty darned good. He wouldn't lunge at the walk, immediately went into a trot. Not the nicest trot but a trot nonetheless. Even struck out in a canter in both directions when asked, only kept it up for a few strides but there was no bucking or nonsense. So it's back to work for poor Axel. He's been slacking for too long. We trotted, and trotted, and trotted. We probably didn't trot for an obnoxious amount of time but since everyone's getting their winter coats he was sweaty. We did some circles and even some figure-8s without breaking out of the trot. J said he looked pretty good from what she could tell. He didn't feel all that great but it's good to know he looked good. He was generally just bumpy and uneven, his usual MO. But he hasn't had to work for a long time so we'll just keep going. I'll have to look for some advice on how to get his trot a little more free flowing. If only he'd figure out that a nice trot is better for his leg not to mention his back (without me bouncing around on it). He's forgotten some of his backing up lesson from the cattle clinic so we'll have to keep working on that one as well. Ideally if he can remain sound at the walk and trot I'd love to get to a schooling show next year. I don't want to take him if he looks lame even if it's just how he is, probably not the best to show up at a show riding a lame horse. And even if he lacks a bit of energy if he can get a nicer trot we should have some fun at a dressage show.

Rain Rain

It stopped raining long enough to run out to the barn for a quick trip yesterday. Vinnie was in his own pasture now, I wonder if it will stay that way or what. Cody was all wet so I groomed him the best I could. He was exceptionally flinchy when I brushed him, not sure if that has something to do with being wet or what. I wanted to add a pad to Cody's saddle and rearrange things so the therapy pad would be in the right spot. So that took me quite a while, all the time Cody yawning and acting mildly unhappy about life. I free lunged him for a bit to get him moving and then just rode at the walk and trot without a whip. He wasn't a speed demon that's for sure but he did alright. This time I was sure to stop before he got all strung out and I was trying to do my best to not nag - something I really need to pay more attention to. There's got to be a fine line between nagging and correcting but it's hard to find when Cody wants to wander aimlessly and won't stay on the rail. He did manage to trot for a quite a while without offering to stop so that was nice. I think I'm going to stop riding in that AP saddle though. It's just not right or something. Though that might put a damper on our idea to do some little jumps. Of course we need some standards for that still.

I'm trying to do more back stretches for him so he can hopefully build a better topline, he lifts his belly pretty well when I run my hands down next to his tail.