Sponge bath

Axel had a sponge bath today, it was too hot to ride.

Saturday WCR was cancelled because of the potential heat. So when I got up at 9am and it was only 82F I ran out to the barn hoping to beat the high temps. Of course all the horses were down the back pasture grazing and trying to stay cool. My aim was to work more with Cody on the yo-yo game. Once again I failed. He just stares at me, doesn't even make an attempt to figure out what it is the crazy lady is trying to tell him. I moved on to try the thing where you wrap the horse up with the rope once and they're supposed to unwind themselves. This took us several tries, he'd just keep backing up instead of turning around. He finally figured it out though. But we're still a no-go on the yo-yo. I tried the yo-yo with Kalani, another no-go (he can unwrap himself though). Tried a third time with Axel, nothing. I'm starting to think I am just not doing this right. I mean how many times can you get wacked in the face with the clip on the rope before you decide to maybe move out of the way? I even wacked myself in the face with the popper on the opposite end of the lead rope. If I was a horse I woulda moved. I've been trying to do this stuff in the pasture. Taking Cody away from the herd up to the round pen will just get him worked up and really not paying attention. But I think I'll have to work on these things when everyone is up in the drylot and not preoccupied with grazing. Or something, I'm running out of excuses!

So I finally decided just to lead Axel up to the barn to give him a bath and put oil on his feet. Like the last time I tried to lead him, he was just not having any of it. Usually he leads without an issue. This time (like the last) we got to the middle of the woods and he wasn't budging. It took many circles and poking and proding to get him to finally move. We made it up to the barn eventually. He doesn't seem totally sore any more, still a bit stiff but doesn't seem too terrible. Hopefully by Wednesday he'll be good as new. And I'm hoping it's the heat that's making the horses all so ornery. Once we got up to the paddock he followed me around, knickered at me, and all the usual love. It was just a pain to get there. Instead of dragging out the hose I just got a bucket and sponge for the bath. But I think Axel likes the hose better. He was a bit disturbed by the sponge. But then again the water was probably ice cold. When we were done bathing and getting oil on his hooves he follwed me back down to the pasture. Stopping for a roll in the sand pit. I was going to give Beau or Cody a bath too but neither of them were overly interested in leaving their almost cool grazing spots. So that was that. Too hot to do anything else this weekend.

A Little Jumping

I tried to work with Cody a bit doing some of the Parelli stuff. He didn't quite understand what I was trying to do. Hopefully it'll go better on Saturday. I've got to keep trying something to get through to him so we can be BFF. :>

I lead Axel around a bit down in the pasture and he looked like he was moving fine but as soon as we got back up to the barn he was barely moving. I tacked him up to see if I could get him to atleast walk around a bit but when I got on he just stood there and did not want to move. So after a few steps I got off.

I carried the saddle back down to the pasture and tacked up Corey. We went for a little ride across the creek but he was kind of scared and didn't want to go up the hill on his own. So we rode around back on the pasture side and jumped over a fallen log a few times. I decided to try up in the front pasture with one of the poles. It must have been just low enough, he didn't really jump the pole, just trotted over it. We had some nice canters but he was getting quite peeved at me for keeping him away from his herd. So after he tried a few times to wiggle me off I called it quits. He didn't even wait for the apple I had, as soon as the tack was off he was out of there.

Hopefully Axel will be feeling better on Saturday so we can go for a ride after I work with Cody some more. Seems like Corey is into jumping a bit on a more cross country type trail so I'll have to see what we can do about getting some of the logs cleared off in the woods.

A Quick Sunday Evening Ride

Tricia's wedding was on Saturday so I didn't get a chance to go out and ride then. Tom had a couple friends over during the day on Saturday and they took Cody, Axel, and Corey out for a ride. Sounded like it went fairly well and it's good the horses got a chance to get out and work a little. So Jeff and I planned a ride for Sunday afternoon. When we arrived Axel seemed a little off. Nothing obvious but stiff in his rear end. After some tail swishing and short stepping we decided to let him take a break. Jeff got Cody ready and I was going to ride Corey. This would be the second time I've really ridden him, and I enjoy it more each time. He's a fun little horse. If we can keep up riding him he would make a good "guest horse."

We had minor issues getting Cody and Corey out of the paddock and down the hill but once we got across the bridge it was smooth sailing. Went through the woods, trotted across the clearing (super fast Arab trot, yikes), and even did the short loop at the top of the hill (the loop that leads away from the way home, which is usually a big fight). Cody was an angel for Jeff. And Corey was well behaved but constantly shaking his head to rid himself of flies. I shoulda had a flynet on him. Oh well. Tony had done some extra mowing when he was out horse/house sitting so at the bottom of the hill when you first cross the bridge there's a new path. The branches are a bit low (but not a problem on Corey) but they were small branches so we made it through just fine. It's nice having a little change of scenery even if it's just a quick little loop.

And wouldn't you know it, I pointed Corey at that same branch we jumped over last time. This time he was walking up the hill in control, he picked it up to a very calm trot and jumped over the branch again! I think Corey and I might be having a few more rides in our future, I want to put a pole out on some flat ground and see if he'll jump when he's not barrelling towards home. And I think this fall I'll have to get Tom to start mowing a path over some of the fallen logs and help clear some of the branches myself. I guess I really do miss jumping!

The farrier suggested hoof oil once a week for Axel last time he was out. So I put some on his feet then while we were there. I figured I'd try it out for a few weeks and see if there are any positive or negative changes. I had originally thought the farrier was against hoof oil. But I guess not!

Pretend Dressage Lesson

Tricia is off camping in preparation for her wedding this weekend ;) so Axel and I were on our own for our Dressage lesson today. After shooing all the other horses out of the paddock, I groomed Cody and Axel. The bugs are still pretty bad so I wiped them down with fly spray as well. For some reason Cody was the only one still wearing his flymask. I guess today everyone got their West Nile booster shots.

So Axel and I just made a few rounds in the pasture going in both directions. Got a few almost decent trots but I wasn't pushing him too hard. I wanted to try and ride around and only use the reins if I absolutely had to, but Axel wasn't playing my game. He was playing the "go back to the paddock" game.

I chatted with Tom a bit. He's got plans to have Steph out to work with Kiko and Kalani. He just got back from a trip to Alaska so he was telling me about that. I hung out for a bit and took a few photos and let Beau out of the barn. Hopefully I can get Jeff out to ride on Sunday or something.

Dressage Lesson #9

When I got to the barn Beau was the only one in the paddock, standing in the sun, swatting flies. He's moving slower and slower every time I see him, and I'm sure the sweltering heat isn't helping any. I might have to go out this weekend if just to hose him down, it's supposed to be 100F on Saturday. It wasn't much cooler in the barn but the bugs weren't as bad so I let him in so he could graze on the hay a bit and get some relief from swatting.

Luckily the rest of the horses hadn't gone too far, they were just standing in the trees trying to stay cool and away from the bugs. Of course when I brought Axel up to the paddock everyone else had to follow, or rather, run past me getting Axel all excited. I managed to shoo everyone out of the paddock except for Cody and Axel. I was kind of early so I groomed and applied fly spray, then I started working on shovelling manure. Luckily Tricia arrived before I finished ;)

We could hardly get Axel out of the paddock so we decided to go work on the hills to try and wake him up a bit. Our plan didn't quite go as planned. We worked on the hill in the trees on a circle of sorts. Axel was moving, barely. When we got a couple good rounds of him bending in both directions we went down to the sandy part of the hill. Atleast there I was able to get a trot out of him at the bottom of the hill in a circle and then some cantering up the hill. It wasn't a great lesson but neccessary. We'll have a couple weeks off now again so Tricia can get married. I'll probably still go out on Tuesdays and ride and try and school him a bit myself until she's back.

The Herd Bosses Learn Some Lessons

It was actually relatively cool on Sunday so I decided to not let the day go to waste and went out to the barn. My plan was to ride Cody. I saddled him up and was going to lead him out past the first gate. And he wouldn't budge. The other horses were hanging out in the paddock and he wasn't going to leave them no matter what. I changed my plan and thought maybe I'd try ponying Kiko in the pasture. Once I got Kiko's halter on and started leading her it was evident her feet were pretty sore. The farrier hasn't been out yet and her feet are looking pretty chewed up. So that plan got thrown out the window. Back to just me and Cody. I mounted up in the paddock and waited. I sat there probably 20 minutes or more, asking Cody to move on out of the paddock. He'd turn around a bit but he wouldn't move forward much. I worked on some escalating degrees of asking him to move on, and he'd move but never very far. I rewarded him for every move he did make by a scratch and then just standing there for a few minutes. Corey actually ended up getting Cody to move a bit, but he'd still never move towards the gate. Finally one of my attempts of escalating my request and escalating my energy, he started trotting and went right through the gate. I jumped off, and pulled his tack as quickly as I could. I'm not sure if the lesson worked or not. I guess we'll see the next time he and I try and go for a ride.

I had nothing but time so I saddled up Corey this time. He wasn't overly eager to leave the herd but I was able to lead him to the gate without a fight. He acted a bit differently than Cody, didn't want to go but was moving all the time. We did a lot of spinning and circling by the gate before we made it down to the second gate. Boy that little Arab has quite a trot. Very tough to sit, luckily he's close to the ground! We somehow made it down to the creek. I decided to stay on the pasture side of the creek and just do a short ride since it was evident Corey didn't really enjoy our ride either. He was wound tight and breathing pretty heavy. We started up the hill back to the barn and he really wanted to go. I aimed him over a branch I usually use as a slow down tactic for my boys, but instead of walking over it like Cody and Axel usually do, he actually jumped it. A full fledged jump! Weee! Of course then he had momentum and was headed up hill so he cantered the rest of the way. Normally I try to not let them run home, but I had lost a stirrup and Corey's trot is so bumpy I didn't want to get bounced off so I just kept the canter. So up the hill we went.

I turned him out and Tom's other son arrived to feed. A little late in the day due to an engagement party the night before. While he fed, I put Beau in the barn to eat and groomed him for a while. Poor guy seems to be moving even slower these days. I actually went out to get him in the pasture because he didn't come up to get hay when the rest of the herd did. On our way back up to the barn he rushed over to the sand and layed down and rolled. It was kind of bizarre, atleast the timing of it. I suppose he felt he was safe from being chased since he was on the lead line and all the other horses were eating.

While Beau was inside eating I brought out the blue tarp one more time. This time Kalani remembered what it was immediately and let me put it all over his back. Kiko wore it on her head for a while but she wasn't overly impressed by that. She stood quietly but had a look on her face that said, "please take this off now."

Axel gets a gold star!

Tricia is busy getting ready for her wedding and other odds and ends so it was just me this weekend for riding. Everyone's feet are looking pretty ragged so we just took it easy. Axel didn't seem particularly happy about going for a ride but he didn't put up a fight. We wandered down to the creek and to the bridge as usual. I want to teach Axel to side pass so we can open gates and things without dismounting. I had previously tried to get Axel to walk up next to the fence so I could reach it but he'd never get close enough. Today I gave it another try and we were successful. I got him to walk up next to the fence and was able to open it without a problem. Tom's son had done some mowing so we wandered down next to the creek a bit to see how much he cut. Up in the woods the bugs were horrible so we ended up turning around half way in instead of doing the complete loop, it was pretty hot out anyway, a short ride was in order. Before heading back down I asked for a canter in the meadow to see what I could get. And what I got was a beautiful light canter from big ole Axel. I asked another time just to make sure it wasn't a fluke, and I got another nice canter. Yay for Axel! After that we headed back home. Just to press my luck when we crossed the bridge I attempted to get Axel to walk up next to the fence so I could grab the stretchy gate and hopefully close it. He walked right up where I needed him to grab the open gate but then he started wandering off. I was able to hang onto the gate and get him back in position to close it. At this point he was even taking one step at a time as I asked so we could get close enough for me to reach. Axel gets the gold star for the day!

I mucked out the trailer from our trip last week and ended up cleaning out the round pen. It had been open for a while and looked like the designated restroom. Stephanie is going to start working with Kiko and Kalani so I thought i'd be nice if the round pen was usable. Plus one of these days I might actually start working on the Parelli stuff with the boys.

After my little cleaning stint I decided to play a little bit with the blue tarp. I have only played with it once so it was interesting to see if the horses remembered. Kalani was still a bit afraid but got over that quite a bit faster than the last time (which was several months ago). He'd stand on it, bite it, walk around it, nose it. I think he played with the tarp for 15 minutes or more. Kiko played a little but wandered out to graze. I rubbed the tarp on Kalani folded up and then unfolded and eventually he was wearing it. Then I worked on Kiko a bit, she really didn't want it touching her when it wasn't her idea but after biting it a few times she let me put it on her back completely unfolded. Cody didn't care if I put it on him but it was taking away from his grazing time so he didn't stick around very long.

Last Day of Horse Camp

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

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

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

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

Day 3 of Horse Camp

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

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

Day 2 of Horse Camp

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

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

Day 1 of Horse Camp

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

We Made it to Camp

Camp all set up.

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

No Rest For the Wicked

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

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

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

Dressage Lesson #8

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

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

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

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

Test

This is a test-cool saddle though.

Not quite a real ride

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

Practice Trail Ride

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

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

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

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

Dressage Lesson #7

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

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

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

Axel and I go it alone

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

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

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

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

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

Another guest rider

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

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

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

Dressage Lesson #6

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

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

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

Vacation Time

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



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

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

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

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

Dressage Lesson #5

Luckily it cooled down quite a bit from yesterday. We decided to work on the hills today. Still working on getting Axel to use his rear end properly and step under himself. Going down the hills it's almost as if he's so afraid of tripping that he takes the tiniest steps ever. He wasn't overly forward today. We worked some circles on the grass part of the hill and then moved to the sand. He really had to work in the sand. We'd walk down the hill and then canter back up. Boy that horse has a whopper of a canter, kabang kabang. I could feel when he'd round up on occasion but most of the time he just barreled up the hill. After the sandy part of the hill we went back to the grassy part of the hill and just did some more circles walking. At that point he was really working well, walking very forward up the hill and down the hill, and not worrying about where his feet were going. So that was the time to stop.

Tom roped off another little pasture area with some super tall grass and some trees. All the horses were running around acting like fools in the new pasture. Axel promptly ran into a tree after being turned out. Didn't do much damage, just a little scrape on his face. Tricia worked with Kiko a little bit on the long lines. One of these days we'll get someone to ride her.

We did it!

Cody and I went on our first ride alone since moving! I was hoping to maybe go for a ride with Tom on Corey since Axel had already gone out twice this weekend. But he was busy working on the cabin so I took the plunge. When I got there the horses looked pretty cranky, swatting flies non-stop. I saddled Cody up without tying him which required a little moving around but we managed. I figured since there were so many gates to open and close I'd just walk him down to the bridge and then get on. By the time we got there he was drenched in sweat. But he was fairly cooperative. Took a few tries to mount up and then a few tries to get him to start moving up the hill but we made it to the top. Unfortunately I had to dismount and put his saddle back on as it had slipped back from the sweat. I figured the last thing he needed was an excuse to act stupid so I eliminated that by fixing his saddle. Just a slight hiccup from dismounting, had to convince him we weren't done riding and he needed to walk into the woods. We trotted a bit in the woods and then calmed down and went forward willingly the rest of the way. Halfway through the woods he was behaving and listening to me so we turned around and went back home as a reward. We even made it back up to the barn without running. It was 97F out, so that might have had something to do with it. I untacked in the barn and gave Cody some treats and then brought him out and hosed him down. Hopefully the experience wasn't too traumatic for him ;)

It's Hot

It's disgusting out today. 95F with who knows how much humidity. But I went out to the barn anywayas. With this trail ride coming up I want to keep the horses working so it won't be too much of a shock to get ridden for 4 days in a row. Unfortunately I didn't have anyone to ride with today so it was just me and Axel. I stopped on the way and picked up some fly spray and a new bit for Cody. Of course it doesn't seem like the fly spray actually does much. I let all the horses in the barn to get away from the bugs a bit. In the process I had a little adventure with the electric fence. Yeowch! I managed to get everyone's fly masks on except for Corey, he just kept running away from me.

Saddled Axel up and convinced him we were going on a ride. It was a pretty slow ride, took lots of convincing to keep moving. He wasn't nearly as forward as yesterday. But we made it through the woods and around the clearing once before heading back. After the ride I hosed him off a bit, avoiding his back legs, and then I sprayed him with Betadine again. He's gonna be orange forever it seems ;) Hopefully it'll cool down a bit for tomorrow. I'd like to take Cody out and see if Tom will go with on Corey, so Cody gets some time under saddle as well. I'm just not ready for a fight to take him out alone.

Uneventful Ride

No photos today. Had an uneventful ride this afternoon. But that is welcome, of course. Tricia rode Axel bareback and I rode Cody in my english saddle. Just did the usual ride through the woods. Tom had just mowed the trails so they were all cleaned up. When we got back to the front pasture we trotted around a bit and Cody and I even had a little canter. He didn't appreciate it much, he was ready to go hang out with his girlfriend. Luckily he was much calmer this weekend than last weekend.

Axel's legs are still a bit messed up from the mud fever but they're getting better and we keep spraying betadine on them so hopefully he'll be good as new soon. Right now they horses are locked out of the bottom pasture to keep them out of the mud as much as possible. Which isn't too bad of an idea anyways, gives the bottom pasture time to grow some grass for grazing later in the summer. Tom and his son were fencing off some more of the yard today as well so there'll be some good grazing this summer.

Only a few more weeks until the big trail ride, now dubbed "Horse Camp." I am going to try and keep riding as much as possible until then so the boys are ready to go. I am going to try and ride tomorrow and/or Monday. Dressage on Tuesdays. I won't be around next weekend so they'll get a vacation. Then there's the Parelli thing the weekend after, so probably another vacation. Should be able to ride the weekend after then I'll probably give them the 24th off because I think we're leaving on the 25th or 26th.

Just for fun I counted and Cody's been ridden 24 times and Axel 40 times since I bought them (Cody not as much because he doesn't want to leave the herd to go riding alone but Axel will).

Dressage Lesson #4

Today's lesson was more work than last weeks, but less work than the week before. And I think we got more success this week than last week. I haven't watched the video yet as I don't seem to have a way to display it on my television, guess I'll have to watch on the camera.

Got to the barn and of course had to walk down the hill to fetch Axel. One of these days I am just going to find a log and get on him at the bottom of the hill and ride him up. But not today :) Led him up the hill with all the other horses following and running past us. Usually Axel could care less but he was a little worked up about it, even tried a few mini rears. We did a few circles while the other horses ran past. Gave me a chance to catch my breath.

Brought Axel in the barn and unwrapped his legs. They aren't perfect yet but we think they look better than on Sunday. No heat on them this time. Tricia picked some scabs off and rubbed some hair and dirt off and cleaned him up. So she's picking on his feet which apparently itched because his lip was a'going. He started grooming my leg which was unfortunately followed by a bite, so now I have a big lump on my leg. We decided since the wraps just ended up having dirt get under them we'd just leave it open this time. Fully doused in betadine of course. His white socks are now orange.

So we saddled up and went out to the pasture to work. Axel finally taught me that he does not like the reins too tight and that he prefers to work off of leg pressure. By the end of the lesson he was bending around corners with loops in my reins. Still have to put my outside leg nearly in front of the girth but I think he's starting to get it. Or atleast I'm starting to get it.

After the ride we went and hung the extra tire up in a tree down in the pasture. We left the horses up in the middle pasture for now to try and keep them out of the mud as much as possible so they won't get to play with it until they are let back down in the bottom pasture. But it's all ready for them.

Not Your Usual Sunday Drive

The plan was for some of the gals from my old riding lesson to come out and go for a ride. Lisa ended up being the only one that was available on Sunday. I had to walk down the hill to get the boys since they finally found the grass in the back pasture. I thought to avoid extra trips I'd get both Cody and Axel at the same time. It was a little confusing trying to lead them both but we made it. Cody prefers to walk up the hill a lot faster than me, though, and by the time we got to the top I was out of breath. Guess I better walk up the hill a few more times. Axel was walking a little funny but it didn't seem too bad and I thought it was just from climing the hill. I groomed both the horses in the paddock while Kiko and family hung out watching. Everything was great. There wasn't even wind for once. It was going to be a good ride.

Lisa hadn't arrived yet and I didn't want to tack up until I knew what kind of saddle she wanted to ride in, or what horse she wanted to ride so I shut the paddock gate and untied the boys so they could wander. Kiko and the rest got bored so they left back down the hill. Cody proceeded to throw a fit, and Axel limped around even more. Just to happens that Cody has positioned himself in a way that he can hang out with Kiko and not get beat up by Corey for doing it. And to make matters worse, Kiko is in season. Cody was quite pissed that I wouldn't let him go play with his girlfriend. When Lisa arrived I decided not to risk it and turn Axel back out and go get Corey. So back down the hill I went. Atleast this time they weren't at the bottom. So now both Corey and Cody were having a fit in the paddock because we took them away from their woman. Corey was a lot calmer than Cody. I had to saddle Cody while he paced. He was already drenched in sweat at this point.

We finally managed to get them tacked and mounted up and headed for the hills. Of course we had to pass through the herd on the way which resulted in some fighting and kicking. Corey was an angel and walked on ahead while I fought it out with Cody. After much longer than usual we made it to the bridge. And we weren't alone. Everyone else had followed and wanted to cross the bridge with us. So the good news is, I don't think they are scared of the bridge, or atleast the thought of going to the other side. The bad news is that Kiko was leaning on the stretchy gate, so now she knows it's not electrified. But even with the temptation of Cody and Corey being on the other side, the other horses did stay on the side they belonged. So after a lot more fighting we remounted and headed up the hill. Both horses were doing better at this point. We trotted a bit and went around the edge of the cliff and then headed into the woods. That whole portion of the ride was nice. Both horses were listening pretty well. Cody slid down the steep hill on the far side of the woods little faster than I would have liked. I think he figured the faster he went the sooner he'd get back to his woman. Back out of the woods I had another fight with Cody. He wanted to head back to the barn, I wanted to go back through the clearing. I won. We had a little canter in the clearing before heading back down the hill.

Here's where the real hilarity ensued. We dismounted, I was going to go open the gate but I was waiting for Lisa first. Corey decided to cross the bridge by himself and was stopped abruptly when he got to the stretchy gate. With no where to go at this point he decided to get off the bridge. So now Corey's between the fence and the creek. Luckily he only went a few steps before stopping. I brought Cody across the bridge and opened the gate and tried to coax Corey out. He made a run for it, passed me and Cody, and took off for the rest of the herd, stepping on his reins in the process. Thank goodness for clip on reins. He stopped 10 feet or so behind me where Kiko was grazing. So I went to grab for his reins and Cody took off. I handed Corey off to Lisa and grabbed Cody. Once again we remounted and rode on. Since the herd was hanging out with us Cody was calm as can be. I guess next time maybe we try and pony Kiko along and see what happens. :>

We made it back up to the barn with only one more fight from Cody and untacked and turned both the horses out. They ran back down the hill without so much as looking for any after ride treats from us. After Lisa left I went back and grabbed Axel so I could take a look at his leg closer. I soaked it in some cold water for a while but he doesn't like standing in a bucket very much. I turned him back out thinking he'd be fine. Then I second guessed myself and gave Tricia a call to see what she thought. She ended up coming out and helping me out. She tried to shave his ankles but her clippers didn't have a blade and the little hand shaver only worked for a few strokes before it was too dull. She doused him in Betadine and wrapped both his back legs up. We came to the conclusion that his mud fever is still not gone and it's probably infected now. So hopefully we can kill the infection before it spreads to his legs or gives him a fever. He wasn't quite sure what to think of the leg wraps when we let him go. He wasn't completely lame when we started but since he's never been wrapped before he thought he was lame after that, and hopped along holding his one foot up really high. Goofy horse. Tom said at supper last night his wraps were still on but he was still limping a little on that left rear. Hopefully he'll keep them wrapped until we get out for our lesson tomorrow. I think we'll still be able to ride since it's not an injury type lameless, but just sore from infection. We'll have to see how he is.

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.