Another Ride in the Drainway

When I got to the barn on Saturday B and Steele's Mom were already there thinking about going for a ride. I was going to grab Axel but he had decided he was lame again, I assume from the mud. So he tricked me into riding Cody instead. Cody had found the mud so it was a bit of work to get him cleaned up. B wasn't sure if her knee was up to a ride down the road so we all started in the arena. Cody was feeling his age again and needed some convincing to get moving. We attempted a canter while the others waiting in the middle, it went alright but was kind of strung out and unbalanced.

We decided to head out on the road for a quick ride so I went to put on Cody's boots. Cody decided to pee in the aisle while I was holding his front foot to put his boot on. So I had to scramble around to move things so the ever growing puddle didn't get everything wet while simultaneously putting shavings in the aisle to try and soak some of it up. Of course everyone was out side waiting for me. I finally got his boots on and he pooped in the aisle. At that point I just left it all to clean up when I got back.

Cody was a bit of a pill not wanting to leave the barn. So we drug along behind everyone slow as could be. We decided to see where the drainage area on the right side of the road would lead us to since we hadn't taken that route yet. The ground didn't seem too wet and both Diva and Steele had their shoes pulled so the grass was a good choice. So at least until they get the corn out and plow the fields those drainways are really nice to ride in. The corn blocks a bit of the wind and provides kind of a protective wall. The horses were a little flighty with the wind and noises but not too bad. Cody had apparently not heard my new phone's camera before so that startled him when I clicked a photo but since he's feeling lazy lately it was only two steps and he was back to slow-mo.

On the way back Cody stopped to pee (again!) and the other two ended up getting ahead around a corner. Cody couldn't see them at this point and went from parked out to running in a split second. Luckily he doesn't feel the need to get any closer than a couple horse lengths behind the other horses so as soon as he saw them he brought it down to a canter and then to a walk when he caught up. He actually didn't really speed up a whole lot on the way home like he usually does. He was a bit quicker to break into a trot if he thought that's what I wanted but we brought up the rear most of the way back.

Taking Measurements

It is really hard to take conformation photos of a horse by yourself. So these aren't the greatest but at least they should a little bit of the horses's body condition. I'd really like to get more weight on Cody and get his butt back to where it used to be. I took a couple shots from behind him and he's pretty hollow these days.

I took photos of all their hooves side, front, and bottoms since they just got trimmed, unfortunately I was too lazy to clean off most of the mud so yet another half-assed attempt on my part. I also measured both horses with the weight tape and the height stick. Though the lengths I ended up with seem a bit fishy.

Axel=1172lbs, HG 196cm, Length 186cm (1385lbs if you use an equation)
Cody=952lbs, HG 181cm, Length 186cm (1181lbs if you use an equation)

After grooming and doing all this I watched J&J and another guy work on a horse that's going to the sale this Sunday. She's a little nutty. It'll be interesting to see if they get her sold.

Consistency?

I just really like this photo of Cody from this summer. I haven't been great with the camera lately, especially when there's so many people around at the barn. I'll have to make up for that this winter and maybe even bring my big camera out of hiding.

Yesterday was farrier day so I went out to the barn pretty early to fetch up the horses and be there when everyone arrived. Axel was a bit of a pill and jumped around when the farrier had his back left. And he tried to kick Diva several times when she passed by. Cody was pretty much as normal. He just wanted to see every direction at once.

I set up some cones in the arena to work on some trotting, kind of the NSEW exercise. It went sort of okay. Then we worked on some circles since the outside of the NSEW pattern makes a nice circle. We're having consistency issues. We go slow around a couple corners then speed up or almost canter around another corner. We have a hard time turning away from the gate and then the opposite corner of the gate he cuts in and speeds up (maybe cuz that's the first time he sees the gate again?). So there was a lot of "trot-easy-trot-easy" going on. We worked a bit on cantering with the same issues getting around that corner by the gate. J was watching and telling me to put my outside leg on. Our other issue is lack of bending and lack of understanding what I'm asking. I try and ask for a bend with my inside leg on the girth but he thinks that means speed up or canter. And trying to get him to move off that inside leg to keep the circle wide gets the same result. I'm not sure what we should work on in respect too all those issues. Do we work on maintaining a constant speed first and then add the bend? Or vice versa? I will have to think on that a bit.

We spent a few minutes working on turn on the forehand in the corner of the arena. The wall helps block forward movement but the turn on the haunches is another story. I tried to back into the corner to work on that but we weren't as successful. And our backing up issue is still there. I've changed to verbal-wiggle reins-more rein-smack on shoulder. I'm hoping if I keep that up consistently we'll get down to only needing verbal or the rein wiggle. The smack on the shoulder right now gets his attention and he'll back a few steps quite lively. We might have to spend a day only working on that, once he gets it I think we'll be fine.

Disuniting Again

Axel got back on the road last night. S and Stitch were out so I grabbed Axel and cleaned him up the quickest I could, gave him some MSM, and gave Cody his extra snack (which he's getting quite used to and knickers at me when I arrive). Lately Axel has decided he just really can't walk with those bell boots on. I put them on like normal and he picks his back left leg up all the way to his belly and then jumps around on three feet. Last night he did this while still cross tied. Really?

It was slow going as we made our way between the corn fields, Axel dove for the grass every chance he got. We trotted a bit to get his head out of the grass and he moved soundly even on the squishy ground. We ended up heading down the road next to the cows and went for a canter. Unfortunately I couldn't get Axel to pick up the lead correctly. He kept cross cantering even after I'd bring him back to a trot and try again.

On the way back we tried another canter and this time I think he managed to get the front and the back end to cooperate. I was busy keeping him moving to really check what lead we were on and all that. There was no bucking either time. He was a little off for the rest of the walk home but it was very minuscule. We'll see how he feels today. It shouldn't have been any more work than normal so maybe he was just tired and lazy at that point.

I picked up a bunch of little cones from Northern Tool Outlet so I'll mark some dressage letters on them and leave them at the barn to work on patterns and weaving and all that. Axel used to really like weaving so we'll see how he feels about that now. There's a clover leaf pattern that I want to try and another basic trotting pattern. Gotta come up with some interesting stuff for the winter.

Cantering Cody

Groomed Cody and gave him his extra food. This time I put some water in it to see if that would make it easier for him to keep it all in his mouth. Instead it just made a sloppier mess. Back to the drawing board I guess. It has nothing to do with his ability to chew but rather his ability to keep his mouth shut while doing it. I think the next attempt should be a wide shallow pan where the food has to be spread out. I hate grooming this time of year, everything is staticy. I should probably put some dryer sheets in my grooming back to rub on the horse before brushing so I'm not zapping them all the time!

So I lunged Cody a few times with the shorter rope just to get his attention. A had brought out a couple barrels to the arena so I set those up on either end to do some figure 8s and maybe get slightly more circular circles. Cody was pretty amped when I got on. If I didn't know better I'd have thought he was a barrel horse and the sight of the barrels got him worked up. We walked for a while and trotted quite a bit. I had to make constant adjustments as Cody kept "surging" forward and speeding up his trot. Which in the end is a nice change from the past few months of him only moving if I was carrying a whip. He was very willing to canter so we managed to make it around the arena at a canter about a time and a half before breaking stride going to the right. To the left there were some issues getting that lead but that's been our MO lately.

I kind of threw away the circles and figure 8s and worked more on the cantering just because it was more fun and he was so willing to keep moving. I attempted some rollbacks on the rail and then moved into rollbacks and cantering half the arena, rinse, repeat. It wasn't great, Cody wasn't sitting down or turning on his haunches, but he was moving out so I decided our lesson was more on doing what I asked. Speed up when asked, calm down and slow or stop when asked. He was doing really well even when he got worked up. We ended the lesson with some calm trotting and then worked on some backing up both mounted and unmounted. He doesn't get a great grade for the rein back but we'll keep working. I did some stretches when we were done. He stands really well for the front leg stretches so I can only assume he doesn't mind doing them. I noticed he's full of little scabs everywhere. They're mostly grown out but the bugs must have kicked in at the end of summer or something.

A came in and worked with Vinnie jumping over the barrels while I groomed Axel. He's been kind of a pill lately, grabbing at everything and chewing on stuff. He puts the cross tie in his mouth and pulls on it. He's not wind sucking that I can tell but the chewing on stuff is getting to be a really annoying habit. A finished up with Vinnie as I was ready to go back in the arena. I just wanted to let Axel move a bit since it had been pretty muddy all week. So I just sent him off without a lunge line and he trotted and cantered and really didn't buck a whole heck of a lot. He had a nice big extended (for him) trot, nice canters on both leads, even a flying change. Why can't he do that when I'm riding? I thought maybe he'd jump the barrels that were still set up but he went around them every time, I wasn't going to force him into jumping them with his sore foot but if he chose to do it on his own I'd be excited to see it. That was pretty much all for the night for Axel.

Back in the Saddle Part 4

Axel shows off my new favorite place to ride. Even after Cody dumped me out of the saddle on Friday.

I ended up having more time on my hands on Sunday and the sun came out and it wasn't completely freezing so I ran off to the barn for a quick ride. I gave Cody his extra food in the feeder and Axel had a snack and his MSM in the barn aisle. I did my best to get the mud and dirt off but a black horse this time of year just gets dirtier the more you groom. On top of that he was getting quite fed up with standing in the cross ties. So he fidgeted himself into a little big of lunging before our ride. He actually trotted out pretty sound, he was a little cranky about going to the left but that was the extent of it.

So it was Axel's first ride out since his last bout of lameness. He spent most of the time trying to rip the reins out of my hands to eat grass. We did end up trotting for a while, then walking, then some more trotting, followed by some cantering until we hit a pretty wet spot. We walked pretty slow on the way home but sound. We didn't go far into the field as I didn't want to push it too far with Axel's sore foot. Though he has been babied for quite some time now he might be as good as he's going to get until the next big lameness.

Adventure

I think it made it up to a whopping 48F today but it was sunny and not raining so a trip to the barn afterwork was in order. Cody had his extra food and some MSM and Axel had his MSM. I scrubbed the mud off of Cody and cleaned up his feet. B made it out since her trail ride was canceled on Saturday so we got everyone tacked up to go for a canter between the corn fields. I decided to put Cody's boots on just in case it was too wet to stay in the grass so this time I tried out the pastern wraps to see if they would snug up the boots a bit and I think they did the trick.

Cody was reluctant as ever to leave the barn so that took us a bit more time than it should have. The first part of the ditch was pretty wet and Diva hates wet and mud. It seemed to be a bit drier when we got to the spot between the fields so we went for it. We walked for a while, well Diva walked and Cody lagged behind then fought with me over catching up and kept weaving back and forth in an attempt to go back to the barn.

We decided to canter for a bit to hopefully wake up Cody a bit. He took off like a rocket when I asked him to change gaits but he settled in fairly quickly. After a little bit of cantering all of a sudden I was standing next to the horse instead of sitting on his back. Something spooked him and he spun around to the right and I more or less dismounted on that same side. I landed on my feet and managed to keep the reins in my hand so he didn't run off. Had I let go I'm pretty sure he would have ended up back at the barn and I would have had a bit of a walk. I'm not sure if I would call it a fall even, it was pretty controlled and to help matters I landed on the upside of a little hill so that could be why I was still standing.

Turns out the horses saw a deer and decided it was there to eat them. Diva's not horribly spooky but she was nervous enough and doesn't like walking in water or mud and Cody was nervous and they were feeding off each other pretty well. So we decided to walk forward for awhile and then turn around. Cody decided to walk backward about 30 feet before we could finally walk forward and meet up where Diva was waiting. Then we circled around and headed for home. By this time it was pretty much dark and it got cold so heading home was more than fine with me.

Axel was upset because J and J fed everyone but him as they were waiting for Cody to get back. He didn't even knicker at me when I put Cody back in the pasture. I don't think he holds grudges though so we should be fine next time I get out there ;)

Back in the Saddle Part 3

Finally a sunny day but after all the rain I didn't want to risk the ground being really soft or slippery in the corn field so I stuck with the arena. Plus Wednesdays I don't have a whole lot of time and it's easy to loose track. Axel was surprisingly not that muddy considering. I suppose laying down in the mud while it rains for 4 days isn't exactly on the top of his list. I ended up scraping off what I thought was dried mud but turned out to be a scab/dried skin/scar tissue. So I had to tend to a bleeding coronary band for a bit. Luckily it was pretty minor and didn't bleed for more than a minute.

He didn't seem terribly glad to be saddled but into the arena we went. J had taken Amigo out on the road so I had some room and lunged Axel for a bit. He was pretty calm about life, really just wanted to look at the horses in the pasture. There were some minor head flips but no bucking when he was asked to trot. He moved pretty well, a little off now and then but pretty good. I stopped with the trotting, still trying to take it a little easy.

We rode at the walk for quite a while, he was kind of cranky, nothing major just a little fidgety. I finally asked for a trot and it was slow going at first, lots of stopping but he eventually picked it up and trotted pretty well. We did a lot of walking between trotting and we stuck mostly to going to the right. For obvious reasons he doesn't like when I post the correct diagonal to the left. We walked around for quite a while and even had some nice rein back before calling it a day.

I'm still hesitant to really start working. He's had 1 week off completely and 2 weeks of real mellow hand walking or easy riding in the arena. I really want to go for a canter down the field but I should probably hold off a bit longer. Even though when he trots he walks out of it sound and he tends to choose the canter over trotting when he is sore. We'll see, I could give him some bute before we go I suppose to take off the edge. It's Cody's turn next anyway so perhaps I'll just get my cantering fix with him.

Rain rain go away!

I debated just going home and staying in but I thought it'd be pretty quiet at the barn in the rain on a weekday. I was right, the place was deserted. The boys were standing half in the lean-to and half in the rain. When I went into the little barn to get Cody's food I could hear them nickering, but instead of coming up to the gate to wait for dinner they just stood in the lean-to and nickered there. They both really wanted to come in when I went to get Cody.

Cody took his time eating his extra food and he didn't mind the MSM I had snuck in the bucket. I tried to dry him off a bit with a wool blanket and groom him a bit. The barn wasn't too loud with the rain but I turned on the radio anyway. Cody lunged pretty good and seemed to be paying attention, though he was paying attention to the gate. My guess is that's just where he wanted to keep his eye on in case the rain got scary or something. He wasn't too happy about standing at the mounting block so it took a few tries before he stood for me.

We worked on some trotting in circles, Cody is having a hard time bending, especially to the left. Even with the clear circle wore into the footing he had a hard time staying on the circle (it's time to get some cones). So we kept working on that for a while and worked on keeping in the trot until asked to do something else. At least he was moving pretty well and I didn't have to carry a whip at all. We got a pretty nice but a little fast canter to the right. To left took a lot of tries as he kept picking up the wrong lead. When he finally picked up the correct lead it was kind of unbalanced but since that's what I was asking for I let him stop. We trotted a bit more so we could end on a nice note. Sometimes after the canter he gets a little strung out so I wanted to make sure he'd go back to a nice easy trot. Even with the noisy rain he was calm.

After he backed up when I asked I dismounted and we worked on some turn on the forehand for a while as well as some bending particularly to the left. I untacked him and grabbed some treats and we did some "carrot stretches." He was really good at them and kept his feet in once place while bending to each side and down between his legs. He didn't really want to stretch up to get a treat though, so I'm not sure what that's about. I also did some leg stretches with him that I think he actually enjoys, or at least he tolerates them well and stands still and doesn't yank his feet away. He even seems to not mind the tail circles. I might have to do some of the bending after some lunging circles for warm ups and before riding to try and get him bending better.

When Cody was eating his extra food I ran out and gave Axel some MSM and a little grain in the lean-to. After I turned out Cody I stood in the shelter for a while while Axel proceeded to chew the wood off the inside of the building. I smacked him a couple times with the rope when he started to chew and scared him a bit so he wandered off. I put some manure on the spot he was chewing in what will probably be a feeble attempted to keep him from doing it again. Grrr ... kids!

A Quick Ride

I spent most of the day at the U Equine Center helping out with a big Girl and Boy Scout Badge earning day. But my evening plans were canceled so I was able to make it down to see the boys afterall. Once again I didn't suspect the crowd that was at the barn. A was just getting back from her trail ride as were the new borders and B was just coming down the road after riding Diva. I grabbed Axel to see how he'd do two days in a row and B hung out in the arena waiting for us. She watched us trot out a little and said that Axel looked pretty good. He was still a little bouncy and wanted to canter more than normal but over all he felt okay. We stood at the fence and tacked to J for a while and Axel got antsy and forgot he was wearing the boots. So when we moved a bit he hopped around avoiding the boots and nearly fell over. When we walked a bit after that he was a tiny bit off but when I dismounted he walked find on the cement. When I turned him out in the pasture he seemed careful but not sore.

Back in the Saddle Part 2

Late on a raining Saturday I didn't expect to see many people at the barn. J was out catching Steele when I got there, then the new folks arrived, then A arrived with some family in tow. It was grand central station. I rode Cody in the arena with Steele for a while. We even (to my surprise) picked up both canter leads without running into them. After the canter Cody was a little wound up but after standing for a bit he calmed down. We visited with A's family and let the kids pet and look at the fuzzy ponies. Cody went back out to his pasture, Steele spent some time grazing the yard, and I grabbed Axel to see how he was feeling.

Axel went pretty well in the arena with one of the new horses. We didn't get close enough for him to act like a bully. I decided to try a bit of a trot to see where he was at. He was feeling a little bouncy but not too bad and trotted okay for a bit. Perhaps a little off but he returned the walk and was sound. So that's pretty much all we did for the day. Lots of chatting with all the people around since it's a rare occurrence to see so many people at once. Cody got his extra food and some MSM and Axel got some MSM and he wore his boots while riding.

Drive By

It was just a quick "drive by" style visit last night. I wanted to spy and see about the new boarders, well and check on my ponies of course! Note to self - resume giving MSM and extra food individually in a bucket. I thought I could give both horses some extra feed and Axel his MSM in their feeder. Well Axel ate most of Cody's food and Cody probably got more than half of Axel's MSM. So yeah, back to the bucket on that one.

I had a few more minutes before I had to leave for Ballet so I grabbed Axel, walked him around the arena a bit and then hopped on bareback. There was some minor tail swishing (that continued after I was dismounted so probably unrelated) but he seemed to be feeling good and moved out at the walk. He appreciated the attention I paid to his itchy spots afterwards.

The new horses were moved in, J said a day early but I swear she told me they'd be around on Wed. So who knows. Dallas and Riley I think are their names, two geldings of the QH/Paint variety. Right now they are in with Vinny and Jessie went in with Diva and Dolly. It looked like Dallas was chasing Vinny around a bit while I was there but it didn't seem too volatile. J still wants to get Vinny out with the big boys in the back pasture. They moved my trailer up by the house and put the new trailer next to the barn. The new folks trail ride a lot so they just keep their tack in their trailer so it's easier if they're closer. Eventually J said they'd move their small trailer next to their camper and make room for my trailer with the others. But we'll be taking it to the farm this winter to work on it so everything is just temporary right now.

Lazy Cody

I convinced B to come down after work and go for a ride down the road last night. Cody got his extra dinner which he spilled all over the ground and had to clean up. I might have to start feeding him in a wide tub he doesn't spill any when he's picking it up one piece at a time from the ground. I grabbed Diva out of the pasture for B and I fed Axel a bit of Cody's food with some MSM thrown in. MSM must taste pretty good, he licks the bucket clean.

When I was done grooming Cody I lunged him a bit in the arena while I was waiting for B. This time I just stuck with the 12' lead and did some circles and changing directions. He picked up the pace after a few times of making him change but he was still pretty lazy.

I decided since Diva was on the mend that Cody would go out sans boots and we'd stick to the ditch (secretly hoping for a canter). So we ended up riding the whole drainage ditch between the corn fields. I still plan to get out there and run a bit one of these days. Now we've seen the footing the whole way, it's not too bad, a few big rocks that are easy to avoid and very few holes. Cody was pretty tough to keep moving, he kept pretty far behind Diva and we had to trot to keep up. I'm thinking it might be time for the chiropractor visit again. And there's always the dentist and sheath cleaning. Expensive ponies.

When we came to the end of the corn field we went up the road a ways and stopped by a small herd of fresian crosses. Cody was a little quicker on the way home but I wasn't having to hold him back at all. We ended up chatting for a while in aisle while Cody and Diva sniffed each other politely and stood patiently.

Windy Monday

Too windy to enjoy a ride down the road today but I want to keep a sort of close eye on Axel so I went to the barn anyway. The wind must have gotten everyone all riled up, both horses were kind of weird and trying to climb in my pockets. I brought Cody in and gave him some extra food while I groomed him quick. He's so fuzzy already. I lunged him a little with the 12' line. He's been so slow and lazy lately so it was time to get him responding. He did pretty well actually. I worked on some of our regular ground work. I need to get a little more precise with the turns on the haunches and forehand. Cody remembers stuff once he learns it so I just need to get it right.

I hopped on bareback and rode around a little while, mostly at the walk and a tiny bit of trot. We mostly worked on the left turns. I also tried a bit of what was supposed to be sidepassing but was more of a lesson in turn on the haunches, or just moving the specific parts of the body when asked. Something I probably should have kept on working on but I didn't. When I was done riding I did a few stretches with Cody and we went back outside.

Axel had his turn inside. I mostly just hand walked him around the arena, I thought the good footing and a little moving would be helpful for his foot. He was sound at the walk and wasn't shortening his stride at all so that was good. I tried to lunge him a little at the walk but he kept speeding up going to the right. To the left he kept pawing, almost spanish walk, and eventually a little buck and a kick. I kept telling him to walk and "easy" but he got it in his head that I wanted more so we had to stop so he didn't hurt himself. I ended up giving him some grain to see if he'd eat the MSM I bought. He licked the bucket clean so that's a good sign. I'll probably just give him the extra MSM when I'm out there instead of adding it to his regular feeding, at least for now.

Getting Rained On

I have some good timing. It was sunny most of the day and it's sunny now but when I pulled into the barn it was cloudy and getting pretty dismal. Axel was hiding from the wind in the lean to and Cody was out grazing by himself. I thought Axel was still sore but he came out of the shelter and was walking on all 4 feet. He was a little off but way better than the 3 legged gimp.

As I was grooming and tacking Cody the wind started really whipping around. Cody stayed calm in the barn aisle. I gave back the low back pad I was trying, I'll have to order one for myself sometime when I have extra cash, they aren't cheap. So I thought I'd try and add a gel pad. It's not meant for western saddle but I thought it would maybe fill in some of the gap in Cody's back. Cody walked across the driveway without limping too much so I thought we'd limp across the road to the ditch and forego the boots for today. Things were slow going as they usually are when we leave the barn (time for another chiropractor visit maybe?). I thought we could make it down to the drainage ditch between the two corn fields and have a canter but we only made it along the first section of beans. Between Cody's slow moving and diving for grass and spontaneous stopping and backing up we just didn't make it very far. Perhaps he was trying to tell me that it was going to start raining and we should turn back. So I went with his last bout of backing up and we kept going for a while before turning around. We cantered a bit, sort of his idea, but he slowed to a walk when asked.

As we came up the grass next to the pasture we trotted for a bit since the rain had started. Axel was running and bucking and cantering. After the first few bucks I guess his foot hurt so he was literally cantering on 3 legs. At least 3 strides of canter without putting that hind left on the ground.

Cody didn't really want to go back outside in the rain and the wind but it died down after I untacked him and gave him a treat so I put him out and grabbed Axel. He walked soundly to the barn even over the gravel. He didn't want to stand on that hind left for me to clean hooves but he eventually did and he walked out sound even on the cement. I don't think he had any more bute since Tuesday so I think he's on the mend, just steps wrong once in a while. I think I might have to break down and get him some magnetic bell boots and a cold wrap. The magnets seem kind of fishy to me but supposedly they help, at least they would block him from kicking himself more. The cold wrap I might start using after I ride in addition to if he comes up lame. Unfortunately the bell boots are kind of spendy, the cold wraps are not.

Gimp Again

Stopped by the barn on the way out of town to check on the boys. It had rained for part of the day and it was a little muddy in the pasture. Axel was standing kind of funny when we pulled up. He was back to gimping around again. We didn't talk with J at all so I'm not sure if it was just the mud or if his drugs were still working on Wednesday when he was sound and they wore off. Either way he's just going to have to muddle along until he feels better. Poor boy, not sure what else we can do that isn't terribly invasive, require stall rest, and be super expensive.

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.

Murphy's Law

Did J not just say that Axel looked like he was trotting well? Did I not just say it was time that Axel started working more? Got a call this afternoon from J that Axel was 3-legged lame. Limping around with that back left foot in the air. I thought we were doing pretty good. I hadn't gotten a call from this barn at all yet and Axel had been pretty sound for a year or so. My assumption is that he either kicked himself while I was riding or sometime in the pasture. Either way he was hurting pretty bad. J gave him some bute at noon and I gave him some more at 3:30 and when I came back at 6 he was still sore. So hopefully after a couple days of bute he'll start to feel better. There's not a lot we can do for him except for bute. That's all the vet would suggest save for some serious surgical alternatives. So we'll just keep up with the pain killers til the inflammation dies down. After limping across the drive way yet still trying to eat grass the whole way I hosed off his foot for a while, trying to help with the pain and any swelling with cold water. Axel wasn't terribly happy about that though. I might have to get an ice wrap for occasions such as this. I can't make it out to the barn tomorrow I don't think so hopefully he only improves between now and Wednesday.

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.

We Can Ride Trail Ride

Despite the gorgeous weather the turn out for the WCR trail ride was dismal. But those of us that did make it made the best of it. Steph and I and Jeff went to the barn early to pack up the trailer and get the horses ready to go. A was going to meet us and follow us over. I successfully backed the truck up to the trailer and then pulled the trailer out of it's parking spot so we could load. Axel got in first as usual with no issues. Cody got in with only a minor amount of reassuring and *NO* backing out. We then had to help Vinnie load in A's trailer so the boys stood in the trailer waiting and they were exceptionally patient. I was just surprised Cody got in so willingly and that Axel didn't put up a fuss while standing there waiting.

When everyone was loaded up and ready to go we pulled out and hit the road, me driving! Only one issue that could have been a big deal, stopped at a light I probably should have just ran, on the way. We missed a turn and got a little lost but it only took a trip around the block to get corrected. And parking at the park was pretty easy since we were fairly early. It was warm out so the boys were pretty sweaty when they unloaded, then they stood in the sun eating hay while we situated the trail ride. So by the time everything was set I had two sweaty messes. We tried to put them in the shade and cool them off before they got their massages but they were still pretty nasty and the poor massage gal had some really dirty hands after my boys. Cody was kind of fussy between wanting to keep an eye on everything around him and the flies I'm not sure he took time to enjoy his massage. Axel had some issues with the flies as well and he had the hiccups. Seriously, hiccups. So weird. But since he's an itchy horse this year he did show us which spots he was happy to have massaged by curling his lip and making everyone laugh.

When it was evident no one else was going to show up, A, Steph, another gal, and I set out to the wooded portion of the trail to avoid the heat. It was pretty rocky and just about all of the horses in our group were unhappy about that. Even Cody with his boots on wanted to wander into the woods instead of staying on the trail. We made a stop in the lake for a sip of water. Cody stayed on shore, it was so muddy I was afraid he'd loose a boot. Axel tried to go for a swim and ended up covered in mud. We decided to stop back at the picnic area and take a break before heading out on one more loop of the trail. The horses appreciated the break and a sip of water and more fly spray while we packed up some of our stuff so we were ready at the end of the day.

A ended up bringing in the second most money so she picked out the western saddle and Steph as usual brought in the most money and was taking home the english saddle. When everyone was set to go we went out on the dog/horse trail that goes around one of the lakes. We had been on that trail the first time we visited Murphy. So now there's just one loop or so that we haven't seen. By the end of the day the horses were tired as well as the people. My hips were killing me, my stirrups were too long but since we were taking it easy I didn't bother fixing them. I think it's what made my hips hurt though. So up a couple holes on that saddle next time.

After we untacked and everyone had their share of water we dumped a few buckets on them to wash off some of the sweat and mud. Everyone loaded like an expert and they were starting to figure out how they need to squish a little for us to close the dividers in the trailer. It was a fairly uneventful drive home in the trailer and everyone survived. Cody unloaded so carefully and quietly he got extra praise as I was so impressed. Sadly I think it's because he's afraid now, but a quiet unloading horse is a quiet unloading horse.

Post Cow High

Axel must have felt invigorated after visiting the cows. Or maybe he was just feeling good. Interesting that Tuesday, Wednesday, and now today he's been pretty full of energy. I didn't lunge him tonight I just groomed and threw on his saddle and joined another boarder in the barn. Axel was really moving out at the walk. He even passed Stitch a few times. When they left the arena we worked on the backing up stuff we learned the other night. He's a little reluctant but he gives at the poll a lot sooner than he had been. He got a lot of scratches as soon as he'd back and drop his head instead of jutting out his nose. We did some serpentines to work on some bending and steering without getting in his face too much. We even managed a bit of trotting without any bucking. One jump into a canter stride but we were back to trotting right away and he moved out actually very sound. I had thought about giving him some bute before and during the trail ride but he's been doing so well I think he'll be just fine, especially since it should be pretty easy going. I think I'll even buy him a little warm up massage. Silly spoiled horses.

I checked on Cody and brought him out to the hitching rail. He has a weird scabby raw grown over missing hair spot on his left ear. I assume it's rope burn from his little spazz and it was dry and didn't bother him to touch it. I held his bucket while he spilled his senior feed all over the place. No wonder he doesn't gain weight easily, most of it ends up on the floor. Sadly it was like that before he had his teeth done and is still that way after, so I think it's just his way. Maybe he'll get a feed bag some day.

Cows!

We got the trailer all packed up and ready to go, groomed the horses, hand grazed them for a while, chatted with J about where to park the trailer when we returned, and off we went. Axel got in like a champ but he was pretty squished in his slant. Cody took a small amount of coaxing but not bad at all, he's at about 2-3 tries now, which sure beats hours. Cody was also a bit squished in his slant so we're back to the drawing board on how to modify the trailer so they fit better.

Axel was pretty worked up when he got off the trailer (turned around and walked out just to make life easier), and he was worked up in the arena while Jeff tried to adjust the saddle and/or mount. So while we were supposed to be warming up and visiting cows over the fence, I suggested that I warm Axel up for Jeff. Cody was feeling calm and collected so he pretty much stood there while Axel kind of bounced around the arena. At that point I thought it was best that I just stick with Axel and Jeff stay with Cody. Axel doesn't quite have my number as much as he has Jeff's and I didn't think it'd be fun for Jeff if Axel was a pill the whole time.

Since Cody and Axel didn't seem fazed by the cows at all when we split up in two groups we started with the cows. Both horses could really care less about the cows. If we got close enough without moving the cows Axel would stand there nose to nose with a cow. If the cows didn't move he wasn't too excited to walk right into the middle of the group. And if the cows ran behind him he'd kick at them and pin his ears. But other than that he seemed pretty interested and locked on a few times. Cody did pretty well, he was feeling a little slow but he followed the cows without an issue. Jeff said he thought he locked on a few times as well.

When we swapped groups Jeff and I worked in the arena and they taught us a few things. We worked on getting a whoa as well as some rollbacks to get the horse on the haunches. Nothing ground breaking but it was good for Jeff to have a little instruction on some basic riding skills. Axel threw out a couple bucks to show his disapproval of having to work, or something. The trainer asked if she could try Axel for a bit, so I thought it was only fair to share the pain. I sat on her horse but didn't really end up riding because I was busy watching her work Axel. Mostly she was trying to get him to give his head and back up when asked. After a lot of fighting she got him working pretty good and also doing some right turns which I guess he was being ornry about. Surprisingly later when I was back on him and asked for a backup he did really well. At the end of the night we split up groups again and did some kind of team penning work which was a good time. Axel managed to kick a cow but I don't think he got her too hard, naughty horse.

Overall it went well and it was a good time. I think the horses enjoyed themselves and were happy for something different. Danny got a little less afraid of cows but I don't think he's going to run out and work on a ranch any time soon. Things only went south when we got back to the barn. We had put Cody in the last stall and he stepped out of the trailer before he was untied. He freaked out and smashed his head into mine and in turn into the wall of the trailer. He must have stepped on me as well, I've got a huge bruise on the back of my left leg and my right foot is swollen a bit, thank goodness for the steel toed boots. Despite his freak out, we calmed him down and stepped him out of the trailer. When he had his back feet out we stood there calm and I petted him for a while before getting all the way out. So we'll see how he does next time, but he won't be in that last stall that's for sure. But I was surprised how he calmed down pretty easily. He's really mellowed out lately.

So that was our little cow adventure.

What got into you?

I ran out to the barn quick last night just to check on the horses and make sure no one had done anything stupid over the long weekend. I dropped off a bag of feed for Cody to have a little extra every once in a while. The horses thought I was there for feeding time when they heard me in the feed room.

I gave Cody a scoop of the senior feed as I was grooming him. Boy does he make a mess when he eats. No wonder he's a little thin, food all over the floor. I just did a little lunging in the arena to make sure he was feeling good. He was a little feisty mostly just when asked to move faster than a turtle. I jumped on bareback for a while and just rode around with the halter and lead rope. Cody's a difficult horse to sit on bareback right now. He's thinner so there's less "body" under your legs and you kind of wobble around easier. We did a little trotting and some backing up which went well. Our turns on the forehand and haunches still lack ... a lot.

Axel followed me to the barn limping the whole way when it was his turn. I was hoping it was just a stone in his hoof and thank goodness I was right. When I asked Axel to lunge he started out at a decent walk, sped up, started trotting, then cantering, then completely galloping and bucking and farting and acting like an idiot. Same reaction on the other side. Mind you I only asked for a walk. I un hooked my lunge line and clucked at him once and he was off around the arena like a bat out of hell. It was at this point that my previous thought of giving him some bute so he wouldn't be sore for the cattle clinic left my mind. When he finally stopped he was huffing and puffing. I jumped on him bareback and rode around at the walk. I'm hesitant to ask for a trot bareback since I haven't worked him a lot lately and he mostly likely buck. So we just walked around, tried some bending, backing, turns, checked our brakes. Nothing spectacular.

So everyone seemed in decent condition, hopefully they have remained that way today. Though I could probably borrow one of A's horses if someone turned up lame. Cow clinic tonight!

Trailer Repair by Gray Kitty

It's Almost Winter

Okay it's not really almost winter but it's getting darker, colder, and the horses are starting to shed their summer coats and put on their winter wear. I'm not quite as concerned about it this year since I have a lit arena to ride in. Sure the cold is no fun but at least the complete lack of sunlight won't put a damper on some riding.

I rode Cody in his new headstall on Tuesday. It seems to fit well and stayed on his head. We worked on some trotting and a tiny bit of canter transition. I attempted some rollbacks on the rail, which to my surprised got me a few little canter departs. I'm not sure what inspired him, if he's done rollbacks before or what because I was only really asking for a trot. After that I asked for a canter on the rail and got a lot more willing transition than usual. Wrong lead to the one direction but he wasn't speed trotting into it at least. So maybe rollbacks are a good exercise for him. It was also a nice exercise in stopping when asked since there was a nice finite element to each pass.

Axel lunged pretty sound so I rode him for a while as well. Perhaps he was just sore from needing his feet done. We mostly walked, did some bending, and I worked on seat aids. We did a minor amount of trotting but he was not terribly excited about that situation. I probably need to start trotting more and more, he's had so much time off and I've been babying him lately, but the foot is excellent in the arena, he's on supplements and I just picked up some MSM to add to what he's getting now, and I could add some bute when I ride. The poor fat horse just needs to get out and move more.

We have a new adventure planned for next Wednesday (assuming I get signed up). We're going to head out to Cornerstone and try out a beginning cattle clinic. Jeff is going to ride Axel and I'll ride Cody. I think A is bringing Danny or maybe even Vinnie who knows. I'm excited to see how the boys do on cattle with the thought that we'll try and work some cows at the farm and also maybe get in on the Gary cattle drive sometime. There's a lot of trailer fixing to do this weekend, cattle clinic Wednesday, and the We Can Ride trail ride a week from Sunday. So much going on!

Farrier Day

We had a WCR staff meeting right after the farrier so I was only able to stay for a few minutes and chat. Both boys had their feet done in what seemed like record time. J even said "they're done already?" But when they just get a trim it doesn't take very long. Axel has a semi concerning crack and everyone's feet are so dry lately. Cody had his toes completely chipped off. I think I might have to pick up one of those rider's rasps and see how that works to keep their feet nicer between trims. We chatted a bit about putting the horses on cattle and how J wants to get a couple calves to have at the barn.

When I first drove up I noticed Cody wasn't wearing his fly mask. There were a couple lumps in the pasture upon further inspection turned out to be his mask. In two pieces. He completely ripped the nose piece off. I think I can fix it but now that it's getting to be fall I think he'll be okay for the rest of the year in the sun burn category. Clearly he doesn't want to wear the mask any more.

Bridles and Trailers

Friday I ran out to the barn before leaving town to try Cody's new headstall on. And his new saddle blanket. I also had to grab some stuff for Amanda's birthday. I groomed Cody quickly and put on his new tack so I could take a photo. He looks pretty snazzy in all the new gear even though orange on a chestnut horse is probably not kosher.

Then this weekend we spent starting to fix up the trailer. I bought all new lights, most of which were sealed LEDs and Jeff worked to replace those. So now all the lights work - always a pain in the butt with trailers. We also torched off the old broken jack and took apart the bent axle and broken leaf spring. Hopefully if all the new parts arrive this week we'll get it all put back together next weekend and get it on the road.

While they're working on the hard stuff I'll probably try and scrub the ceiling tiles in the dressing room, they're kind of gross. And I'll try and fix the screens in the windows, they got pushed out and let in bugs. I've gotta pick up at least some trailer ties before the trail ride. After that my list of supplies gets pretty long. But none of it is necessity unless we're camping.

New Tack

I ordered Cody a new saddle blanket in his color. A nice orange Navajo blanket to go over his wool saddle pad. Axel already has a yellow one. Cody's blanket should arrive today and I hope it's decent and actually orange. And while looking for some things for Amanda's birthday I found an inexpensive one-ear headstall that more or less matches Cody's saddle. At the very least it's much less gaudy for his head. I just hope he can keep a one-ear on his head! Now I just have to cut some slobber straps and tie my mecate and the boys will be all spiffed up and matchy matchy for the We Can Ride trail ride fundraiser!

Cody on the Road

Cody and I and Vinnie and A went down the road again tonight. I grabbed the spurs to see if he'd be a little happier with less kicking and more precise cues. Didn't make a huge difference. I think partially since I was pretty mild with my legs, he had a few moments where he'd move out when I think I actually brushed him with the spur. He did manage to walk the whole way home, a little faster than the way out but he wasn't a speed demon.

Axel is Sore Again

So I lunged Axel for a while hoping he'd work out of his soreness. He didn't really. He's not too bad off but since it's kind of a fight to get him to cooperate I was hoping for one less thing to deal with. I rode for a while anyway, just some easy trotting. I might have to ride him a bit more often, or at least lunge him to keep him moving around. The farrier is due out on Monday so I'm sure long hooves isn't helping matters much. And I might get some liniment to see if that helps at all. Otherwise we might be back to bute before riding. We'll see how he does after a good trim.

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.

Just a Quick Visit

Since I ended up riding on Tuesday night I decided that Wednesday was just going to be a grooming visit. Mostly I had to get home and mow the lawn before it took over the neighborhood. So Axel came in and got groomed a little better than normal, fly sprayed, photographed, and sent back out side. And the same went for Cody. Axel is still bugging Vinnie it seems. I shooed him away while I was petting Vinnie. Axel seemed torked about that and Vinnie wants to be my bff. I hope I show up one day to them all grooming each other and being happy.

The other day I forgot to mention that I saw Cody standing in the pasture with birds on his back for the first time! Crazy!

New Friends

I dislike not getting out to the barn more often. I miss out on all the excitement. Vinnie is now in with Cody and Axel. Looks like he got beat up quite a bit. It must not have been as bad as Danny beating him up since he's still in there with the boys. But Axel isn't very nice to him and keeps chasing him around. They have a separate feeding area set up behind the lean-to.

I was going to ride Axel a bit so I brought him in and groomed him, got him tacked up, and went to do some lunging first. And he was pretty lame at the walk. Nothing earth shattering but clearly off. He wasn't working out of it so we just did some walking in both directions on the lunge and worked on actually stopping when I asked (we'll keep working on that one).

So I grabbed Cody and planned to just groom, lunge, and turn out. But another boarder came in and asked if I was riding so I decided, sure why not. We rode around in the arena for a while, no whip this time. Cody wasn't a ball of fire but he was alright. Did some trotting and I was going to stop there but the other boarder wanted to take a ride down the road. My laziness caused me to not get off and get Cody's boots and that will be the last time we go down the road without them. Cody was not pleased with what little gravel was actually on the road. So much that he didn't even speed up when we turned back for home. And I'm starting to think I might have to get some boots for Axel as well, he's getting kind of gimpy on the road. Additionally I think I need to pick up one of those rider's rasps. Cody's hooves are pretty chipped up, there must be a lot more flies out there. The farrier isn't due until Aug. 31.

New Toy

Trotting Away

After wearing that fly mask all the time to block the sun, Cody is always very happy to have my scratch his face with the squishy rubber curry. I usually end up taking off a whole lot of hair and dirt in the process. I picked up some baby wipes with aloe to use on his nose if he does get sun burnt. I figured it should feel pretty good on a sore nose. He looked a little pink last night so I gave it a try. He actually didn't mind it and wow did it clean him up a lot. So here's your cheap horse keeping tip of the day - use baby wipes. Lookit that cute pink nose!

So last night's goal was just to trot. Trot trot trot. It went pretty well. Cody was a little mad I wouldn't let him veer off to the gate when we'd pass. But boy does he steer well when there's a whip in his way. You just have to put it in his line of sight and he'll turn away from it real quick. When I pushed my luck and asked for a canter that's when he started to get strung out and angry. I'm not sure what his deal is with that but I might have to just keep working at the trot. Perhaps he's out of shape or balance. Maybe more lunging and long lining. But his rein back has been getting a bit better. I want to come up with a few more things to try and see what keeps his interest. If I can get Jeff to build me some jump standards we'll try some small jumps. Maybe some pole weaving? Maybe some rollbacks on the rail? Still working on some turns/spins.

A New Adventure

I was going to try and see if Axel and I could ride down to the county fairgrounds tonight to snoop in on A's formation practice. Luckily we didn't make it because A wasn't there! Axel was bundle of energy tonight though. He trotted out from the driveway going away from the barn. It took us forever to cross Hwy 3, we had to wait for an opening in the traffic. Things got a little slow after that and especially after we passed a couple horses in a pasture. Once we got sort of out in the middle of nowhere Axel started calling and seemed a bit nervous that we were all alone. We made it out to the train tracks and could see Denmark. I thought about maybe going up along the tracks but it was pretty rocky and I figured it'd be better if we weren't alone so we turned around and headed from home.

Axel really moved out on the way home. He probably walked faster than he ever has. Usually he doesn't change speed when we head towards home. It didn't take quite as long to cross the highway this time and instead of leading him across the road I rode. He was being a little pokey so I squeezed him a bit and we did a nice little parade trot across the highway and down the road.

A had just pulled up when we returned and she was getting Vinnie ready to go so we waited around and went down the road with them. Vinnie is definitely more Axel's pace than the TWHs. We'll have to ride with him more often. One of the other boarders has moved her horse to her trainer's place so that opened up a box in the tack room. J told me I should put my stuff in there since I have so much "crap." At least now I don't have to haul my saddle up above my head. There will be a little bit of rearranging in order to get out my english saddle but it's not all out piled on top of a box any more.

Cavalletti

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

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

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

A Little Huntseat

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

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

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

Training Ride

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

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

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

Clean Pony

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

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

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

Threatening Storms

Goofing Around

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

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

Cody's Day

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

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

Farrier Day

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

Cody on the Road

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

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

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

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

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

Cody's New Goals

• Back up under saddle


• Move forward


• Halt on a dime


• Execute all commands immediately when asked

On the Road Again

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

Old Friends

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

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

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

Invasion of the Body Snatchers

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

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