I tried...

Last Sunday was generally lovely, aside from the wind. I had a notion in my head to see what Maggie would do under saddle out of the fenced in pasture.  The TL:DR version is that I have some ideas of what I need to do and how to do them.

We started out in the pasture and ended up in the front yard. She was being good, if a bit lookie.  Then we tried to cross the driveway and head back into the woods. This is when she decided to fight me, back up when I put leg on, and just generally not go forward. Eventually I got her going forward, hopped off and decided to hand walk her into the woods.  At this point my husband joined us.  I hopped back on to cross the creek since I didn't have proper footwear.  He hopped on her on the other side. She was very forward and fighting him a bit, but didn't really do anything bad again other than hollering. 

When we headed back, I hopped back on to cross the creek.  My husband ended up holding on to the lead rope attached to her halter bridle while I tried slow her down. She was very forward and pushing through the bit. I probably should have started to circle her where I could on the trail, but I was so afraid of her running through the bit and bolting. There was much hollering on her part, Max back at the barn, and eventually the neighbor's horse joined in too.

Finally standing still. Yes, my riding is this bad right now.

We went back into my little "arena" in the pasture and she started getting very impatient. She would not stand still, head tossing, pawing. I was getting frustrated. I circled her and made her move until she could stand still for a few seconds, then hopped off.

I realize that I haven't done much work with either of them lately (Maggie, really ever since getting her last June). I can't expect to let them lay about, hop on and have an awesome ride.  They both need more regular work.  My plan moving forward is do start doing groundwork and riding in the pasture when I'm able. Right now that can only happen on the weekends when the weather is half decent.  But maybe once DST hits, I can start doing more work with them in the evenings after the kid goes to bed.

I also question my bit choices. Both go in a double jointed eggbutt snaffle right now.  They were both lesson ponies several years ago, then pretty much sat around for a year or two before I picked them up.  I wonder if they are somewhat dead to a mild bit.  Or they don't like the double joints.  Maybe a mullen mouth with a port.  I just don't know.

I also desperately need to get back into riding shape. As can be seen in the picture, I am leaning forward.  And doing this a lot.  It's probably both defensive and because I lack core strength. My legs are another issue, but always have been in the past too.

Out with Max, In with Maggie....

Hopefully not a metaphor for the year. 

I ended the year with a ride on Max.  He was so good, especially considering the wind.   We even made it out into the pasture, but not to the far end along the road. My nerves can only handle so much.  Boy got fat though. I could barely get his girth on.  I ended up buying a girth extender from RW. 

On Max, in the pasture looking towards the road.  His ears say "barn's that way*

Then, on Monday I rode Maggie.  She was also exceptionally good and we rode all over the pasture, including by the road. Also including some trotting. We were all brave.

On Maggie. If you blow up the picture,  you can just see Max behind the IBC tote behind the barn.

Both horses were really good for me.  There was some slight arguments to head back towards the barn, but the conversation went more like:

Horse: "Hey, lets go this way" *pulls a bit towards the barn*
Me: "No" *slight nudge*
Horse: "Oh, okay" *grumpy ears*

Repeat. 

The horse left behind screamed their head off though.  But no hollering from the horse that I was riding.  So yay?

On Monday, I also took each of them separately for a walk through our woods.  I wanted desperately to take them through the creek, but I didn't think ahead and my footwear was not meant for cold water.  It was Maggie's first time back there.  They both did very well. Max was a little more pushy and on edge, but there was no run and bolt from either of them.  They were both a little more forward on the long stretch back to the barn. But again, no shenanigans. I'm sure the pit stops for grass helped sooth those poor starving souls.

AHR Award

Last year I joined the American Haflinger Registry and participated in their recreation points program. Any riding you do outside of shows or competitions counts as time towards this program. It counts anything from training and school rides to trail rides. Since I don't show, it was a nice motivator to get out and ride more often. We managed to ride 47.5 hours.  I think some late December weather prevented me from making it up to 50, where you got another award.

The medallion is for riding 25 hours.

I wasn't able to renew my membership this year due to the cost, but I hope to next year.

As a side note, I think I've decided on a show name if I ever do any local shows.  Max shall be dubbed....Old Man Melvis.  I love/hate his registered name.

April Goal Review

Riding:

I rode Max four times this month, though the last one was a short putz around the paddock mostly working on transitions.  My husband also rode him once and gave him a bit of a workout.  Not to bad for the month, but not quite meeting my riding goals.  We didn't really work much on yielding. I was more focused on getting him in shape.

Proof.

Groundwork:

We do stretches almost every day. I've been trying to take him for walks. We also did some desensitization work a couple of times.

No tarp? Use feed bags.

Obstacles:

I figured out how to set up a high line and started introducing him to it. I also started constructing a new obstacle, but haven't finished yet. 

Unamused.

Other stuff:

We bought a trailer!  So some of my other goals are now within reach.

Yea baby!

Another Weekend Ride

 Sunday we went for a ride and Max was a very good, yet frustrating boy. There were a bunch of kids running around next door and screaming in the woods. D was in the garage working on the ATV making noise.  I decided to stick to the paddock and pasture.  We mostly worked on consistent speed at the walk and trot as well as increasing the speed of each.  Holy hell is it difficult for me to get him into a working walk or working trot.  Actually, the working trot was easier than a working walk. He's such a pokey pony. 

We went longer and faster than last week.

 So, we need to work on both consistency and different speeds within each gait. I think I've been pushing the slow, western trot too much. Plus, he's just not fit and lazy. Hopefully he will be more willing once he gets a little more fit.

Green in the mane. Did he piss off Cinderella again?

Probably not. I found this while riding. It's full of haflinger fuzz.

D and I went to the Hoosier Horse Fair on Saturday.  It was a huge disappointment. I did get to see a little bit from Tommy Turvey, which was fun, and part of a cow work clinic by Al Dunning. But there were hardly any vendors and the one that might have some stuff I needed was so crowded and closed off, that I didn't even bother.  They did have a few trailer dealers there, but they were nowhere to be found amongst the trailers. We were hoping to talk to them about installation of a gooseneck hitch on our truck.  I heard the Rodeo that evening was a bust. There are a lot of people who were complaining on Facebook about the lack of everything. Next year, D and I are considering taking a long weekend to Ohio for Equine Affair.

OMG this hill* is so tough! I need to rush to make it to the top! *note* said "hill" is not a hill. You'd barely notice it while walking.

The Weekend and A Lesson

Saturday was beautiful but a windy and a little chilly. I put the pony boy out on pasture for a bit then took him out for a hand walk. We played in the creek for a bit, then continued on Coming out of the woods into the back yard, pony bolted.  There may have been a tiny noise from my husband in the garage that spooked him, but it really shouldn't have.  Max was really good and not very forward at all during our walk, so it was completely unexpected. I caught him again and worked him in the paddock for a bit and he spooked at nothing yet again. Otherwise he was okay.

Later that evening, I was talking to my husband about Max and he offered to ride him.  Long story short, Max was very good for him. After a while, I was trying to get him to spook, but he never really did. I tried shaking branches, took a large cone and started throwing it behind him. put the cone on his butt and let it fall off (this got a small scoot), but nothing I did made him really want to spook. Hmmm....this is more confirmation that my anxiety is getting in the way.

See, I rode. Also, the grass has gotten so green :)

Sunday I got up on him with the western saddle and he was great.  We mostly trotted around the pasture. He was all looky towards the north east for some reason, but never offered to spook. I also tried out a new app for recording distance and speed. My part of Indiana is a joke in terms of elevation, so it's not really necessary. Pony boy is sloooowww.....

Looking at the individual segments, maybe our trotting wasn't too bad. Clicking should make it bigger, if you're interested.

Monday, I had my first lesson for the year.  We have a new therapy horse under trial who is still a bit nervous and getting buddy sour.  We worked on leg aids and keeping her on the rail. Every time we'd go past my instructor on her own horse, my horse would bend her neck away, but move her body towards instructors horse. We spent a lot of the lesson spinning.  It was good for my confidence though.

So far this week I haven't been able to ride due to rain. Driving into work on Wednesday was freaky. It was gray, but light, then BOOM. Engulfed in black. Can't see oncoming tornadoes in the dark.  I hate tornadoes. They cause me a lot of anxiety this time of year.

Saturday D and I are going to the Hoosier Horse Fair.  We want to talk to dealers about trailers. Exciting!

Riding this Week

It was beautiful again on Saturday My husband was out of town, so I had plenty of time to get stuff done.  I mostly finished putting up the new electric rope and started taking down the temporary fence. Max got some grazing time and a tail wash.  I also managed to upgrade a couple of my ground poles.

Now I can actually see them on the ground.

Since Max was pretty calm, I decided to ride in the pasture. Two different neighbors around us were having target practice, so I didn't want to go into the woods.  It was like riding in the wild west. Max handled it well and wasn't spooky at all, even when a closer neighbor started up with an obnoxious wood working tool (maybe a lathe, it was annoying).

Proof we rode. I was trying to get Max, the cones, and the poles in one shot, but couldn't see my screen. This is as good as it got.

We worked on  bending on a circle with my updated ground poles, leg yielding around cones, and consistency at the trot. That boy has a nice little western trot if he would be consistent. He tends to speed up significantly if we start heading towards the barn.  It's really nice to be riding in a pasture now where I don't need to worry about him flipping out and jumping the line. he can certainly still bolt and go nuts, but it will be contained.

Recycled from Monday. Because he's too cute.

This week has been a weather roller coaster. 60s on Saturday to upper 30s Monday with rain/sleet/snow, back up to 60s by Wednesday then down to the low 40s Thursday with rain scattered through out. 

I'm developing some sort of a game plan to work with Max after last weeks fiasco.  My first step is going to lunge him in a rope halter with a 14' lead in the smaller paddock when its not too muddy.  I want to reinforce vocal commands and remind him that he doesn't have to act like a complete idiot when I ask for a little more energy at the trot on the line.  With the 14' lead I'll be keeping it at a walk and reinforcing the whoa command.  He responds reasonably well to vocal commands under saddle, but not so much otherwise.

I tried this on Tuesday. For the most part he did really well, but he is so easily distracted by potentially spooky things.  In this case, it was my husband out on the road coming back from a bike ride.  It was difficult to keep Max's focus on me. That's something else we need to work on, I'm just not sure how to tackle it just yet. Also need to work on going to the right. 

Peaceful Weekend

This past weekend was so peaceful and relaxing, particularly Saturday. It rained all day Friday, and I stopped by Rural King to pick up some chicks.   Cute chicks always improves my mood.  My husband also went out of town for the night, so I was alone.

Cuteness!

Saturday was absolutely beautiful!  I put Max out in the pasture and started putting insulators on all the posts for the new electric fence. During one of my breaks, I groomed the pony a bit to help get out that winter coat.

Shaggy pony doubles as a table.

 During another break, I set up some cones on the driveway and rode the pony bareback to work on leg yielding. And he started doing it!  I only rode for about 20 minutes, but by the end, I had a relatively lose rein and he was moving over.  Not well yet, but it's a start. As a side note, the cones I acquired are too tall.  I almost knocked them over with my foot several times as we passed by.  The ground is so wet that I didn't want to tear up the pasture or yard by riding on it, so we stuck to the compact driveway. Also, farrier still hasn't been out and Max was a bit trippy.  Trippy pony + very soft ground = potential for accident. I'm also pleased because Max seemed very relaxed for the most part.  There was very little lip flapping and he stood still for a fair amount of time when I asked.

See! I did ride! Notice Cinderella to the left not grazing down the grass in the garden

After our short ride, I put him up and went in for some lunch. When I came back out, he and Cinderella were napping and I finished the insulator installation.  I'm hoping to finish up the electric fence this week and start in on the barbed wire removal.

Sorry! Didn't mean to wake you.

Bad Rides

Monday was sunny and "warm" (mid 20s (F)) when I got home from work, so I decided to go on a quick ride before the weather turned bad.We got out to the far end of the pasture and he would not stand still, so I circled.  Then a car went by and he took that opportunity to spook and bolt towards the barn.  I was riding bareback without a pad (extra sticky) and came off pretty quickly.  Falling into 10 inches of snow really helped to break my fall. I only tweaked my back a bit.

Naughty pony has to work.

I'm fairly certain his bad behavior was a combination of wanting to avoid the extra work stepping in the snow required, and being impatient for his dinner.  I decided to lunge him for a bit and he acted like a fool a couple of times.  Normally he goes really well when I lunge him in a bit, but he must have hit himself in the mouth a few times. When he was calmer and actually listening to me, I got back on and we walked some circles in the pasture, got him to stand still and was done. 

Naughty pony stands still long enough for me to take a picture.

 When stuff like this happens, my confidence really takes a hit. I'm not sure I did the right thing. I also worry that he just learned that spinning and bolting gets him back to the barn and will try it again.

Weekly Summary - Feb 27, 2015

Not much has been going on here.  Saturday I was still not feeling well and decided not to ride.  Later that afternoon my husband and I went out and built snow mounds in the paddock and put some carrots in them. I think Max enjoyed the diversion and the treats.  It was also the day I realized that he's starting to shed. Spring is on its way!

Om nom nom

Sunday wasn't too bad, but decided not to ride.

Monday it got colder but I did a mini desensitizing lesson with the pony. I brought out my umbrella to see how he would do.  He just kept trying to eat it.  I think I can count this as a +1 towards my obstacle goals.

Max says "Stop the shenanigans, just feed me already"

Tuesday was miserable.  I don't think it got above 10F and the wind really picked up in the afternoon.  The roads were starting to drift over. Max was a little crazy about the wind and was bucking and trotting around while I was getting his grain.

Wednesday, it was a tiny bit warmer so I decided to go on a quick ride. I threw on the bareback pad and we wandered around the pasture, then the woods for a bit. He was fairly good for me, just a little impatient to get back to the barn for his grain.

Too much ice to cross the creek. He's not disappointed.

 Friday was windy and snowy but we got a beautiful sunset along with more snowfall.

Yes, it's snowing with the sun out.

The Weekend

This past weekend was very horsey for me.

Saturday was the annual Horseman's Forum at Purdue University.  This year's topics were great and I learned so much.  Much better than last years.  There were discussions about forage quality, trailer and hitch safety, care considerations for older horses, and vaccinations relevant to our area. I learned so much and the speakers answered questions I didn't even know I had. 

Western saddle, english bridle, snaffle bit and cotton reins. This says something about me, I'm just not sure what yet.

We also had a beautiful weekend and the weather was warm.  Sunday morning I rode Max in western.  He has such a nice little western pleasure trot when he feels like doing it.  We ended up working a lot on consistency.  He would go nice, then speed up, especially when we were facing the barn.  He was also tripping quite a bit, but I think it's because his feet are getting long. Due to the weather, the farrier hasn't been able to make it out for a while. We still did a lot of trotting to start getting back into shape.

I do think he's starting to get the idea of moving those back legs over under saddle.  He didn't quite make it while I was riding, but came very close.  We did it well from the ground though.

Work is crazy this week. But if it's not too cold and I can get home before dark, I might be able to get some ground work in this week. That would put be back on track with my goals.

A Quick Ride

Sunday I finally got up the motivation to go ride Max. I only had a half hour to tack up and ride, so he got a quick curry and I threw on the bareback pad.  Parts of the property were still ice, despite the recent warm-up, so we had a lot of areas to avoid.  We mostly tooled around the pasture then went to walk through my "obstacle" of cut branches.  The front yard was mostly snow free and I wanted to do some trotting, but it also had a direct and very cold wind. We immediately turned back to the pasture. It has a nice windbreak. 

 The pasture was slick.

Max decided to "test" me while we were going through the branches obstacle. I was telling him to head slightly in the direction of the woods to go around some of the bigger stuff. He decided to turn to the left at the last minute towards the pasture and ended up getting tangled up in the branches enough that I hopped off to help him through.  He didn't freak out which I was very proud of. I also managed to get back on him using only a 4 inch branch to step up.   It wasn't pretty, but my goal is to be able to mount bareback from the ground.  This is just a precautionary measure in case I fall off on the trail and can't find a spot to get back on.