Great ride!

On Monday! Yes, I'm a few days behind. I've been busy killing myself at the gym and just existing when I'm not. :) My camera is back from being repaired, but I didn't take a single picture. I'll take some this weekend!

I had a lovely 4 day weekend, starting with yoga on Friday morning, 2 hours at the beach (and a massive sunburn), then yoga again on Friday evening. I spent most of Saturday hunkered down in the house battling with some stomach bug off and on. I just felt off...not quite sick, but not quite well, either. And Sunday, spent most of the day recovering from the sunburn from Friday!

On Monday, I decided to go ride my pony. (In a saddle, no less!) It was a beautiful morning...a little humid, but that was nicely offset by a great breeze. Even better was the fact that I had the place completely to myself, other than the few minutes that my farrier was there to fix a shoe. So, I really got to just enjoy spending time with my horse with no distractions, large or small. She's still shedding out a LOT, but I think I might see a glimpse of some dapples underneath what's left of the fuzz.

On the lunge, she looked pretty good. That 100% at the trot on a circle seems to have been just a fluke of nature. But, she's sitting steadily at 98% or so, which is really just...good enough. I try to minimize the time she is on a circle, in general, so as not to stress the joint any more than necessary, but also want to make sure she's warmed up before I get on. She cantered in both directions, and actually got so mad at herself going to the right, that she threw in a huge-all-four-feet-off-the-ground-buck, tossed her head around and switched her lead in the air. Pretty funny. I let her go around once, then brought her back to the trot and asked again, and she picked it up on the first try. I think she's having trouble rearranging her body. But she'll switch willingly enough, and go around with no trouble, and she's not sore, so I am not too terribly worried about it.

Since I rode in my saddle, we did walk-trot-canter. This also means I was able to get her to the level of impulsion she needs to work out of the stickiness when trotting to the left. It seems to be an arthritic/warm-up thing, and after a couple of times around, she felt 100%.

We cantered to the left with no issues other than Promise getting really excited, and just wanting to go-go-go...and the stupid chickens on the property chasing each other around, right on the edge of the arena. She wasn't sure she trusted them to move, even though I tried to convince her they would, and went to dodge a little to one side, slipped a little bit behind, and then we almost did a face plant into a standard.

We recovered unscathed and managed to circle like we'd planned it all along. Not the most graceful moment we've had but, lesson learned. I must do a better job of supporting my horse, because she's not as strong as she used to be - and I really needed to be able to help her pick herself back up after all of that. So, for the rest of the ride, I focused a little more intentionally on keeping my body steady and strong.

To the right, it took a few tries to get the lead. I originally asked from the walk, so that I could ask right as that left hind started to push off the ground, because it *should* have been easier for her that way. But it didn't matter. Brought her back, loose rein for a few strides, then gathered her up and asked for a trot. Once she was together, and relaxed, I asked again around the corner of the arena. Wrong. Sigh (literally, to force myself to relax). She started to get upset, tossing her head around, because I brought her back to a trot, even though I didn't grump at her, didn't discipline her, didn't do anything other than try to keep my body relaxed and nonchalant. I know this isn't an obedience issue, so there's no need to get upset. I took several deep breaths as we tried to get it back together on a circle, and then exhaled, sat and asked again. Wrong.

Back to the trot, as I try to verbally explain that she can relax, she's not in trouble, I'm not mad, it's not a big deal. I scratch her withers and tell her how good she is as we go back to the entire arena, and I try to get her truly moving under herself, even just a little bit more, and then ask again in the next corner. Got it with a little bit of a hop. Once she was on the lead, she was perfectly fine. I let her go around a few times, and then brought her back to a walk, and let her go around on the buckle to catch her breath.

At the very end of our ride, I asked her to go down to the edge of the river, while on the buckle, using the same breathing technique I have picked up from mugwump that got us into that right lead, lol...exhale when my body (and hers) needs a reminder to relax. She hesitated a little bit when she realized where I wanted her to go, but when I exhaled and squeezed a little, she also exhaled, put her head down, and walked down the hill as if she'd been doing it every day, for her entire life. We stopped and stood at the edge for a couple of minutes (we didn't cross because the other side was really muddy and looked slick). When she tried to turn back, I made her face the water. And when she started to look around, and relax, I let her turn and go back up the hill, still on the buckle.

Sigh. I love my horse. :)

A Day at the Races - Part II

I had to bet on this mare not only because she is stunning, but because her name was Promis Me Diamonds

Mad Jazz

Look at the stride on #6! 

My final bet, because I LOVED his name: Dontlaffhespaidfor 

...and he won!

He was so far ahead the other horses must have thought they were in another race!

Old Photos

I was looking for something completely different to post, but couldn't find it. Will have to dig it up at home. In the midst of the search, though...I found some old photos I thought I'd share. I don't know why the last one isn't showing - but if you click on it, it should open in a new window with no trouble.

Awful. Awful. Awful. She was a BEAST that day.

Monster Mash

True to form, my camera's battery wasn't honest with me when I plugged it in to check the charge. It died shortly after taking the 2nd photo below. So, all of these (with the exception of that one) were taken with my cell phone. That means, unfortunately, I wasn't able to get a decent shot of her entire face covered in mash. I guess the blackmail photos will just have to wait until the next time!

Dirty mare. She rolled over twice after our 20 minute ride!

Birthday cookies. I didn't make them - got them from the tack shop - but they smelled amazing. And I bet they are not hard to make.

Strawberry Banana Monster Mash from one of the few tack shops in my area. (Also available here.)

Making a mess...of the wall, and herself. 

Kind of gross! lol

Cleaning up her mess - can't miss any!

Belated Birthday

Miss Promise turned 17 on Tuesday (the 12). I'm a bit of a slacker for not posting then, but really have no excuse other than laziness...and my self-induced "shock my body" gym outings this week to try to get past a plateau.

Anyway, I will probably stop at a tack shop tomorrow and get her some mash for a mid-afternoon belated birthday snack. I also need to stop at a Dollar Tree and get her some more mints, as she's running pretty low and we can't have her run out!!

I want to try to get some shots of the mess she makes with the mash, so guess I'll have to truck the big camera (Canon Rebel) along with me, because my pocket-size two-screen Samsung has been shipped out for a warranty repair. I had been bringing it to the barn with me every weekend since Promise was found cast in February - it's how I take video, and how I was taking progress photos, etc. But, a week or so ago, I noticed that it had a rather large black pixelated line across the screen on the back. It didn't affect how the camera works, but, since it's under warranty, away it went to either be fixed or replaced. I hope to have it back soon.

So, look for pictures over the weekend. And, I still have quite a few from the track I have been meaning to post. Maybe I'll get to that too!

Sound and feelin' sassy!

This pretty little pony was sound today at the walk, trot AND canter on the lunge line! She even picked up the right lead on the 2nd ask, which, if you remember, she wasn't picking it up at all a few months ago. 


When I got there, two of the teenage girls that volunteer on Saturdays were grooming her. All I had to do was pick her feet and get her dressed. :) So, I grabbed our stuff, picked her feet, did some quick stretches with her and got her ready. She told me she was feeling a little sassy and wanted to wear her tie-dye polos. Plus, they match her boots better than her teal ones. 


We had a really good ride, with a little bit more trot than the last time, but that amounts to maybe one more time around in each direction. That right hind still feels a little "sticky" going to the left, but she worked out of it after going about half way around. And then I gave Miss Dirty Pants a bath, which although she enjoyed it, kept her clean for *maybe* 20 minutes. As soon as I turned my back to put our stuff away, she was rolling in the dirt. Nice of her, huh? Ah well. She has always loved to be dirty.

Who me?

Serendipity

Yesterday, my mom and I stopped by to visit Promise on our way to a birthday party. She seemed pretty happy to see us. I gave her a once over but didn't take any photos yesterday, and only took some video today. Her leg really hasn't made much progress in the last week. It's not worse, but really the only noticeable changes are that there is less "stuff" coming out when I push on that low cut, and the stockiness doesn't seem to be nearly as bad as it has been. She's definitely walking out of it faster. 


This afternoon, I drove up again, hoping against hope that I'd be able to get on her again. But, I was scared to be too optimistic, because we're going on two years now where a positive change soon led to another injury! So, I wore shorts and sneakers...and figured I'd curry some more winter fur off of her, do a little massage, and then see how she looked. 


After nearly wearing my arm down to a stub currying and then massaging, I decided to put her hind boots/front polos and bridle on, and then carry my helmet, saddle pad and surcingle to the arena with us. That way, if she still looked good enough on the lunge line to hop on, the stuff would be there, and we'd save a few steps! 


I think she looks better than last week - at the trot, too. She even offered to canter, but I wouldn't let her. I was so excited to throw her "bareback pad" on!


Then we went to the mounting block, and I leaned over for a couple seconds, then stepped on and fed her a mint. She was much more relaxed about the whole thing this time. I guess practice makes perfect. Even though she's not very comfortable bareback (the saddle pad definitely helps some), I am actually really  enjoying the simplicity of it. Plus, I wouldn't be surprised if she actually would prefer me climbing into the saddle from this taller mounting block, also. I usually use the two-step plastic block when I have stirrups, but it still must twist the saddle a little bit. 


Anyway, she walked off perfectly and was raring to go. The barn's instructor was teaching and commented that she looked really good. 


So, we walked for a while, and pranced a little, and then walked some more. In the midst of the prancing, I figured what the hell, let's see if she feels sound - if she doesn't, I'll just bring her back to the walk. I asked for a little more forward and let her trot. She felt REALLY good - and my eyes on the ground said she looked sound. Of course, she's sounder all around when not on a circle. But, still - YAY! :)


She told me I should go tack up, but I just laughed and said I only own half-chaps and those won't work with shorts. She offered her full chaps, but I declined. Like I said, I am enjoying the simplicity! Plus, there is the added benefit of her not sweating as much with less gear to cart around, I imagine she must be less sore after this little bit of riding, because I definitely HAVE to sit straight, or risk hurting myself on her spine, lol...and I won't be tempted to stay on her too long! And, it's good for me!


We didn't do much trotting, maybe twice around in each direction. I ended up posting a little bit to the left, because she felt a little sticky on that right hind when it was on the outside. It seems she just needed more impulsion for that stickiness to go away completely.


All in all, it was quite the serendipitous day. :)