Riko + no tingling or numbness

I guess I kind of fell off the NABLOPOMO train after day 15, but I'm pretty psyched that I did the 15 days, considering how often I was/am posting normally! I didn't really love the last prompts and wasn't feeling inspired, but also life got in the way.

My last several lessons have only been...well, just ok, to be honest. I've been struggling physically, which is very disheartening. I don't know if I have lingering nerve damage from the car accident and then subsequently throwing out my back or if it's my hip being out, or if it's just plain old muscle weakness. I've been trying to be good about really stretching my calves and hamstrings before I get on. I've also been trying to be more consistent about drinking a lot of water and working out, etc.

Last Thursday, I flew to FL and then drove back to NC on Friday, spending about 14+ hours in the car. Needless to say, I was feeling more than a little crippled when I got out of bed on Saturday! I was smart enough to schedule a chiropractic adjustment for Monday and while I felt more sore initially after being adjusted, I felt a lot better yesterday morning.

Still, I was skeptical about how my lesson last night would go because my back is still feeling sore from sitting in the car for so long. I wasn't sure how it was going to hold up for an hour long ride!

I was pleasantly surprised. After mounting (to get on Riko, I have to drop my stirrups 4 HOLES. Omg, he's gigantic), I dropped my stirrups half a hole from where I normally ride. They felt a little long at first, but then I started to find my rhythm. My back and legs felt good during our trot and canter warm-up. I only stopped trotting 2x to walk for a couple of seconds and let my legs relax a bit, which is quite a bit better than anywhere from 4-6 times in a 20 minute warm-up! And, I had no leg numbness, no toes falling asleep, and really, no back pain, either. I even cantered in 2 point because my legs were feeling good!

We didn't jump last night, but we did do a course of ground poles that she had setup. So it was a diagonal line to a single on the short end, to a single on the long end with a rollback to jump #2 and then halt and back 4 steps afterwards. It was a nice little equitation course without having to think about anything other than pace, straightness, and control. We trotted over it once and then cantered it once before we ran out of time.

I really felt "on" last night and Riko was listening well after some initial sassiness in our warmup.

The first time we cantered the course, I asked for an add to the first jump rather than launching over the pole, and he shortened his stride and added nicely. The 5 strides to the second pole came easy. And then I pushed him to the rail and made him wait to turn to the single on the short end. We accidentally cut the corner to the single before the rollback because he started to hang on me, but I nipped him quickly and then loosened up and let him canter on and he added a stride and rolled back perfectly to a nice halt. We backed crookedly for the trot course, but after getting a little stuck the second time, he backed straight for me and got praised and a big pat.

Then we walked down the chute to cool out and he almost decapitated me on a pine tree! I had to lay completely flat on his neck to not eat the low branches, lol. I was much more careful coming back to avoid the tree!

Day 15: If I could speak to any horse, dead or alive, what would I say?

I seriously almost skipped this prompt. It makes me misty just thinking about it.

Obviously, if I could speak to any horse, it would have to be Promise. I would tell her how much I miss her. That I still think of her every day. That I wish I hadn't let life get in the way of spending time with her, as often as I did. But that I worked hard to make sure she was happy and healthy, even when I wasn't there. That I wish she hadn't gotten hurt, so that maybe she'd still be here with me. That I wish I could feel that sense of partnership we had with another horse, any other horse...but even when I ride the same horse for several weeks in a row, I just don't feel even an inkling of the same connection in the saddle. I don't know them as well as I knew her, and I know it comes with time and spending years together. But I miss that.

Day 14: My dream barn/farm

When my husband and I moved to NC, I thought in the back of my head that maybe we could buy a house with a few acres that was set up for horses. In a lot of ways, I really do want to do this. But in a lot of other ways, I also want the convenience and flexibility of boarding.

Would I enjoy looking out my window and seeing my horses munching hay in my yard? Absolutely! But would I want to spend most of my time (when I am not working, that is) doing barn chores and maybe not having enough daylight or even energy to ride? Or feel like taking a vacation or weekend trip was just not doable? Those are the parts I'm not sure about!

I would love to have some fenced acreage with a 3, maybe 4, stall barn and maybe 2 horses -- one for me and one for the husband. But, I have a feeling I might end up doing a partial board situation someday, rather than adding the stress of having them on my own property!

Day 12: My favorite horse color, Day 13: A video of me riding

I am not really picky when it comes to color, but I am not generally a huge fan of chestnuts, unless they are liver chestnut. I love a nice seal bay color, like Promise was, and don't mind no markings if they have highlights and black points. And, of course, here's something really stunning about any dark color with chrome!


Here's a video of me riding Wilhemina through a gymnastic exercise: http://promisebaby.blogspot.com/2017/06/gymnastics_23.html

Day 11: Find a horse for sale online that I would want to buy

I fell in love with this guy back in March when I first saw the ad pop-up on my Facebook page. If I had managed to win the lottery drawing my office pool had tickets for a couple of nights after I first saw him, I would have called the farm and made an offer, sight unseen!

Photo credit CM Farms

He was the personal horse of one of the folks at CM Farms located in Gap, Pennsylvania. I want to make sure I give them due credit on everything, as it was their horse and their ad, and I'm just borrowing information for the sake of answering this question!

So, here is a link to their original post on Facebook for this amazing guy, Titan: https://www.facebook.com/cmfarms89/posts/1424120674305452

If you don't have Facebook, you can read the description of below:

This horse just blew me away. I felt that $25k was more than fair based on the HUGE array of photos and the almost 20 minute sale video for him (you can view it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mCgQROhaf7Q&feature=youtu.be)

He goes english and western, he jumps, he will literally walk through fire, he will jump fire...he drives alone and in teams, you can ride him bareback, you can stand on him, you can shoot a rifle off of him...I can't think of many things I'd like to do with a horse that were *not* represented in his sale video. He also is a trained mounted patrol horse, so he's good in crowds and is level-headed (as if you couldn't tell already). He clips, and stands quietly on the cross-ties. He is very clearly VERY well broke. AND...he's gorgeous to boot.

Not only is he an incredibly good looking horse...but I just love his sweet face, his kind eye, and his sheer versatility and well-roundedness, all at the young age of 10. I feel like this is a horse I could have a LOT of fun on, but I could also throw a western saddle on him and have my husband toodle around and be totally confident that he'd be safe and well taken care of. If I had had the means, and was ready for my next horse, I would have seriously considered this guy.

Kudos to CM Farms for creating these incredible horses...I have yet to see an ad from their farm that I would not want to bring home in some capacity! I spend way too much time drooling over their ads!

I mean, look at this guy, too (original post here: https://www.facebook.com/pg/cmfarms89/photos/?tab=album&album_id=1505977056119813):

Day 10: How my family/friends feel about my riding

I'm not under any delusions that I wouldn't be horse crazy if my mom hadn't planted the seed early on in my life. I think I would absolutely be horse crazy no matter what -- but maybe if she hadn't started taking riding lessons after I was born, and then been riding double with me at 2 years old, I might never have actually ridden a horse.

Anyway, I think my mom totally gets my riding, since she created the monster. My closest friends don't really understand it, but have always been supportive, even if I am probably known as the crazy horse lady or something!

I almost had my best friend since middle school convinced to get on Promise one day when I had her in NH at school. We had driven up during a school break so I could ride and spend some time with Promise and she was SO good, that I was like, do you want to get on and walk around? T was like, uhm...no.

Evidence of my mom assisting with horse crazy -- using Promise as a model for a school assignment

For most of high school and early college, when I was in MA, I didn't trust Promise enough to let someone who didn't really ride get on her. She was just too unpredictable at times. But, both my mom and my grandmother rode her several times. My mom wasn't super impressed, she said Promise wasn't as comfortable as everyone claimed she was, which I totally disagree with to this day! But my grandmother absolutely loved her and Promise took such great care of her. She was just amazing for her and it made me so happy. I think she really loved her Nana!

Somewhat unrelated photo -- riding in Jamaica

Most of the time, I feel like my husband totally does not get the horse thing. I think he admires them because they are beautiful, but he is definitely uneducated about them and as a result, does not understand them at all. He does ask questions, though, and he's ridden a couple of times with me (like in Ireland, or the trail ride and swimming with horses we did for my birthday one year). He enjoys it, and actually has expressed interest in taking lessons, so that if/when we go back to ireland, he could join me in galloping on the beach or down the canter lanes....but he has not pursued it beyond that.

Day 8: A little about the barn I ride at and Day 9: Any injuries that occurred from riding

Day 8
When I moved to Raleigh, I researched a ton of barns that offered lessons and reached out to most of them. Several didn't bother to answer me, a couple didn't have space or horses available, and another 1 or 2 answered and then stop responding. It was incredibly frustrating. I understand the lesson programs in this area are very competitive with all of the intercollegiate and even middle and high school level riding teams, but still...here I was wanting to add money to their bank accounts every month!

I finally found this place about 20-30 minutes south of me and the barn manager was not only very responsive, she was very eager to meet with me and give me a tour the facility. I was able to set up an evaluation ride quickly and get into the end of the "session" of lessons right away.

The facility is beautiful. They have 200+ acres and 2 barns, an upper and lower. Seems like they keep their older school horses and lesson ponies at the lower barn, plus several boarders. A lot of the beginner lessons are taught there.

The upper barn is mostly for boarders and the more advanced lesson horses. I haven't counted how many stalls they have, but there are a lot of horses on the property! They have a huge assortment of lesson horses with different abilities -- something for everyone. Their group lessons are larger than what I was accustomed to (general size is 4-6 riders) -- but they are very efficient about it and I do feel I learn a great deal from my lessons. Watching other people and learning from what they are being critiqued on is just as valuable! I am very happy with the group lesson I am a part of. The time is great for me, and I've gotten to know the people I ride with. Also, the barn is very successful at local shows. Their school teams kick butt regularly.


Day 9
I was very lucky to not get injured the night that Promise flipped over backwards on me. But, another night a couple of years later, I was taking a a jumping lesson about 2 weeks before Christmas, my senior year in high school. We were practicing a grid exercise (this is where my reservations about grids comes from!) -- a crossrail to a small vertical to a larger vertical to a gate, which was set at maybe 2'9" or 3'.

The first several times we went through it, it went well, but then Promise started getting tired. She went over the first 2 jumps and then sucked back for the 3rd. She stopped at the 4th and then decided to go over from a standstill. I was left behind (because who jumps a fence that high from a standstill, horse?) and she bucked afterwards to right herself -- maybe even a little because she was ticked at me for getting left behind. I had lost my stirrups over the fence, so I came off to the left when she bucked. I went head first into the half wall of the arena (thank you, helmet!) and moved it about 2 feet on impact. The #1 cardinal sin about falling off is: don't try to catch yourself with your hands...well, I forgot that and tried to.

I laid there for a moment and felt ok, so despite everyone yelling at me not to move, I did roll over onto my back. My trainer at the time wanted to call an ambulance, and even though I should have accepted and probably been in a back/neck brace, I really didn't want one.

My mom drove me to the hospital and it was agonizing. My body felt fine, xrays and what not proved there was no neck or back injury, but my wrist was throbbing and every bump she hit on the way was excruciating. They tested me for a concussion and by some miracle, I did not have one. But my right wrist was definitely broken...in about 5 places.

My helmet was fine on the outside, although I did get it replaced immediately. But it was a couple of weeks before I was cleared to ride again. The doctor basically said once the pain had subsided enough that I could hold the reins, I was fine to ride again, but to take it easy to not injure it more even though it was in a cast.

Promise was getting training rides from my trainer while I was out of commission and she had really made leaps and bounds in behavior and rideability by the time I was back at the barn to ride after the new year. I was nervous about getting back in the saddle...what they say about getting right back on after a fall so you don't lose confidence is so true. I had trouble tacking her up because of the limited use of my dominant hand. I had to learn work arounds to get the bridle on her and even to pick her feet. She was patient with me for the most part and always really tried to do the right thing for me.

My trainer rode her for a while that night before I got back on for the first time and she was really great. I took a deep breath and she helped me mount. Then off we went. I mostly did walk-trot that night before cooling her out and we did the same thing for the first few rides. Once I started to feel how different my horse was, I started to slowly regain my confidence in myself and in her.

DAY 6: My favorite tack and riding clothes and DAY 7: My favorite ribbon won at a show and why

I'm a day behind on this. Oops! I love my County Symmetry saddle and the matching non-County bridle that we used to show in. Once we had moved to FL and were done showing (I was a poor college student and could barely afford just the horse most months!), I decided to use the bridle for schooling, too. Both pieces looked so great on Promise.

My favorite riding clothes are my SmartPak Pipers. I have burgundy and dark green and I alternate. I like to ride in workout tank tops, but the place I am riding has cracked down on their dress code, which says no racerback tanks, so I am not able to wear those anymore. So, back to sleeveless in the summer and lots of layers in the winter!



I actually don't have a favorite ribbon. I used to display them all at the top of the walls in my bedroom when I was a teenager. But then, relocating to FL, they all got kind of squished (even though I had painstakingly placed them in the box). I'm sure they would have straightened out eventually, but I've left them in the box over the years and every now and then start looking for an idea of something to do with them. I haven't come across the one that sparks the desire to work on something yet! Anyway, my favorite "prize" from a show is the trophy Promise and I won at the Marlboro Fall show series.

NABLOPOMO DAY 5: My first fall

I had been taking lessons for less than a year with my very first instructor, Denise. I rode on Sunday mornings and my grandmother would often ride Amber while I was taking my lesson (this was before my mom sold Amber and bought Sandy). This particular day was no exception.

I was on the lunge line in the indoor arena on a little black pony named Velvet. If I remember correctly, we were starting to learn to canter or something like that. My grandmother had been riding outside and she knew I was almost done, so she was cooling Amber out by walking her on the little trail that looped around the indoor. The arena doors were open. My grandmother forgot to announce "Door!" as they started to cross the back door, but I'm not sure it would have mattered. Velvet spotted them and took the excuse to spook...hard. She zigged and I zagged. I almost held on. Almost! I remember being suspended in midair for several seconds. It felt like an eternity. My left hand was still on the reins, whip in my right hand, left foot in the stirrup, right foot in the air...and then I landed on the ground. Almost on my feet, but not quite.

Actual footage :-P

NABLOPOMO DAY 4: A ride that impacted my life

This is a tough one! When I think about a ride that impacted my life, I think about the ones that stick with me, to this day, as being the most memorable. So, in that respect, there are a few that come to mind:

1. Dizzy (the morgan mare I mentioned yesterday) jumping the 4 ft oxer.
We had been schooling a single fence set on the center line heading home. I remember Dede telling me to circle at the far end of the arena at a trot and not pay attention to what she was doing. When she had reset it to the 4 ft oxer, she told me to pick up my canter, and head for the fence. I did, my heart skipped a little beat when I saw how big the fence was, because the dang pony (ok, horse, since she was a morgan, lol) was so little. But hell if that pony didn't lock onto that fence and clear it by at least a foot!

2. Galloping the canter lanes in Galway, Ireland on an Irish Cob.
My husband and I honeymooned in Ireland and one of the things I just HAD to do was go horseback riding while I was there. I found this amazing place after a lot of searching and reading reviews and booked it. My husband is not a rider, he's only been on horses a few times in his life, usually in a western saddle at a walk. So, I informed them of the huge difference in our ability when I booked, and they offered to give us 2 guides, so we could split up at one point in the ride. When the day finally came, I was SO excited. The rest is documented here: Exploring the Irish Countryside on Horseback

My Irish Cob for the day, Midnight

Loved this view!

3. So many great rides on Promise -- including a clinic where she bronc'd after I mounted but I sat it perfectly, brought her back and walked off like nothing happened, when the clinician was super impressed. Or later that same day when we were schooling haunches in and got her to piaffe accidentally. Or when she jumped 4 feet with me from a trot. Our first Champion and Trophy at a horse show.

4. My last ride on Promise.
I will never forget the last time I sat on her. She was dead lame, but I knew I didn't have much time left with her, so I decided to get on her bareback one more time.

Not from that excursion

Also not from that excursion

NABLOPOMO DAY 3: My Best Riding

I definitely think my best riding was as a tween/teenager.

I was about 11 when I found Dede (the trainer I bought Promise from). Once I started riding with her, I really started to come into my own and I got really, really good. She fueled my dreams of making the Maclay Finals, the Olympics, of going places. Obviously, that didn't happen because life got in the way and I fell in love with a barely started horse that had a lot of talent but was not going to take me to those places, no matter how much I believed in her!

Anyway, the farm Dede was at when I first met her was the one where I had started taking lessons when I was 6...it was under new management and had been totally redone and cleaned out. I really liked Dede instantly. We set up an evaluation ride and the rest is history.

Dede giving me a pep talk before my jumping round ca. 1997, with Sweet William

Her lessons were always an adventure. And I was riding so often that I was really fit and really strong. And of course, I was a teenager, so I was damn near invincible. She constantly challenged me to be better and I loved every minute of it.

She had me read a lot of books, including Mary Wanless "Ride with Your Mind," which I still refer to occasionally. She also taught me geometry lessons on horseback when I was struggling with the subject in high school.

For a while, most of my lessons and shows were done on a horse named Sweet William. He was amazing. I knew that horse so well, and could get him to do so much for me. I really started to get the "feel" down on William. We spent a lot of time going over which foot was touching the ground, which foot was leaving the ground, how to ask for things at the exact moment of movement to get the correct answer quickly and beautifully. To this day, that sense of feel sticks with me. I very rarely have to look for a diagonal even on a new horse. I just feel it. I know to ask for bend around my inside leg as the inside hind is leaving the ground so I can manipulate where it lands while it's in the air. It was a hard thing to learn but once I got it, I never lost it.

Pretty sure she was tying a different color ribbon in his braids to remind me where to release

Sweet William and I with our 1st of 2 Reserve Champion ribbons that day. He was such a good sport!

With William and Dede, No stirrups? No biggie. No reins? No biggie. No stirrups or reins? Ok, I'm game. Gallop up the hill at the back of the property in half seat with no stirrups or reins? We did that ALL THE TIME! It was so fun, but I'd be a little unnerved by it now!

She would put me on all of her lesson ponies to school them and tune them up and I loved every second of it. For a while, I rode this Morgan mare that had been pulled out of a field at like 8 or 9 after having babies all her life, started under saddle, and then brought to the farm for some training. That mare was amazing. She was tiny, maybe 14hh on a tall day. I could almost wrap my legs around her, but she was game for anything and jumped a 4 ft oxer with me like it wasn't even there!

Our ribbon haul...3 firsts, 1 second, 3 thirds and 2 reserve champions 

I was such a dweeb, but I love that William was smiling, too!

NaBloPoMo Day 2: The last time I rode a horse and what I did

I rode a horse just last night in my lesson! :) I've been riding Riko for several weeks now -- I made a point of telling K how much I like him and that I would love to keep riding him. Plus, my saddle fits him really well, so I've been riding in my own tack, too.

Last night we flatted for quite a while -- K was trying not to get them too sweaty, since it is chilly here, but Riko had gone in the lesson before mine, so that didn't work very well for him! 

Once we were warmed up, we practiced counter-cantering a few times down the long side of the arena. The first time I asked for the right lead while tracking left, Riko was like, "Oh, silly human, you're confused. But, don't worry, I've got this..." and off he went on the left lead! I brought him back to a walk, increased the bend to the outside, really exaggerated my inside leg moving back and tried again and he went, "Oh, you meant it. Ok." and picked up the right lead for a few strides. I instantly praised him and then he switched back to the left in the corner. 

The next time around, as we came into the short end before I was going to be asking for a counter-canter, I really focused on collecting him and getting an active walk, bending him to the outside, and preparing him by moving my inside leg back. I asked in the far corner for the right lead, and he instantly gave it to me. I praised him and then I held him in a tight package down the long side. When we got to the next corner, I asked him to walk and gave him a huge pat.

After that, we started warming up over a single crossrail and then she told us our course:

Riko was kind of full of himself, so she told me if I needed to, to bring him back to a walk, let him compose himself and then carry on. I didn't intend to do that, but coming out of the line to the single on the side with the right angle turn to the single in the middle, I clearly said with my body, "Hey, buddy, we're going left." And he clearly said with his much bigger body, "No, I don't know how to turn left, so we're going right."

I made him walk, and go left, and then asked for my canter and carried on. But I was so concerned about getting some "whoa" a few strides out, while also staying out of his way over the fence, that I forgot to do the right angle turn to the last fence...this happened both times we did the course. Oops. 

K said that's ok, he's being a turd and he's jumping these little crossrails like they are 2'6", so I care more that you grabbed mane, stayed with him, and rode well.

NaBloPoMo 2017 Day 1: When and Why Did I Start Riding?

I don't remember the "why" specifically. I think I have always been horse crazy. My mom and my grandmother started riding shortly after I was born. Something they had always wanted to do. Then, from about age 2 to maybe 4 or 5, we lived on a little bit of property in Georgetown, MA and had a few horses in the backyard. 

My mom on Amber

Some of my first horse memories are from this stage of life -- I remember Red, the big chestnut OTTB stallion that was so sweet and so totally un-stud-like, that my mom and her roommate completely trusted him if I wanted to hand graze him outside of the paddock. And I did, regularly. He'd munch on grass, being careful to keep his big body away from me, while our gigantic double-pawed cat would knead his back and then flop down for a nap. 

We also had Amber, a bay mare that my mom had bought with her yearling colt. The mare was a bit cuckoo, but Spirit, her colt, was curious and friendly. He would follow my mom around and untie her shoelaces or steal carrots from her back pocket. 

Me, on my mom's gelding Sandy, when I was 7 or 8. Helmet was only off for the photo!

This is also about the time I first started riding. When I was 2, my mom started riding double with me and taking me on trail rides. This surely didn't help the horse crazy kid, and by the time I was 6, I was enrolled in weekly riding lessons.

I'd been taking lessons for a couple of years when my mom got Sandy. He was a pretty fancy (for her budget!) Quarab gelding. She did a partial lease to the barn we were riding at to help pay for board, which meant they got to use him in their lesson program. I loved him and would beg to ride him in my lessons, but very rarely got to, because he would always run me up the shavings pile kept in the corner of the arena in the winter. She eventually had to sell him because he developed heaves so badly he couldn't be used. We found out later that they had been treating the arena with motor oil (a pretty common practice back then) and that was likely the cause of it. It always broke my mom's heart that she had to get rid of him, and I've spent quite a bit of time over the years trying to find him, to no avail.

Tingling Toes

The last several weeks, I've been dealing with calf cramping (I believe this was dehydration) and/or leg pain (I do stretch before I ride, which seems to help), and occasionally, my feet will fall asleep in the stirrups while flatting. It's especially bad on the right side.

PC: http://equestrianbitch.tumblr.com/post/61076861694

I've done a fair bit of research on it in the last week or so. I was trying to determine if I had injured my ankle or pinched a nerve or something, but I don't really think that is the case. 

In the last 2 weeks, the leg pain has been a little bit better, but it's still there. And it really bothers me! It makes me feel weak in the saddle. I try to push through but sometimes I just have to walk and take my feet out for a minute to stretch. 

Last night, I asked K if she thought it might be due to leg position. And she was like, honestly, I don't see a problem with your leg and when M (her trainer) was watching earlier, she would have mentioned it if she did. She suggested bringing my saddle next week to try on Riko. Even though my butt is too big for it now (ha, the joys of struggling to lose weight!), it still is a better fit than the one they have on him currently which I can barely get my butt out of to 2-point. She said if it's too big for him, we can always pad it. If it fits him, I may consider bartering a session of lessons and give it to them. 

One of the things I read in my research that I think is more plausible is that my hips could be out. And K did agree that I probably should try getting them adjusted, as well.

So, tomorrow, I'm going to ask my chiropractor to adjust my hips. She has not adjusted them since I've been seeing her (since January). I guess it's because she's been focused on treating my car accident injuries, but my previous chiro used to adjust them at least a little bit pretty much every time I saw her. 

Now that we're trying out a maintenance plan with a visit every 2 weeks, and no longer going through car insurance for treatment, I'm hoping she might be more willing to adjust other things that are bothering me. I'm willing to bet my left hip is out and that adjusting it will greatly alleviate these issues. 

Fingers crossed!

World Equestrian Games!

Since I found out that the 2018 WEG would be in NC *and* I was moving to NC, I've been counting down the days until event details were released. Once the details were released, I started counting down until tickets were on sale. See, my mom and I had really wanted to drive up to KY to go then and it just didn't work out for us. But this time, I said, we are going, no matter what, even if it's for 1 day and we have to drive there in the morning and back that evening.

She was visiting this weekend (she moves up in about 6 weeks!), and since tickets were going on sale today, I said, we should probably figure out what we really want to see so when the tickets go on sale, I can go ahead buy them. As I was looking at the schedule, I realized that NC residents could purchase tickets in the pre-sale (if I had known that, this post would have happened sooner, lol). 

We decided we were most interested in the events on September 19. So, we booked a room for the 18th and once that was all squared away, I purchased the all session day pass for 9/19. 

Any other bloggers planning to be there that day? Would love to at least say hi!

Riko

The last several weeks, I've been riding Flyer. Last week, he was kind of a jerk from the get-go. I went into his stall to groom and tack him and as I started brushing, he immediately tried to kick me. I smacked him and growled at him and he stopped, but then he tossed his head most of the ride, tried to take the bit and drag me forward several times, while simultaneously speeding up, and was definitely unnecessarily full of himself. I told K he was being a jerk and she had just schooled another horse so she said, well, if I need to get on him, I'm ready. :-P I managed to get him more responsive, but it was challenging because he really likes a light contact and a ride from the seat, but when he was tossing his head, I was giving him a hard half-halt and a kick. It worked for a bit and then he'd forget and we'd start over. 

We ended up trotting a single jump several times while the rest of the group moved up to courses, and then finally trotted a small jump course before calling it a night. The big thing was forcing him to keep his body slow and his brain in his head! K mentioned afterwards that she had needed to school him 2x that week for being a turd, so at least I know it wasn't just me!

Sunday, I had a make-up lesson with the other K (due to having to cancel for work...Hurricane Irma took the majority of my FL teammates out of commission for several days and it was a crazy week even once they were all back online!) and she had me ride Winslow. 

I still have a new appreciation for him and I was actually kind of excited/relieved to be on him and not have to have my guard up! He was really good and after a long (and difficult!) warm-up involving a lot of 2-point and posting with 1 stirrup and 1 hand, we worked on a 1-2-1 grid that steadily increased from 2 ground poles and 2 cross-rails to 4 verticals, the last one finishing about 2'3".

Yesterday, it was back to my regular lesson, and I was feeling sore from Sunday. I stretched my legs a bit as I watched the group before me go and caught up with the girl riding Riko in the 5:30 lesson to let her know he was going again at 7 and she didn't need to go crazy hosing him off.

I don't know much about Riko breed-wise, but he is a giant! I believe he's 18hh+, chestnut with flaxen mane and a big stripe. Normally on a 16-16.3hh horse, I can see over their backs, even if it's just a little bit...but not him! It was a long way up, and a looooong way down! 

He's very sweet and cuddly and was really a lot of fun to ride. I felt like a little flea up there, but looking in the mirror, I realized I actually fit him quite well! K said she liked me on him, so I wouldn't be surprised if she keeps me on him for a while. She said he used to do Grand Prix jumpers, and pulled a suspensory so was laid up for a while, brought back and then hadn't been used for about a year, so now he's in the lesson program and they're bringing him back up to fitness slowly. The whole group worked on a ground pole course so we could focus on equitation and distances, but probably mostly because Riko isn't quite fit!

I'm not as sore as I thought I'd be today, but I'm going to do a little walking to stretch out and hopefully I will be able to get myself motivated to workout tomorrow!

Flyer

Last week was a "bye" week for the barn, a rest week of sorts between summer lesson session ending and fall session kicking up. The week before, I had a great lesson on Winslow, and feel like we really reached an understanding in our relationship. He's still not my favorite, lol.

Sunflowers at the Arboretum

This past weekend, my best friend (of 20+ years, we discovered when we did the math) was visiting Raleigh from Boston. It was a lot of fun showing her around and we seriously enjoyed how much nicer the weather is here than in Tampa...we were able to do things outside every single day she was here, and it was wonderful. We are already talking about planning another visit, either back here or in Boston, but it will likely be after the first of the year before it happens, which stinks. It's hard being so far away, but we always just pick up right where we left off. I'm going to sprinkle some of the photos I took with my new 70-300mm macro lens (birthday gift from mom!) to spruce up the post a little :)

Pretty purple flower at the Arboretum

Bumblebee at the Arboretum

This week, lessons started again and my new lesson day is Tuesday at 7. Looks like this will be a semi-permanent slot, at least until next August, so I'm excited to get into a solid riding routine. Currently, my brain is so confused, because I've been riding on Thursdays, so it's pretty much convinced it is Friday. It's going to be a long 3 days of thinking it's Friday!

Last night, I rode Flyer, a BIG chestnut gelding. I feel like he's probably 17.2 or so, maybe even taller. He's gigantic.

I haven't been on him since he first got to the barn, maybe a little over 2 months ago. He'd been in about a week when I rode him in a lesson and it got a little hairy! He was super green and is a ride-from-the-seat-and-leave-my-mouth-alone kind of horse. That first ride was definitely challenging for me and I almost came off him twice doing a serpentine jump exercise, because he tried to give me a lead change and over-corrected his body in the opposite direction of how I was rebalancing! We ended up stopping so I could right myself both times, and then continuing on to the next 2 fences. He didn't do anything wrong--in fact, he really was trying to do the right thing! And K said, your body is in the right spot, he just can't get out of his own way. 

Butterfly at the arboretum

I was proud of myself for sticking to the tack, and had to laugh. I knew he was trying so hard and his intention was not to unseat me!

Anyway, last night was like night and day from that first ride. He's come a long way in terms of maintaining pace, strength and balance, in a very short time! I had a lot of fun on him, but I had some issues with my ankles, which made me feel extra weak in the saddle. As a result, I had trouble keeping my body back and not catching him in the mouth or hitting his back before he completed the jumps. Oops :( He was very forgiving about it and I managed to get it together for our last round of fences.

I'm going to get back to working out again. I think 2 weeks off AND not riding didn't do me any favors at all. But, beyond that, not sure why my ankles were bothering me. It almost felt like I was over-extending, but even taking my feet out of the stirrups and stretching them while I waited for my turn didn't really help long-term.

Winslow x3

I made the "mistake" of feeling relieved the first time I rode James, because K had commented that she wanted to put me on Winslow, but he had just had his hocks injected, so he needed another day or so off. (I do love that they take such great care of their school horses!)

I was relieved because I rode Winslow in my 1st real lesson at this barn, and by the time I dismounted, I hated him. I thought he was a jerk on the ground, pushy, always in my space, and I found him to be a big jerk under saddle, too. I spent most of that ride on him fighting to keep him from dragging me forward when he grabbed the bit and threw his head down to hang on my hands. It was like he knew my core was not strong enough to do anything about it and he was determined to not only test the crap out of me, but to fling me around in the tack as much as possible! I dismounted that night and my back was sore, and I was grumpy.

Well, I'm not saying he is my favorite now, because he's not. That's a toss-up between Willie and Rocky. But, I do have a new appreciation for him after riding him for the last 3 weeks. And I feel like maybe we've come to an understanding.

I'm not sure if K is putting me on him because I had said (when she put me on James) that Winslow and I didn't hit it off, or just because Willie is still laid up and one of the girls in my group had asked if she could ride Rocky more often. Could be a little of both!

The 1st of these 3 lessons was a jumping lesson. I feel like I spent most of it fighting with him. Admittedly, after that first ride on him, my view of him was definitely prejudiced and I just did not trust him. K got after me for not letting him have his head to the fences, but I remembered him dragging me down after them and I didn't want to give him the opportunity to take the bit! Still, while it wasn't great, it went better than that very first time and I am definitely stronger now.

The 2nd of the 3, was a flat lesson to give all of the ponies a break. This was definitely more successful and I was able to get him to push from behind and come into a frame and hold it pretty consistently after a nice warm-up. 

Last night was 3 of 3, and it was another jumping lesson. After warming up on the flat, we hopped over a cross-rail a couple of times each. Heading toward it the first time, he got excited and strong, so I dropped my whip. We circled at the last minute to gather ourselves, and then hopped over it. It was just ok. After the 2nd time, cantering in, K told us our course.

K tells me he could get silly but to just sit up and half halt hard and then let go of him. Ok, got it. I was 3rd to go, so I watched the other 2 and took mental notes.

As I collected my reins, I made a conscious decision that I was going to trust Winslow to do his job and not be a jerk, and if he got fast, I would half halt hard, like I really meant it, and then let go of his face and just stay with him. 

I asked for the walk-canter transition and it was prompt and polite. 

We went around the short end and turned toward our first diagonal away from home, and I stayed away from his mouth, closed my thighs in my 2-point, kept my upper body back and pushed my right heel into his ribs to keep him straight. 

I counted my strides, found my distance and we landed, looking for the next one. 

Same thing. He thought about changing his lead but didn't respond when I asked, so we did a simple change in the corner and then headed down the long side to the single cross-rail. I counted my strides the whole way around. We kept our pace and found our distance. Landed on the correct lead and continued around the short end to the next diagonal.

Half halt in the corner, supporting with my left leg to keep him from bulging. K is thrilled with our corner, and our line is even better. She tells everyone she wants every corner to look like that!

We land and he gives me the lead change in the corner, and is proud of himself. I half halt so he doesn't celebrate, and ride deep into the corner for the final line, a straight 6 heading toward the barn. If he's going to get silly, it's going to be here.

He takes the first one perfectly, locks onto the 2nd one and takes it in stride. We landed on the correct lead, went around the corner and then came back to the walk before hopping back in line to stay out of the way.

Definitely my best course/lesson on Winslow to date!

Next week is a "bye week" between the Summer and Fall sessions, so no lesson for me. But I am back at it the following week with my new, semi-permanent slot of Tuesdays at 7 pm.

James, Part II

When I got to the barn on Friday, K told me she wanted me to ride James again and hop him over some fences. She had told me Thursday that he was pretty green over fences, and the other instructor had had some issues with him jumping in a lesson because he likes to stop and look at the fences first -- not a dirty stop, but still a stop! But, apparently once he looks at them, he's fine and she had no issues with him schooling over fences after showing him them to him. So, I guess she wanted to see how he did with it with someone else on him. 

We warmed up for a bit and then she had me walk him up to each of the fences in the arena and sniff them. He didn't offer to walk over them, so we turned and went around before picking up a trot and heading for the first one, a single on the long side. He wiggled a little, but I kept my leg firm and threw my hands forward a few strides out. He hopped over, cantered a few steps and seemed pretty proud of himself.

We trotted around to the single again and cantered afterwards, through the corner, then came back to the trot to do a line set about 6 strides apart. He trotted in nicely and cantered off to the second fence in 6. Then we let him walk for a moment to catch his breath.

The next round, she had me canter the single, then trot into the line and canter out. He really started to lock onto the fences as we approached and I did my best to stay out of his way while also trying not to let him get too strong or fast. It did involve some hard half halting to get a little extra whoa and then getting out of his way and letting him figure it out 3 or 4 strides out. He definitely wanted to speed up, but it was hard to tell if it was excitement or lack of balance/fitness. Could be a little of both! 

He was a good boy, though, and on our last try to the left, he really whoa'd when I asked him as he landed to add a stride for a 7, after taking the long spot kind of awkwardly the time before.

Overall, it was a great lesson. I liked him a lot better on this 2nd ride. K offered me a crop and I took it, even though we didn't know what, if anything, he'd do. I didn't even need to use it, just carrying it was enough to get him a little more responsive to my leg. I was pretty proud of myself for not only finding the distances pretty consistently, but I think helping him to see them, too. And, also, for not getting left behind or too far ahead of a green horse who is known to stop and look at things! 

James, Part I

Last night's lesson was a flat warm-up followed by a walking trail ride. I rode a new horse named James, who is a big grey gelding with a pretty easy-going personality. He is also deceptively wide. I was tacking him up going, hmm, you're in a wide tree saddle? Weird. And then I got on him and went oh, ok, now I get it. My hips were killing me by the end of the ride, because Willie and Rocky, the two I have been mostly alternating between, are much, much narrower.

I liked him, although he was less forward than I had envisioned him being. I watched the girl riding him last week for a little bit and she seemed like she was struggling with pace (on the fast side). Who knows. I feel like everyone gets a different ride out of every horse, so I probably shouldn't have let her ride give me preconceptions about the ride I would have on him! 

I have my private, make-up lesson tonight, which will be interesting. Other than my evaluation ride, which isn't really a lesson, I have not had a private session at this barn. I'm excited about it, and interested to see who she has me ride!

Make-up lesson

I got to the barn last night and got Rocky ready for our lesson. He's a big bay gelding with a really sweet personality. I'm not sure what breed he is, but he is built sort of like a thoroughbred, so I would guess a cross of some kind. 

I enjoy riding Rocky, who from what I've heard is a former jumper. I think he is about 22, and I guess didn't quite have the ability of his sire, so when he started to get older, his owner brought him into the lesson program. I like him because he is very soft and light in the hand and after warming up, it takes very little riding leg to hand to get him tocome into a really nice frame and carry himself. He's pretty comfortable, although a little bouncy at the sitting trot, and he is a little spooky on whatever side of the arena K is standing or sitting at...they have no idea why, lol. Could be eyesight changes, could be an act. Who knows. It's not a bad spook by any means, more of a bend to get a better look and try to move away. I try to really put him to work on that side of the arena and after a few times around, he mostly gives it a rest. K always raves about how great he looks when I ride him, which is great for my confidence. 

Last night, she informed me they had given him a Depo shot, so he should be less spooky. He definitely was more willing to walk by her without me having to work quite so hard to get him to bend to the inside instead of toward her. But, then we started to trot and he felt off. I commented to her as we trotted by her and so she took a closer look and agreed. I let him walk, and she tried stretching his right hind a bit. His stifle gave a huge release that I felt from the saddle and he walked off much looser, but still felt and looked off when we started trotting again. So, I hopped off and we agreed to touch base about a make-up lesson. I took him in and cold-hosed his leg for about 15 minutes and then rubbed some Bigeloil from stifle to fetlock. He trotted off sound after that, so he was either faking it to get out of work, or that liniment gel is amazing!

I tried to take some pictures of him while I was tending to his leg, but he wasn't having it. I'd move and he'd prick his ears and look at me, and then when I got the camera focused, he'd put them back and look like a donkey. Oh well.

Make-up lesson is Friday evening. I agreed to a private lesson with K. Plus, my regularly scheduled programming on Thursday. I am hoping that me sticking to my workout program lately means I will be a little less sore/tired when I get in the saddle for the 2nd time in a week! But, also a private lesson will be a little bit shorter (and likely not any easier, lol). I've been feeling much stronger during my lessons, in general, and definitely less winded after our warm-up, so that is huge. It takes so long to get riding fitness back and no time at all to lose it! 

5 years

In the blink of an eye, it's been 5 years since I said goodbye to my heart horse.

Even now, I find myself at a loss for words beyond my initial tribute to her. She truly was a once in a lifetime horse.

Gymnastics

I have a love-hate relationship with gymnastic exercises. I totally see the point of them, but I have not always had the best experiences with them. I tend to overthink them, and I have a bit of a mental block with them because of the incident below:

When I was in high school, I was in a private jumping lesson with Promise, who was maybe 6 at the time. There was a 4-jump gymnastic set up on the right side of the arena and we were schooling it on the right lead heading toward home. It was a 1 to a 1 to a 2, if I remember correctly. I feel like it was crossrail to small vertical to bigger vertical to a gate, but my memory is not exact on that part! I know the last one was definitely a gate!

The last time we went through, Promise sucked back at the first 2, almost refused the 3rd and then stopped at the 4th, before taking it from a standstill. She landed off balance and bucked to right herself, which made me more off balance, and I went head first into the arena wall, moving it about 2 feet, and breaking my wrist in 3-4 places, because I tried to catch myself as I fell.

That was not a great way to start the Christmas season of my senior year in high school, lol. But, we both came back from it, and Promise got some training rides while I was out of commission due to the pain of my broken wrist. It was hard to get back in the saddle (that saying of always get right back on is so true!), but once I did, it all came back to me pretty quickly.

Anyway! My lessons here have been going really well. We had a by-week of sorts between spring session ending and summer session beginning, and I utilized it to get back into a workout routine. That week and a half of workouts really upped my game when I got back in the saddle last Thursday! I felt so much stronger all around, and while I want to keep building on that, I realized my cardio game needs to be stepped up a bit, too. It's a work in progress.

Last night we did gymnastics, slowly building up from ground poles to about 2'3" and K recorded everyone's last round before we cooled the horses out. So, here's my final round on Wilhemina. I think we nailed it!

Drop your stirrups?

Beginnings of a gorgeous sunset after my lesson last week

The last 2 weeks, I've ridden a cute little home-bred chestnut mare named Wilhamena --- seems they call her Willie for short, since it's kind of a mouthful.

I stepped into her stall 2 weeks ago and she instantly started testing me when I asked her to back up to position her on the cross-ties (they cross-tie most of the horses in their stalls). I made her do it, and she kind of looked at me, like, hmm, maybe you know what you're doing. She tried a couple of other sassy things while I got her ready, but eventually gave up. K told me as I was getting on that she likes to test her riders starting out, and I kind of chuckled and said, yea, she didn't waste any time testing me on the ground, so I'm not surprised! K said, she'll act green, but she's not, so don't let her fool you.

Once we got going, I decided I liked her pretty quickly. She reminds me of Mya, from Florida.

The group lessons here are anywhere from 4 to 8 people, depending on the week. But they are surprisingly organized. For a jumping lesson, we spend about 30 minutes warming up with w-t-c, changing directions, etc. and then the last 30 minutes taking turns jumping single fences and building up to courses.

Anyway, in preparation for a schooling show that weekend, they were giving everyone a little break from jumping, so I focused on trying to keep Willie straight as we did a flat lesson. There were 5 of us that night, and we worked on a large 3 loop serpentine, working on changing the bend, asking for leads, etc. Kind of a basic lesson, but always good stuff to work on for tuning up cues, etc.

Last Wednesday, we were back to jumping.

While we were warming up, K looked at me as I did my sitting trot by her spot on the rail and said, "When I say drop your stirrups, you don't have to. She's really bouncy and wiggly, but it's up to you." I was at the other end when she said, "Drop your stirrups." And I did try it, but I instantly felt like I was sliding all over the place, so I took them back. Maybe in coming weeks I'll have enough strength to keep my body steady and also keep the horse in a straight line!

I wasn't sure what to expect from Willie when it came to jumping, so I still focused on keeping her straight between my legs and hands, and also asking her not to invert her body around the corners. She's a fun little horse over fences. It took me until my 3rd round to kind of get her style and stay with her, but we nailed it that time, which of course, was the last round!

I'm curious to see if they will keep me on her or switch me around some more. It seems like, for the first couple of weeks, they were trying to find a horse that I kind of clicked with. When K asked what I thought of Willie the first night, I said I really liked her and she said, "Good, you did well with her." I don't mind switching horses, but at the same time, I kind of like to get familiar with the one I'm riding, too. It's fun either way!

I signed up for the summer session last week, which goes from the week of June 12 to the middle of August, so I'm at least guaranteed a spot through the summer. I like the atmosphere of this place, but it is taking a little getting used to with the seasonal "sessions" of 8-10 weeks. My understanding is, if I sign up for a session and pay in advance, I'm good to go. I've adjusted my budget so that I'm not budgeting weekly but basically every other month for my package of lessons. Same amount of money, different timing. But, I guess because they have one of the local equestrian teams there riding during the school year, so it gets a little crazy in the fall and winter.

Feeling a little less sore

One of my biggest concerns with joining an hour long, group lesson, is how unfit I am right now, because I've been pretty sedentary since injuring my back in November. I voiced this concern after my evaluation ride and K assured me that if I needed to walk a moment a rest, or had to sit something out, I was welcome to do so.

My back has been a little sore the last few days, but I don't think it is related to riding. It felt great in the 2 or 3 days immediately following my lesson last week, even though the rest of me was practically crippled until about Sunday evening! (I think the back discomfort might have been from riding around in my husband's loaner vehicle all day on Saturday: a 2004 Jeep Wrangler. Not the most comfortable thing to cruise around in, even if it is fun!) 

It is a little sore today but no more or less than it has been, and it felt great while I was riding, so I'm going to ice and rest the next few days and see how it goes.

Anyway, last night, I rode Bella again. I think I like her better than Winslow. She's not as heavy on the forehand and doesn't pull when she gets excited, like he does. She's also a lot more comfortable! 

Bella is fun once you get her going, which takes a little work. There were 8 of us last night, which was a huge group to me. Seems normal for them! Good thing the arenas are huge!

The exercise of the day was rollbacks, so we warmed up over a small gate a few times, and then did the gate with a rollback to a vertical then a rollback to another gate. The focus was on getting the turns, getting or switching leads and riding into the corners. I think I did pretty well, once I got accustomed to the fact that Bella likes to take the long spot and jumps pretty big. The first few fences, I got left behind a little because I wasn't counting my strides and she jumped so big over them! 

So, K asked me to try to keep the angle in my hip longer, so that my butt wouldn't hit her back as she was landing. Sounded a lot easier than it was, given my rustiness! But, when I counted my strides up to the fences and focused on being soft with my hand in the last 2-3 strides and then releasing, I stayed with her over all 3 fences and didn't land on her back prematurely. Woohoo!

I only had to walk and rest a couple of times because my calves were burning from all the posting and 2 point in our warm-up! And I do kind of like having a semi-large group because it means there is a little bit of a rest in between jumping rounds. That works well for my current fitness level!

All in all, it was a fun lesson. I'm curious whether they will switch horses every week or if I will eventually ride the same horse most of the time. There is a guy in the class that is as tall as I am and last week he rode Bella, while I rode Winslow...this week it was reverse, but I think he prefers Winslow. I'll have to wait and see!

23 and #2

This isn't a post about poop. I promise (no pun intended)!

Yesterday would have been Promise's 23rd birthday.

Memorial tag, airbrushed freehand from my favorite photo

I don't ever doubt my decision to let her go, but that doesn't change the fact that I miss her and still wish, quite often, that she was still with me. She was taken from me way too soon.

Yesterday was a good day, though, because I got to spend time with horses on Miss P's birthday. It's always a good day when horses are involved!

ca. 1999 at one of our first horse shows

So, last Tuesday, I had an evaluation ride at a barn about 20 miles from my new home. It's a little further than I wanted to drive, but as I mentioned in my previous post, the place closer to home just didn't work out. I still have not heard back from that one. (That's another ranting post for another time!)

The facility is beautiful. It's immaculately kept, has a covered arena with mirrors, at least 2 outdoor arenas, and a field to ride in, as well. I am not sure how many acres they have, but they do an AM and PM rotation for turnout and seem to have plenty of room to do individual or group turnout. Everyone I've met so far has been very nice and it seems like a pretty laid back barn.

My eval ride was with K, who is a year or 2 out of college. She says vet school wasn't working out for her, and she got the job offer at the farm and decided to go for it. She's sweet and personable. 

I rode a mare named Bella, who was like sitting on a couch. She was a bit lazy at first, but after a couple of taps with the whip I was carrying, she didn't take much leg to get moving. We did your basic w-t-c and then hopped over a couple of fences and called it a day. 

I think K determined pretty quickly that I know what I'm doing, so it was only a 20 or 25 minute ride, which was fine with me. I was exhausted after just that! I am SO unfit, it's not even funny!

She mentioned a couple of adult group lessons that had openings, and said she'd talk to the barn manager, L, the next day and that L would be in touch. L emailed me the next day and offered me 4 or 5 lesson options with a little bit of detail on each. 

I chose Wednesdays at 6:30, because that was my regular time slot in FL, and it just works. It breaks up my week, gives me something to look forward to, and doesn't affect weekend plans or even after-work appointments.

So, yesterday, I got ready and left right after logging off of work at 5 pm. It took me about 40 minutes to get there, so I was way too early, but I am going to have to experiment with the timing a little. I think 5:15 or 5:20 might be the sweet spot.

I checked the lesson book and saw I was riding a horse named Winslow, so I wandered up and down the aisle looking in on everyone and trying to find him. He was in the last stall at the front of the barn. A big grey gelding. After locating him, I went to the covered arena to watch the lesson K was teaching for a bit until it was time to get ready. 

AJ, from my lessons in FL

The lesson went well. There were 4 of us, but I think it will normally be 5 or 6. We spent the first 30 minutes or so doing w-t-c and then started a pole course that K increased to cross-rails toward the end. I had a little trouble getting the hang of Winslow as he has a long, sloooooow stride and I was trying to push him on and get more pace, and was literally not getting anywhere! He also gets really heavy on the forehand and starts trying to drag you down about halfway through the lesson, so I need more core strength to keep him from doing that. But, all in all, it was good and I think I kept up pretty well, considering how out of shape I am!

I am sore today and will likely be slightly crippled by later on, but I am so happy to be back in the saddle again. I am scheduled for the next 7 weeks at the same time, and then a new session starts, but I don't foresee any issues staying with this day/time/group.