I know I know. It's been a while. I'm really not the best at juggling, not with the balls, not with life! NOT a juggler!
Work has been on again off again. Right when the weather looks like it's finally going to even out a bit for us so we can have a little more predictability in scheduling, it either gets windy, rainy, or the temps drop suddenly for a day or two only to surge right back up. The constant shifts in weather not only make it really REALLY annoying to plan out lessons, rides, and leisure activities, but it also makes both the horses and myself a little grumpy...some of the horses are coping by acting grouchier than usual, others feel fresh, and others just can't be bothered to pay attention. I, on the other hand, keep getting stupid headaches when the rain comes and goes and I feel much more tired than I do around this time of year. Usually, this is when I start to become wide awake and super energetic. But enough whining...I've been too whiney.
We are making some progress at the farm. Doc has found a forever home so the thoroughbred projects are officially (and finally!) gone! I do very much miss having the thoroughbreds to ride because I am quite partial and lets face it, they are more my size than these crazy ponies, BUT I am glad to see them all finally move on to their own families.
Buster is being a little rockstar. I have since passed him on to Kaddie as her project since she is a few inches shorter than me and even that little difference in height makes a huge difference on such a little pony. Kaddie is thoroughly in love with him...how could she not be? He's a cool little dude. Super brave and absolutely adorable. Kaddie has Buster understanding his leads, popping over small jumps and he even did a little grid and a trail ride. He's still not so sure about clippers and water but he's been so easy to work with so far so I think he will accept them soon.
Nellie was next in line to be broke to saddle but must have twisted something or have an abscess so we let her have off the past few weeks to mend. No reason to rush.
Trick has been in work with Hope and Kaddie. Since I had some time open up this past week and the weather was fairly cooperative I took over his work. We worked a little more on fixing his forwardness issues on the lunge and worked in hand as well. He's very smart but surprisingly a little more nervous than he was when we first got him, but the week with just me working him already seems to have brought him around a bit. Perhaps he just gets confused and nervous with multiple people working with him. I never get a chance to really watch everyone work with the ponies so there is a good chance each person expects slightly different things from him...some horses just don't handle conflicting expectations as well as others. He was doing really well this week and was so calm after some lunging so I played with the mounting block. He was so calm about that, too...so...I just swung on. He definitely didn't over react or do anything naughty but he really doesn't feel too much like he's been ridden before. If he has that maybe just a handful of times, several years ago...because he sure felt like it was his first ride. I found that he really likes to carry his head way above the bit which makes things a bit difficult because when he gets quick, he also pulls up against my hand. He's also pretty sensitive so rides will have to be very quiet for a while. But no buck nor rear nor any other dramatics other than trotting like a drunk pony and taking a while to respond to my voice commands. He should figure it out fast enough, IF the stupid weather will just stabilize a bit! Breaking horses is hard when you also have to work around weather, because a couple of days off for a newly broke horse sometimes sets you back a few steps, whereas a broke horse can pick up where they left off.
Bear has converted to western for the time being because he seems happier and more comfortable in that type of work. If anything it will at least teach him that slow and steady is very acceptable. He has a knack for it, he is so very sensitive to seat and weight, it's very fun to ride him because you don't need the reins for a whole lot. Just sit a certain way to turn, put more energy in your body to trot or canter, take out energy to slow down, sit deep to stop. He is very responsive and has seemed pretty happy with his new job.
Bubbles needs to find a home! He is an AWESOME pony but just doesn't seem to have a place at our barn. I just don't have the smaller sized, more focused/educated riders for him. Otherwise, I'd want to keep him forever and ever...he's a jack of all trades and my favorite to jump because he is so willing, nonchalant and automatic. Just sit back and enjoy the ride. I want him so badly to just suck it up and carry the less balanced kids but he just won't do it! If I had more "gung ho" kids we might be able to make him work, but I just plain don't have them. Do you know how frustrating it is to have a pony perfect in every single way except he won't do the one little thing you need him to do? Oh well. Like I keep saying. It takes an extremely special pony/horse to make a lesson pony/horse. Many just don't like it, and understandably so. It's a bit boring, it requires tons of patience and tolerance, and enough knowledge to know when to ignore a kid something a kid is doing and when to listen.
Gabe is still with me, and doing pretty well. He is finally going forward forward forward and starting to accept the bit. We don't hardly ever had any panicky, upset, explosive or shut down moments anymore, and he is actually looking happy in general now, and pretty happy about work, too. Which makes me happy! His progress is still pretty slow, but it is a solid progress now. He's starting to move off my leg much better and sit up and bend through turns. We are starting shallow serpentines and stretchy trot as well to get him much more supple and through. He seems to get it a little more each time, and he's even graduated from his "training wheels" (aka, mullen mouth bit and drop noseband, to keep him happy and me safe!) to a big boy loose ring with a bean and regular noseband :) Earlier this month, he also ventured to Hilltop Farm with his pasture friend, Moose, for an adventure to see how he would behave off the property. The trailering went SO much better with Moose there, he behaved himself once in a stall at Hilltop, and had a good lesson with Micheal and was fairly consistent with how he behaves at home, so it was very encouraging!
Lessons are running pretty smoothly, though getting some of these kids to set goals for themselves is a chore! (You know who you are!) Me: "So, what do you want to work on?" Kid: "I dunno" Me: "Well, what kind of classes do you want to show in this year?" Kid: "I dunno" Me: "Do you have a certain discipline you want to work toward?" Kid: "Ummmm...not really" Because of this type of dialogue, I am having some trouble figuring out how to plan out shows for this year. I don't even know what KIND of shows these kids want to do! Alas, the woes of being a multi-discipline, low key, family oriented barn!
Miss Moose has had some ups and downs. We've been dealing with a little bit of a shoulder issue but it seems to be sorting out with no problems. She also went to her first event at Olde Hope and banged out an AMAZING dressage test with a 22.5, blowing our competition out of the water...but completely froze up at the jumping parts so we were eliminated. However, we did get to school cross country anyway, and I finally got her going forward over the jumps again and even into the water. At home her jumping, even in the ring, has gotten nervous and very rushed, all since the stupid clinic I took her to. I was finally getting her jumping fairly well and one little bad experience knocked us back to the beginning. It made me do some thinking. Originally I was going to give her this year to try eventing and if it wasn't going well, we'd opt to do just dressage or I'd sell her for another horse. However, seeing how hard it is to get her confident over fences and how fast it can be taken back to the very beginning and how upset it makes her, AND seeing as how I have been becoming super partial to dressage and not getting the same amazing feeling of accomplishment from a good round of jumping, I think I have officially decided to just do dressage with Moose. I don't know why I fight it so much, I love dressage...Moose likes it and judges love her...and though I LIKE jumping I don't LOVE it...I still keep fighting for eventing. Well I think I'm just going to come out and admit that dressage is where we belong. We might still try to event or do small jumpers, but it is on the back burner now. And I have to say, I feel excited to have made the decision. I want to see just how far I can take Moose up the levels.
That said, here is a bit of exciting news I just received today. I saw a post from Jane Savoie about needing 1st level demo riders for her clinic in October. I sent her a message and she requested a video. Karolyn graciously agreed to make a spur of the moment video with me and I sent it to Jane. This morning she told me that we looked great and to consider it done, I'm in the clinic! So Miss Moose and I will go to Gladstone, NJ in October to ride for two days of the clinic and I will get to audit for free (saves me $500 woohoo!) and Jane foots the stabling bill. Moose gets to stay at the USET headquarters farm, Hamilton farm, for the days we are there. I am beyond excited...any exposure I can get to big names ROCKS, I basically get two lessons plus auditing for free, and the clinic is a great subject: The Art of Teaching...so I will have some fabulous new teaching methods to come home with and apply. Hooray! So now boot camp begins...Moose needs to be much more solid in her first level moves than she is right now. Her leg yields need to happen more immediately and her counter canter, while actually one of the easiest first level skills for her to pick up, needs just a bit more obedience. Even though it is all the way in October I'm already psyched :)
Off to get some mundane errands done!
