Good day with Flash!

Well, I did a pretty thorough job with the video explaining how it went yesterday. There are a few additional things I wanted to note, though. I got to see my boys a day early because yesterday was really windy and was supposed to rain off and on. Thank goodness for an indoor arena! I was really excited to work with Flash, so I pulled him out first. I decided I wasn't going to do anything he hadn't done successfully before, so we can get back to where we were before I got Snickers and was focusing on him instead of Flash. I groomed him down really well - I think it's so funny when he feels the curry comb where his neck meets his chest, and he arches his head up and out. It seems like he really likes it! I cleaned out his feet, too - I had to pull out the clicker on his back foot, which I did second, and then he was fine for the rest of his feet. We started out with him "posing" - which he did really well! He actually kept his head a little higher, more like a dressage pose (though I don't know much about English and next to nothing about dressage, that's just the best I can describe it), which was really good. After that, we did some leading, reviewed posing for a moment, and then did some "at liberty" leading. He did so well! I'm glad he warmed up to me again so quickly :) We'll have to keep working on those and add one new thing at a time and master it before moving on. We'll do some lunging maybe next time, and then eventually ground driving again - but I can't start that for now anyway since I don't have the cavesson or surcingle yet and probably won't until next week. Hopefully my saddle stand comes soon so I can start leaving my tack at Dusty Acres instead of lugging it around in my car and carrying it to and from the barn.

Snickers did well, though we got a rough start. He was pretty worked up having four days off, especially with how windy it was. He was terrified of the garage door opening and shutting, too. Flash was nervous and backed up some, but Snickers looked terrified out of his mind and was bracing back against the hitching pole. Oh well. We lunged quite a bit and he seemed to be all over the place loping - I slowed the video down today and realized he was cross firing to the left almost constantly. (I made a video just showing this and breaking it down in slow motion to show when and how often he was doing it). I'm pretty sure I know, now what happened when I fell off - I remember he felt really funny, especially on the turns (cross firing), stuttered and I lost my seat (correcting himself), and then stopped when I lost my seat and off I went. It makes a lot of sense now. He did do a lot better under saddle, though. In the video, it doesn't look like he's cross firing at all, though he did pick up the wrong lead now and then. The only major issue we had was when I bridled him. I had the halter clipped around his neck and he threw his head off. He fought it so bad that, when I tried to put it on again, he shook his head out of the halter and was loose in the arena. I caught him pretty easily with a cookie and a lead rope. Then, I used the lead rope over his poll pulling him down and clicker training to keep his head low like we did before. I worked through him lowering his head even when my hands were messing around his ears - that's when he was throwing his head up just like before. In the end I got it on, but I wanted just to get on and ride him out since he hadn't been ridden since Monday, so I didn't really focus on making sure he was good about getting it on and off. I'll have to make sure I leave some time to focus on that soon and get him to where he was. Oh well - it just goes to show how he needs consistent work and practice!

 Working with Flash:

 Working with Snickers (see below for cross firing video):

 Snickers cross-firing:

A week off

I haven't gotten to ride since Monday and I don't think I will until Sunday so the boys are getting a week off. I've been at an out-of-town work conference since Tuesday morning and will finally get home tonight around midnight. I have horse lessons all day tomorrow and then the SWIT&DR banquet, so I likely will not see the boys until Sunday, even though I have a lot to do then as well. It's been a tough week because, not only do I not get to work with them which I have done almost every day for the last couple of weeks, but also because Flash and I left off on a bad note and I still have his raw lips in the back of my mind and hanging over of my head. However, I now have a lunge cavesson and a surcingle on the way to redo the ground driving. First, we're going to take some steps back and work on renewing the relationship and eagerness he had with me before. Once we're back on track, we'll move into ground driving with just the cavesson and surcingle, and eventually add the bridle and bit back in, but not for a while. I'm excitd to get him working again and making progress. And having a better relationship again like we were having before. I left a message on the group for Dusty Acres for someone to please check on Snickers and Flash, and someone from there messaged back as well as Steve, the other owner, who said I could just text him. I did yesterday and he texted me back today to tell me they were fine and the winds we were supposed to get yesterday never came. It feels good to know my babies are in good hands :) I've been very happy with Dusty Acres! It'll be cool to go to the banquet tomorrow and meet everyone in SWIT&DR and see all the awards and achievements for last year :) I've eaten out at this conference all week, so we'll see how the dinner works out, but oh well. It should be good :) Can't wait to be home and see my boys (incuding Trevor!)

Poor Flash :(

Gah, today was both frustrating and encouraging. I'm really upset about Flash at the moment. I'm getting ahead of myself, though... Earlier I ran by Legacy to pick up my grooming stuff and got the Oster kit (I love the neon green color!) and also picked up a small stiff brush to do their faces (the Oster brushes have a smaller end so I can "finish" their faces with that end if I need to), a shed flower in place of a fine curry comb, a matching green sweat scraper, and a bright blue lead rope to replace the stiff black one I got with Snickers, which I'll use as a backup. Shelley also brought her purple leggings and sold them to me for $20 - I'll still need to get some thinner ones for summer, but I felt like I got a pretty good deal :) Trevor had work off for President's day and said he'd come with me. He doesn't like the dirt or animals much, though, so he wasn't seem to excited on the way there. However, it wasn't as bad as he thought it'd be lol. When I got there, Snickers and Flash were laying down near each other. By the time we got all the tack inside, They'd gotten up. Because of how Sunday went, I decided to go ahead and work with Flash first. I brushed him down really well and cleaned out his feet - he seems to really enjoy the coarse curry comb and the brushes I got are awesome! I'm very happy with them. However, ground driving went even worse, I think. I had Trevor record some and then he stepped in and just held the lines as I led Flash, but that didn't seem to help at all. Then I got a look at his lips and thank goodness - they were all raw and a little bloody. That was it - no more. Having his lips look like that and having him just struggle was simply not worth it. I'll have to find a new way to go about this. I immediately took the bridle off and unhooked him from the long reins. He followed me back to the hitching post alright, but he still seemed off, kind of in the off put way he's been since I started spending more time with Snickers. Plus he probably didn't feel very good. We did a little bit of following and posing, which he did all right, but not as enthusiastically or well as before. Even though we hadn't done a lot of physical stuff, he was really sweaty so I think he was stressed out from the ground driving. I felt really bad - I could have both cried and kicked myself for the way his lips looked :( They'll heal just fine over the next few days while I'm out of town, but I'm sure they hurt pretty bad :( I brushed him down and gave him some treats, then turned him loose. While I was working with Flash, Trevor explored the stalls in the arena to look at the horses. He said he wanted to see how big they are. I showed him the cool looking horse (I looked up the breed and it's similar to a Mongolian, but I can't remember the name off the top of my head). The horse next door to him put its lips up at Trevor andI pointed it out and told him it was smiling at him. That was pretty funny :) Working with Snickers went really well. He was a lot slower than yesterday, both lunging and riding. It was nice to show that off to Trevor, who recored some of that as well. He collected andbowed his head really well, and I think he's even starting to hold it there! I only rode him for about 20-30 minutes, mostly trotting and some loping. It was snowing and he shied away from it coming through one of the doors, so we walked through the snow and out the door and then back in. He's doing a really good job of focusing when I ask him to and proceeding, though cautiously, through what he's afraid of. Good boy :) Our relationship is definitely going in the right direction. For his cool down we took a short ride around the barn. When I took him back out to the pasture, I went and put and gave Flash a few more treats. I had tried to wear the half chaps, but realized they were in a tall size ratehr than regular. So I ended up stopping by and trading those for some Small regulars - yay! They fit well, and I will definitely wear them from now on. My legs go so raw from those dang leathers! Oh well, I'll live and I could still ride, though I wore skinny jeans to keep them from rubbing up on my leg this time. I'll have to wear Shelly's leggings and the half chaps next time :) I'm going to start back at square one with Flash when I got home. We're going to get back to all the clicker things he was already doing so well and rebuild that bond, because I feel like I've undone it since I got Snickers. I don't regret getting him - I just need to focus on Flash as well. It makes it a lot easier to have them right there, too, because I simply didn't have the time or the means to work with BOTH of them before, just one or the other. Hopefully it won't take much to get us back on track again. And his poor mouth will be better :(

Lunging, Ground Driving, and Head Lowering

I spend a good four hours with Flash and Snickers yesterday. Susan turned them out on the pasture with the rest of the herd Saturday, so I was prepared for them having plenty of bites and still working out the pecking order. However, when I got there, I was very pleased to see them eating side by side :) I watched them for a while, and it seems that while Flash is at the bottom of the pecking order (no surprise there), Snickers doesn't take crap from the other horses and is somewhat dominant. What's nice about that is, since Snickers and Flash like one another, Flash is like his little buddy and is fairly safe as long as he's next to Snickers :) Yay!

I was going to ride Snickers first and work with Flash second, thinking that Flash would be easier, but since they were just fed and I wanted to do some clicker work with Flash, I grabbed him so he'd still be hungry. Mr. Flash has gotten quite attached to Snickers and visa versa haha. They kept whinnying back and forth and you can hear them both quite well because the barn really isn't that far from the pasture. Anyway, I groomed Flash pretty well and combed out his mane and tail. I think there are more dead ticks coming out, but if there are still some left when I get back in town at the end of this week, I'm going to spray him down again. Since he's such a fluff ball, I may just have to wait until he sheds out some, especially on his chest. Plus, that'll make them a lot easier to see! I'm going to get the grooming kit I want today and I'm way excited about that. Brushing him down yesterday made me want it that much more :)

I picked up a lunge line Saturday so we worked with that afterward. I got him going pretty good to the left, even loping, but he has a hard time going to the right. I kept on having to shorten the rope up and pull his head right and tap him to get him to move, but eventually I just gave up. To the left, though, he's getting better at loping when I tell him to! I was making him lope for a while then clicking, rather than simply clicking for loping right when I told him to. I think he's starting to get it. I'm hoping he does before I get on (this summer??), but if not, maybe it'll be easier then to get him to respond to cues? Or maybe the ground driving will help - it sure should with stopping and backing!

Then on to ground driving, which is what the majority of the video is about because we had a hard time getting going. He fought it quite a bit and had a hard time, but we never got into any real trouble. It was just hard seing him frustrated and confused, especially when he got all the way turned around facing me and so the line was pulling on his back legs. He backed quite a bit, so I know he's got an impressive back haha! The toughest part was just getting him to go straight forward so I could give him slight cues to turn back and forth - he kept getting turned around and confused so I had to keep turning him back and forth and he never really got the "reward" of just being able to move forward. I saw a video for clicker training where someone walks with a target in front and clicks and treats and you phase in the cues for turning and whatnot, but I unfortunately just have me and clicking from behind and not having a target to follow didn't seem to work very well and I eventually just didn't worry about the clicker, especially since about the same time I grabbed the lunge whip to try and simply move him forward, which worked decently. Toward the end he seemed to get it all right. I was glad no one was in the arena at that point because we really needed the whole thing! Trevor is coming out with me today and said he might be able to lead with the target but couldn't feed him, so maybe that will help and I can just click and treat. However, I think he'll probably still be nervous and I told him that if he's nervous at all, I don't want him to worry about helping since that will just make Flash nervous anyway. Anyway, after forty minutes of semi difficult ground driving, Flash was done and I brushed him down. Between that and the lunging, he'd worked up quite a sweat and was ready for a break. I'm going to try to have a shorter session today and not worry about lunging so much since I really want him to focus on this ground driving.

Next was Snickers, who decided to walk away from me at first. It's hard to catch him sometimes because he wants to sniff and greet me so he's directly in front of me, but backs up if I move toward him so I can't get to his neck. It didn't take me more than a minute or two to catch him, though - I brought him a handful of hay to distract him (even though he didn't eat it) while I moved to his neck and got the lead rope around. What's nice about having these two is, so far, even though I can have a difficult time with one, the other one makes up for it and works really well, which is what happened yesterday so I'm glad Snickers ended up second. I brushed him down and lunged him really well - he's a super easy lunger! And he REALLY moves at that trot haha. It's faster than Rocket's lope I'm sure, so I'll have to really get comfortable on it. Seeing him move out like that made me want to focus just on getting him soft instead of slowing him down, because that's how he needs to move for endurance anyway. I should be focusing on that first, anyway, and we can worry about slowing down for pleasure later. Just the basics for now! Come to think of it, we didn't work on getting Rocket to slow down until much later and it took a while when we did. Anyway, maybe because he was out of a stall and able to move around, because he'd been worked there before pretty hard, there wasn't any horses there, it was the afternoon, or whatever, but he was much quieter. I brushed him down and saddled up, and off we went! We walked around the whole arena and he still wanted to look at EVERYTHING but was much less spooky. (He did spook a few times later on, but that was because something moved or flew out or a new noise and then settled down right away). We did a LOT of trotting and he hasn't forgotten his draw rein lesson from Friday, and neither have I. I worked on posting and was a lot more controlled (though I still feel like I'm moving around more than I want to), so I was able to hold his head tight and then release when he dropped it, which he did consistently. He started out really fast and slowed down more toward the end (tired much?), but I worried more about his head than anything. We did lope a decent amount to, and I'm really trying to get my seat for that. He switches leads really easily, though not as consistently as I'd like, so I'll have to keep giving big cues with my weight and reigns like I do with Rocket. It's just hard when he's moving so FAST!! Oh well, we're getting there. I was very happy with our ride :) We did a lot of small loping circles to slow down, too, and even worked so hard my saddle started slipping, but he stood still for me while I readjusted - thank goodness! That's something I really want to get him good at for the endurance trail.

To cool down, we took a ride out and about Dusty Acres. It was probably just because he was tired, but he did a good job staying relatively relaxed and focused on me. We rode past Flash twice (who nickered at us both times!) and all the way around the barn. Then we went a little down the road and found the BLM access, which we rode for a little ways (not out of sight of the barn though), and then back. He really impressed me and I'm very excited about working with him on trails, but after my fall off him, I got a bit of a reality check and would rather not go by myself. I'll figure that out when the time comes, though. I'm a little nervous about trotting on the trails due to all the holes, so I'll have to do some exploring and get familiar with where it would be safe to trot. Most impressive, though, was that he was a little nervous about a giant tumbleweed sitting in the middle of the trail and a very narrow gate at the barn with a big, bright coil of wire and some other stuff sitting around it, but with a little patience and prompting, he walked past them just fine - we even walked past the tumbleweed a few more times and it didn't bother him at all after that first time!

Well, that's about it - I have a decently long video since I recorded all the ground driving work with Flash - I cut out anything you couldn't see too well but that's it. Hopefully he does better today and I'll have a little better lighting for recording. This way I can look back and see the improvement - hopefully even a little today since it won't be brand new and (maybe) I'll have Trevor's help to give him a direction to go. We'll see! I gotta go do some work now so I'll have time to get my grooming set and go ride. I really want to get it in before leaving tomorrow, since I won't be back until VERY late Friday! It'll likely be a week before I can ride again :( Oh well. Later!

My personal playground!

It's been a good couple of days for horses :) Thank goodness, after all the stuff last week!

Since last Saturday, I've was trying to find a new place to keep Snickers and Flash. I posted a couple of things on the bulletin boards for the Meetup group as well as SWIT&DR. I didn't get any replies from SWIT&DR, but I got a couple of responses from the Meetup group. One of them recommended checking out Dusty Acres, and I called them that night. They have pasture for $105/mo (cheapest I found!), three round pens, an outdoor arena, and even an indoor arena! Plus, it's got direct BLM access, so I could trail ride whenever I wanted to, though it's mostly just flat desert. But it looked pretty good! Susan, the owner, was going to come Tuesday (the next day) to pick up my boys! However, she ended up running late and I has a bit of a tight schedule, so she came and got them after my lessons Wednesday. Turns out her stablehand, Oscar, is a guy I worked with when I was mucking stalls when I was 15 haha. Small world! But anyway, things worked out really well. She even picked up my strangles vaccine for me and is going to do their vaccinations. The "resident vet" is actually my vet, Doc Woodington - he makes regular trips out there to do stuff for a lot of the boarders all at once and I got on his list for shots on March 4. Susan also took the rest of my hay - a ton and a half - to pay for the first month and a half for boarding, so that was really good. She came and got it tonight :)

I didn't actually go out to see Dusty Acres until last night, a day after they brought Snickers and Flash there. They put them each in their own outdoor stall for now so they could get settled in, and she's going to turn them out in the pasture with other horses tomorrow. I walked flash around the indoor arena and of course he was fine. Snickers did better than I expected him to, but was still a little spooky (little for him haha). I did end up riding him, briefly in the arena, then down the round pens, and we did a little work in the roundpen. As I was making my way around I asked some of the other boarders about where stuff was and how things worked, and I was still a little confused so I called Susan that evening. Turns out I'll need to get all my own stuff, like brushes, a lunge whip, a saddle stand, etc. But that's ok, they're not all that expensive. At least now I know where I'm at!

I went out there again today and spent a lot of time on Snickers. It was about to get dark just when I got there - I love having a lit indoor arena! I was able to ride until well past dark - I'll just need to get a flash light for walking the horses back and forth from the pasture because it's very dark back there. One benefit I didn't think of with boarding was having other people around to help me figure stuff out with the boys. I was struggling to keep my seat on Snickers in the English saddle and getting him to be soft and drop his head at the same time, but there was a girl there, Stevie, that offered to help. She traded me horses and set up my reins like draw reins and worked with him to drop his head. She did a really good job with me and showed me how to hold his head and post. She changed the reins back to normal and showed me a little more, then traded me back. Snickers and I did a lot better after that. I'm going to have to get used to his faster movement (at least for now) and post, but once I get that down, we'll do pretty well together. I was really glad for her help because it could have been pretty frustrating working with him without it.

Snickers does need to calm down, still. Maybe it'll help to have him out in pasture so he can get some more energy out, but we'll see. Definitely some consistent work though! I did work with Flash, too. I was just going to brush him, but since he's been cooped up in a stall I lunged him on the lead rope. I'm going to need to get a lunge line so that I can lunge in the arena after dark. For his first time lunging on a line, he did excellent and figured it out pretty quick :) He was really calm the whole time, though Snickers was whinnying over and over and Flash was winnying back quite a bit - I'm glad they like each other and are excited to see me when I come :) Hopefully that means they'll be easy to catch even when they're in the pasture! Anyway, after I exercised him some I brushed him down really well and took him back to his stall. I'm hoping to get a chance to go see them tomorrow again, but if not, I'll have all Sunday afternoon since I got it off :)

There were two more major events this week. First, on Monday, I went off a horse for the first time in years! I was loping on Snickers in the arena, and he felt really funny under me. I don't think he bucked or anything, but something he did (I'm thinking he slipped) unseated me, and then he stopped cold, and without my seat I went right over the front and landed on my left side. He'd turned right so he didn't come anywhere near me and just stood on the other side of the arena until I came and got him. It took me a bit cuz I was winded pretty bad. The marks on the ground looked pretty funny because you could see the "slip" skid mark, the dead stop marks side by side, and then my body print all in a row. Of course, it was the day my camcorder was dead and the first time I rode him without a helmet. I'm not going to ride him without the helmet anymore! Especially since this was all in Melinda's Western saddle that I stick in really well (usually!) and now I'm in the English that I'm much less more unstable in. It's a good point to tell my students, too, why we don't lope! It's so much easier to have something happen! But oh well, I'm not sore anymore haha. Though it really sucked to get the sand out of my eyes during class Monday night! and my arm... and cheek... and ear..... and everything else on my left side....

The other thing that happened is way exciting - I sold my piano! So now I have the money for my endurance stuff! I called Shelley at Legacy Thursday and, since she was going home before I could get there, we met today to get all my "starter stuff" for endurance. I got straps for my stirrups, a full bridle and reins set that's way cute with flowers and everything, a lunge line, a girth strap, shin guard things that I have to wear, a martingale for training, soft cotton roping reins for endurance..... And I'm sure a few other things. I ended up having to exchange the straps for longer ones later and returning the roping reigns because I'm getting a blue pad (they don't have purple) and I want to get blue reins to match. So they're ordering me blue reins, a blue pad, and a sponge. We decided to hold off on the heart monitor. I'm going to take the martingale back tomorrow, too, since it was $100 and it seems that draw reigns will work really well. For now, I'd rather spend that money on something else - like grooming supplies, saddle rack and the other stuff I need now that I'm all on my own, and a pack for the back of my saddle! However, since it's my birthday tomorrow, I'm going to have to wait to buy anything else so Trevor has a chance to buy my gift haha. I'll go back and get the tack set and whatnot soon, though, if he doesn't get them for me. I just thought I'd give him a chance haha. Anyway, Shelley was awesome and spent an hour and a half with me today picking out tack. She gave me a couple of hugs when we were done and told me how excited she was for me :) I can't wait to get my new pad and matching reins, and especially to get going on endurance!

Anyway, so that's about it! It was a good week, and I really feel like I've got my own little playground at Dusty Acres with my two boys that are everything I could ask for (especially with my budget). I can ride anywhere and do anything, and I've got two very different horses to both challenge me and to enjoy myself with :) Things are good!

Good rides :)

I did ride yesterday and today, and even have a movie to show what we did today. Yesterday we did really well in the round pen. His head was low and I got a really nice trot out of him, but he seemed to have a difficult time loping, so we moved into the "arena" (it's very small, but good enough, especially for lessons and with a new horse!). My dad came out and watch, but of course that was right after we moved into the arena. Snickers didn't do so great in there, but it was a new environment. His head was higher and he was having a hard time figuring out where he was supposed to go. Then, when I asked him to lope, he still had a hard time. The lightbulb went on for me when my dad said he didn't want to stay on the left lead - one side of the arena isn't straight and actually makes a sort of serpentine, so he was stuttering and trying to change leads to accommodate it (my dad's horses, two quarter horses and a paint, just stay on the correct lead and don't bother switching). We did small circles for a little bit instead. Then, I asked him to go the entire length of the arena, but we cut the corners on the crooked side short so he was, in fact, loping straight rather than crooked along the rail. That helped a lot, and by the time we were done, he had calmed down and figured things out a bit more.

Today, we stayed in the round pen. I didn't want to get into a pulling match with him or ride him with heavy hands to get him to drop his head consistently (I felt like I was heading that direction yesterday), so I decided to break out the clicker. It took him a few times to figure out what was going on (which you can see in the video when he backs up after he gets his treat), but it really worked well for him. Eventually, he seemed to grow tired of the treats, so I just threw the bag on the ground and we rode from there. I figured if he got the cue and wanted to respond, then that's what we would do and we didn't need the treats. It worked out pretty well and we had an excellent ride. When I did ask him to lope (still in the round pen), he had no troubles and actually gave me a very beautiful and collected lope with his head tucked. I didn't even have to ask him to collect or drop his head. I don't know if that's just from previous training, his personality, or if he just figured out what I wanted more or less, but it was great!

He was good and sweaty when we were done, so I'm glad he got a good workout. I took him back to Jill's (no troubles with spooking along the road, or really at all anymore!) and fed them all. Snickers and Flash were sharing a bin of hay when I left - I'm glad they're getting along :) Now that Flash likes the peppermint cookies too, I feed them both cookies, one in each hand, when I go over there.

So all in all a good day :) I'm going to work more with Snickers to really emphasize keeping his head low and maybe a little more precision for where I want him to carry his head, but that part doesn't really matter much to me. It just looks pretty when he carries his neck all arched :) Next, I think I really want to work on getting his neck reigning down - we practiced some during his cool down and I think he is just beginning to get it, but we'll need to focus on it specifically to get it where I want it to be. We also tried a little backing, but that didn't go so well. We had a bit of tug of war and took a few steps backward when we did it felt like, so I'd like to really get these things down before I go and mess with the backing thing. I guess we'l see!

I'd like to get him out on the trails soon, but I'm guessing with my schedule that won't be for a few more weeks. I need to get my field experience done for school, which cuts into my riding time, and then I'll be out of town the week of Presidents Day. After that, we should be all clear! I think I'm ready to brave the trails with him, but it's probably a good thing I have to wait a couple more weeks. I got invited to a trail ride tomorrow in the sand dunes and I really wish I could go, but I have lessons and I don't think that's the first ride I'd want to take him on, especially since I've never been there before and want to have at least somewhat familiar territory for us to experiment with. Oh well, all in good time. I can't wait for this summer!

Oh, and I got a little more experimental with iMovie ;) This came out pretty sweet!

Meh

That pretty much describes today, though, thankfully, it ended on a decent note. I was going to ride Snickers pretty good today and also spray down Flash. However, when I got to my parents' house, first thing I did was look out the back window to check on the horses (you can see Jill's whole pasture, and there Flash was in the people's back yard in between the two pastures! Two men were out there walking around with him obviously not able to catch him. I grabbed my halter out of the car and ran over there, dress shoes and pants from work and all. It kinda sucked, because he didn't want me to catch him and I had to chase him a round a little, but eventually he turned to face me and let me catch him. Maybe it's cuz he finally got a good look at me to see who I was? I don't know, but it was kind of the pits. It turned out he jumped the fence - he cleared the bottom two rails and knocked out the top (good thing too because there's goat wire up to the second rail and an electric fence wire - not on - that he could have gotten caught in). The rails were fine but he busted the post in half. great. So then I led him back to the pasture and turned him loose. He really didn't feel like following me :( I think he feels neglected and ignored. I'll have to make sure I take time to work with him. He didn't look injured or anything, just his attitude was off :(

I think that the other horses chased him out and he tried to jump the fence to get away from them. There was still quite a bit of hay - it was scattered, yes, but I doubt Flash of all horses would try to jump the fence, especially when he can just reach through it. Plus, there were a lot of scuff marks in the ground in that area and, most concerning, Flash was pretty sweaty and all warm. That did make it a lot easier to see the ticks, though, for when I sprayed him - and there are so many! Gah, at least I'm taking care of them now. By the time I left, he wasn't warm anymore, though his hair was decently matted, especially since he's in his nice fluffly white winter coat. He's actually a LOT fluffier than anyone else - my little fluff ball!

After that I got changed and got ready to spray him down. I had to read the VERY long label for instructions for mixing the tick stuff. It said 8 fl oz for 50 gallons of water. Fantastic. Ugh. I finally figured out that 1/3 tsp would be good for my little 48 oz sprayer, then used a plastic spoon to measure it out (alongside an identical spoon that I'd measured 1/3 tsp water and poured it into lol). I took Flash out of the pasture so at least I didn't have to deal with Snickers getting into the middle of things, but Flash really didn't like the sprayer. Every time I tried to spray it, he moved away and even pulled back - He was pulling back hard enough and moving around enough I didn't feel safe tying him up. I didn't want a second broken post! He still wasn't acting like himself. I got him ok ish but not as well as I wanted to, but I had to let it go.

Finally, I put on my new stirrups and just rode Snickers in the pasture because I didn't really have time to bring him all the way over to my parents' house. The saddle and stirrups felt really comfortable! I used Flash's bride, but I think the bit may be too small. He didn't seem to like it at least. And maybe the leather works better with him than the nylon. Or maybe it was just because we were in the pasture. Oh well - tomorrow I'll get another good ride on him. We tried trotting but I didn't feel like I was sitting in the saddle well enough and didn't really have the time or environment to work on that right then and there.

Then it was time for lessons, but it turns out my lesson at that time is going to have to quit for a while due to schedule changes :( So we talked a while and she's interested in coming to a few endurance rides so I'll have to email her. I used the rest of the time to go back over and spray Flash again, this time with the clicker, which worked wonders. He still didn't like it too much, especially close to his head, but he stood for it. Good boy :) Of course, Snickers was right there wanting treats too, so I gave him a few. After spraying him down REALLY well, I brushed him over just to give him a chance to relax and take care of the matted sweaty hair. Flash got back to his old self, too, so that felt good. He seemed to want to move with me and work for me a little more. I'll have to be consistent with him and bring along the clicker more haha.

Then I had my other lesson, which was nice and easy because they decided they're going to take the rest of the school year off and then pick it back up in summer, so we just did a fun ride and review. When I got done and all cleaned up, Trevor was there to help me fix the post. What an awesome husband :D He'd had a rough day at work, but there he was :) We got started digging, and eventually my dad came and we got it all done just before dark. It was kind of nice to have us all working together :) The horses didn't come over - and Trevor never went in the pasture either. When we were cleaning up, I ran over and gave Snickers some of the peppermint cookies I'd grabbed before I came over, and decided to offer Flash some too. He sniffed and I think he was watching Snickers eat some, and he finally took a bite! Turns out he really likes them and ate as many as I would give him after that. It was neat getting to feed my two boys at the same time and having them be nice to one another :) When I was out, I jogged back to Trevor at the other end of the pasture - I guess Flash isn't mad at me anymore because here he came trotting along right behind me! Snickers was just behind him as well haha. Yay, my boys love me :) I dug around and found a cookie or two more for each of them :)

So at least the night ended on a good note. I feel a lot better that Flash isn't upset with me anymore, or at least seems to be back to normal. Hopefully things will settle down and no more fiascos for a while.

First ride at home video

So, iMovie pretty much rocks.  This movie doesn't even scratch the surface of what it can do.  I can't wait to experiment with it more and create more of a collage of all our adventures!  For now, though, here's the video of mine and Snicker's first ride together after I got him home.  I think it's the 5th time I've ridden him total.  We're working together really well!  I wrote about this ride in the previous post if you want to read about it :)  Enjoy!

Horses Loose, (*a second*) First Ride, and more

The afternoon didn't start so well.  I was planning on stopping by Legacy and picking up the endurance stirrups with the graduation money my Papa Baque sent me as well as talking to the vet about Flash's ticks (and ear thingy) and stopping by the bank, but I got a call at work about a half hour before I was going to be off that all the horses were out!  My dad was busy managing things, so I guess he didn't hear me when I asked over and over "is someone going to get the horses?!"  I knew the neighbors were out there, but didn't think they really knew what they were doing.  Jill was out of town.  And my dad was busy - all he said was "don't worry about it" and I had no idea what that was supposed to mean and didn't know if anyone who knew anything about horses was going to get them!  Especially since I don't know Snickers well enough to trust him not to get spooked or into too much trouble.  So of course I panicked because I'm a half hour from there.  I left immediately and pretty much hoped all the way there that nothing happened in the next half hour.  I think I seriously ticked some lady off for tailgating - she was upset about something at least but oh well, I was a woman on a mission to save my babies!  When I got there my dad had gotten them back in the pasture, which was both a relief and extremely frustrating because I'd spent all that time worried about them but I would have been fine and even finished my stuff at work if I'd known he was out there with him.  Gah.

Anyway, so after that, the afternoon actually went pretty well.  Snickers started whinneying for me when he saw me tying up my family's horses (we really don't want them together and getting into a fight, especially now that Snickers is head of the herd at Jill's now).  I went and grabbed him with the halter Barb gave me - poor Flash was the first one up to me and seemed so confused that I wasn't there for him! :(  I'll have to make sure I still work with him plenty, of course.  I felt so bad!  But Snickers came right up as well and let me catch him, and off we went!  He was very energetic and alert, but he never really spooked, even on the road.  Actually, the walk back was tougher because he kept getting ahead of me and paying attention to everything but me haha.  Oh well, we managed without any real issues.  He did make me feel tiny - 15.1 hands is by no means small, but it was really how high he holds that head!  I felt short.  I like that though - I've got a big boy :)

I stuck him in the round pen and lunged him a bit.  I think even my dad was impressed by how well he stopped when I said woah.  Maybe it's because it's a small round pen or maybe Snickers is just getting used to me and being ridden and worked, but I really didn't lunge him that long before I was ready to climb on.  I was able to rig up the camcorder on two of our barrels stacked on top of each other, so I was even able to film it!  I saddled Snickers up (I used Melinda's, my sister, western saddle because it was right there, I'm going to sell mine anyway, and hers is nicer and moves better with less squeakiness), lunged him around the arena both ways a couple times, tightened the cinch up, and then on went the bridle!  No issues at all with the bridle except that it was too big haha.  I used one of my dad's that we use for his horses.  I think the bit was too big, too, but it wasn't bad enough not to ride in it and I'll use Flash's 4 3/4 one next time to see if it fits better.  I tightened it up and then hopped on!

He was so calm and gentle at the walk, and then at the trot.  He picked up right about where we left off last time with the nice slow trot and head on the ground.  I was able to find a good length to hold the reigns at with one hand so he had room to carry his head low as well as lift it up.  I don't really care where he carries his head as long as he's calm (plus he looks pretty when he lifts it up!), but what was nice is he'd stay at his nice slow trot even when his head popped up and the reigns were drooping off his face.   Good boy!  Now all I gotta do is teach him to neck reign.  It seems like he's starting to pick it up, but once he's got that, I think he'll definitely be my favorite horse I've ever ridden.  He's excellent and everything I could ask for in a horse!  I just gotta get my seat so we can work on faster trots for endurance haha.  We're going to have a lot of fun together :)

After that, I decided to give him a break.  I thought I might go for a second ride in a bit before I had to put him away, but that didn't end up happening.  I called Legacy to see if they still had the stirrups I needed, and Shelley put them under the counter for me to pick up this evening.  Then I called Doc Woodington about Flash's ticks, and he had me bring the wonderful "Jar of Things I Pull Off of Flash" over.  He was surprised, but confirmed, sure enough, those were ticks.  Deer ticks to be exact - I was a little worried, but he said lime disease is rare here.  He sent me off with some Ivermectrin wormer (Flash is due for a worming anyway - I think I even saw him rubbing today) for him and Snickers (I didn't know when Snickers was last wormed, so I figured I'd grab some just in case.  Turns out it was November, so I'll probably go ahead and worm him this month).  He also recommended to get some shampoo with Permethrin in it and give Flash a bath to kill any ticks the Ivermectrin doesn't, such as those that aren't currently sucking.  He took a look at the pictures I have of the thing in Flash's ear and said it's just a wart and it'll go away.  He seemed pretty certain, and that made me feel better that I don't have to worry about it :)  (There was also one of those strange growths he had when I got him and they all went away - he said those were probably just warts and that's what it looked like - and I discovered the other day that the scab growth thing on the back of his back right fetlock was just one of those cartilage things that all the horses have on every fetlock - it now looks like the other three.  Yay for no health issues!)  I went back and took Snickers back to Jill's, then grabbed Flash.  I felt bad because Flash was so excited I was working with him it seemed and started giving me his pose to earn treats.  In all fairness, I did bring the clicker, but just to make sure the worming went easy.  I had to bring him out in the yard because Snickers wouldn't leave us alone (they both think I belong to just them! I feel like I'm cheating on one when I'm with the other :S).  I don't think I even needed to do the clicker stuff with Flash he took it so well, but I kinda wanted an excuse to give him some grain anyway.  He swallowed it all really well and so hopefully these ticks go away quick!

By that time, I had to give lessons.  After those, I went back and fed the three of them and gave Snickers some peppermint cookies.  It was 5:30 by the time I left, and Legacy closes at 6, so I was in a hurry!  I barely made it at 5:58, but the stirrups were right there ready for me!  I almost choked when I mentioned the saddle I got was the one they had for $75 and the lady said, "and now you've got $90 stirrups for it!"  I was thinking somewhere closer to $70, but oh well - I'm not mentioning how much they cost to Trevor since my gift from Papa Baque was $50 lol.  They're pretty important.  After that, I went to D&B for the Permethrin (Legacy only had a dog shampoo, but I had a good conversation with a guy ad D&B and he had exactly what I needed).  I checked out the tack options they had there (nothing great for endurance though and no one like Shelly who can really help me get the best stuff for endurance) and then found someone to help me get the Permethrin.  Turns out the guy I found was actually the one I talked to on the phone!  He helped me get the right stuff as well as a sprayer to mix it and spray it with.  I also asked him about endurance stirrups just in case I'd missed him, and he showed me the few (non-endurance) stirrups I'd already seen.  However, he did mention that his aunt did endurance and said she hated her regular stirrups and the special endurance stirrups made all the difference.  I guess I can feel a little better about spending that much.  Plus they're metal and not nylon, accounting for the extra cost (which also included tax).  I also picked up a salt block for my babies and chose the one with all the minerals and stuff in them.  I don't know if they really needed that one, but I figured for $2 I'd get them the one that definitely had what they might need in it.

Well, I guess that's it for today!  I'm excited to put another ride on Snickers tomorrow and get rid of Flash's ticks!  With how little Snickers is spooking, we may just go out on the trails soon ish.  I was pretty impressed by him and how well he handled himself, especially when I was on him.  He didn't even spook at the cat that came into the yard!  I don't know if it's him learning or just trusting me, but I love it.  He's such an excellent horse.  Of course, so is Flash, and he's an absolute in my pocket sweetheart and baby.  I just can't ride him and I guess Snickers is a bit more exciting at the moment.  Well, that's exactly why I have the two - one is exciting, energetic, and alert while the other one is my calm baby that I know I can do anything with and never worry.  I really do have two excellent horses :)

PS - I used iMovie for my Educational Technology class and LOVED it, so I'll have to get some videos of my boys and me up here soon ;)

Home Sweet Home

I finally got to bring home Snickers - yay!  I met Barb at Phantasy Arabians at noon and got Snickers all ready, then she loaded him up and followed me to Jill's house!  He seemed pretty excited to be there.  I led him in and let him go!  Cowgirl, the mare there that always picks on Flash, started doing something interesting - she wouldn't let Snickers anywhere near Flash....  In fact, she was so preoccupied with keeping them apart, she let Flash alone to eat.  I guess that was nice.  Either way, I spent about an hour watching them.  Flash was kind of wound up and kept whinnying at my family's horses in the other pasture.  Cowgirl took a couple of opportunities to back up to him or chase him off, but one time when he was eating she threw a kick at him and he kicked back harder.  Neither of them hit each other, but after that the dynamics changed and Cowgirl seemed to cede to Snickers.  Other than that, he ran around a bit and explored.  I was a little worried since he hasn't been out in a pasture free to roam.  If he was out, it was when he was worked or on the hot walker.  However, he was having a lot of fun running around it seemed and was slipping quite a bit, but he seems to have figured out that's a bad idea.

Of course I was a worried mom all night, but when I got over there this afternoon he was doing great, albeit a bit dirtier.  And, when I fed them, Cowgirl came to get the first bite but ran off with it as soon as Snickers approached.  He didn't have to challenge her!  It seems that he's the top now, with her in the middle, and Flash is still at the bottom.  I even got to pet them both at the same time without anybody chasing anybody else off - I think Cowgirl is afraid to challenge Snickers where he wants to be, but won't challenge me, so I got to have them both next to each other for a moment :)  I had homework and met with Naomi from SWIT&DR for the first time, so I didn't get a change to work with them, but it made me feel good to know they're both doing ok there together.  Tomorrow I'll have to bring Snickers over before lessons and ride him.

Speaking of Naomi, that meeting went really well.  We talked a lot about endurance and I got some questions answered, but mostly it seems like she'll be a really good contact to have in the club.  She owns Wild West in downtown Eagle and I really like their food (I didn't realize it, but I'd been there once before with my mom), plus she gave me a hot chocolate on the house!  She's very nice and I can tell I'll learn a lot from her and other people in the club.  Her friend (Rae?) lives really close to my parents and sounds like will be a lot of fun to get to know and ride with as well.  Naomi even mentioned we might be able to work out a deal for Snickers and Flash to move to her place - which would really make me feel better about them being somewhere where someone who knows horses will be keeping a good eye on them.  Plus, then I'll be able to ride with her right from her house (you can even get to the foothills)!  I'm excited to get to know more people from SWIT&DR - so far the experience has been amazing!  I think I'm going to go to the banquet at the end of this month just to make an appearance and meet more people.  It'll also be good to see all the awards and what the club is all about (kinda) :)  Yay!

Jackpot!

What do you get when you put together a rider who's basically only ridden Quarter Horses, an Arabian, and a trainer that trains reigners?  You get a riding pair with an Arabian who sticks his nose to the ground and trots slowly with droopy-loose reigns and a very happy rider!  Snickers really impressed me today.  I decided it wasn't a great combo to be trying to teach him how I want him to move and behave while I'm trying to learn to get my seat on him at the same time, so I rode in my Western saddle today (which I'm still going to sell!)  I brushed Snickers out - his hair was still a little matted from yesterday - saddled up, and lunged him in the round pen for a while at both a trot and lope.  He was a little shy of the barn side of the pen and spooked a few times, but not really bad and he may have just been feeling a little good.  It was pretty funny because I'd tell him WOAH and he'd plant, turn towards me, throw his head in the air, and BLOW!  ... as in nose flared blowing with this nice fog horn type sound all in one huff.  He's the first horse I've known that does that (though Sonny did it today with tail in the air and all when he was turned out to the pasture by himself).  Barb said it's an Arabian thing and they do that when they're feeling good usually.  I think it's cute and it looks pretty cool.  After he calmed down and relaxed a bit, I took the halter off and put the bridle on with nothing to hold his head down or hold him still, and he took it just fine with his head nice and low!  Good boy!

So then I rode him around and around at a walk and eventually at a trot.  He didn't spook when I was on him the whole time and listened really well!  At a trot, I just asked him to drop his head and said easy.  It's almost like he starts reading my mind and knew what I wanted - it didn't take very long for me to give me a consistently slow and easy trot.  He was able to get something too, though - because he drops his head so low and slows down, I couldn't hold him tight with the reigns.  After we felt each other out and got a little communication going for the slow trot, I was able to give him all the reigns in the world and he didn't speed up!  To ask him to slow down now, I just have to say easy (it took him a little to realize that doesn't mean 'woah') and jiggle the reigns a bit (like I've been teaching my students to do with Rocket), and he slows right down :)  Good boy!  He looks like a royal reigning and western pleasure horse now!  I don't care so much about the height of the head as I do the pace and listening, but it sure feels good when he puts his head low and trots nice and easy.  I'll have to show my dad what an Arabian can really do if you're smart enough to work with them :)  I didn't ask him to lope today because he was doing so well on the trotting and I really wanted to reinforce that.  After a couple of times trotting each way (working in a little neck reigning each time we switched direction toward the fence), I decided he'd done a good enough job to be done.  He let me take off the bridle really nicely and I unsaddled him.  I gave him a good brushing afterward while I fed him treats, and then fixed one of the braids that came out.  And of course more treats haha.

I'm pretty proud of him.  I feel like I hit the jackpot with him and we're going to make an excellent team.  I'm so glad we found one another and were able to give each other a shot.  Even though the first time I met him he stuck his tongue out at me!  I'm so excited to bring him home tomorrow - Barb and I are planning on meeting at noon at her place, she's going to follow me to Eagle and drop him off, then I'll spend some time with him there to help him settle in.  It's good knowing he's bonded to me and, in Barb's words, I'm a "familiar face".  This is going to be great :).

Flash the colt

I worked with Flash for the first time in a week or so yesterday (I've been working with Snickers so much I haven't had time for Flash), and it really showed.  In fact, just on the walk over he was fired up and tried to buck and kick on the lead.  The first time we were still at Jill's house and I ended up just letting go of the rope.  I think he actually kicked my hand, but I barely felt it and it didn't hurt.  After I let go he just stood there and I picked up the lead again.  Then, out next to the road, he decided to do the same thing, but I just held on firmly and waited until he settled down.  At least this time he set back against me with the front end rather than going away from me and giving me the back end haha.  Once I got him back into the round pen, he settled down really nicely and we mostly just lunged a little.  After that was when I discovered the ticks, so that was the remainder of the evening.  While picking out the ticks, he just stood there quiet, obedient, and friendly, and then was very well behaved all the way home.

Today he was still very well behaved when I led him to and from may parents' house, so it looks like his good ol' gentle personality is back.  Guess it just goes to show I do need to consistently work with him, if just to keep him nice and behaved.  He's doing a lot better lunging and responding to the cues to lope, but he gets a little annoyed after a while I think and doesn't do as well.  That's ok.  He's a little rusty on leading as far as position and space goes, but still trots right along with me and seems to remember somewhat where he's supposed to be.  I didn't bring the clicker or treats with me leading him back and forth, though, so he's doing pretty good following directions without them!  Smart horsey!

Now that Snickers is going to be at the same pasture, I'll have time to work with both of them.  My priority is still going to be Snickers because I have things I need him to be doing now and Flash really needs to grow up still before I need him to do a whole lot more, so that's what I'll focus on for now.  I really need to get some longer, like 10', reigns so I can start driving him, though.  I really think that's our next step in training, as well as a bit of a refresher on his other skills.

TICKS!! EW!!

As I was talking to the family of one of my students after lessons yesterday, I was rubbing Flash's chest and noticed a couple of bumps.  I was worried that his little warty things from a couple of months ago were back, but NO they were TICKS!!  At least I know what they are this time haha.  So I spent a while and pulled a TON of them from his chest and I feel like I barely even made a dent.  Most weren't moving, but there were a couple wandering around in there with legs a goin!  Ugh, it makes me cringe and shiver just thinking about it.  Today I pulled out a lot more, but there's no way I'm possibly going to find all of them, especially because I checked other parts of his body more thoroughly and there were a few more scattered ones and there were some that were TINY - the only reason I found them were because they were next to a bigger one!  So now I've got to go get some Ivermectin wormer (I guess it'd probably be a good thing to go ahead and worm him anyway), which should kill anything sucking on him.  I'm still unclear about how it works though - am I sure that all the ones on him are still alive because most weren't moving?  Do they fall out when they die?  Are they hibernating - if so, will the Ivermectin work?  Then I've got to do something about all the ones NOT sucking blood - I guess there is a powdery stuff I can pat on him that will kill the rest...  Lame!!  Oh well :S

Stuff for endurance

So now I have a saddle.....  And am compiling a list of everything else I need for endurance!  Here's what I've got so far:

By the way, I think my first race will probably be the one at the end of June, so a lot of these things I have a lot of time to work on.  If I get my Piano sold, it will pay for all of it.  If I get my saddle sold, it should pay for a little less than half, so that's what I'm planning on doing.

Store: Legacy Feed and Fuel (corner of Meridian and Victory) - talk to Shelley and mention I'm the one who bought Snickers and that the stuff you're looking for is for endurance.

Things I need in order of how soon I need them...

Needed ASAP:

1) Stirrups: E-Z Ride Stirrups in Brown, Nylon ones should work ($75) - http://www.buytack.com/products/saddle1/all/stirrup7.htm (second set)

Needed over the next month or two:

2) Bridle and reigns (probably sold separately): I haven't decided what I want yet and should probably get these myself.  I'm leaning toward a halter/bridle combo with rope reigns. ($75-100)

3) GPS: Garmin eTrex Venture HC GPS Receiver ($120, Valentines?) - http://www.amazon.com/Garmin-eTrex-Venture-GPS-Receiver/dp/B000PDR230/ref=wl_it_dp_o_npd?ie=UTF8&coliid=I163K08TPS610B&colid=36FC8B79MSIIJ (I can order these through Melinda's account and have it here in two days)

4) Heart Monitor: I want to verify with some people at SWIT&DR which one will work best for me or at least adequately.

Needed by May ish:

5) Girth Strap: The lady at Legacy Feed and Fuel will know what to suggest, either fleece lined or leather ($100?)

6) Pad: Again, the lady at Legacy Feed and Fuel knows which to recommend ($150)

7) Breast Collar: I just need one of these before I go on my first race likely so I don't slip back on him during a long ride over hills and whatnot.  Not very urgent.  ($60)

8) Straps (for stirrups): Ones that are thin or a single loop so they don't press my saddle into my thighs - you may want to take my saddle with you ($50)

Before my first race:

9) Saddle Bags: A cantle bag (back of the saddle) that will carry a water bottle and supplies ($30?)

Some other stuff I may want to get:

Leg splits?  I don't know if I'll need them, but maybe?

I'll add more to this list once I'm able to sit down and talk to some people at SWIT&DR haha

Dressing room time!

Well, yesterday I felt like I was in a horsey dressing room, where Snickers tried out outfit after outfit that just didn't work for him. The tack shop just up the street from Phantasy Arabians, where Snickers is, carries Abetta saddles in various sizes and styles. I spent most of yesterday running back and forth trying first the Arabian tree, then the wide quarter horse tree, and finally the regular quarter horse tree and none of them fit. The Arabian and the wide quarter horse ones were the worst, with the part under the pommel pressing into his shoulder a ton! The regular was close, but it still put pressure there. Noel, the trainer, suggested a semi quarter horse tree, but they didn't have any. I was feeling pretty hopeless at that point because I just didn't know what I was going to do about getting a saddle that would work for Snickers and wouldn't hurt him, but also one that fit me and my budget :(

Today ended up pretty positive, though. I stopped by the tack shop on my way to see Snickers and Shelley, the lady that had been helping me before (I guess we actually met when I first went and met Snickers so she knew him and Barb, the owner/breeder), walked me through some of my options for saddles and what I was looking for. She brainstormed a couple of ideas and got me to open up to the possibility of using an English saddle they had there for $75 because it looked like it might fit. I guess the English saddlemy family has is a TERRIBLE fit for me, but she had me sit in this one and it seemed all right... So she loaded me up with that and an Abetta saddle with a gaited tree. I went and got Snickers ready and lunged him a bit with the English saddle, and it looked completely wrong and I guessed it was probably my fault because I really had no idea what I was doing saddling him up. She adjusted it and showed me how to saddle him up - I would have never guessed the saddle needed to go so far back behind his shoulder! She told me to take a mental picture when she was done so I could do it myself - I whipped out my camera/camcorder and took a real (digital) picture haha. Glad I had it with me! The gaited saddle seemed to fit him pretty well, too, so she left it there so I could try it ut and even measured his back so she could take a second look at those other saddles to make a recommendation for what would work with him.

After that, she left, and I took Snickers back out to the round pen and lunged him again. Then I tied him and put the bridle on! He was so good - see the last post :) I didn't have to work with the clicker or warm him up to it or anything, I just put it right on! And I received a nice surprise when we rode - he's very soft and dropped his head almost immediately. The English saddle isn't half bad, turns out, with a much more curved seat and I feel pretty secure. I fact, he spooked a few times and I didn't go anywhere! And they weren't just little spooks. The good thing is he gets his head right back when he spooks and knows the "w" word - he even stopped when I was lunging him and he spooked. I think I'm fairly confident in this saddle. I'd still prefer a western Abetta, but I'll save up over the year and get one next year, one that is exactly what I want and wil ride in forever. Shelley is going to let me know which saddles she thinks would fit him best, so I can keep those in mind when I'm ready to drop a little more cash for a saddle. For $75, I think I'm getting a pretty good deal :) I'm still going to sell my piano and western saddle (what's the point of having it if it doesn't fit my horses? And I have no idea what is going to fit Flash when he's ready for it!) though I'll probably use a good amount of that money for the rest of my tack, like a girth strap, saddle pad, bridle, hoof boots, heart monitor, gps, etc. Which I need all those anyway, so if this saddle will work, and new Abettas will always be available when I have a bit more money, then why not save a couple hundred dollars and make sure I have everything that just a few hiqher quality pieces of what I need.

Anyway, he was really good under that saddle and I manage to sit the trot and not get unseated for almost the entire time. There is a bit that rubs on the inside of my thigh, but I could probably fix that with a pad or something on the seat. I'll ask about that when I stop by the tack shop and (probably) buy the saddle. Oh, I forgot to mention Shelly is an endurance rider, so she seems to know what she's talking about when it comes to what I need and should consider. I didn't end up riding him in the Abetta western gaited saddle, so I didn't lope him either - I didn't want to try it for the first time with a new saddle I'm not used to on a horse I barely know in an environment where I don't know what could/will happen. I'll hold off until I can get a western saddle I'm used to on him and figure out how he feels, then try it out in the English saddle. By the time I was done riding in the English saddle, I only had about 45 minutes left and he'd done so well for the first time I'd ridden him in a bridle and bit, I didn't want to push it just so I could try out the Abetta and also ask him to lope for the first time.

Anyway, so overall a good day! I'm excited to get him back home and start working with him. I don't think I'll get to see him until Sunday, when Barb plans on bringing him over. I have to feed the horses all next week while Jill is out of town, so I'll get to work with him every day. Yay! Hopefully I can get him to be a little less spooky with fewer things going on around him (like people getting bedding with the big scary squeaky wheel barrow and the shovel, the chickens and geese that were going to eat him, Barb sneaking up on him, etc.). Plus, I'll get the chance to sack him out. Things are looking really good!

Success!

Snickers is bridling like a pro! Yesterday, we did a good soliD clicker training session. The first half, I worked him from accepting the bit into letting me put the headstall on completely. The second half was simply putting the bridle on and taking it off over and over. Didn't ride him, just wanted him to focus on the bridle - now he puts his head nice and low, accepts the bit, and doesn't move at all when I tuck his ears under!

Today, though, was the real test. I intended on riding, so I pulled him out, tied him up, saddled up (I have more to write about the saddling but that's another post...), and then put the bridle on like it was nothing... And it was! I don't want to say he is completely over it - I'll want to see him respond just like that for a week or two with consistent riding to declare that - but he's definitely on that path. Yay!

Riding Partners

Well, I think my biggest endurance hurdle has been wonderfully overcome.  I was really worried that, no matter how hard I tried, I wouldn't be able to properly condition Snickers for endurance because I don't have a truck or trailer or a partner to ride with for safety in conditioning on trails.  Sure, my dad said he would drop me off at Eagle Island State Park, but that's all flat and who knows if that would even work out with our schedules.

However, in the last two days or so, I posted an ad on craigslist for a riding partner.  I got one response from that, but she referred me to a trail riding group of ladies in the area that I joined online.  It looks like there are a few organized things, but mostly people just post when the are going to go ride and others join them!  That would be great for just doing trail work, which Snickers will need especially before we start the actual conditioning.

Even better, though, I joined the SWIT&DR group on yahoo groups and posted a message on their boards with a little more detail about what I'm looking for, and the response has been fantastic!  I've got at least three people who look pretty promising to ride with so far, and one of them is a national rider!  They've all got quite a bit of experience and are happy to help me prepare both of us for endurance.  Yay!  Now I just gotta get Snickers to my place (I can't wait for this weekend!) and work him in the arena so we can both get to know and trust one another a bit better and also work on some better riding skills from him.  He's good and ridable, but it doesn't feel too pretty right now.  Of course I don't know yet how he responds to the bit, but I really want to work on asking him to drop his head and asking for different speeds within gaits.  However, once we're ready to go out, we've now got some partners to trailer out and go riding with us!