After my first lesson...

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I've ridden my entire life, but never actually took lessons. Recently, I came to the conclusion that my riding left a lot to be desired and found an instructor I love. We had our first lesson last Saturday, and I came away with my own conclusion that I'm doing nearly everything wrong (she was really fantastic about helping without making me feel bad). This is a bit discouraging, especially since I can't seem to make much progress one my own and get back to where we ended our lesson. I know this is just fine and I'm excited for my next lesson because I know I'll improve with each one. Lately, however, riding Snickers has been simply miserable between his attitude with the bit (I'll explain more in a moment), finding a saddle that fits, and just simply my riding being a mess.

In the meantime, I'm interested in what you all have to say about my riding. This is the second ride since my lesson, and I'm really struggling. My horse, Snickers does have a lot of trouble with the bit - I rode him bitless all last year and now have him in a 3-piece snaffle that is about as gentle as it gets. It's my instructor's opinion that he's getting bored and messing with the bit when he just needs to learn to accept it. Of course, my hands are another part of it - but he did seem to get somewhat better toward the end of our lesson.

The voice in the video is NOT my instructor but rather my boarder and a good friend. Please don't critique her comments - this is strictly about my riding.

Finally, I this is only my second time riding in this saddle and I'm still figuring out the best way to do the rigging and how I need to sit in it. It is a 16" whereas I need a 15", but this is what was available and I plan on adding a pad to the seat which should fix that.

Ok, well - have at it. I'm sure there's plenty to tear apart :)




Read more: http://www.horseforum.com/horse-riding-critique/after-my-first-lesson-152536/#ixzz2KS4Ve7DU

Why I tie in the trailer

I used to be more or less indifferent about tying horses in the trailer. That is, until I met my Arabian, Snickers. Snickers is a very *busy* horse and likes to know what's going on around him at all times - particularly regarding what's going on behind him. He never gets nervous, but is very fidgety about things going on around his rump. It took a long time for him to become comfortable with me walking behind him without his help to move his rump over quickly while keeping an eye on me. While other horses may like a butt scratch, he tenses up like you're going to tickle him or something. I once tried to pull a tail hair out of his butt during a ride when his tail was flying like a flag - that tail clamped down tight as soon as he felt my offending hand getting anywhere near his tender parts (after that, he just had to deal with that hair stuck up his you-know-what).

When it comes to other horses, he seems very nervous about their ill-will toward his hind end. On trails, if he senses another horse coming up behind him, he will politely step to one side of the trail and look back at the horses, watch them as they pass, and then continue as if nothing had happened and no amount of prodding can convince him to just ignore the other horses and keep moving.

So what does this have to do with tying in trailers? Once, a friend of mine picked me up with her four-horse straight-load trailer. Her horse was loaded in its usual spot in the back left section. She figured that our horses would be better off staggered with each other and so had me load Snickers into the front right section. Snickers went in willingly, but then immediately realized that this horse was going to be staying right behind him. His response was to twist his long neck over the spare tire and look straight back at this stranger while tucking his tail and smooshing his body as far forward as he possibly could. Seeing that this was clearly not going to work, I backed him up and put him in the section right next to the other horse, and we tied their halters so they could see each other, but not reach each other and nip one another.

However, the ultimate example came during another ride in a friend's trailer. It was a two-horse slant-load, and her horse was in the front stall, so Snickers got lucky and received that nice little triangle section in the back. I might note that it wasn't exactly large, and Snickers' isn't particularly small, either. She didn't tie her horse, and since I was indifferent, I didn't tie Snickers, either. The horses seemed to get along just fine. Off we went to our ride. Within the first five minutes, there was a lot of sudden hoof movement, and then everyone was holding still. It sounded like they were fine, so we went ahead to our ride, which was a 40 minute drive on the freeway and down the busiest highway in Idaho (which is pretty busy, by the way). Little did we know, this was the view everyone behind us was getting:

Now, I tie in the trailer.

New saddle!

It's here! My saddle was supposed to be delivered today and came about the time I got off work.  I stopped by Legacy to pick up a pair of latigos use the center-fire riggingm then hurried home and opened my giant package in the middle of the living room!

As soon as I got it out, I had to find a place to set it to get a good look at it.  Trevor wasn't too pleased about where I put it... especially when I swung my leg over it to see how it felt to sit in - with my boots still on since there of course was no time to take them off.

It felt like it might work, even though I already knew it was a bit too big.  I truly should be using a 15", but I think I can make a 16" work.  Plus, it's not as cushy as my sister's English saddle (the one that fits Snickers but definitely doesn't fit me), so I'll be happy to get a pad on there ASAP.

I was pleased with the irons, though.  I wasn't sure what I was going to get along with the saddle, but the irons are pretty wide and should buy me time until I can afford to go get a pair of wester EZ Ride stirrup.  Turns out, she sent a latigo and whatnot for the saddle as well, but at least half of it wouldn't have worked for the center-fire rigging and I liked having the new latigos anyway :)  The one that was sent was actually the same kind I bought as well.  I attached the latigos and tied them up, then grabbed the rest of my tack and was on my way out to try it on!

I went out and got Snickers, who is doing much better coming to me.  I don't walk to him - I just simply wait for him to voluntarily come to me.  This is my game now ;)

I brushed him down and made him look pretty because I wanted to take lots of pictures to put online and check and see how the saddle fits.  After I got him all pretty, it was time to saddle up!  First, I set the saddle on without a pad to check fit.  I ran my hand underneath and it seemed to make contact all the way down the back.  Of course, it's always hard for me to tell what I'm feeling in the middle of the saddle :S  However, from all appearances, it seemed to me it was fitting correctly.

Then, I added the pad and cinch and saddled up!  I had to mess with the center-fire rigging and the HAF pad to get them to work together.  I almost wonder if it's worth trying to get them to work.  I'm going to try out the Skito dressage pad that I also have and see how it goes.  

Of course, Snickers had to check out the goods, too :)

Then, I put on his new convertible headstall and it was up for the ride!!

I did like the feel of the saddle and felt I could move around and wasn't put in an awkward position.  I'm excited to see what Erica things about it and if it helps with my riding.  I sure hope so.  Beyond that, I was trying to focus on the things Erica had pointed out - however, from these pictures, I can see that I was still clearly leaning forward.  Plus, it's hard to evaluate a saddle when you're trying to put all the disconnected pieces together and just ride at all.  I think it'll work, though, and seemed much better than my sister's ill-fitting English saddle.  It's nice to be back in a western-type saddle again.  I'm hoping that it'll fit just perfectly once I get a seat cushion in there.  I think I can make it work as-is, but since I'm now aware of the things I need to fix, I definitely don't want my saddle working against me.

It did seem like either the saddle or the pad shifted as it seems often happens with him...  However, it seemed like the cinch did stay in the same place.  I'll have to explore what works best.  I hope I don't have to buy another pad, though :S  I'm going to try my Skito dressage pad next time and see how that works.

Finally, I  tried on the drop noseband I'm working on for Snickers (at Erica's recommendation).  It seemed pretty close to perfect, though I wasn't too pleased with Snickers drooling all over it.  He's such a good sport about me sticking all these things on him haha.  Poor Snickers!

Finally, I unsaddled, brushed, and blanketed Snickers before putting him away.  Both he and Flash were very excited about their mash today and went at it like crazy.  I fed them (and found another one of Flash's front teeth!) and said my goodbyes.  I didn't get a picture of it, but I do have a VERY dirty palomino at the moment!  Oh well, he can stay dirty a bit longer haha :)

Last but not least, I started a forum here to see what people could tell me about the fit of the saddle just from the pictures.  So far, everyone seems to think it's a good fit!  Maybe I'll finally find the end of my saddle woes!  Yay!!

Humbled and Exhausted

Yesterday, I finally had my lesson with the trainer I had originally found.  Her name is Erica Webster, and I am completely impressed.  I think this is going to really work out :)  By the end of our lesson, I felt humbled and exhausted.  However, it wasn't because she was hard on me or anything - she was very kind but also very attentive to what I needed to correct.  She added layer upon layer for what I needed to do to improve my riding and work with Snickers.  I made myself type up a list of all the things I remembered late last night so that I wouldn't forget anything (though I'm sure I did miss a few things).

We started off by having her check the saddle I've been using for fit.  She had me run my hand underneath and explained that the fit with this saddle shouldn't be anything to worry about.  For comparison, I went and got the saddle that sored up his back last fall - the difference was clear.  Especially when she put even a little bit of pressure on the saddle, and I couldn't even get my hand in between the saddle and the muscles just below his wither.  I feel so bad for him having to have that saddle all year :(  I wonder if some of that tightness comes from his shoulder developing, but I don't think it ever truly fit.  Just looking at it, she pointed out how it "perched" on his back rather than fit in with it like the other saddle.  In addition, she said the saddle was so tiny it might even be a child's saddle, so it never really fit me either!

So then we got all saddled up and ready to go.  I made a new convertible headstall to use instead of the halter/sidepull/bridle converter.  I might just use this one for endurance, too.  I really like it and I used some black and a different green in it :)  I couldn't find my under-bridle halter, though, so I ended up having to use my Zilco halter instead.  The combination worked really well though and looked great.  I'm very happy with it :)  Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get a very good picture, but I'll try again today or tomorrow.

We started out working on me.  Most of the lesson was at a walk, which was great because I really needed that stability to figure out how I was moving.  She observed a lot of things that I'm doing that aren't doing me or Snickers many favors.  Here's the list just on my posture:

• don't lean forward
• roll shoulders back, straighten back, relax
• my tension translates to Snickers (and I'm riding pretty tense)
• lengthen leg and lower heel - I need to do some exercises on the stairs to help with this
• fighting my saddle - it isn't doing me any favors, either.  I'm really excited to get my new saddle for our next lesson
• eyes up - I tend to watch his head
• tuck my belly in and don't hallow my back
• plumb line from ear, shoulder, him, heel
• sit balanced so I can't get pushed over
• I need a relaxed knee and thigh with my calf on his side like I'm reaching around his body - that's where my stability should come from.
• Stop twisting right side forward and dropping left side down - we ride how we drive. When se said that, I realized I was in big trouble haha.  Speaking of which, I'm sitting like that now.  Quit it!!
• putting more weight on the left
• Don't post forward

As for Snickers, she really helped with the bit issues and giving a fresh perspective:

• Snickers messing with bit and acting up from boredom.  He's a very "busy" horse in her words (which I already knew), but he's doing various things like messing with the bit and "spooking" just because he's bored.  For example, he spooked at a lot of cars going past, which he's done occasionally but usually settles down.  She pointed out that during all of this, even chomping and grinding on the bit with his lips pulled back and when he "spooked", he still had a soft eye and didn't really give the expression of actually being in pain or scared.  Interesting.... Smart horse.  And busy horse.  I told her I really don't know why I liked him so much and why I bought him, and he can frustrate the crap out of me sometime, but I keep coming back to him.  Maybe it's because we really do have so much in common haha.  This observation added to that even more.
• I need to give him something to do
• stretchy circles (asking him for a smaller and larger circle, which helps both of us focus on something to do, improving our communication, and keeps him busy).
• shoulder in (I struggled with this, but was improving and it'll come with time)
• any head tossing/acting up = leg.  Enough is enough and he just needs to accept it
• When he starts wandering into the fence: plant inside leg and drop inside hip, then give leg with the outside.  I really need to anchor myself with that inside foot.
• his head can meet me halfway
• She suggested using a flash noseband to teach him to accept the bit and keep his mouth closed.  Since he's not in pain, it could be useful (and I wouldn't tighten it very much).  I think I'll go ahead and make my own.

Snickers did start settling in and behaving much better, but I needed to adjust how I was using my hands:

• firm outside hand - I decided on a rein length and put my hand at the front of my pad, which both anchored me and him since he had consistency to work with and understand.
• half halt inside hand - he was really starting to soften up after a bit and get it, especially when I started getting the inside hand combined with the outside leg correctly
• don't cross hand over neck - when I want to cross over, pull my hand out instead of in.
• don't let reins slip through - my arms are elastic and I need to have a firm grip on the reins.

I was very satisfied with the lesson and she was an excellent instructor.  I think this is going to be an excellent relationship - and I am going to do my best to tip her when possible.  She definitely deserves it.

Oh, and did I mention she and I are almost the same age?  I think I'm just a few weeks older than her, in fact.  However, her age is definitely no limit on her knowledge and ability as an instructor.  It is quite a plus, though, to finally have someone I enjoy working with that is a little closer to my own age.  Anyway, I really like her, and thus far would highly recommend her to anyone interested in lessons of any style!  Her resume is quite impressive...  Here's what she had to say from the initial ad I found her on:

From her ad on NewHorse.com:

I am a 3-day Eventer with a soild Pony Club background, I have been through both the USPC and the CPC system. I believe that Dressage (flat work) is the foundation to all riding and training. And gives you a solid foundation to build on. I have ridden with trainers such as: George Morris, Nick Holm-Smith, Adrienne Lyle, Barb Soley and Brain Morton. I have spent more of my time training or re-training young horses, then I have competing. I hope to change that some day. I have trained and schooled horses to the CC* level. I have also spent time in Holland at Brinkman Sport Horses, working with KWPN stallions and talented sport horses alike. I ride both English and western. Even though my background is English I still enjoy cutting, reining and driving. Along with Pony Club, I was also in 4H for over ten years. Where I showed livestock and competed in western gaming. Cross training is a great way to exercise you and your horses mind. It gets you both doing something new and exciting. I am willing to work with both English and western riders alike . And help them achieve their goals. I believe that I can help give you and your horse good and solid fundamentals to build on. And also challenges the more experienced horse and rider. I know from years of trainers and lessons how important it is to find a instructor that fits you and your horse. You have to click with your instructor, like you do with your horse. Finding someone that works well with you and your horse is one of the most important things.. I believe that you can never stop learning. If you have any questions I would love to talk to you. Erica Cowgirloftheusa@yahoo.com

Fence Repairs and Clicker Training

Last Sunday, the horses got out. Marri watched Flash go straight through the hot fence (which has not been hot) in his impatience at feeding time.  Poor Marri spent the next hour and a half catching them.  She called me, then caught Flash right afterward, but Snickers proved to be a pain.  He finally came when she calmly walked in a way that kept him from getting away (he was in a little alleyway between fences), and then he touched her hand with his nose.  After that, it was over.

Unfortunately I was coming down with a bad sinus-infection type thing that day.  Marri had to leave, but explained how to fix the fence.  I did so (it ended up being pretty easy), but just couldn't seem to get it hot, so the horses stayed in their pens the rest of the day until I came back out that evening.  Just before I got there, Marri was able to verify the fence was, indeed, hot.  As it turns out, I just wasn't testing it correctly!  I did feel pretty proud of my fence repairing skills :)

So then the horses got put back in and all was well.  However, this brought up the issue of Snickers not allowing people to catch him.  Since our episode last Spring with the lasso, I really haven't had too much trouble catching him (then again, he's also been in a smaller pen and only with Flash).  After some time off, I did have to work him and get him to come in once or twice, but that usually ended pretty quickly.  However, he's still quite stand-off ish.  Oftentimes, he'll walk away from me when I go toward him.  Kristen suggested (from her experience with her horse). to just continue walking toward him.  Funny enough, he stopped less than a minute later when I tried this!  I guess that not giving up or making a big deal out of it made him loose interest in moving away.  Unfortunately, this didn't seem to transfer to letting Marri catch him. Honestly, if we were ever at a ride, I don't know if I'd see that horse again because he would leave me in the dust and not let anyone catch him!  Though, I'm sure he'd stick around camp, but just avoid everyone.  Thus, I've decided I need to address this specifically.

The weather has been getting nicer - both warmer and sunnier and not as hazy with an inversion - so I've been able to work with him a few times.  I decided a "negative" approach probably wouldn't suit him, and that I needed to convince him that I was interesting and rewarding to work with.  In other words, he didn't necessarily need to be trying to avoid work by coming to me, but rather seek reward.  How about clicker training?  I thought it might be worth a shot.  The first day (Monday), I took him into the arena and turned him loose.  He started strutting around and prancing, not paying any attention to me at all.  However, when he finally looked at me, I stepped back.  He was thinking about coming, but I had to coax him a little the first time.  After that, he seemed to figure out what I wanted, and, over time, started coming to me and staying with me more and more. It was kind of funny, though, because he still wanted to prance around some with his tail in the air and snorting his nose.  Silly horse.

Yesterday, I didn't feel like going to the arena and just did the same thing quickly in the pasture.  Of course, Flash was constantly with us, so I managed to time my click for when Snickers came to me but Flash wasn't grabbing for treats.  It was great to keep Snickers' interest, and funny to see poor little Flash trying so hard to do the right thing!  I'm excited for this year with Flash - I'm going to really start training him :)  Anyway, after a bit we stopped.  However, not before Snickers started getting snarky with Flash for getting in on the goods - this was his face every time I moved and they were coming to me!  Snickers was making this face clearly at Flash, flipping his ears forward as soon as he got close to me (and Flash was still a safe distance away haha).  Oh, Snickers, there's enough of me to go around!

It's poison, of course.

I've been thinking a lot about what I'm throwing into my boys' beet pulp mash and why...  The formula has gotten a LOT simpler than it used to be (thank goodness!), and I think it's a lot better.  I switched to doing beet pulp with Triple Crown Complete mixed in.  After consulting those on the endurance.net google group, I switched from TCC to TC Senior because it was lower in starches and higher in fat, which is what I need. That seemed to be a pretty balanced meal.  Then, I scaled it down to 2 1/2 lbs of each in their big, yellow flexible bucket, and filled it about halfway with water.  Originally, I was letting the beet pulp soak all the way and then draining off the excess, but decided to leave it nice and soupy for them when I discovered they would still eat it (Snickers actually drinks down to it!).  That way, I'm getting lots of water in them but not blowing through feed.

The other day, I texted Shelley to see if I was getting them everything they needed.  However, the Triple Crown senior is meant to be fed 5 lbs per day per horse, 4x what I'm already going through for my boys!  That's not going to happen.  Instead, we added a mineral powder to the mix.  That way, I didn't add a lot more feed since they were getting plenty and if already fills their buckets up.

At Marri's we found a little scooper for it and determined that it would be about 3 scoops of the minerals to total what both horses needed, then I'd mix it in and divide it into their buckets.  So, after working with them briefly in the pasture, I added the powder and mixed it up!  BIG mistake.  I finally earned myself the "Are you poisioning me?!" face from the horses.  Snickers made it pretty clear how he felt about me messing with their beet pulp:

"What did you DO to our mash??"

You gonna eat it??

Then Snickers tasted it, and showed me his clear disapproval, while Flash sniffed his cautiously and somewhat disappointed that he didn't get his same yummy mash.

I added some Senior on top to get them to start eating again.  It kind of worked - they ate it down a ways, but then Snickers opted for the hay.  Flash kept at the mash, though not as eager as usual.

Today, I added the powder with the dry ingredients so it could soak along with everything else.  I added one not-quite-full scoop to the mix.  I worked with Snickers in the arena, then put him back and hauled out the mash.  Luckily, someone (probably Flash) had cleaned up the buckets as usual, so yesterday's mash didn't go to waste.  With today's mash, I couldn't see the powder in it, so I wonder if it actually dissolved or was just really spread out.  Either way, they didn't seem to have any issue with it today!  Success!

Of course, Flash was so interested in what I was doing when I bent down to scoop out more mash that he swing his head right over mine and drooled lots of nice mashy soup right on my head.  By the time I went home, it dripped all the way down to my neck and went down the back of my shirt!  Yuck!  Thanks buddy.

Anyway, I'm really glad they liked it this time.  They're getting a little less than half of the full amount they should be getting, so I'm going to add a half-scoop tomorrow and see how they do.  If all goes well, I'll just keep adding until I'm about at 3 scoops again.  Two scoops would be fine, though, if they don't like any more than that.  I just feel good that they're getting the nutrients, vitamins, and minerals they need!

I am woman, hear me ROAR!!

Yesterday, I sold the rest of my grass hay that Snickers was having troubles with.  The guy came and paid for it, but a lot of rain and sleet started coming down, so he said he'd come get it today.  I figured he'd call me when he was ready to come out, but around 4:30, as I was getting in the car with my beet pulp to go see my horses, Marri texted me and let me know he was there loading up the hay and was almost done.  Ok, well I guess that saved me from loading it!  Marri told me later the guy thought I'd lived there lol.  When I got there, he was coming out of the gate (good timing - I didn't have to open it!) and he'd loaded ALL 36 bales (I did my best to count and estimate how many there were, and I was right on!  >proud of myself<) onto the bed of his pickup.  I guess it's a good thing he wasn't going far!  Lol I hope he made it ok!  And I'm SOOO glad the hay is gone!

Since I was trying to sell that hay, I'd kept it covered so people would want to buy it, and my hay hasn't been covered.  That wasn't a problem until yesterday, when the world suddenly started melting and a puddle formed around my hay and then the rain/sleet was coming down.  I wasn't too happy about my hay being exposed to all that.  However, now I had all my 6 pallets and the tarp free to use on my hay.  Only thing was.... I wanted to get the top bales down to use first, as well as the bottom bales sitting in the muck.  Since it was just me, I figured I'd just get the top bales down and then cover the stack as-is, and worry about those bottom bales later.  Everything in the middle should be fine.  And the tarp was big enough to cover it all.

So then it began.....  And I got a little carried away...  And ended up moving the bales from here:

To here:

And those bales were HEAVY!! I definitely think I got my money's worth!  I didn't count how many I moved, but I think they're easily around 90-100lbs each.  There were a few I couldn't even lift.  Of course, those were toward the bottom, so I was also pretty spent.  I'm pretty proud of myself :)  Now, the bottom bales are exposed for feeding next, and then the top bales are on the far left without anything stacked on top of them to feed after that.

Then, I started untangling the tarp from itself and pulling the tires off.  About this time Marri came out and asked me if I needed help with the tarp.  Gladly!  She even put one of my heavy bales that I couldn't lift and was on the ground back up on the stack to keep it good and dry.  The tarp is HUGE!!  We pulled it over to a clear area and spread it all out, then folded it in half, and finally pulled it over the stack and secured it with the tires.  Marri said now that the COLD cold is over, the wind is coming next!

I sure hope they're happy!  Definitely a labor of love <3

PS - if anyone ever says that owning horses doesn't count as exercise, send them to me :P