In my last post, I covered some of the challenges Saxon and I faced in our travels. Though he had a lot of training and handling as a race prospect, he spent basically his entire young life at one farm - his lack of competitiveness meant that he missed out on the experience of traveling to new places (like the racetrack or other farms) that young racehorses get. That, combined with the fact that the second trailer ride of his life involved traveling halfway across the country on a slat sided stock trailer from New Jersey to Kentucky in December, means that I really can't blame him for being anxious about travel. He is laid back and nearly unflappable at home, but he can get really nervous and keyed up about traveling and new places.
We've been working on that. At home, I've been tying him to the trailer instead of the cross-ties in the barn for grooming and tacking. I've also been working on loading him and letting him spend increasing amounts of time just chilling in the trailer. For much of May, the stock trailer was his dining car, the only place he got to eat his dinner. Readily motivated by food, Saxon learned quickly to load himself in anticipation of a tasty meal, though once inside his enthusiasm for the trailer quickly waned. We eventually progressed from panicked, to nervous, to anxious, to perturbed about being in the trailer, and worked our way up to 30 minutes or more of him standing in the unhitched trailer. Even so, he never lost his tendency to stomp around in circles while in the trailer, and was always waiting for me with his nose pressed to the back gate when I was ready to let him out.
We had an impromptu field trip in mid May. I was planning to take him to a show, but 30 minutes into the trip, I received a call that the show had been canceled due to the previous night's rain. Since we were already on the road, I quickly decided to take him to the local county park as a schooling opportunity. My very accommodating husband agreed to meet me over there, so I wouldn't be all alone in a new place with 1000 pounds of anxious 3 year old, and one of my horse friends decided to load up her STBs to join us. From the driver's seat of the truck, it felt like he had traveled well on our excursion, but upon arriving at the park, I discovered that he had dented up the rear gate, shredded his left hind shipping boot, and ripped his haybag off the wall during the trip (pooping all over everything in the process, of course). He came off the trailer high-headed and nervous. To make matters worse, a baseball game was getting underway next to the arena, and they were doing their pregame motivational chanting and stomping ritual. Saxon looked around, saw the men with bats, saw no other horses, and came to the inevitable conclusion that I had brought him there to be hunted down by this pack of bat wielding, shouting cavemen! I tried to tie him to the trailer to remove what was left of his shipping boots and assess the damage, but he was rearing and dancing around, so there wasn't much I could do. Even on the lead line he didn't want to graze, so he spent the next 30 minutes dragging me all around the park at a nervous walk. Justin and I took turns being dragged around, since he wouldn't stand still. I eventually put him on the lunge line so Saxon could expend some of his nervous energy at his own expense rather than his handlers' expenses.
Saxon was just starting to settle down when my friend's trailer pulled in. At the sight of other horses, his excitement level shot up again, and he took it out on the lunge line, wheeling about with loud snorts and his tail over his back. His excitement was infectious, and the other two were snorty and uncertain, too. So another 30 minutes of walking all 3 horses around the arena ensued. Eventually they all settled down to the point that we could tack them up and ride, and they were all pretty good about it, too. It ended up being a longer day than had I actually shown, but I think it was good for him.
Well, the shredded shipping boot had solidified in my mind that I needed a different trailer for him. My stock trailer could be converted to a 2 horse straight thanks to a removable divider, but when I tried backing him out of it with no divider, he had a pretty big panic attack and nearly clocked himself on the trailer's roof. This meant that he had to be trailered solo in that stock trailer, and I had to tie him because he tried to constantly circle once inside the trailer. (I was afraid of him hurting himself while in the process of trying to turn around.) Well, he'd get ticked off when he tried to turn while tied and couldn't make it around, and SLAM, SLAM, SLAM - kick the walls of the trailer with all his might. I decided that a slant load would be better for him because I could lead him on head first, secure him safely with a divider for travel, and lead him off head first when we arrived at our destination.
I decided to look for a 2 or 3 horse gooseneck slant load. After measuring most of the 3 horse models at a big trailer lot, I decided that a 2 horse might be better. Most of the 3 horse ones were 18' or longer on the box. My driveway is easy to turn into with my 12' stock trailer, doable with my friend's 16' one, and uses every inch and watchful eye available to make the turn in a 20' model. Finding a 2 horse slant gooseneck is harder than you might think, especially on a budget. I definitely wanted to upgrade to aluminum, if possible, since my trailer has to live outside. (I am fanatical about waxing my steel stock trailer, but I know pretty much nobody else in the universe is like that!) I searched website after website for available models, dimensions, features, prices, reviews, and reputation. I ended up with a giant chart of trailers that ultimately boiled down to about 3 real choices once I'd gone through them with a fine-toothed comb. I was looking at a used 2004 model 2H Bison Alumasport (aluminum skin with steel frame) with all the options, a 1999 base model 4 Star Stock-Combo that had been around the block quite a bit (for quite a bit more money), or a new Shadow 2H all aluminum that was stripped down and cost almost twice as much. I'd read a few negative reviews of Bisons online, but ultimately found that they centered around the giant living quarter monstrosities and the all fiberglass roof that Bison had stopped using years ago, and most people with the regular non LQ versions had positive things to say. (2004 was actually the last year they made a non living quarter gooseneck horse trailer.) I checked the Bison over in person with a fine-toothed comb, and it was in excellent shape (the lady's husband laughed at me when I checked the date code on the tires and climbed under the trailer to look at the supports and check for structural integtrity.) Once I found out it was an extra tall model, with nicely padded stalls, and the rear tack room collapsed easily (to let Saxon unload head first), that pretty much clinched it. I became the proud new owner of a very nice trailer!
We went about it slowly, but Saxon warmed up to it pretty well. We first investigated it with the dividers and tack room collapsed out of the way, and eventually progressed to loading and pinning him in. He continued to want to prance his feet once loaded up, but stopped trying to turn around once he found out he couldn't go anywhere (Instead, he just piaffes in place now.). He loved the escape door, because it made the trailer more bright and inviting to enter, and he could stick his head over the chest bar to look around once inside. And, after a few sessions, he became confident enough to back out of it without having a panic attack. Now, we are able to back out calmly (even with the tack room divider up) like a normal horse, though I always say the word "hup" when he's about to step his foot off the back so he knows where the dropoff is.
Since then, we have taken a few practice trips - one just to the post office and back, and the other back to the county park. This time around, there was no rearing when he was tied to the trailer, and he settled down much faster. (Though he was quite insistent that he had to sniff everything around him in very fine detail). The new trailer has polished aluminum on the nose and rear doors. I thought Saxon might be startled by his reflection in the back door when tied to the trailer. On the contrary, he was quite enamored with himself. Saxon found himself quite the handsome fellow and wanted to admire his reflection from all angles. My horse the narcissist! Riding wise, he did quite well this time around (it may have helped that there were no bat-wielding neanderthals, I mean baseball players present), and we even cantered under saddle in the ring (his first time doing so away from home).
We went to a show a week later, and while he had a few "moments" about the horse-eating toddlers and folding chairs near the showring, he was excellent about the trailer. He stayed calm while tied to it, and loaded and unloaded readily both times. I was pretty delighted with the trailer, too. For the first time, I had a *real* dressing room to change in (it has a skylight and a screen door - how cool is that!), and I could really spread out my tack and equipment. If I had a complaint, it would be not enough saddle racks (2 for a 2 horse trailer - don't they know that versatile Standardbreds need lots of wardrobe changes?) or outside tie rings (2 per side, and the second one's too close to the back door to be useful anyhow). But I can work around those details, given the trailer's many other merits. Saxon still wants to piaffe in place once inside, but he seems to be calming down overall. I don't know if it's the new trailer, more experience, or both, but I'd say that's a win either way.
Thursday, June 14, 2012
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
A Different Day, A Different Horse
Saxon is officially 3 now, having celebrated his birthday on April 21. He is a solidly built horse, and gives the impression of being larger than he is (he measures 16 HH, but everyone, myself included, thinks that he just seems bigger than that). He is generally mistaken for a Thoroughbred or Saddlebred with his bright red coat and regal bearing. He has finally lost the tucked up racehorse tummy and is building the muscles of his neck into a nice arch, and has a nice, trim riding horse outline as a result. I know I am biased, but some days I look at him and think that his conformation just couldn't be much nicer. His chest is filling out and he travels nice and straight with his forehand, though he still wings in behind. He may grow out of it as he fills out enough to reduce his toe out behind (as Legs did); only time will tell.
Since the adventures of our last horse show and those that preceded it, Saxon has been a different horse. He got over his Springtime wildness and turned back into the calm, sweet Standardbred that I first was acquainted with. He's gotten so complacent and relaxed, in fact, that I have resorted to riding him with a pair of little blunt baby spurs just to get him going. His new favorite gait is whoa and a snail slow walk, and I was having to pony kick him to get a trot before I tried the spurs. He accepts the front yard as his home base riding area, and only gets on edge when noisy motorcycles or trucks with rattling trailers pass him on the road side, though I still circle him away from traffic when at the canter just to keep him from using it as an excuse to buck and play. We continue to reinforce the basics of going on the bit, trying to establish different tempos of trot, and circling/bending. We also continue with the canter work, though I don't anticipate trying to canter in public until next year or the fall at the earliest. He is eager to try the canter and it is a very nice, rhythmic true canter when he does, but his coordination in picking it up promptly and holding it for a duration just isn't quite there yet. He still tends to pick up the canter only in the corners of the arena from a moderate trot, where he is already wanting to lean onto his inside shoulder. He knows what the cues mean, has no trouble galloping around the pasture, and on the lunge line I can see him thinking about how to move his body, but the coordination just isn't quite on board with balanced canter departs yet, but the important part is that he is willing and eager to try. In fact, once we have cantered for the day, he keeps offering to pick it up for a few strides at a time the rest of the ride. We have done some baby jumps just to gauge his reaction (if you can call a 9" tall crossrail a jump), but so far he just happily trots over them and hasn't figured out how to hop over them.
When you work with a horse day after day, it is easy to overlook the progress that you've made until one day you realize that you are doing something as a team that you simply couldn't do just a few weeks or months ago. Every time I've attempted to clip him, he trusts me to do just a little more. He acquiesced about having his muzzle trimmed, then his jaw, and now his bridlepath. The ears are next. I've gotten him to quietly and readily self-load in the horse trailer (but only at home... when we're not going anywhere... and have all the time in the world... more on that later...) Within the past few weeks, I suddenly realized that Saxon was bending more consistently, and I could turn him by looking ahead and giving subtle aids instead of a leading rein and insistent outside leg. Now he is able to hold a nice bend and maintain a trot in smaller circles, too, while staying in a frame. We have far fewer periods of "being a giraffe" (where he goes with his head up in the air, and his back becomes a springboard). He can also go long and low at the trot, like a classic old-school hunter, without leaning or yawing on the bit, which is something he couldn't do in February. Just last week, we tried sidepassing for the first time, and after just attempts at moving one half or the other, Saxon figured out that he could move sideways in a coordinated fashion, properly crossing over himself in the process. Smart boy! It's not perfect, but he assimilated the idea, and tries to do it, which is all I could ask of a green, growing 3 year old.
In fact, we attempted the trail gate the very next day (which I had been putting off, since sidepassing is an important skill to have in manuevering around the gate). For the non-horsey, trail class is essentially a judged equine obstacle course. In most cases, the trail "gate" is a length of rope hung between two upright poles or jump standards (it's cheaper and easier than hanging a real gate that won't get tipped over during the process). You have to unfasten one end, ride through, and refasten it from horseback without getting it tangled around the horse or yourself. Many horses take exception to seeing the rope "following them" from the corner of their eye or brushing their sides and it's something you have to get them used to. I have taken him through my trail gate in hand several times and spent some time acclimating him to seeing and feeling the rope. When we first attempted it astride, I took my time and cued him very methodically, and he performed like a champ. He was so good, in fact, that I quit for the day then and there.
After a solid week of great rides and perfect trailer loading practice, I had high hopes for his next show outing. The day of the show, I woke up an hour late thanks to accidentally turning my alarm clock off in my sleep (still don't remember that one), and much of the rest of the show day followed suit. He apparently spent the night churning and stalking his stall, as the bedding was a sopping mess and all pushed to the outside of the stall, he had barely touched his hay, and he had knocked half his water bucket onto the stall front. He didn't appear ill or injured, just anxious. He wouldn't still stand on the cross-ties for me to put his shipping boots on. I put him in the paddock and let him run around for 5 or 10 minutes to try to get it out of his system before I tried to load him. In sharp contrast to the previous day before where he marched right onto the trailer without blinking, he refused to load. What the heck? I finally got him loaded and we hit the road. We got to the show 30 minutes before it started. Since he was so keyed up and anxious, I opted to get him a stall instead of showing out of the trailer. He wasn't much better in his stall, even with a full hay bag of choice timothy in front of him. After getting the stall set up, I took him out on the lunge line. He lunged in the indoor arena like a pro and seemed to settle down quickly once he had something to do. Since the riding classes were first (in the scary white painted saddlebred outdoor arena with the alleyway entrance, and wrap-around box grandstand), I tacked him up figuring that a nice long ride would take the rest of the edge off of him and help him relax. He was pretty good in the arena, some giraffe mode, and an especially springy trot.
The actual show ring was a different story. It was our first time in the white painted fish bowl that is the Shelby County Saddlebred arena, and Saxon was up and very looky at the surroundings. When our first pass at the trot involved a playful head toss and thoughts of crow-hopping, I knew placing well wasn't one of the outcomes. We made it through the class horse side down, and more or less followed the appropriate commands, though not in the quiet manner he does at home. In our next class, things started looking up. We positioned ourselves well, and he was starting to relax and carry himself more comfortably, and he made some nice passes. Surprise, surprise, we pinned first. I was optimistic about the championship class that followed, since he was starting to get comfortable and go like I know he can. Well, the surprise was on both of us. A nice little family had moved into the corner gazebo by the ring, and though I couldn't tell, Saxon clearly identified them as horse attacking cannibals. He propped at the walk, and shied before we even got near them. We only managed to get around that corner of the arena once the rest of the horses in the class caught up with him and he felt safe ducking behind them out of sight of the no doubt evil and ravenous family. The rest of the class was focused on staying horse side down, trying to go at one speed, and trying to get his nose out of the sky. The judge made a comment in the lineup about our baby moments. Sigh. He was back to almost relaxed in our equitation class, but by that point, my thighs had turned to Jello and I just couldn't stay with his big powerful sitting trot. By the time we left, I think he was fed up with the whole day. Saxon still hasn't acclimated to trailering. He loads like a dream at home (when he isn't going anywhere), but he didn't want to get into the moving box to head home. He wants to stomp around in the trailer, and unfortunately, he is too big for me to put the divider up in my stock-combo trailer, so I have to tie him in the box stall. His nervous habit makes me nervous, as he wants to turn around in the trailer and gets partway around before the tie stops him. He even resorted to kicking the back of the trailer whenever I'd stop for a traffic light because he was ticked off that he couldn't turn around. If I let him loose, though, I'm afraid he'd just slip and slide in his own poop as he paced the trailer.
Though the show was disappointing for me in terms of his behavior, I got some valuable takehome points from it. 1. I need to bite the bullet and buy a new trailer. My old stock combo served me well for Legs and a variety of smaller horses, but it just isn't just doesn't fit what Saxon needs. I think a 2 or 3 horse slant load with extra height would be better both in terms of his comfort on the road and loading ease. 2. We need to work on tying. He is super in cross-ties, but tends to bounce back and forth like a pingpong ball when tied straight, especially when he's in unfamiliar places. He doesn't pull back, at least, but it is very difficult to groom and tack a moving target while keeping your feet out from under his! (I have the black and purple marks on my foot to prove it.) 3. Regardless of which trailer it is, we need to practice spending more time in the trailer (eg eating his dinner or just chilling out for 5 or 10 minutes) and taking short trips (even just around the block) until he starts to get more comfortable with the process. 4. We need to go on more field trips. This includes both show and non-show activities. Again, we just need to get used to the sights and sounds in the world so that he starts to relax more readily in new settings. 5. I need to keep working on faking good equitation on his powerful trot. I can tell that my leg strength has improved immensely from riding him; now I need to focus on my upper body (and work on developing a slower sitting trot with him, besides speed and tempo differences in general). 6. I just need to ride and work with him as much as I can during these formative years of his. Conveniently, the school semester just wound down, and despite my jam-packed weekend schedule, I should have a little more time through the week now to ride him (and keep my good old girl Legs in some sort of riding shape, too). Now that I have my "horsework homework" assignment, stay tuned to see how we perform with it...
Since the adventures of our last horse show and those that preceded it, Saxon has been a different horse. He got over his Springtime wildness and turned back into the calm, sweet Standardbred that I first was acquainted with. He's gotten so complacent and relaxed, in fact, that I have resorted to riding him with a pair of little blunt baby spurs just to get him going. His new favorite gait is whoa and a snail slow walk, and I was having to pony kick him to get a trot before I tried the spurs. He accepts the front yard as his home base riding area, and only gets on edge when noisy motorcycles or trucks with rattling trailers pass him on the road side, though I still circle him away from traffic when at the canter just to keep him from using it as an excuse to buck and play. We continue to reinforce the basics of going on the bit, trying to establish different tempos of trot, and circling/bending. We also continue with the canter work, though I don't anticipate trying to canter in public until next year or the fall at the earliest. He is eager to try the canter and it is a very nice, rhythmic true canter when he does, but his coordination in picking it up promptly and holding it for a duration just isn't quite there yet. He still tends to pick up the canter only in the corners of the arena from a moderate trot, where he is already wanting to lean onto his inside shoulder. He knows what the cues mean, has no trouble galloping around the pasture, and on the lunge line I can see him thinking about how to move his body, but the coordination just isn't quite on board with balanced canter departs yet, but the important part is that he is willing and eager to try. In fact, once we have cantered for the day, he keeps offering to pick it up for a few strides at a time the rest of the ride. We have done some baby jumps just to gauge his reaction (if you can call a 9" tall crossrail a jump), but so far he just happily trots over them and hasn't figured out how to hop over them.
When you work with a horse day after day, it is easy to overlook the progress that you've made until one day you realize that you are doing something as a team that you simply couldn't do just a few weeks or months ago. Every time I've attempted to clip him, he trusts me to do just a little more. He acquiesced about having his muzzle trimmed, then his jaw, and now his bridlepath. The ears are next. I've gotten him to quietly and readily self-load in the horse trailer (but only at home... when we're not going anywhere... and have all the time in the world... more on that later...) Within the past few weeks, I suddenly realized that Saxon was bending more consistently, and I could turn him by looking ahead and giving subtle aids instead of a leading rein and insistent outside leg. Now he is able to hold a nice bend and maintain a trot in smaller circles, too, while staying in a frame. We have far fewer periods of "being a giraffe" (where he goes with his head up in the air, and his back becomes a springboard). He can also go long and low at the trot, like a classic old-school hunter, without leaning or yawing on the bit, which is something he couldn't do in February. Just last week, we tried sidepassing for the first time, and after just attempts at moving one half or the other, Saxon figured out that he could move sideways in a coordinated fashion, properly crossing over himself in the process. Smart boy! It's not perfect, but he assimilated the idea, and tries to do it, which is all I could ask of a green, growing 3 year old.
In fact, we attempted the trail gate the very next day (which I had been putting off, since sidepassing is an important skill to have in manuevering around the gate). For the non-horsey, trail class is essentially a judged equine obstacle course. In most cases, the trail "gate" is a length of rope hung between two upright poles or jump standards (it's cheaper and easier than hanging a real gate that won't get tipped over during the process). You have to unfasten one end, ride through, and refasten it from horseback without getting it tangled around the horse or yourself. Many horses take exception to seeing the rope "following them" from the corner of their eye or brushing their sides and it's something you have to get them used to. I have taken him through my trail gate in hand several times and spent some time acclimating him to seeing and feeling the rope. When we first attempted it astride, I took my time and cued him very methodically, and he performed like a champ. He was so good, in fact, that I quit for the day then and there.
After a solid week of great rides and perfect trailer loading practice, I had high hopes for his next show outing. The day of the show, I woke up an hour late thanks to accidentally turning my alarm clock off in my sleep (still don't remember that one), and much of the rest of the show day followed suit. He apparently spent the night churning and stalking his stall, as the bedding was a sopping mess and all pushed to the outside of the stall, he had barely touched his hay, and he had knocked half his water bucket onto the stall front. He didn't appear ill or injured, just anxious. He wouldn't still stand on the cross-ties for me to put his shipping boots on. I put him in the paddock and let him run around for 5 or 10 minutes to try to get it out of his system before I tried to load him. In sharp contrast to the previous day before where he marched right onto the trailer without blinking, he refused to load. What the heck? I finally got him loaded and we hit the road. We got to the show 30 minutes before it started. Since he was so keyed up and anxious, I opted to get him a stall instead of showing out of the trailer. He wasn't much better in his stall, even with a full hay bag of choice timothy in front of him. After getting the stall set up, I took him out on the lunge line. He lunged in the indoor arena like a pro and seemed to settle down quickly once he had something to do. Since the riding classes were first (in the scary white painted saddlebred outdoor arena with the alleyway entrance, and wrap-around box grandstand), I tacked him up figuring that a nice long ride would take the rest of the edge off of him and help him relax. He was pretty good in the arena, some giraffe mode, and an especially springy trot.
The actual show ring was a different story. It was our first time in the white painted fish bowl that is the Shelby County Saddlebred arena, and Saxon was up and very looky at the surroundings. When our first pass at the trot involved a playful head toss and thoughts of crow-hopping, I knew placing well wasn't one of the outcomes. We made it through the class horse side down, and more or less followed the appropriate commands, though not in the quiet manner he does at home. In our next class, things started looking up. We positioned ourselves well, and he was starting to relax and carry himself more comfortably, and he made some nice passes. Surprise, surprise, we pinned first. I was optimistic about the championship class that followed, since he was starting to get comfortable and go like I know he can. Well, the surprise was on both of us. A nice little family had moved into the corner gazebo by the ring, and though I couldn't tell, Saxon clearly identified them as horse attacking cannibals. He propped at the walk, and shied before we even got near them. We only managed to get around that corner of the arena once the rest of the horses in the class caught up with him and he felt safe ducking behind them out of sight of the no doubt evil and ravenous family. The rest of the class was focused on staying horse side down, trying to go at one speed, and trying to get his nose out of the sky. The judge made a comment in the lineup about our baby moments. Sigh. He was back to almost relaxed in our equitation class, but by that point, my thighs had turned to Jello and I just couldn't stay with his big powerful sitting trot. By the time we left, I think he was fed up with the whole day. Saxon still hasn't acclimated to trailering. He loads like a dream at home (when he isn't going anywhere), but he didn't want to get into the moving box to head home. He wants to stomp around in the trailer, and unfortunately, he is too big for me to put the divider up in my stock-combo trailer, so I have to tie him in the box stall. His nervous habit makes me nervous, as he wants to turn around in the trailer and gets partway around before the tie stops him. He even resorted to kicking the back of the trailer whenever I'd stop for a traffic light because he was ticked off that he couldn't turn around. If I let him loose, though, I'm afraid he'd just slip and slide in his own poop as he paced the trailer.
Though the show was disappointing for me in terms of his behavior, I got some valuable takehome points from it. 1. I need to bite the bullet and buy a new trailer. My old stock combo served me well for Legs and a variety of smaller horses, but it just isn't just doesn't fit what Saxon needs. I think a 2 or 3 horse slant load with extra height would be better both in terms of his comfort on the road and loading ease. 2. We need to work on tying. He is super in cross-ties, but tends to bounce back and forth like a pingpong ball when tied straight, especially when he's in unfamiliar places. He doesn't pull back, at least, but it is very difficult to groom and tack a moving target while keeping your feet out from under his! (I have the black and purple marks on my foot to prove it.) 3. Regardless of which trailer it is, we need to practice spending more time in the trailer (eg eating his dinner or just chilling out for 5 or 10 minutes) and taking short trips (even just around the block) until he starts to get more comfortable with the process. 4. We need to go on more field trips. This includes both show and non-show activities. Again, we just need to get used to the sights and sounds in the world so that he starts to relax more readily in new settings. 5. I need to keep working on faking good equitation on his powerful trot. I can tell that my leg strength has improved immensely from riding him; now I need to focus on my upper body (and work on developing a slower sitting trot with him, besides speed and tempo differences in general). 6. I just need to ride and work with him as much as I can during these formative years of his. Conveniently, the school semester just wound down, and despite my jam-packed weekend schedule, I should have a little more time through the week now to ride him (and keep my good old girl Legs in some sort of riding shape, too). Now that I have my "horsework homework" assignment, stay tuned to see how we perform with it...
Monday, March 12, 2012
Adventures in Toddlerhood
AUTHOR'S NOTE: My apologies, as this is a rather long one. You might want to grab a drink and a snack if you plan to read this all in one sitting!
Saxon has an enormous capacity to astound me with his intelligence, willingness, and wisdom that far outstrips his age and experience. I have recently discovered, though, that sometimes a temperamental toddler lurks beneath his sweet and trusting demeanor.
A lot has happened since my last blog post even though just 5 weeks have elapsed on the calendar. Daylight Saving Time has just taken effect (I love DST and wish this country would adopt it year-round to increase the amount of usable daylight in the evening, but that's a discussion for another time and place...). Winter tried to have its final say with last week's snowfall (which was preceded by tornadoes and followed by summer-like temperatures). School marches on and I am waiting to find out about acceptance for DH school. I got a new (23 year old beloved but POS) car that I am foolishly thinking about turning into another racecar (perhaps a subject for another blog). I finally succeeded in my quest to find a new jumping saddle. Saxon has continued in his riding and showing pursuits, both impressing and terrifying me in the process.
Saxon loves to be brushed and stroked, but dislikes being curried and despises having his belly groomed. (In contrast, Legs loves a vigorous curry session and is absolutely in heaven when you scratch and curry her ventral midline - she stretches her back up, leans into you and tries to return the favor by grooming you back). Saxon seems to be more sensitive-skinned and ticklish than the old mare. It's easy enough to work around except for one small detail - he makes a habit of sleeping sternal in the mud and in the urine soaked spot he makes in the middle of his stall (boys...). I can't exactly leave the filth crusted on his belly, but he really hates the process of having it removed. I have learned to work around it by gently sweeping off the worst of it with a curry in a straight line, and then using handfuls of baby wipes to clean the area up the rest of the way. Talk about babying your horse... Now Kroger has started sending me diaper and formula coupons because I bought baby wipes there once. I'm pretty sure there isn't a set of Huggies big enough for my baby though it would make stall cleaning a breeze.
Sometime in early February, I noticed a peculiar and intermittent pattern when I rode Saxon. Some days he would kick at his belly when asked to trot. One day it even escalated to humping his back and mild bucking. Other days he was just fine. The first time I noticed it was when I used a new girth with my dressage saddle. He spent much of the ride kicking squarely at the girth with his hind legs until I gave up. Given his touchiness about his belly, I concluded that he just hated that girth and decided not to use it anymore (it was a Professional's Choice with the thin neoprene backing). He did it again with different equipment, so I wasn't sure what to think. Was it physical discomfort? Was he throwing a tantrum like a petulant toddler? Was he allergic to neoprene or intolerant of anything but the softest and most thickly padded girths? Dismounting and readjusting his tack only helped somewhat. He wouldn't abate when disciplined nor would he desist if I ignored it and kept riding. In my logical and methodical fashion, I started to keep a log of when I worked him, what we did, and what tack I used to see if there was a pattern. He was fine with my old jumping saddle (leather double elastic girth) and my synthetic western saddle (felt-lined cinch). He was pleasant as could be on the lunge line with a surcingle (cotton webbing). He didn't care if he was wearing splint boots, galloping boots, or polo wraps. It was my Wintec Pro dressage saddle that set him off, no matter what girth I used with it (Pro Choice, Wintec neoprene/elastic, fuzzy and stretchy fleece/elastic). I borrowed my friend's Wintec 500 dressage (it has the same tree and general structure) and he was fine. I didn't find anything obviously wrong with the tree on mine, though I do have the medium-wide gullet in mine and she has the medium in hers, which could be part of it. I later tried a thick foam and fleece half pad with my dressage saddle/medium wide plate and he was fine with that arrangement. He measured just into medium wide, but I am more inclined to believe his behavior than the cardboard gauge when he's sending a message to me THAT clearly, so I will switch out the gullet plates and try him again in mine with the medium. He has wonderful natural ability for dressage, but if he won't tolerate a dressage saddle for whatever reason, that kind of kills his prospects for a successful dressage career... At least I solved that problem - I was getting worried there!
His belly-kicking episodes coincided with my jumping saddle search, causing me further worry about finding a saddle that met both his and my criteria. I have had my old Collegiate Graduate for nearly 17 years; I bought it new with the proceeds of my baby-sitting jobs when I was a young teenager. I couldn't even begin to count the number of riding hours, number of jumps, or number of trips around the show ring that saddle has seen. It has served me extremely well through Legs' whole riding career, but it is dated and old by today's standards, so I figure I am due a new saddle every decade and a half or so, and having the knee rolls and thigh blocks found on modern saddles seems like a nice luxury.
Last year I bought a second-hand Dover Circuit Elite. I bought it based on good recommendations, and a good experience with one when showing IHSA. I sat in one at WEG and it seemed nice. But the two happiest moments I had with my particular saddle were the day it arrived, and the day that I sold it. It had a two-toned reddish chestnut-caramel effect because of the different leathers they used, which I could have lived with, but... The quality of the construction was good, and the leather on the seat and knee rolls was supple with nice grip and texture, but the leather on the flaps was thick, stiff, and had about as much grip as a sheet of glass. No amount of cleaning and conditioning made a difference, and since this saddle was already a couple years old, that was as broken-in as it was going to get. I had to use a riser pad to get it balanced on Larry and it wasn't that great of a fit on Legs, either. It also tended to put me in a chair-seat position and I was constantly fighting to keep my legs back under me. I thought I just had developed bad habits until I went back to my old Graduate and found my position magically fixed overnight. Up for sale it went and I was back to riding in my old relic (in addition to scoring a good deal on that used Wintec Pro dressage) until I decided what to replace it with.
I decided that since my old Collegiate had served me well, a new Collegiate was the way to go. I researched the variety of models they offered and settled on a couple that seemed to fit the bill. I thought about one of the convertible gullet models like my dressage saddle, but their higher cost, reports of lower quality leather, and the fact that it has moving parts and I plan to eventually do a lot of jumping in it swayed me towards a traditional tree version. The Collegiate Laureate had favorable reviews and touted itself as a modern replacement for the Graduate - perfect! At some stores they retailed for almost as much as my silver covered western show saddle - ouch! But then I found one tack shop that had them on closeout (no returns) for nearly half that. I called them and verified it had the features I was looking for, but found out they were sold out of my size. Rats. Then I found another online store that had them for over a hundred more, but they did price matching. Yippee! My new saddle was delivered the next week. I tore open the box, pulled out my new saddle, and... hmmmph. It didn't look much like the photos online. The color was more red (not too big of a deal) but the flaps were considerably different. Instead of forming a smooth line from the pommel, they jutted forwards another 20 degrees. Thinking it could just be a parallux issue, I tried it on horse #1 (Legs). The seat and tree balance was very good, but the forward flap stuck out over her shoulders. I wrapped the billets with old socks to protect the leather from marring and took a brief test ride without stirrups. (For the record, Legs was delighted that I allowed her to hop a small cross-rail so I could see how it felt over fences). It rode nicely, but the flaps were all wrong for my legs. My knee barely touched the knee rolls and the knee blocks were laughably far from where my legs would ever be in that saddle. I have to speculate that the flap was made with leggy supermodels jumping Grand Prix level fences in mind - certainly not for short to moderate legged 5'4" ladies aspiring to the local and regional levels of the amateur hunter-jumper and hunter pleasure rings. I sat on it while it was on Saxon, but the fit was no different. It was comfortable, but the flap looked ridiculous with my legs - like I was a kid trying to ride in mom's saddle. My initial thought was that they had accidentally sent me a long-flap version, but I couldn't find any evidence that a long-flap version had ever been manufactured. I contacted the store and after they listened to my complaint and compared photos of my saddle with what it was supposed to look like, they arranged for return shipping and a refund. Thank goodness customer service still exists! By now, more research had determined that Collegiate had redesigned the flap this year, so I needed to find a pre-2012 model in order to get one with a normal person flap. As luck would have it, there was a 16.5" on eBay. My old one was a 17", but with my frame, a 16.5" is actually probably a better fit, and my test ride in the brand new 17" had told me that I had plenty of seat room so it became mine. Since it was used, I don't get the benefit of breaking it in myself, but it seems to have been well-cared for, the leather is quite nice, and the color is in between caramel and havana, so it will coordinate with both of my horses' show bridles - another plus. Even better, it fits both of my horses, my knees actually touch the knee rolls, and it doesn't put me in a weird riding position. Since I bought it used, I paid just $10 more than I spent on that new Graduate all those years ago. Here's hoping it lasts almost as long as that old Graduate!
Well, my first test ride in the Laureate was a big bucket of fale. I rode Saxon out in the back field, just as I had two days prior (in the Graduate). We walked, trotted, and cantered fine. He was actually trotting in a pretty good frame that day without yawing down and forwards on the bit as he can be prone to. I asked him to canter to the left (his better direction), for the second time. Since cantering is still demanding for him, I use his inherent psychology to help him pick it up; I make sure whichever lead I want is the one one the side towards the gate, and ask him when he is circling more or less towards the gate/front of the field rather than towards the back of the field. Our previous two short canter bouts, he had broken gait and wanted to stop when we were near the gate (and incidentally, Legs' feed bucket). This time, I vowed to keep him cantering past the gate. He tried to slow down, and I pressed him on with my legs. As I did so, he pulled his head all the way down and humped his back, then immediately cracked his back hard. Uh oh. I know this move. It's the buck he does when he's cantering on the lunge line and he doesn't want to keep going after passing the corner where the barn is, and it's very, um, athletic. He continued to crack his back harder and harder, and by the fourth or fifth big jump, I knew I was too off balance to stay on. He veered left and off I plunked to the right, landing on my right hip, shoulder, and then head. This is why you wear a helmet, my friends. He cantered on over to the empty feed bucket, I got up, followed him, verified that all of my parts still worked and he wasn't rattled (he didn't seem to think it was any big deal that he had just ejected a human off his back), took a big breath, and got back on. As I recall, I haven't come off a horse since my QH was a 3 year old with an irrational fear of trucks rumbling down the nearby road - about 5 years ago. You have to get back on, especially with a youngster, since you can't have them deciding that acting up earns them relaxation and a trip back to the barn. We spent another 10-15 minutes doing a LOT of trotting, and he had lost the privilege of being allowed to stretch his head and neck down for the moment. We eventually tried a short canter again with no bucking this time before we quit for the day.
Two days later I mounted up in the front yard. Right away, I could feel that he was tense and full of himself. He was trying to jig and shaking his head from side to side. I kept him at a walk and tried to get him to relax by making him concentrate on bending, circling, and walking over poles. When he seemed suitably composed, I asked him to trot. The head snaked down, the back humped, and the hind legs started to leave the ground. I immediately pulled his head up and kept trying to keep his brain and his feet busy. When he used the neighbor's car pulling in their driveway as an excuse to try to levitate again, I knew this wasn't going to work. I pulled him up, dismounted, and took him over to the front paddock. I secured my reins out of the way, raised my arms and clucked once. He exploded - running, bucking, and leaping around for 15 straight minutes with his tail over his back while I just stood there in the middle of the paddock with my arms at my sides. I was not amused that my brilliant, willing, and generally extraordinarily calm Standardbred was channeling his inner Thoroughbred and having fits like an exuberant toddler. I don't know if it was the weather (it had been unusually warm and windy), a sugar high from the tender green grass sprouting up, the new feed he was on, or if he was just having a case of the terrible two's. While he is stabled most nights, he is turned out all day with plenty of time and space to run and play. Perhaps since stodgy old school marm Legs seldom runs and plays with him, he isn't making use of that time to self-exercise. Whatever it was, he finally settled down and I remounted and actually had a pretty nice ride.
Riding wise, we're still working primarily on walk-trot work with some canter work when time, footing conditions, and mental outlook permit. He's starting to figure out how to vary both his tempo and his stride length at the trot, and is steering off the leg well at the walk. At the trot, the steering off leg varies day to day. Part of that, I'm sure, is that his very springy way of going makes it hard for me to keep a steady leg position on him. That's the trade-off for his pretty, floaty trot - sometimes the prettiest movers can be some of the more uncomfortable to ride (there are exceptions, of course, and certainly stilted-moving horses with jack-hammer strides aren't comfortable, but springy, pretty movement can be hard to sit in its own right). Conventional wisdom is that collecting a horse exaggerates their springiness and makes them even less comfortable to ride. My experience with the last two STBs I've worked with, Brave Guns and Saxon, is the opposite. When they are in giraffe mode (head up and back stiff and hollow - think about how they travel when in an overcheck), their big trots have a way of catapulting you up out of the tack. When I get either of them to relax their spine and neck and swing more from their haunches, their trots get more rhythmic and easier to stay with. With his trot, Saxon is hardly an equitation prospect. That's not to say that I won't ride him in eq classes, but he wouldn't be my first choice if I had the choice. In fact, there was a walk-trot pattern class I could have entered at a recent show, but when I saw that the pattern called for a sitting trot without stirrups, entering that class was a definite no-go. Maybe later when his trot is more regular and we've worked on that stuff more, but not at this stage! Since then, I've been working on his tempo and collection at the trot, and also experimenting with different back pads to smooth out the experience for both of us. I'm sure he doesn't appreciate when I get out of sync and bounce on his kidneys any more than I appreciate when his trot jars mine! I made him a fleece half pad with a 2" egg-crate foam core that seems to help, and the back pad I use on Legs also seems to make a difference. That may be part of his beef with my dressage saddle - it has the Cair panels which tend to increase the rebound while they redistribute the weight load.
Showing wise, we've been back at it. We went to the March follow-up to the show we did in February. When he got off the trailer, he rubbed his head on my shoulder vigorously, but I figured his fly mask was itching him and didn't think much of it. (Since I have a stock trailer with open sides, I ship my horses in a fly mask to keep dust and hay from blowing into their eyes.) We walked around the arena for a good 20-25 minutes. He seemed relatively relaxed about the whole process and was quite pleased with himself when he successfully mooched a handful of treats from a bystander on the rail. After I settled him into his stall, I noticed his left eye was a little squinty and had some tearing. I saw a small curly hair in his eye and attempted to blot his eye and help him work the offending bit out. He seemed better, so I figured it was no big deal. We went in the same classes as the last time, starting with the English Green Horse Walk-Trot. Saxon was spooky about one corner of the ring where a few folks were sitting on chairs which put them under the height of the railing. You could glimpse their movement between the slats of the rail, but couldn't clearly see who or what they were, so I can't fault him for his concern. To make matters worse, sunlight shining through the skylights cast bright squares in the dark footing, which he was afraid to pass through. Before they started the judging class, he was rattled after just passing the "hiding under the railing people" and I actually had to ask a few people along the rail to pet him so he could see that they wouldn't eat him. The icing on the cake was that there 12 entries crammed into the small arena - nearly half of them were participants in the prior Green Rider Walk-Trot who did not belong in the Green Horse class. Grrrrrr. It was a debacle with ponies and novice kids bouncing around, prancing saddleseat horses careening around, big Thoroughbreds and Warmbloods everywhere - bumper cars on horseback. I did the best I could to keep him out of traffic (though he chose not to steer off the leg terribly well today) and not get him trapped by the "scary" parts of the arena. Still, there were multiple times where ponies and horses ran up his rear end and he pinned his ears and swished his tail in warning. He never actually kicked, but he was less than pleased about the insult. I was quite happy that we managed to pin 5th out of that class of 12, given the circumstances. Between riding classes, I noticed he would still squint some out of that left eye, then he would seem just fine. That little round bit was still right there. He spooked BIG at a horse trailer on the move as we waited outside the ring before our next riding class - daylight between me and the saddle before I refound my balance. He was too snorty and scared for me to ride over to the scary thing, so I dismounted and led him around before I had to go in the ring. The walk trot pleasure and eq classes were a little better; since they were for adults it eliminated the pinball ponies. We pinned in both, though he was in catapult mode at the trot so my eq definitely sub-par that day. He redeemed himself by being a superstar in the halter classes again. I don't think he was quite the judge's taste, but that happens with horse showing, and the important thing was that he behaved well and did what he was supposed to (And this time I positioned myself away from the girl who kept hitting her horse with a crop in halter and showmanship! I'm sure she means well and is frustrated, but I don't think anyone's ever taken the time to explain to her that beating her horse is not going to help it calm down and behave in the show ring). It was rather embarrassing that the judge noticed Saxon's squinting, too, and basically gave him a vision test right there in the show ring. Yes, he did something to his eye in the trailer. These things happen. Nonetheless, we still pinned high enough in Open Halter that we were awarded Reserve Champion in that division for the show series despite only having done 2 of the 5 shows! After closer inspection of his eye and a call to my vet, it turned out that Saxon had managed to scratch his cornea in the trailer while wearing his fly mask. I know he's a talented horse, but that's not really the type of talent I had in mind! What had initially looked like a circular hair was actually a round scratch about the size of the tip of a click-type ball-point pen. That would certainly explain the excess spookiness. After a night of worry, Bute, opthalmic ointment, and a fly mask, by the next morning the round mark was barely visible, and two days later you'd never have suspected anything had happened. Thankfully, he tolerated 5 days of eye ointment pretty well (the trick was to do it while he was eating his grain).
After a few days off due to the show and the eye injury, we were back to riding and training. New horses had arrived on the farm and he was distracted by wanting to meet them, investigate their humans, evaluate their trailer, etc. We had another "up" ride as a result, but no real bucking (thank heavens!) and he worked out of it well. We had some small break-throughs by the end of the week - he started to engage his hindquarters and really carry himself for several strides at a time. And as a result, his trot was much more rideable. He was getting better adjustability at his trot, as he was also starting to figure out how to collect his trot so that I could almost sit it.
There was another show this past weekend at the same venue, but run by a different group. I probably won't have another show to take him to for a month or two, so I did some classes with him on Sunday. We showed out of the trailer for the first time, and he was a little anxious about being tied to the trailer for extended periods of time. Having hay in front of him and taking him on short field trips to lunge and/or hand grazed helped some. He was again a superstar in hand. I was especially proud of him in the (non-Arab) Sport Horse in Hand class, as he stood like a stone while the judge made copious notes on his score sheet. The other horse in the class was a fancy Friesian whose price tag undoubtedly numbered high into five digits, so I knew we had no shot at winning, but I was super proud of how well he performed the triangle and stood up for me, and I got some nice comments on his score sheet, too.
To follow up on his great behavior in hand, he tried to kill me when we warmed up under saddle. It was just us and the Friesian in the ring at that moment, and I guess to Saxon, the huge black horse with feathers and hair flying everywhere and the ground shaking under his hooves (he did NOT tread lightly!) looked like some sort of supernatural monster trying to run him down. We had barely started walking around the ring when Saxon shook his head and tried to bolt. I reined him in, and he went up. Oh %&#$! He started wheeling and rearing in a panic. I was trying to dismount, but he wouldn't stop rearing. The problem with horses that rear is that horses aren't good at solving physics equations. They may know how high they can rear out in the pasture, but seldom factor in the weight of the rider. If they go up too high, they can lose their balance and topple over backwards - nothing good ever comes of that. The rider on the Friesian pulled up, albeit near us, and I managed to slide off between rears. The guy was very nice, and his horse was, too; apparently Saxon just thought the horse was some sort of terrifying monster. I don't even know if he classified the Friesian as a fellow equine. Or maybe he thought the Friesian wanted to joust with him and he wanted no part of it. Well, I can clearly rule out Medieval Times as a possible alternate career path for him. Saxon was still rolling his eyes and prancing around nervously after I slid off. I couldn't even run up my stirrups. I tried to lead him around the ring, but his head and his tail were bolt upright and he was rolling his eyes and snorting in fear. (When Saxon puts his tail over his back, he doesn't mince around - he puts tail set Saddlebreds to shame). I came back with my lunge line and lunged him in the arena. Once the Friesian had left, he finally settled down and was willing to walk and trot on the lunge line in a relaxed and non-panicked fashion. By then I had no time to actually ride him in the arena, but at least I had gotten him in there on the lunge line.
I had ZERO expectations for our first under saddle class. There were just a few of us so it was easier to find our own spot on the rail (thankfully the Friesian was not among them or I would have scratched from the class). I just wanted to make it through the class horse side down, and was planning my exit strategy if things went poorly. Good old Saxon decided that, in the absence of the big black monster, all was right with the world again and he walked and trotted around the ring as nice as you please, collecting the blue ribbon in the process. He was nice and quiet in our second riding class, too, though he was pretty tired and I didn't feel like picking at him about going in a frame or collecting, but we got third, and I was happy that he stayed relaxed and cooperative.
Just about everyone at the show asked about his freeze brand. (They did love his registered name, though :) I do hate that he has a big "bar code" on his neck marking him as a STB (or a Mustang, though theirs uses symbols instead of letters and numerals), which means that any halfway knowledgeable judge or horseperson knows exactly what breed he is before judging him on his own merits. I know that it makes horse ID at the track much easier and showing isn't a factor in that thought process. Just a tiny fraction of Standardbreds see the show ring versus racing, sales, and breeding where quick and positive horse ID is of prime importance, so I certainly don't fault the USTA for marking the horses this way. I think for showing, though, I'm going to try to find a brown permanent marker or some sort of spray to cover it with, since temporary hair dye didn't work. I am proud that he is a Standardbred, but I'd really rather have him be evaluated on his own merits first before his breeding comes up.
So that's been our past five weeks - adventures in toddler-hood. Much of the time he acts like an experienced, mature horse, though the past month has been befraught with quite a few fractious toddler moments. All I can do is cut him some slack about it (he doesn't even really turn 3 until next month), and walk the fine line between not pushing him too hard and working with him/exposing him to new situations in a calm and confidence-building manner. I hope that doesn't mean that I have to buy him his own pet Friesian, though...
Saxon has an enormous capacity to astound me with his intelligence, willingness, and wisdom that far outstrips his age and experience. I have recently discovered, though, that sometimes a temperamental toddler lurks beneath his sweet and trusting demeanor.
A lot has happened since my last blog post even though just 5 weeks have elapsed on the calendar. Daylight Saving Time has just taken effect (I love DST and wish this country would adopt it year-round to increase the amount of usable daylight in the evening, but that's a discussion for another time and place...). Winter tried to have its final say with last week's snowfall (which was preceded by tornadoes and followed by summer-like temperatures). School marches on and I am waiting to find out about acceptance for DH school. I got a new (23 year old beloved but POS) car that I am foolishly thinking about turning into another racecar (perhaps a subject for another blog). I finally succeeded in my quest to find a new jumping saddle. Saxon has continued in his riding and showing pursuits, both impressing and terrifying me in the process.
Saxon loves to be brushed and stroked, but dislikes being curried and despises having his belly groomed. (In contrast, Legs loves a vigorous curry session and is absolutely in heaven when you scratch and curry her ventral midline - she stretches her back up, leans into you and tries to return the favor by grooming you back). Saxon seems to be more sensitive-skinned and ticklish than the old mare. It's easy enough to work around except for one small detail - he makes a habit of sleeping sternal in the mud and in the urine soaked spot he makes in the middle of his stall (boys...). I can't exactly leave the filth crusted on his belly, but he really hates the process of having it removed. I have learned to work around it by gently sweeping off the worst of it with a curry in a straight line, and then using handfuls of baby wipes to clean the area up the rest of the way. Talk about babying your horse... Now Kroger has started sending me diaper and formula coupons because I bought baby wipes there once. I'm pretty sure there isn't a set of Huggies big enough for my baby though it would make stall cleaning a breeze.
Sometime in early February, I noticed a peculiar and intermittent pattern when I rode Saxon. Some days he would kick at his belly when asked to trot. One day it even escalated to humping his back and mild bucking. Other days he was just fine. The first time I noticed it was when I used a new girth with my dressage saddle. He spent much of the ride kicking squarely at the girth with his hind legs until I gave up. Given his touchiness about his belly, I concluded that he just hated that girth and decided not to use it anymore (it was a Professional's Choice with the thin neoprene backing). He did it again with different equipment, so I wasn't sure what to think. Was it physical discomfort? Was he throwing a tantrum like a petulant toddler? Was he allergic to neoprene or intolerant of anything but the softest and most thickly padded girths? Dismounting and readjusting his tack only helped somewhat. He wouldn't abate when disciplined nor would he desist if I ignored it and kept riding. In my logical and methodical fashion, I started to keep a log of when I worked him, what we did, and what tack I used to see if there was a pattern. He was fine with my old jumping saddle (leather double elastic girth) and my synthetic western saddle (felt-lined cinch). He was pleasant as could be on the lunge line with a surcingle (cotton webbing). He didn't care if he was wearing splint boots, galloping boots, or polo wraps. It was my Wintec Pro dressage saddle that set him off, no matter what girth I used with it (Pro Choice, Wintec neoprene/elastic, fuzzy and stretchy fleece/elastic). I borrowed my friend's Wintec 500 dressage (it has the same tree and general structure) and he was fine. I didn't find anything obviously wrong with the tree on mine, though I do have the medium-wide gullet in mine and she has the medium in hers, which could be part of it. I later tried a thick foam and fleece half pad with my dressage saddle/medium wide plate and he was fine with that arrangement. He measured just into medium wide, but I am more inclined to believe his behavior than the cardboard gauge when he's sending a message to me THAT clearly, so I will switch out the gullet plates and try him again in mine with the medium. He has wonderful natural ability for dressage, but if he won't tolerate a dressage saddle for whatever reason, that kind of kills his prospects for a successful dressage career... At least I solved that problem - I was getting worried there!
His belly-kicking episodes coincided with my jumping saddle search, causing me further worry about finding a saddle that met both his and my criteria. I have had my old Collegiate Graduate for nearly 17 years; I bought it new with the proceeds of my baby-sitting jobs when I was a young teenager. I couldn't even begin to count the number of riding hours, number of jumps, or number of trips around the show ring that saddle has seen. It has served me extremely well through Legs' whole riding career, but it is dated and old by today's standards, so I figure I am due a new saddle every decade and a half or so, and having the knee rolls and thigh blocks found on modern saddles seems like a nice luxury.
Last year I bought a second-hand Dover Circuit Elite. I bought it based on good recommendations, and a good experience with one when showing IHSA. I sat in one at WEG and it seemed nice. But the two happiest moments I had with my particular saddle were the day it arrived, and the day that I sold it. It had a two-toned reddish chestnut-caramel effect because of the different leathers they used, which I could have lived with, but... The quality of the construction was good, and the leather on the seat and knee rolls was supple with nice grip and texture, but the leather on the flaps was thick, stiff, and had about as much grip as a sheet of glass. No amount of cleaning and conditioning made a difference, and since this saddle was already a couple years old, that was as broken-in as it was going to get. I had to use a riser pad to get it balanced on Larry and it wasn't that great of a fit on Legs, either. It also tended to put me in a chair-seat position and I was constantly fighting to keep my legs back under me. I thought I just had developed bad habits until I went back to my old Graduate and found my position magically fixed overnight. Up for sale it went and I was back to riding in my old relic (in addition to scoring a good deal on that used Wintec Pro dressage) until I decided what to replace it with.
I decided that since my old Collegiate had served me well, a new Collegiate was the way to go. I researched the variety of models they offered and settled on a couple that seemed to fit the bill. I thought about one of the convertible gullet models like my dressage saddle, but their higher cost, reports of lower quality leather, and the fact that it has moving parts and I plan to eventually do a lot of jumping in it swayed me towards a traditional tree version. The Collegiate Laureate had favorable reviews and touted itself as a modern replacement for the Graduate - perfect! At some stores they retailed for almost as much as my silver covered western show saddle - ouch! But then I found one tack shop that had them on closeout (no returns) for nearly half that. I called them and verified it had the features I was looking for, but found out they were sold out of my size. Rats. Then I found another online store that had them for over a hundred more, but they did price matching. Yippee! My new saddle was delivered the next week. I tore open the box, pulled out my new saddle, and... hmmmph. It didn't look much like the photos online. The color was more red (not too big of a deal) but the flaps were considerably different. Instead of forming a smooth line from the pommel, they jutted forwards another 20 degrees. Thinking it could just be a parallux issue, I tried it on horse #1 (Legs). The seat and tree balance was very good, but the forward flap stuck out over her shoulders. I wrapped the billets with old socks to protect the leather from marring and took a brief test ride without stirrups. (For the record, Legs was delighted that I allowed her to hop a small cross-rail so I could see how it felt over fences). It rode nicely, but the flaps were all wrong for my legs. My knee barely touched the knee rolls and the knee blocks were laughably far from where my legs would ever be in that saddle. I have to speculate that the flap was made with leggy supermodels jumping Grand Prix level fences in mind - certainly not for short to moderate legged 5'4" ladies aspiring to the local and regional levels of the amateur hunter-jumper and hunter pleasure rings. I sat on it while it was on Saxon, but the fit was no different. It was comfortable, but the flap looked ridiculous with my legs - like I was a kid trying to ride in mom's saddle. My initial thought was that they had accidentally sent me a long-flap version, but I couldn't find any evidence that a long-flap version had ever been manufactured. I contacted the store and after they listened to my complaint and compared photos of my saddle with what it was supposed to look like, they arranged for return shipping and a refund. Thank goodness customer service still exists! By now, more research had determined that Collegiate had redesigned the flap this year, so I needed to find a pre-2012 model in order to get one with a normal person flap. As luck would have it, there was a 16.5" on eBay. My old one was a 17", but with my frame, a 16.5" is actually probably a better fit, and my test ride in the brand new 17" had told me that I had plenty of seat room so it became mine. Since it was used, I don't get the benefit of breaking it in myself, but it seems to have been well-cared for, the leather is quite nice, and the color is in between caramel and havana, so it will coordinate with both of my horses' show bridles - another plus. Even better, it fits both of my horses, my knees actually touch the knee rolls, and it doesn't put me in a weird riding position. Since I bought it used, I paid just $10 more than I spent on that new Graduate all those years ago. Here's hoping it lasts almost as long as that old Graduate!
Well, my first test ride in the Laureate was a big bucket of fale. I rode Saxon out in the back field, just as I had two days prior (in the Graduate). We walked, trotted, and cantered fine. He was actually trotting in a pretty good frame that day without yawing down and forwards on the bit as he can be prone to. I asked him to canter to the left (his better direction), for the second time. Since cantering is still demanding for him, I use his inherent psychology to help him pick it up; I make sure whichever lead I want is the one one the side towards the gate, and ask him when he is circling more or less towards the gate/front of the field rather than towards the back of the field. Our previous two short canter bouts, he had broken gait and wanted to stop when we were near the gate (and incidentally, Legs' feed bucket). This time, I vowed to keep him cantering past the gate. He tried to slow down, and I pressed him on with my legs. As I did so, he pulled his head all the way down and humped his back, then immediately cracked his back hard. Uh oh. I know this move. It's the buck he does when he's cantering on the lunge line and he doesn't want to keep going after passing the corner where the barn is, and it's very, um, athletic. He continued to crack his back harder and harder, and by the fourth or fifth big jump, I knew I was too off balance to stay on. He veered left and off I plunked to the right, landing on my right hip, shoulder, and then head. This is why you wear a helmet, my friends. He cantered on over to the empty feed bucket, I got up, followed him, verified that all of my parts still worked and he wasn't rattled (he didn't seem to think it was any big deal that he had just ejected a human off his back), took a big breath, and got back on. As I recall, I haven't come off a horse since my QH was a 3 year old with an irrational fear of trucks rumbling down the nearby road - about 5 years ago. You have to get back on, especially with a youngster, since you can't have them deciding that acting up earns them relaxation and a trip back to the barn. We spent another 10-15 minutes doing a LOT of trotting, and he had lost the privilege of being allowed to stretch his head and neck down for the moment. We eventually tried a short canter again with no bucking this time before we quit for the day.
Two days later I mounted up in the front yard. Right away, I could feel that he was tense and full of himself. He was trying to jig and shaking his head from side to side. I kept him at a walk and tried to get him to relax by making him concentrate on bending, circling, and walking over poles. When he seemed suitably composed, I asked him to trot. The head snaked down, the back humped, and the hind legs started to leave the ground. I immediately pulled his head up and kept trying to keep his brain and his feet busy. When he used the neighbor's car pulling in their driveway as an excuse to try to levitate again, I knew this wasn't going to work. I pulled him up, dismounted, and took him over to the front paddock. I secured my reins out of the way, raised my arms and clucked once. He exploded - running, bucking, and leaping around for 15 straight minutes with his tail over his back while I just stood there in the middle of the paddock with my arms at my sides. I was not amused that my brilliant, willing, and generally extraordinarily calm Standardbred was channeling his inner Thoroughbred and having fits like an exuberant toddler. I don't know if it was the weather (it had been unusually warm and windy), a sugar high from the tender green grass sprouting up, the new feed he was on, or if he was just having a case of the terrible two's. While he is stabled most nights, he is turned out all day with plenty of time and space to run and play. Perhaps since stodgy old school marm Legs seldom runs and plays with him, he isn't making use of that time to self-exercise. Whatever it was, he finally settled down and I remounted and actually had a pretty nice ride.
Riding wise, we're still working primarily on walk-trot work with some canter work when time, footing conditions, and mental outlook permit. He's starting to figure out how to vary both his tempo and his stride length at the trot, and is steering off the leg well at the walk. At the trot, the steering off leg varies day to day. Part of that, I'm sure, is that his very springy way of going makes it hard for me to keep a steady leg position on him. That's the trade-off for his pretty, floaty trot - sometimes the prettiest movers can be some of the more uncomfortable to ride (there are exceptions, of course, and certainly stilted-moving horses with jack-hammer strides aren't comfortable, but springy, pretty movement can be hard to sit in its own right). Conventional wisdom is that collecting a horse exaggerates their springiness and makes them even less comfortable to ride. My experience with the last two STBs I've worked with, Brave Guns and Saxon, is the opposite. When they are in giraffe mode (head up and back stiff and hollow - think about how they travel when in an overcheck), their big trots have a way of catapulting you up out of the tack. When I get either of them to relax their spine and neck and swing more from their haunches, their trots get more rhythmic and easier to stay with. With his trot, Saxon is hardly an equitation prospect. That's not to say that I won't ride him in eq classes, but he wouldn't be my first choice if I had the choice. In fact, there was a walk-trot pattern class I could have entered at a recent show, but when I saw that the pattern called for a sitting trot without stirrups, entering that class was a definite no-go. Maybe later when his trot is more regular and we've worked on that stuff more, but not at this stage! Since then, I've been working on his tempo and collection at the trot, and also experimenting with different back pads to smooth out the experience for both of us. I'm sure he doesn't appreciate when I get out of sync and bounce on his kidneys any more than I appreciate when his trot jars mine! I made him a fleece half pad with a 2" egg-crate foam core that seems to help, and the back pad I use on Legs also seems to make a difference. That may be part of his beef with my dressage saddle - it has the Cair panels which tend to increase the rebound while they redistribute the weight load.
Showing wise, we've been back at it. We went to the March follow-up to the show we did in February. When he got off the trailer, he rubbed his head on my shoulder vigorously, but I figured his fly mask was itching him and didn't think much of it. (Since I have a stock trailer with open sides, I ship my horses in a fly mask to keep dust and hay from blowing into their eyes.) We walked around the arena for a good 20-25 minutes. He seemed relatively relaxed about the whole process and was quite pleased with himself when he successfully mooched a handful of treats from a bystander on the rail. After I settled him into his stall, I noticed his left eye was a little squinty and had some tearing. I saw a small curly hair in his eye and attempted to blot his eye and help him work the offending bit out. He seemed better, so I figured it was no big deal. We went in the same classes as the last time, starting with the English Green Horse Walk-Trot. Saxon was spooky about one corner of the ring where a few folks were sitting on chairs which put them under the height of the railing. You could glimpse their movement between the slats of the rail, but couldn't clearly see who or what they were, so I can't fault him for his concern. To make matters worse, sunlight shining through the skylights cast bright squares in the dark footing, which he was afraid to pass through. Before they started the judging class, he was rattled after just passing the "hiding under the railing people" and I actually had to ask a few people along the rail to pet him so he could see that they wouldn't eat him. The icing on the cake was that there 12 entries crammed into the small arena - nearly half of them were participants in the prior Green Rider Walk-Trot who did not belong in the Green Horse class. Grrrrrr. It was a debacle with ponies and novice kids bouncing around, prancing saddleseat horses careening around, big Thoroughbreds and Warmbloods everywhere - bumper cars on horseback. I did the best I could to keep him out of traffic (though he chose not to steer off the leg terribly well today) and not get him trapped by the "scary" parts of the arena. Still, there were multiple times where ponies and horses ran up his rear end and he pinned his ears and swished his tail in warning. He never actually kicked, but he was less than pleased about the insult. I was quite happy that we managed to pin 5th out of that class of 12, given the circumstances. Between riding classes, I noticed he would still squint some out of that left eye, then he would seem just fine. That little round bit was still right there. He spooked BIG at a horse trailer on the move as we waited outside the ring before our next riding class - daylight between me and the saddle before I refound my balance. He was too snorty and scared for me to ride over to the scary thing, so I dismounted and led him around before I had to go in the ring. The walk trot pleasure and eq classes were a little better; since they were for adults it eliminated the pinball ponies. We pinned in both, though he was in catapult mode at the trot so my eq definitely sub-par that day. He redeemed himself by being a superstar in the halter classes again. I don't think he was quite the judge's taste, but that happens with horse showing, and the important thing was that he behaved well and did what he was supposed to (And this time I positioned myself away from the girl who kept hitting her horse with a crop in halter and showmanship! I'm sure she means well and is frustrated, but I don't think anyone's ever taken the time to explain to her that beating her horse is not going to help it calm down and behave in the show ring). It was rather embarrassing that the judge noticed Saxon's squinting, too, and basically gave him a vision test right there in the show ring. Yes, he did something to his eye in the trailer. These things happen. Nonetheless, we still pinned high enough in Open Halter that we were awarded Reserve Champion in that division for the show series despite only having done 2 of the 5 shows! After closer inspection of his eye and a call to my vet, it turned out that Saxon had managed to scratch his cornea in the trailer while wearing his fly mask. I know he's a talented horse, but that's not really the type of talent I had in mind! What had initially looked like a circular hair was actually a round scratch about the size of the tip of a click-type ball-point pen. That would certainly explain the excess spookiness. After a night of worry, Bute, opthalmic ointment, and a fly mask, by the next morning the round mark was barely visible, and two days later you'd never have suspected anything had happened. Thankfully, he tolerated 5 days of eye ointment pretty well (the trick was to do it while he was eating his grain).
After a few days off due to the show and the eye injury, we were back to riding and training. New horses had arrived on the farm and he was distracted by wanting to meet them, investigate their humans, evaluate their trailer, etc. We had another "up" ride as a result, but no real bucking (thank heavens!) and he worked out of it well. We had some small break-throughs by the end of the week - he started to engage his hindquarters and really carry himself for several strides at a time. And as a result, his trot was much more rideable. He was getting better adjustability at his trot, as he was also starting to figure out how to collect his trot so that I could almost sit it.
There was another show this past weekend at the same venue, but run by a different group. I probably won't have another show to take him to for a month or two, so I did some classes with him on Sunday. We showed out of the trailer for the first time, and he was a little anxious about being tied to the trailer for extended periods of time. Having hay in front of him and taking him on short field trips to lunge and/or hand grazed helped some. He was again a superstar in hand. I was especially proud of him in the (non-Arab) Sport Horse in Hand class, as he stood like a stone while the judge made copious notes on his score sheet. The other horse in the class was a fancy Friesian whose price tag undoubtedly numbered high into five digits, so I knew we had no shot at winning, but I was super proud of how well he performed the triangle and stood up for me, and I got some nice comments on his score sheet, too.
To follow up on his great behavior in hand, he tried to kill me when we warmed up under saddle. It was just us and the Friesian in the ring at that moment, and I guess to Saxon, the huge black horse with feathers and hair flying everywhere and the ground shaking under his hooves (he did NOT tread lightly!) looked like some sort of supernatural monster trying to run him down. We had barely started walking around the ring when Saxon shook his head and tried to bolt. I reined him in, and he went up. Oh %&#$! He started wheeling and rearing in a panic. I was trying to dismount, but he wouldn't stop rearing. The problem with horses that rear is that horses aren't good at solving physics equations. They may know how high they can rear out in the pasture, but seldom factor in the weight of the rider. If they go up too high, they can lose their balance and topple over backwards - nothing good ever comes of that. The rider on the Friesian pulled up, albeit near us, and I managed to slide off between rears. The guy was very nice, and his horse was, too; apparently Saxon just thought the horse was some sort of terrifying monster. I don't even know if he classified the Friesian as a fellow equine. Or maybe he thought the Friesian wanted to joust with him and he wanted no part of it. Well, I can clearly rule out Medieval Times as a possible alternate career path for him. Saxon was still rolling his eyes and prancing around nervously after I slid off. I couldn't even run up my stirrups. I tried to lead him around the ring, but his head and his tail were bolt upright and he was rolling his eyes and snorting in fear. (When Saxon puts his tail over his back, he doesn't mince around - he puts tail set Saddlebreds to shame). I came back with my lunge line and lunged him in the arena. Once the Friesian had left, he finally settled down and was willing to walk and trot on the lunge line in a relaxed and non-panicked fashion. By then I had no time to actually ride him in the arena, but at least I had gotten him in there on the lunge line.
I had ZERO expectations for our first under saddle class. There were just a few of us so it was easier to find our own spot on the rail (thankfully the Friesian was not among them or I would have scratched from the class). I just wanted to make it through the class horse side down, and was planning my exit strategy if things went poorly. Good old Saxon decided that, in the absence of the big black monster, all was right with the world again and he walked and trotted around the ring as nice as you please, collecting the blue ribbon in the process. He was nice and quiet in our second riding class, too, though he was pretty tired and I didn't feel like picking at him about going in a frame or collecting, but we got third, and I was happy that he stayed relaxed and cooperative.
Just about everyone at the show asked about his freeze brand. (They did love his registered name, though :) I do hate that he has a big "bar code" on his neck marking him as a STB (or a Mustang, though theirs uses symbols instead of letters and numerals), which means that any halfway knowledgeable judge or horseperson knows exactly what breed he is before judging him on his own merits. I know that it makes horse ID at the track much easier and showing isn't a factor in that thought process. Just a tiny fraction of Standardbreds see the show ring versus racing, sales, and breeding where quick and positive horse ID is of prime importance, so I certainly don't fault the USTA for marking the horses this way. I think for showing, though, I'm going to try to find a brown permanent marker or some sort of spray to cover it with, since temporary hair dye didn't work. I am proud that he is a Standardbred, but I'd really rather have him be evaluated on his own merits first before his breeding comes up.
So that's been our past five weeks - adventures in toddler-hood. Much of the time he acts like an experienced, mature horse, though the past month has been befraught with quite a few fractious toddler moments. All I can do is cut him some slack about it (he doesn't even really turn 3 until next month), and walk the fine line between not pushing him too hard and working with him/exposing him to new situations in a calm and confidence-building manner. I hope that doesn't mean that I have to buy him his own pet Friesian, though...
Sunday, February 5, 2012
A First Time for Everything
They say there's a first time for everything. Usually, of course, that doesn't mean all at once, but sometimes... I decided to take the plunge and enter Saxon in his first horse show. It ended up being a day full of lot of firsts for both of us.
My plan (by now you've probably figured out that I almost always have a plan) was to take Saxon on a nice little trip to this show, let him soak in the show environment and all of the action, enter a couple in hand classes, and maybe try a riding class if things were going especially well. The show was part of a local winter show series held at the Shelby County Fairgrounds. This particular fairgrounds really deserves a nicer title than fairgrounds. It boasts two indoor arenas, permanent (and very nice) stabling, a large Saddlebred arena with box seats and a grandstand that hosts numerous rated ASB shows, all basically smack in the middle of downtown Shelbyville (the self-appointed Saddlebred capitol of the world). Being February, and wintertime and all, this show was held in the main indoor, which is long but narrow and has a 4 foot tall slatted rail with a row of stalls on either long side. This means that spectators like to congregate all along (and over) the rail, with a menagerie of dogs, ponies, children, parents with cameras, ringing cell phones, etc. lining this railing. It is a pretty high-distraction environment for a horse show, and not exactly what I would have hand picked for Saxon's first show experience. It's February, though, and I was excited to see how Saxon took to showing, so it's not as if I had a whole lot of other options.
I arrived about 45 minutes early despite that the written directions indicated that the last two turns were a right then a left, instead of a left then a right! It's a good thing my fuzzy memory of the one time I'd shown here before served me well! There was nobody in the show office when I checked, so I opted to walk Saxon around before getting a stall assignment. He was nervous and attentive, but manageable off the trailer. Rather than struggle to declothe a potentially dancing horse, I just walked him around the arena in his full shipping regalia. He did a lot of pausing, looking, and sniffing things, but didn't seem especially spooky or unnerved. I ran across one of my HCSC friends, so I was able to get a stall near hers. (I considered it a good omen that the stall card adjacent to mine read "Legacy.") He stalked around the stall and I was barely able to remove shipping boots and head bumper. Apparently hay fixes all - as soon as I put his hay bag and water bucket in his stall, he was a happy camper. I registered for three in hand classes, leaving an open check just in case. Most shows start off with the halter and showmanship classes, while the horses are still all clean and free of saddle marks. For whatever reason, this show put the in hand classes in the middle of the day. Though there were several under saddle classes I could have taken Saxon in before Open Halter (class 32), I figured it would be most prudent to see how showing in hand went before mounting up (or not). I occupied myself watching a few classes, studying the showmanship pattern, getting my stuff out of the trailer, and braiding Saxon's mane. But the show dragged on. He was still a little nervous and dancy in the stall, so I booted him up and took him out on the lunge line. We walked around the empty Saddlebred arena (you enter through a tunnel - it's really quite freaky), and I lunged him in the corner. It was about the third or fourth time I've lunged him. He was doing a lovely toe flicking trot and listening quite well, despite traffic noise from the adjacent street. We practiced our showmanship pattern a couple times - perfection. They were still only on class 14 or so. I checked the showbill. Class 18 was Green Horse Walk-Trot. Hmmmm.
There are a multitude of reasons why I shouldn't have ridden Saxon in that class. It was his first class, his first show, his first time in an indoor arena, his first time being ridden in the company of multiple other horses... A green horse class has the potential to turn into a real rodeo if one greenie sets off the whole lot. I'd only ridden him in my hunt saddle once before, usually favoring my cushier, grippier dressage saddle. By this point, the rail was absolutely crowded with spectators and distractions. I didn't even have time to warm him up under saddle. There were really only two reasons to just do it - he's a Standardbred, and he's Saxon. Every once in a while I just dare myself to do something against my better judgement. Saddle, bridle, helmet, boots, and number - check. I borrowed a mounting block as the prior class was starting and convinced a stranger to have the show office add me to the class. I didn't even know how many were in the class. Saxon picked his way through the melee along the rail, completely unfazed by the dogs, children, and other horses. I ran into another HCSC friend. "Is this Saxon? I thought you were just showing halter?" "Yeah, I was, but I figured what the heck..." We headed into the ring, and when I saw seven other horses join us on the rail, my stomach dropped. "OK self, just keep him calm and out of trouble. Just finish horse side down and try to stay relaxed and out of everyone's way." We were able to make a couple laps before the judging started, so Saxon got to sniff the signs, stare at the hyper kids, nuzzle a man with a camera, and nicker at the ponies before the class got started. "And you are now being judged at the walk." Here we go! They called for the first trot, and we rounded the far corner by the food booth where they had just tossed something sizzling on the grill, and an ambulance siren sounded from the road outside the ring. Seriously? Does this have to happen right this instant? And Saxon... Saxon didn't care. He just trotted steadily along, ears pricked, listening, interested in the stuff going on, but unconcerned. We had to use our corners smartly, and circle a couple times to try to stay spread out (and a girl on a paint seemed to think that she needed to mirror every one of those moves we made to not be stuck to her side. sheesh), but he listened, made an honest attempt to (mostly) go on the bit. When she cut across the ring next to us drill formation style for the third time when I tried to lose her, he gave one mini Saxon buck (his version is snaking his head around without his feet leaving the ground), but he stopped when I sank into my seat and heels and took up slightly on my reins). He was a little looky the second direction, especially at two girls unfurling a stall curtain outside the ring, but quite composed all in all. We got to the lineup, and he stood like a stone. They called out the placings, starting with sixth, then fifth, then fourth, then third. We were still standing there. Then second. Still there. Then first, there it was, our very first class of our very first horse show ever, and Saxon had won it! I laughed, nearly cried out, hugged his neck, and he stood there sweetly, ears pricked, like this was an expected sort of occurrence.
Given our extreme success in our first outing, I decided to enter him in the Open Adult Walk-Trot Pleasure and Eq classes. They were run concurrently, so it meant one trip would be judged for both classes. He was a little less consistent in pace (a lot of which was because the girl and horse entered in the next class was just hanging out in the corner of the show ring and Saxon wanted to stop and check them out every time we went near that corner), and I felt like my leg was all over the place with his springy trot, but I tried to give him a positive, sympathetic ride and we held things together well, earning a 3rd for the pleasure class and winning the equitation. You certainly wouldn't have guessed him as a green three year-old with just under two months riding experience on his first trip off the farm.
Well in hand seemed like no big deal considering we'd gone and tackled the hard stuff first. I had told some people he was just three, and that this was not only his first horse show, but his first time off the farm. He made me look like a liar. One girl guessed his age at 10 or 12 and thought he was an experienced show horse. I can see why. Heck, he could have fooled me. He handled the halter class like a seasoned professional. He stood up nicely, standing quietly and attentively, even when the judge inspected him. He trotted off smoothly and easily in hand, and lined up quietly again. Out of the nine horses in the Open Halter class, guess who took home the blue ribbon again? I'll give you a hint - it was the Standardbred!!! He was just as much a consummate professional in Sport Horse in Hand, even trotting the triangle, and we took second. In Showmanship, he put in a near perfect pattern, but due to bad luck, we were next to a very fidgety horse in the lineup. That horse kept dancing and circling, and swinging her rump next to Saxon. To make matters worse, the handler would reach around and swat the mare with a riding crop in Saxon's general direction! Repeatedly - not just a couple times! [sarcasm] Yes, why wouldn't swatting your horse with a crop work to make it stand still? [/sarcasm]. I tried to say something to her about her upsetting my horse, but she ignored me. She wasn't being malicious or anything; I think she was just really frustrated and didn't know what to do about it. Unfortunately, I couldn't escape it as there was nowhere else to go in the line up (all seven of us were crowded into the short side of the ring), and no ring steward to approach. Saxon tried to behave, but he couldn't help catching her anxiety and I had to circle him twice to stay out of the fidgeting mare's way. I found that he would stand better if I positioned myself between her and him, but it meant I was working the judge from the wrong side in the lineup. Oh well, it's better than him dancing around too or getting kicked by the mare. We ended up third, and I was satisfied with how hard he tried to behave despite it all.
All told, we entered six classes, earning 3 firsts, 1 second, and 2 thirds. What really impressed me was how incredibly mature Saxon acted throughout the entire show. I knew he was a good horse, but to behave that well in such a new and different environment far exceeded any of my expectations. Though there were a few other riding classes later in the day that I contemplated entering, I ultimately concluded that I just couldn't ask him to act any better than he already was, and I didn't want to sour him on showing by making him tired and cranky. He was cheerful and obedient throughout the show, and I wanted that to be the take home message for him. There will be other shows - as fabulous as he is - there will be MANY other shows in the future, and I think we got off to a fantastic start. We capped off our day by sharing an apple, a little hand grazing, and getting a few photos with our ribbons before heading home.
As an aside, on of our aisle-mates with some nice looking Saddlebreds spotted his freeze brand during the day. "Is that a Standardbred?" "Why yes he is." "He's GORGEOUS. Absolutely beautiful. I just love his look. And a chestnut, too." She wanted to know about his breeding, and whether he was fast (sadly, no, that's his one shortcoming, though it worked out rather well for me), and thought he'd be lovely in roadster. Funny she should mention that... ;-)
My plan (by now you've probably figured out that I almost always have a plan) was to take Saxon on a nice little trip to this show, let him soak in the show environment and all of the action, enter a couple in hand classes, and maybe try a riding class if things were going especially well. The show was part of a local winter show series held at the Shelby County Fairgrounds. This particular fairgrounds really deserves a nicer title than fairgrounds. It boasts two indoor arenas, permanent (and very nice) stabling, a large Saddlebred arena with box seats and a grandstand that hosts numerous rated ASB shows, all basically smack in the middle of downtown Shelbyville (the self-appointed Saddlebred capitol of the world). Being February, and wintertime and all, this show was held in the main indoor, which is long but narrow and has a 4 foot tall slatted rail with a row of stalls on either long side. This means that spectators like to congregate all along (and over) the rail, with a menagerie of dogs, ponies, children, parents with cameras, ringing cell phones, etc. lining this railing. It is a pretty high-distraction environment for a horse show, and not exactly what I would have hand picked for Saxon's first show experience. It's February, though, and I was excited to see how Saxon took to showing, so it's not as if I had a whole lot of other options.
I arrived about 45 minutes early despite that the written directions indicated that the last two turns were a right then a left, instead of a left then a right! It's a good thing my fuzzy memory of the one time I'd shown here before served me well! There was nobody in the show office when I checked, so I opted to walk Saxon around before getting a stall assignment. He was nervous and attentive, but manageable off the trailer. Rather than struggle to declothe a potentially dancing horse, I just walked him around the arena in his full shipping regalia. He did a lot of pausing, looking, and sniffing things, but didn't seem especially spooky or unnerved. I ran across one of my HCSC friends, so I was able to get a stall near hers. (I considered it a good omen that the stall card adjacent to mine read "Legacy.") He stalked around the stall and I was barely able to remove shipping boots and head bumper. Apparently hay fixes all - as soon as I put his hay bag and water bucket in his stall, he was a happy camper. I registered for three in hand classes, leaving an open check just in case. Most shows start off with the halter and showmanship classes, while the horses are still all clean and free of saddle marks. For whatever reason, this show put the in hand classes in the middle of the day. Though there were several under saddle classes I could have taken Saxon in before Open Halter (class 32), I figured it would be most prudent to see how showing in hand went before mounting up (or not). I occupied myself watching a few classes, studying the showmanship pattern, getting my stuff out of the trailer, and braiding Saxon's mane. But the show dragged on. He was still a little nervous and dancy in the stall, so I booted him up and took him out on the lunge line. We walked around the empty Saddlebred arena (you enter through a tunnel - it's really quite freaky), and I lunged him in the corner. It was about the third or fourth time I've lunged him. He was doing a lovely toe flicking trot and listening quite well, despite traffic noise from the adjacent street. We practiced our showmanship pattern a couple times - perfection. They were still only on class 14 or so. I checked the showbill. Class 18 was Green Horse Walk-Trot. Hmmmm.
There are a multitude of reasons why I shouldn't have ridden Saxon in that class. It was his first class, his first show, his first time in an indoor arena, his first time being ridden in the company of multiple other horses... A green horse class has the potential to turn into a real rodeo if one greenie sets off the whole lot. I'd only ridden him in my hunt saddle once before, usually favoring my cushier, grippier dressage saddle. By this point, the rail was absolutely crowded with spectators and distractions. I didn't even have time to warm him up under saddle. There were really only two reasons to just do it - he's a Standardbred, and he's Saxon. Every once in a while I just dare myself to do something against my better judgement. Saddle, bridle, helmet, boots, and number - check. I borrowed a mounting block as the prior class was starting and convinced a stranger to have the show office add me to the class. I didn't even know how many were in the class. Saxon picked his way through the melee along the rail, completely unfazed by the dogs, children, and other horses. I ran into another HCSC friend. "Is this Saxon? I thought you were just showing halter?" "Yeah, I was, but I figured what the heck..." We headed into the ring, and when I saw seven other horses join us on the rail, my stomach dropped. "OK self, just keep him calm and out of trouble. Just finish horse side down and try to stay relaxed and out of everyone's way." We were able to make a couple laps before the judging started, so Saxon got to sniff the signs, stare at the hyper kids, nuzzle a man with a camera, and nicker at the ponies before the class got started. "And you are now being judged at the walk." Here we go! They called for the first trot, and we rounded the far corner by the food booth where they had just tossed something sizzling on the grill, and an ambulance siren sounded from the road outside the ring. Seriously? Does this have to happen right this instant? And Saxon... Saxon didn't care. He just trotted steadily along, ears pricked, listening, interested in the stuff going on, but unconcerned. We had to use our corners smartly, and circle a couple times to try to stay spread out (and a girl on a paint seemed to think that she needed to mirror every one of those moves we made to not be stuck to her side. sheesh), but he listened, made an honest attempt to (mostly) go on the bit. When she cut across the ring next to us drill formation style for the third time when I tried to lose her, he gave one mini Saxon buck (his version is snaking his head around without his feet leaving the ground), but he stopped when I sank into my seat and heels and took up slightly on my reins). He was a little looky the second direction, especially at two girls unfurling a stall curtain outside the ring, but quite composed all in all. We got to the lineup, and he stood like a stone. They called out the placings, starting with sixth, then fifth, then fourth, then third. We were still standing there. Then second. Still there. Then first, there it was, our very first class of our very first horse show ever, and Saxon had won it! I laughed, nearly cried out, hugged his neck, and he stood there sweetly, ears pricked, like this was an expected sort of occurrence.
Given our extreme success in our first outing, I decided to enter him in the Open Adult Walk-Trot Pleasure and Eq classes. They were run concurrently, so it meant one trip would be judged for both classes. He was a little less consistent in pace (a lot of which was because the girl and horse entered in the next class was just hanging out in the corner of the show ring and Saxon wanted to stop and check them out every time we went near that corner), and I felt like my leg was all over the place with his springy trot, but I tried to give him a positive, sympathetic ride and we held things together well, earning a 3rd for the pleasure class and winning the equitation. You certainly wouldn't have guessed him as a green three year-old with just under two months riding experience on his first trip off the farm.
Well in hand seemed like no big deal considering we'd gone and tackled the hard stuff first. I had told some people he was just three, and that this was not only his first horse show, but his first time off the farm. He made me look like a liar. One girl guessed his age at 10 or 12 and thought he was an experienced show horse. I can see why. Heck, he could have fooled me. He handled the halter class like a seasoned professional. He stood up nicely, standing quietly and attentively, even when the judge inspected him. He trotted off smoothly and easily in hand, and lined up quietly again. Out of the nine horses in the Open Halter class, guess who took home the blue ribbon again? I'll give you a hint - it was the Standardbred!!! He was just as much a consummate professional in Sport Horse in Hand, even trotting the triangle, and we took second. In Showmanship, he put in a near perfect pattern, but due to bad luck, we were next to a very fidgety horse in the lineup. That horse kept dancing and circling, and swinging her rump next to Saxon. To make matters worse, the handler would reach around and swat the mare with a riding crop in Saxon's general direction! Repeatedly - not just a couple times! [sarcasm] Yes, why wouldn't swatting your horse with a crop work to make it stand still? [/sarcasm]. I tried to say something to her about her upsetting my horse, but she ignored me. She wasn't being malicious or anything; I think she was just really frustrated and didn't know what to do about it. Unfortunately, I couldn't escape it as there was nowhere else to go in the line up (all seven of us were crowded into the short side of the ring), and no ring steward to approach. Saxon tried to behave, but he couldn't help catching her anxiety and I had to circle him twice to stay out of the fidgeting mare's way. I found that he would stand better if I positioned myself between her and him, but it meant I was working the judge from the wrong side in the lineup. Oh well, it's better than him dancing around too or getting kicked by the mare. We ended up third, and I was satisfied with how hard he tried to behave despite it all.
All told, we entered six classes, earning 3 firsts, 1 second, and 2 thirds. What really impressed me was how incredibly mature Saxon acted throughout the entire show. I knew he was a good horse, but to behave that well in such a new and different environment far exceeded any of my expectations. Though there were a few other riding classes later in the day that I contemplated entering, I ultimately concluded that I just couldn't ask him to act any better than he already was, and I didn't want to sour him on showing by making him tired and cranky. He was cheerful and obedient throughout the show, and I wanted that to be the take home message for him. There will be other shows - as fabulous as he is - there will be MANY other shows in the future, and I think we got off to a fantastic start. We capped off our day by sharing an apple, a little hand grazing, and getting a few photos with our ribbons before heading home.
As an aside, on of our aisle-mates with some nice looking Saddlebreds spotted his freeze brand during the day. "Is that a Standardbred?" "Why yes he is." "He's GORGEOUS. Absolutely beautiful. I just love his look. And a chestnut, too." She wanted to know about his breeding, and whether he was fast (sadly, no, that's his one shortcoming, though it worked out rather well for me), and thought he'd be lovely in roadster. Funny she should mention that... ;-)
Friday, January 13, 2012
Milestones
I keep looking at my calendar and double checking my math. Saxon arrived in Kentucky on December 20th. Here it is, just about three weeks later and I feel like we've accomplished three months worth already. Nope, it's just three weeks, the math works out no matter how often I question it.
We are beginning our ascent up the hill of knowledge, if you will. We have cruised through the foothills at the beginning of our journey, mastering such basics as accepting the saddle and rider, standing still to be mounted (yup, we've got that one down pretty well now), and walking, trotting, and turning on command. Saxon has picked these things up incredibly well, showing that he is intelligent and eager to please. For the first week or two, I felt like we made a HUGE milestone nearly every day. But here's where the learning curve starts to get a little steeper and the milestones get less discrete and farther apart. Now it is not quite enough to simply go walk or trot when asked - now is when I start directing him HOW to go forwards, HOW to carry his body and his head, asking him to yield to the bit, and asking him to change his tempo. Now, it isn't enough to just turn right or left - now I want him to start using his body and bending around the turns. Now, I have started to ask him to turn on the haunches or forehand - isolating one portion of his body while yielding the other. You can't ask for or expect this all at once, but it happens a little bit at a time and you have to reward the little efforts.
Sometimes, we really get it, sometimes we sort of get it, and sometimes it's just not quite there yet. Case in point is bending - he can bend nicely to circle, but isn't really working off leg and seat yet, and the magnetic attraction of the barn and/or gate often makes our nice inside bend falls completely apart as our circles become decidedly lopsided in those regions. (He's no dummy - he knows that the barn = food, rest, and comfort.) He actually has turns on the haunches down fairly well and will often cross over himself. Usually, I would expect the turns on the forehand to be a bit easier, since horses naturally carry more of their weight on the front end and the proprioception of crossing over takes a while to figure out, but for him it seems to be the opposite.
That brings me to showmanship. For the un-horsey, showmanship is a horse show class judged on the handler's ability to present and handle a horse from the ground. They must execute a pattern together where the handler is judged on how well he/she can direct the horse's movement. I used to hate showmanship. I found it both frustrating and boring and thought it was silly to be judged on how I lead my horse. I have acquiesced since then, since I think it helps establish attentiveness and obedience on the ground which can then be carried over under saddle. This is especially true with youngsters who are just beginning their riding careers. Legs used to share my sentiment for showmanship. She'd fidget and make faces and generally be disapproving of such silliness. I truly think her four legs aren't actually at each corner. Squaring her up is like doing the Hokey Pokey. You put the right foot in, you put the right foot out. You put the right foot in, and back out, but never even with the left... In the last few years, she has finally given up, consenting to do her pattern and stand square(ish) and still if I stop harrassing her after that.
Saxon, on the other hand... If I didn't know better, I'd swear this horse already had some showmanship training. He actually squares up pretty well when asked, and is quickly figuring out which feet to move and where when I ask. He also trots off in hand quite well. Most of the time. The first time we worked on it specifically, he trotted off great. Except for the fact that he did so while pinning his ears and shaking his head at me, trying to provoke me to race and play with him. Evidently, he thought I was a herdmate and it was a game. While he wasn't fast enough to make a racehorse, he sure can trot a lot faster than I can run! Other times, he'll just be lazy about it and walk with his nose dragged out, like a lot of horses do when they don't feel like putting up with your silly leading game. The solution to that is a dressage whip in the left hand to tap them on their side as you ask. (Or better still, a dressage whip with a grocery bag on the end. No touching required! That got his attention and made him abandon his lazy ways!) There are plenty of little opportunities to "train" your horse at showmanship without a marathon training session. I like to make use of the little moments before or after I ride, or when leading him to/from turnout to practice little things like trotting off, squaring up, pivots, and backing in hand. With this added practice, he's stopped pinning his ears when trotting off (maybe he figured out that four legs are faster than two and I'm no competition). Of course, I've been bragging on his showmanship abilities here, and I'll guarantee you that the first show we go to, he'll be too busy gawking around to do all this cool stuff he's learned. But you have to start somewhere; if he can't do it at home, I certainly can't expect him to do it in a new place.
That brings us to our next learning achievement: lunging. There is some controversy concerning lunging horses, especially young ones. I won't get into the whole argument here, suffice to say that I think it can be useful in moderation (not hour long marathon sessions) or for special circumstances (eg evaluating lameness for the vet, teaching beginner riders, or getting the edge off a fresh horse before riding when turnout is not an option) and I think it is a skill that every horse should at least possess for those reasons. Saxon figured out lunging in one session. He may have done it before in the course of ground driving to be broke to harness; some trainers do it, some don't, so I'm not sure if he has. He still occasionally tries to go straight when he should be turning (especially to the left - I guess the phantom racetrack still beckons from time to time), but for the most part he stays out on the circle at the specified gait. So the second time I had him on the lunge line, he was trotting along so nicely I thought what the heck, let's see what happens... I kissed to him, said canter, and flicked the lunge whip towards him. Within a few strides, he had picked up a pretty darn nice canter. A long stride, and strung out, but with a nice even rhythm and no paciness. I let him go half a lap before he started to lose his coordination and boy did he get a lot of patting and praise when I stopped him. After a short break, we switched directions. J came out of the house so I told him "Watch this." I kissed, said canter, and J said "He's not going to... Hey, nice canter. When did he learn that?" <GRIN>
Since Saxon is rather lazy overall and seldom practices in the pasture, I figured that occasional lunging at the canter would help him improve his coordination and strength for cantering, and provide a good transition between my vocal cues and picking up the canter in preparation for doing it under saddle. We did our second lunging session with a brief canter two days later and he figured it right out again. So during my ride, I thought, what the heck... I kissed to him, said canter, and his neck arched up and both ears shot back at me with full focus (it was the exact same thing he did when we asked him to trot on his very first ride). He sped up his trot, so I slowed him down, rebalanced him, and asked him again. As we exited the corner of my tight arena, he just glided into a nice canter. It was surprisingly cadenced, smooth, and unhurried. While it wasn't collected by any stretch, he wasn't diving on his shoulder, running wildly, or flailing about like many green horses. We took about 9 or 10 strides before I stopped him and practically smothered him with hugging and praise. We did it one more time (just to prove to myself that it was real), and my redheaded overachiever got extra peppermints back at the barn! Ordinarily I wouldn't have pushed him if I didn't think he could do it, especially not in the tight confines of my front yard, which doesn't afford a lot of room for an experienced but unfit horse, let alone a green horse still figuring out how to balance his own body and a rider. I just couldn't help wanting to know if he could do it. And I LOVE the answer he gave me! We followed it up the next night with a ride out in the big back field. At it's conclusion, I asked him to canter about a dozen strides each direction, and was THRILLED to find that he has two clean leads (and they're both smooth)! And on top of that, he's completely sensible about picking it up. He doesn't lose his head or buck or go wild at the expanse of the pasture stretching out before him. He just rolls into the canter from a trot like a sensible horse. What a HUGE milestone! I'm not saying that it's a perfect collected canter or that his canter departs are top notch or we can do lead changes or anything yet, but it's FANTASTIC to know that he has a great natural ability for cantering both directions (with the right lead being slightly better than the left) that I can develop as we progress, and I don't think it will take him long to become very proficient.
We are beginning our ascent up the hill of knowledge, if you will. We have cruised through the foothills at the beginning of our journey, mastering such basics as accepting the saddle and rider, standing still to be mounted (yup, we've got that one down pretty well now), and walking, trotting, and turning on command. Saxon has picked these things up incredibly well, showing that he is intelligent and eager to please. For the first week or two, I felt like we made a HUGE milestone nearly every day. But here's where the learning curve starts to get a little steeper and the milestones get less discrete and farther apart. Now it is not quite enough to simply go walk or trot when asked - now is when I start directing him HOW to go forwards, HOW to carry his body and his head, asking him to yield to the bit, and asking him to change his tempo. Now, it isn't enough to just turn right or left - now I want him to start using his body and bending around the turns. Now, I have started to ask him to turn on the haunches or forehand - isolating one portion of his body while yielding the other. You can't ask for or expect this all at once, but it happens a little bit at a time and you have to reward the little efforts.
Sometimes, we really get it, sometimes we sort of get it, and sometimes it's just not quite there yet. Case in point is bending - he can bend nicely to circle, but isn't really working off leg and seat yet, and the magnetic attraction of the barn and/or gate often makes our nice inside bend falls completely apart as our circles become decidedly lopsided in those regions. (He's no dummy - he knows that the barn = food, rest, and comfort.) He actually has turns on the haunches down fairly well and will often cross over himself. Usually, I would expect the turns on the forehand to be a bit easier, since horses naturally carry more of their weight on the front end and the proprioception of crossing over takes a while to figure out, but for him it seems to be the opposite.
That brings me to showmanship. For the un-horsey, showmanship is a horse show class judged on the handler's ability to present and handle a horse from the ground. They must execute a pattern together where the handler is judged on how well he/she can direct the horse's movement. I used to hate showmanship. I found it both frustrating and boring and thought it was silly to be judged on how I lead my horse. I have acquiesced since then, since I think it helps establish attentiveness and obedience on the ground which can then be carried over under saddle. This is especially true with youngsters who are just beginning their riding careers. Legs used to share my sentiment for showmanship. She'd fidget and make faces and generally be disapproving of such silliness. I truly think her four legs aren't actually at each corner. Squaring her up is like doing the Hokey Pokey. You put the right foot in, you put the right foot out. You put the right foot in, and back out, but never even with the left... In the last few years, she has finally given up, consenting to do her pattern and stand square(ish) and still if I stop harrassing her after that.
Saxon, on the other hand... If I didn't know better, I'd swear this horse already had some showmanship training. He actually squares up pretty well when asked, and is quickly figuring out which feet to move and where when I ask. He also trots off in hand quite well. Most of the time. The first time we worked on it specifically, he trotted off great. Except for the fact that he did so while pinning his ears and shaking his head at me, trying to provoke me to race and play with him. Evidently, he thought I was a herdmate and it was a game. While he wasn't fast enough to make a racehorse, he sure can trot a lot faster than I can run! Other times, he'll just be lazy about it and walk with his nose dragged out, like a lot of horses do when they don't feel like putting up with your silly leading game. The solution to that is a dressage whip in the left hand to tap them on their side as you ask. (Or better still, a dressage whip with a grocery bag on the end. No touching required! That got his attention and made him abandon his lazy ways!) There are plenty of little opportunities to "train" your horse at showmanship without a marathon training session. I like to make use of the little moments before or after I ride, or when leading him to/from turnout to practice little things like trotting off, squaring up, pivots, and backing in hand. With this added practice, he's stopped pinning his ears when trotting off (maybe he figured out that four legs are faster than two and I'm no competition). Of course, I've been bragging on his showmanship abilities here, and I'll guarantee you that the first show we go to, he'll be too busy gawking around to do all this cool stuff he's learned. But you have to start somewhere; if he can't do it at home, I certainly can't expect him to do it in a new place.
That brings us to our next learning achievement: lunging. There is some controversy concerning lunging horses, especially young ones. I won't get into the whole argument here, suffice to say that I think it can be useful in moderation (not hour long marathon sessions) or for special circumstances (eg evaluating lameness for the vet, teaching beginner riders, or getting the edge off a fresh horse before riding when turnout is not an option) and I think it is a skill that every horse should at least possess for those reasons. Saxon figured out lunging in one session. He may have done it before in the course of ground driving to be broke to harness; some trainers do it, some don't, so I'm not sure if he has. He still occasionally tries to go straight when he should be turning (especially to the left - I guess the phantom racetrack still beckons from time to time), but for the most part he stays out on the circle at the specified gait. So the second time I had him on the lunge line, he was trotting along so nicely I thought what the heck, let's see what happens... I kissed to him, said canter, and flicked the lunge whip towards him. Within a few strides, he had picked up a pretty darn nice canter. A long stride, and strung out, but with a nice even rhythm and no paciness. I let him go half a lap before he started to lose his coordination and boy did he get a lot of patting and praise when I stopped him. After a short break, we switched directions. J came out of the house so I told him "Watch this." I kissed, said canter, and J said "He's not going to... Hey, nice canter. When did he learn that?" <GRIN>
Since Saxon is rather lazy overall and seldom practices in the pasture, I figured that occasional lunging at the canter would help him improve his coordination and strength for cantering, and provide a good transition between my vocal cues and picking up the canter in preparation for doing it under saddle. We did our second lunging session with a brief canter two days later and he figured it right out again. So during my ride, I thought, what the heck... I kissed to him, said canter, and his neck arched up and both ears shot back at me with full focus (it was the exact same thing he did when we asked him to trot on his very first ride). He sped up his trot, so I slowed him down, rebalanced him, and asked him again. As we exited the corner of my tight arena, he just glided into a nice canter. It was surprisingly cadenced, smooth, and unhurried. While it wasn't collected by any stretch, he wasn't diving on his shoulder, running wildly, or flailing about like many green horses. We took about 9 or 10 strides before I stopped him and practically smothered him with hugging and praise. We did it one more time (just to prove to myself that it was real), and my redheaded overachiever got extra peppermints back at the barn! Ordinarily I wouldn't have pushed him if I didn't think he could do it, especially not in the tight confines of my front yard, which doesn't afford a lot of room for an experienced but unfit horse, let alone a green horse still figuring out how to balance his own body and a rider. I just couldn't help wanting to know if he could do it. And I LOVE the answer he gave me! We followed it up the next night with a ride out in the big back field. At it's conclusion, I asked him to canter about a dozen strides each direction, and was THRILLED to find that he has two clean leads (and they're both smooth)! And on top of that, he's completely sensible about picking it up. He doesn't lose his head or buck or go wild at the expanse of the pasture stretching out before him. He just rolls into the canter from a trot like a sensible horse. What a HUGE milestone! I'm not saying that it's a perfect collected canter or that his canter departs are top notch or we can do lead changes or anything yet, but it's FANTASTIC to know that he has a great natural ability for cantering both directions (with the right lead being slightly better than the left) that I can develop as we progress, and I don't think it will take him long to become very proficient.
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
This Is A Test
This is a test of the horse show alert system. This is only a test. In the event of a real horse show, we would have gone to our first show... Please resume your normal winter activities.
January is undoubtedly the off season for me - safely cushioned from racing and riding seasons on both sides by winter days and winter weather. As I mentioned last time, I am a fair weather rider. In my younger days, much like the famous postal service slogan, neither sleet, nor snow, nor wind, et al. would stop me from saddling up. More recently, I find that I prefer staying warm and retaining the feeling in my extremities, secure in the knowledge that my horse doesn't need constant drilling to stay calm and remember her lessons. The weather this winter has been a delightful aberration, with largely dry conditions and temperatures in the 50s and 60s, making it possible for me to happily ride much more than I ordinarily would.
As it turns out, there are some opportunities to show during the winter months for the resourceful and adventurous. This past Sunday was just such an opportunity. While I wouldn't ordinarily consider taking a newly acquired not quite 3 year old to a show in January, Saxon is far from an ordinary horse. The plan was to let him look around the show grounds, and possibly take him in a halter class to see how he handled the show environment. Up until around 8:45 am, the plan went great. I bathed his tail and cleaned him up the day before. I packed the truck and trailer (it's very strange to pack for a show without taking a saddle - I kept feeling that I'd forgotten something). The morning of the show, I loaded him up (despite his lack of practice and the cumbersome shipping boots at all four corners, he walked readily on the trailer after mulling it over for a minute) and we got on the road. I hadn't even reached the end of my own road when I pushed the gas pedal to go up the next hill and nothing happened. %*($#@! The truck had stalled, just like it did in NJ the day before I was supposed to come home. A warning light appeared on the dash and it wouldn't restart, but I managed to coast to a safe area to pull over. Apparently the new alternator was NOT the solution. Poo. Once pulled over, it started up after a moment and we made it safely home.
Well, there is a bright side. I'm glad to have discovered the truck's continuing issues on a SHORT trip instead of hundreds of miles from home! This was great trailering practice for Saxon. He learned that not all trailer rides end with a new home environment. He disembarked my trailer at home wide eyed and high headed like he was surprised to be at the same place, and I learned to expect him to be a little "up" after a trailer ride (unlike his previous trailer marathon where we were both exhausted at its conclusion). [Mental note, be sure to pack a lunge line.] He learned to wear shipping boots. I determined that he will be very easy to teach to trailer load. He got his tail shampooed and conditioned. I found that my "skinny breeches" fit, even in the middle of winter. (Yay!) I learned that 15 minutes is enough time to fill half the trailer with stomped manure... I learned that clipping is something we'll have to work on.
The clipping story is kind of humorous, actually. I started out letting him sniff the unplugged clippers. I let the cord drape against his nose and neck. I rubbed them on his face, muzzle, and ears. As is his personality, he investigated them attentively, but wasn't the least bit frightened or concerned. I turned them on, and slowly approached. He kept a interested but unfrightened eye on them when I let him feel their vibration through my hand (without actually clipping him). I carefully attempted to clip one of the very long curly whiskers around his muzzle, and he jerked back as if hit with an electric shock. I rebooted and attempted again, but got the same reaction. After shortening several of his whiskers, I concluded that the blades were probably a little dull and were grabbing the hair. I attempted to clip his bridle path, but he shook his head vigorously from side to side whenever the buzzing neared his ears. I decided we should back up to where he was comfortable - just letting him feel the buzzing without actually clipping, and try again when we had more time. I used scissors to trim his remaining muzzle whiskers, though he got agitated before I could finish and I could tell he was running out of patience for having his muzzle messed with. When I took him out to the yard to work him afterwards, he immediately lifted his hindfoot towards his face and proceeded to rub the side of his muzzle up and down on his dangling hoof. After having long curly whiskers, I'm sure the close clipped sensation was very sensitive. Well, after the ride I let him out in the pasture and he proceeded to one of the nearby hay racks. He stuck his nose into the hay and immediately jumped back. He shook his head and did it again. Finally, he snatched a quick bite of hay, wheeled and trotted off 4 or 5 steps and chewed it angrily, holding his nose to the side and flinging it periodically. Evidently, the sensation of the hay stems poking his very sensitive stubble was more than he could take. I was starting to think that I'd broken my horse by trimming his whiskers. Maybe Saxon derived his abilities from his long curly whiskers the same way Sampson derived his strength from his flowing hair... He boycotted hay the rest of the day, but I found a nice soft bale of orchardgrass for his dinner which he reluctantly ate. I couldn't help but laugh at his behavior, but I also felt bad that I'd made him uncomfortable. If I'd known he had such a sensitive nose, I would have trimmed his whiskers a few at a time over the course of a week, but who would have guessed? They've toughened up some since then, so he's back to happily snarfing hay and he no longer pulls his muzzle back when I touch it, so I've opted to reacclimate him to clippers much more gradually.
January is undoubtedly the off season for me - safely cushioned from racing and riding seasons on both sides by winter days and winter weather. As I mentioned last time, I am a fair weather rider. In my younger days, much like the famous postal service slogan, neither sleet, nor snow, nor wind, et al. would stop me from saddling up. More recently, I find that I prefer staying warm and retaining the feeling in my extremities, secure in the knowledge that my horse doesn't need constant drilling to stay calm and remember her lessons. The weather this winter has been a delightful aberration, with largely dry conditions and temperatures in the 50s and 60s, making it possible for me to happily ride much more than I ordinarily would.
As it turns out, there are some opportunities to show during the winter months for the resourceful and adventurous. This past Sunday was just such an opportunity. While I wouldn't ordinarily consider taking a newly acquired not quite 3 year old to a show in January, Saxon is far from an ordinary horse. The plan was to let him look around the show grounds, and possibly take him in a halter class to see how he handled the show environment. Up until around 8:45 am, the plan went great. I bathed his tail and cleaned him up the day before. I packed the truck and trailer (it's very strange to pack for a show without taking a saddle - I kept feeling that I'd forgotten something). The morning of the show, I loaded him up (despite his lack of practice and the cumbersome shipping boots at all four corners, he walked readily on the trailer after mulling it over for a minute) and we got on the road. I hadn't even reached the end of my own road when I pushed the gas pedal to go up the next hill and nothing happened. %*($#@! The truck had stalled, just like it did in NJ the day before I was supposed to come home. A warning light appeared on the dash and it wouldn't restart, but I managed to coast to a safe area to pull over. Apparently the new alternator was NOT the solution. Poo. Once pulled over, it started up after a moment and we made it safely home.
Well, there is a bright side. I'm glad to have discovered the truck's continuing issues on a SHORT trip instead of hundreds of miles from home! This was great trailering practice for Saxon. He learned that not all trailer rides end with a new home environment. He disembarked my trailer at home wide eyed and high headed like he was surprised to be at the same place, and I learned to expect him to be a little "up" after a trailer ride (unlike his previous trailer marathon where we were both exhausted at its conclusion). [Mental note, be sure to pack a lunge line.] He learned to wear shipping boots. I determined that he will be very easy to teach to trailer load. He got his tail shampooed and conditioned. I found that my "skinny breeches" fit, even in the middle of winter. (Yay!) I learned that 15 minutes is enough time to fill half the trailer with stomped manure... I learned that clipping is something we'll have to work on.
The clipping story is kind of humorous, actually. I started out letting him sniff the unplugged clippers. I let the cord drape against his nose and neck. I rubbed them on his face, muzzle, and ears. As is his personality, he investigated them attentively, but wasn't the least bit frightened or concerned. I turned them on, and slowly approached. He kept a interested but unfrightened eye on them when I let him feel their vibration through my hand (without actually clipping him). I carefully attempted to clip one of the very long curly whiskers around his muzzle, and he jerked back as if hit with an electric shock. I rebooted and attempted again, but got the same reaction. After shortening several of his whiskers, I concluded that the blades were probably a little dull and were grabbing the hair. I attempted to clip his bridle path, but he shook his head vigorously from side to side whenever the buzzing neared his ears. I decided we should back up to where he was comfortable - just letting him feel the buzzing without actually clipping, and try again when we had more time. I used scissors to trim his remaining muzzle whiskers, though he got agitated before I could finish and I could tell he was running out of patience for having his muzzle messed with. When I took him out to the yard to work him afterwards, he immediately lifted his hindfoot towards his face and proceeded to rub the side of his muzzle up and down on his dangling hoof. After having long curly whiskers, I'm sure the close clipped sensation was very sensitive. Well, after the ride I let him out in the pasture and he proceeded to one of the nearby hay racks. He stuck his nose into the hay and immediately jumped back. He shook his head and did it again. Finally, he snatched a quick bite of hay, wheeled and trotted off 4 or 5 steps and chewed it angrily, holding his nose to the side and flinging it periodically. Evidently, the sensation of the hay stems poking his very sensitive stubble was more than he could take. I was starting to think that I'd broken my horse by trimming his whiskers. Maybe Saxon derived his abilities from his long curly whiskers the same way Sampson derived his strength from his flowing hair... He boycotted hay the rest of the day, but I found a nice soft bale of orchardgrass for his dinner which he reluctantly ate. I couldn't help but laugh at his behavior, but I also felt bad that I'd made him uncomfortable. If I'd known he had such a sensitive nose, I would have trimmed his whiskers a few at a time over the course of a week, but who would have guessed? They've toughened up some since then, so he's back to happily snarfing hay and he no longer pulls his muzzle back when I touch it, so I've opted to reacclimate him to clippers much more gradually.
Monday, January 2, 2012
Like Owner, Like Horse
For those of you rolling your eyes and thinking that this is going to be another blog post where I'm raving about my perfect new horse, who never puts a foot wrong and is certain to be an absolute paragon of the show ring, and who can't possibly be that perfect and awesome, this one's for you. Sort of.
Yes, I have new horse-itis. I still want to spoil Saxon, and baby him, and just spend hours brushing his face (which he practically drops into my lap for me to stroke) and watching him in the pasture. Even though my old mare lives out on pasture 24/7 (except in the case of bad weather or injury; ever since rehab for her stifle injury 5 years ago kept her stalled for 6 straight months, she seems to relish her freedom as if I might decide to imprison her again without warning), Saxon sleeps on a bed of fluffy straw in his stall every night. He has stopped looking surprised to see me every night just before bedtime when I sneak out to the barn to pick his stall and top off his water and hay. He's probably developing airs about the daily grooming and primping, and his wardrobe changes, and I'm pretty sure he thinks his new name is "Good Boy" or "Handsome" or quite possibly "His Excellency the Supreme Commander of All He Surveys."
Well, any jealous readers will be happy to know that he isn't completely perfect. (But what horse is? Though I digress...) We're now 12 days into our new riding career and he's finding that his crazy new owner isn't asking him to work very hard, but she is asking him to do the most bizarre things.
Saxon: See the poles on the ground there? Today she wants me to walk over them, then turn around and trot over, then turn around and trot over them again. Yesterday she wanted me to stand beside them, back up next to them, and turn around between them. The day before that, she had a tarp under them and led me over it. One day, she spent 10 minutes just getting on and off me. She spent another day squeezing a dog squeaker all around me and whizzing Frisbees past my head as the dog chased them. It's all very strange...
By now my readers have concluded that I like a calm, desensitized horse. And they're right. I am a methodical, cautious, and logical sort of person, so that's how I approach working with my horses. A recovering perfectionist (does one ever truly recover?), I've always been an overachiever, a straight A student, and I suppose some would call me a kiss-up because I aim to please and be praised, and to strive to do everything better. Saxon seems to have the same sort of mindset. Up to now, he has taken every new experience I've presented him methodically and unquestioningly. Well, we finally met some challenges that we had to work through. The first was water crossing. Heavy rainfall last week left a few large standing puddles a few inches deep in the back pasture. I took him out there on the lunge line to see if he would walk through them. I splashed through the puddle ahead of him, but he froze at the edge. He was uncertain and unenthused about the idea of going through the water, but he wasn't panicked. He fidgeted back and forth along the edge of the puddle and tried to inch backwards. I kept insisting, and he kept edging around until finally, he jumped it. Well, at least he can jump; that's a good thing. The next two attempts were the same way, but on the fourth try, with me up to my ankles in water, he braved it and walked through. Once he went through it the first time, he was happy to calmly walk through the puddle from then on. A couple days later we tried it under tack. It started off the same way - a lot of edging around and trying to back away from the puddle (his favorite avoidance tactic). I gave him the benefit of the doubt as much as I could, but he started trying to flee backwards more insistently, and I spoke to him in an admonishing tone while keeping leg on him. Well, his head shot up and both ears shot back towards me. It was as if he was unhappy that he hadn't gotten it right. I kept insisting that he not go backwards or side to side, and he eventually put one foot in, then the second, and then splashed nicely through the water. Pats and "good boys" followed, and, at the risk of anthropomorphizing, he almost seemed pleased and relieved to get the right answer, as his head went down, his ears went forwards, and he let out a big breath. "Oh, that's all you wanted? Well that's easy." After that, he was happy to oblige.
The second challenge was the tarp on the ground - that blue crinkling abyss that eats horses whole. I don't know if horses really learn through observation, but I made it a point to ride Legs over the tarp in sight of Saxon in his paddock. Legs, of course, is used to my shenanigans and unhesitatingly plodded over the tarp with a heavy sigh. ("Mom's at it again...") I brought Saxon out on the lead rope for his turn and let him have a good look at the tarp. The day was just windy enough that it would billow a little under the poles I had anchoring it. He took a good look at it, sniffed it, and like most horses, came to the conclusion that there was no need to actually walk OVER the tarp, as there was plenty of perfectly good real estate surrounding it on all sides. He did a lovely sidepass all the way around the tarp. (Well, there's another skill just waiting to be assigned to a rider's cue... He fidgeted some more, and finally stuck a foot on it. Nothing ate the foot, so he put the other front on it. So far so good. He stepped across it with his forefeet and neatly jumped it with the hinds. A good first effort got him some praise, and from then on, he walked happily across it, much more interested in trying to graze the grass in the yard then heed anything the crinkling blue mass was doing.
New Year's Eve Day we got our chance to ride in company, as my friend R came out to ride Legs. Saxon had mostly progressed past his sticky feet and to responding readily to minimal cues to go forwards (though he still loves to stop a lot just to look around). I guess he was just too overcome by Legs' beauty and charm to remember such trivialities, since the sticky feet returned. As long as she was in front of us or beside us, he was happy to stride along, but the suction cup feet kicked in when she lagged behind. We eventually worked through it, but we'll certainly have to get over that before we hit the showring!
On New Year's Day, winter attempted to make a comeback. Mild temperatures persisted, but gale force straightline winds (25 mph or more) heralded Old Man Winter's coming raid. Saxon tried to be a trooper in the wind, but he kept wanting to stop with his butt to the wind. He seemed less than pleased when the winds were so strong that both of his flattened ears were on the left side of his neck. We had our first under saddle spook when he caught sight of the blowing pine branches above the corner of our ring - they wind was so fierce it gave the impression that the branches might be ripped from the trees and turned into lances, so I can't say that I blame him. We worked our way back into that corner after that, closer and closer to the fenceline, so he seemed to get over it well.
Besides our work ethic and tendencies towards overachievement, Saxon and I seem to share a common dislike for cold winter weather. Winter was present in its full, blustery glory, complete with sideways snowfall. Normally a fair weather rider, the thrill of a new, young, fun horse to ride convinced me to saddle up. I opted to ride in the back pasture again, since it's a little more sheltered from the wind. Outfitted with a fleece dress sheet as a quarter sheet, we started our ride. He was "up" from the cold wind under his tail, but I didn't want to start trotting until I had removed the quarter sheet. He danced around and didn't want to stand close enough to the gate for me to deposit it from astride him, but had no objections when I actually slid it off him and laid it there. A flock of wild turkeys started flapping and strutting on the other side of the creek at the back of the field. I didn't expect this to rattle him, since he had become proficient at dodging honking Canadian geese on the track at his last home. Whether it was the weather or the turkeys, he made them the perfect excuse to get spooky and try to avoid the back fenceline. Rather than fight with him about it right away, I let him trot some big circles in the field to get the dance out of his feet. We rounded the corner towards the front gate and he spied the dress sheet now billowing on it. "What!? That wasn't there last time." He alternated between freezing and trying to be brave, but he couldn't quite convince himself that it was harmless. Legs came to the rescue, bless that mare. She came down to the fenceline to visit, parking herself right next to the dress sheet. As soon as he saw that the blanket wasn't attacking her, he was convinced that it was OK for him to go nuzzle it, too.
Other than being a little more responsive and crooked than normal, he finally settled down, so I went back to address the back fenceline. The snowfall started to fall thicker and the wind was blowing it sideways now. His Excellency was not pleased. He balked about going near the back fence, going sideways, backwards, every which way but towards it. At this point in his training, I know he understands the go forwards cues, so I kept at it. Standing still and going forwards were the only answers I would reward. He hopped up a little, then spooked when I growled at him for hopping up. By now, I sure couldn't give up - I didn't want to reward spooking and misbehavior with a trip back to the barn! More balking and avoidance, and it seemed that we could only get about 20 feet from that back fence. Finally I hopped off and led him forwards. He was more confident with me beside him, and sniffed at the fenceline and stood next to it while I climbed back on. We circled around to approach it again from astride, and someone decided that the only direction he was capable of going was back towards the front gate. Ah, so he IS a true redhead - I found his stubborn side! Enter my stubborn side. No matter how tempting, it doesn't pay off to get angry at a horse. It is far better to be insistent and persistent until you "win". This is where being stubborn comes in handy (despite the fact that BOTH of you would really rather be inside with a toasty hot chocolate or pile of hay than standing in the corner of a field staring at a fence with the wind and snow whipping past you). I found that he would turn left, but not right. So I turned left until we were turning right, and then went right. "Dangit! She tricked me!" He continued to balk, refuse to go forwards, swish his tail, spook a little and hop up when he was sufficiently peeved. I finally got him circling to the right by the offending fence. I switched directions to make a figure 8 to the left, and it was a war of attrition all over again when I asked him to go back to the right. We alternated the 8s with looping serpentines towards and away from the fence and kept at it. I kept up a constant chatter talking to him, as it seemed to relax him. I could barely feel my toes, but I finally succeeded in getting him to walk calmly alongside the fence, and I felt his sigh of surrender. One more quiet and relaxed lap of the field, and we both were only to happy to go back inside out of the wind.
Score one for the stubborn redhead who, as it turns out, is a lot like her overachieving and methodical but occasionally stubborn (and winter hating) redheaded horse!
Yes, I have new horse-itis. I still want to spoil Saxon, and baby him, and just spend hours brushing his face (which he practically drops into my lap for me to stroke) and watching him in the pasture. Even though my old mare lives out on pasture 24/7 (except in the case of bad weather or injury; ever since rehab for her stifle injury 5 years ago kept her stalled for 6 straight months, she seems to relish her freedom as if I might decide to imprison her again without warning), Saxon sleeps on a bed of fluffy straw in his stall every night. He has stopped looking surprised to see me every night just before bedtime when I sneak out to the barn to pick his stall and top off his water and hay. He's probably developing airs about the daily grooming and primping, and his wardrobe changes, and I'm pretty sure he thinks his new name is "Good Boy" or "Handsome" or quite possibly "His Excellency the Supreme Commander of All He Surveys."
Well, any jealous readers will be happy to know that he isn't completely perfect. (But what horse is? Though I digress...) We're now 12 days into our new riding career and he's finding that his crazy new owner isn't asking him to work very hard, but she is asking him to do the most bizarre things.
Saxon: See the poles on the ground there? Today she wants me to walk over them, then turn around and trot over, then turn around and trot over them again. Yesterday she wanted me to stand beside them, back up next to them, and turn around between them. The day before that, she had a tarp under them and led me over it. One day, she spent 10 minutes just getting on and off me. She spent another day squeezing a dog squeaker all around me and whizzing Frisbees past my head as the dog chased them. It's all very strange...
By now my readers have concluded that I like a calm, desensitized horse. And they're right. I am a methodical, cautious, and logical sort of person, so that's how I approach working with my horses. A recovering perfectionist (does one ever truly recover?), I've always been an overachiever, a straight A student, and I suppose some would call me a kiss-up because I aim to please and be praised, and to strive to do everything better. Saxon seems to have the same sort of mindset. Up to now, he has taken every new experience I've presented him methodically and unquestioningly. Well, we finally met some challenges that we had to work through. The first was water crossing. Heavy rainfall last week left a few large standing puddles a few inches deep in the back pasture. I took him out there on the lunge line to see if he would walk through them. I splashed through the puddle ahead of him, but he froze at the edge. He was uncertain and unenthused about the idea of going through the water, but he wasn't panicked. He fidgeted back and forth along the edge of the puddle and tried to inch backwards. I kept insisting, and he kept edging around until finally, he jumped it. Well, at least he can jump; that's a good thing. The next two attempts were the same way, but on the fourth try, with me up to my ankles in water, he braved it and walked through. Once he went through it the first time, he was happy to calmly walk through the puddle from then on. A couple days later we tried it under tack. It started off the same way - a lot of edging around and trying to back away from the puddle (his favorite avoidance tactic). I gave him the benefit of the doubt as much as I could, but he started trying to flee backwards more insistently, and I spoke to him in an admonishing tone while keeping leg on him. Well, his head shot up and both ears shot back towards me. It was as if he was unhappy that he hadn't gotten it right. I kept insisting that he not go backwards or side to side, and he eventually put one foot in, then the second, and then splashed nicely through the water. Pats and "good boys" followed, and, at the risk of anthropomorphizing, he almost seemed pleased and relieved to get the right answer, as his head went down, his ears went forwards, and he let out a big breath. "Oh, that's all you wanted? Well that's easy." After that, he was happy to oblige.
The second challenge was the tarp on the ground - that blue crinkling abyss that eats horses whole. I don't know if horses really learn through observation, but I made it a point to ride Legs over the tarp in sight of Saxon in his paddock. Legs, of course, is used to my shenanigans and unhesitatingly plodded over the tarp with a heavy sigh. ("Mom's at it again...") I brought Saxon out on the lead rope for his turn and let him have a good look at the tarp. The day was just windy enough that it would billow a little under the poles I had anchoring it. He took a good look at it, sniffed it, and like most horses, came to the conclusion that there was no need to actually walk OVER the tarp, as there was plenty of perfectly good real estate surrounding it on all sides. He did a lovely sidepass all the way around the tarp. (Well, there's another skill just waiting to be assigned to a rider's cue... He fidgeted some more, and finally stuck a foot on it. Nothing ate the foot, so he put the other front on it. So far so good. He stepped across it with his forefeet and neatly jumped it with the hinds. A good first effort got him some praise, and from then on, he walked happily across it, much more interested in trying to graze the grass in the yard then heed anything the crinkling blue mass was doing.
New Year's Eve Day we got our chance to ride in company, as my friend R came out to ride Legs. Saxon had mostly progressed past his sticky feet and to responding readily to minimal cues to go forwards (though he still loves to stop a lot just to look around). I guess he was just too overcome by Legs' beauty and charm to remember such trivialities, since the sticky feet returned. As long as she was in front of us or beside us, he was happy to stride along, but the suction cup feet kicked in when she lagged behind. We eventually worked through it, but we'll certainly have to get over that before we hit the showring!
On New Year's Day, winter attempted to make a comeback. Mild temperatures persisted, but gale force straightline winds (25 mph or more) heralded Old Man Winter's coming raid. Saxon tried to be a trooper in the wind, but he kept wanting to stop with his butt to the wind. He seemed less than pleased when the winds were so strong that both of his flattened ears were on the left side of his neck. We had our first under saddle spook when he caught sight of the blowing pine branches above the corner of our ring - they wind was so fierce it gave the impression that the branches might be ripped from the trees and turned into lances, so I can't say that I blame him. We worked our way back into that corner after that, closer and closer to the fenceline, so he seemed to get over it well.
Besides our work ethic and tendencies towards overachievement, Saxon and I seem to share a common dislike for cold winter weather. Winter was present in its full, blustery glory, complete with sideways snowfall. Normally a fair weather rider, the thrill of a new, young, fun horse to ride convinced me to saddle up. I opted to ride in the back pasture again, since it's a little more sheltered from the wind. Outfitted with a fleece dress sheet as a quarter sheet, we started our ride. He was "up" from the cold wind under his tail, but I didn't want to start trotting until I had removed the quarter sheet. He danced around and didn't want to stand close enough to the gate for me to deposit it from astride him, but had no objections when I actually slid it off him and laid it there. A flock of wild turkeys started flapping and strutting on the other side of the creek at the back of the field. I didn't expect this to rattle him, since he had become proficient at dodging honking Canadian geese on the track at his last home. Whether it was the weather or the turkeys, he made them the perfect excuse to get spooky and try to avoid the back fenceline. Rather than fight with him about it right away, I let him trot some big circles in the field to get the dance out of his feet. We rounded the corner towards the front gate and he spied the dress sheet now billowing on it. "What!? That wasn't there last time." He alternated between freezing and trying to be brave, but he couldn't quite convince himself that it was harmless. Legs came to the rescue, bless that mare. She came down to the fenceline to visit, parking herself right next to the dress sheet. As soon as he saw that the blanket wasn't attacking her, he was convinced that it was OK for him to go nuzzle it, too.
Other than being a little more responsive and crooked than normal, he finally settled down, so I went back to address the back fenceline. The snowfall started to fall thicker and the wind was blowing it sideways now. His Excellency was not pleased. He balked about going near the back fence, going sideways, backwards, every which way but towards it. At this point in his training, I know he understands the go forwards cues, so I kept at it. Standing still and going forwards were the only answers I would reward. He hopped up a little, then spooked when I growled at him for hopping up. By now, I sure couldn't give up - I didn't want to reward spooking and misbehavior with a trip back to the barn! More balking and avoidance, and it seemed that we could only get about 20 feet from that back fence. Finally I hopped off and led him forwards. He was more confident with me beside him, and sniffed at the fenceline and stood next to it while I climbed back on. We circled around to approach it again from astride, and someone decided that the only direction he was capable of going was back towards the front gate. Ah, so he IS a true redhead - I found his stubborn side! Enter my stubborn side. No matter how tempting, it doesn't pay off to get angry at a horse. It is far better to be insistent and persistent until you "win". This is where being stubborn comes in handy (despite the fact that BOTH of you would really rather be inside with a toasty hot chocolate or pile of hay than standing in the corner of a field staring at a fence with the wind and snow whipping past you). I found that he would turn left, but not right. So I turned left until we were turning right, and then went right. "Dangit! She tricked me!" He continued to balk, refuse to go forwards, swish his tail, spook a little and hop up when he was sufficiently peeved. I finally got him circling to the right by the offending fence. I switched directions to make a figure 8 to the left, and it was a war of attrition all over again when I asked him to go back to the right. We alternated the 8s with looping serpentines towards and away from the fence and kept at it. I kept up a constant chatter talking to him, as it seemed to relax him. I could barely feel my toes, but I finally succeeded in getting him to walk calmly alongside the fence, and I felt his sigh of surrender. One more quiet and relaxed lap of the field, and we both were only to happy to go back inside out of the wind.
Score one for the stubborn redhead who, as it turns out, is a lot like her overachieving and methodical but occasionally stubborn (and winter hating) redheaded horse!
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