And now we wait

I don't really know if I did well enough at my second job interview this morning to be hired. I just don't know. I tried my best but you never know.

Now we wait.

Please, please.

Ditch the bit?

I've been reading a lot of blogs where horse owners are using sidepulls or hackamores on their horses. I've been sort of half-assed shopping around for a sidepull/hackamore for Hampton recently.

Horse.com had some good selections.

We would continue to use his fat french link for dressage work and shows, but I'd really like a sidepull for trail rides and maybe even jumping. I know he would be fine in it because he steers and stops just fine in a halter and lead rope.

Any suggestions? Any recommendations?

Hittin' the trails

Hampton looked at me in confusion when, for the second day in a row, I had the Big White Box pulled up to the barn in preparation for another road trip. But he and Lilly, the Walker, loaded right up and off we went to Tippecanoe River State Park. It's about an hour drive for us and we arrived with no issues.

Hampton working on untying himself.

Both ponies tied nicely to the hitching post and we both jumped right on with no lunging. Both of them were calm and well behaved the entire time. I was so proud! Plus the park is gorgeous. The entire day was relaxing, although exhausting and the mosquitoes had a FEAST on me. ugh. Still, it was so fun and Hampton really enjoyed it I think. He marched along with his ears pricked the entire time. We both switched out leading and following and both horses did fine. I think we rode for about 3 hours? Um, we did get a tiny bit lost. The park doesn't mark their trails well and the map doesn't match what trails they do have marked so we had to guess and just hope for the best.

Lovely trails! So fun!

I did get a short video and I will edit that tonight. It's really cute. :)

Hampton gets a well deserved day off today. Although he didn't seem the least bit tired yesterday after our ride. Thoroughbreds!!

Halle-friggin-lujah!!!!

Hampton was PERFECT at the show!!

He enjoyed noms 

I hauled Hampton up the road to the White County fairgrounds yesterday for another open show. We went just to play, no showing. And what do you know. No screaming. No uptight attitude. 100% totally relaxed, chill, cooperative horse. *stunned*

Ok, so there WAS some wild bucking on the lunge line at first but after that, it was like al that tension left his system and I had my horse back. I HOPE we have made a breakthrough on this horse show tension problem. I could not have been happier with him.

TODAY: We trail ride!!!

Request!

I don't normally post public pleas but ...

I had an interview last week for a fantastic job at the local university. I really did not expect to get a second interview, but for some reason I did! I go back on Thursday for some testing (the job is mostly PR, design, technical writing, etc.). I really need to blow these people away and am going to try my best.

So please send your prayers/good thoughts/jingles/whatever you believe and send ... to me, especially on Thursday. Getting this job would be life changing. It would not only solve my money problems, but I would have the opportunity to really expand my skills and thus my value.

thanks guys!

In other news ... Hampton had today and yesterday off. Today I brought him in to feed him and he pranced and snorted all the way into the barn! LOL!

Normally, I have to drag his ass in from the field. Not today! Not sure what flew up his butt, but it was hilarious and rather pretty to watch. His neck was arched and he had that proud look in his face. I let him prance as long as he was polite and stayed out of my space. He did, so, ya know, I enjoyed the show. Weird horse!

I am going to drag him to another local open show tomorrow. We are not going to show this time, but just school and hang out. This is now 3 shows right in a row and frankly I don't feel like getting my show clothes dry cleaned again. I don't feel like braiding, again. And I'd really like to concentrate on getting Hampton relaxed. Sunday, if the weather is nice, we are going to haul out for a trail ride. :)

Darn it this horse is going to be bomb proof by the end of the year! :)

Kick in the butt (mine)

Finally got a lesson in last night. It's been a while and we both needed the kick in the pants - especially me. I have been way too nice to the horse and have been letting him get away with trotting around underpowered. He's so big and tall that it FEELS like I'm going the speed I need to, because he cover so much ground. When in fact, he is slothing around with his hind legs dragging behind him.

After a few times of "BOTH LEGS: KICK!!" ... holy friggin cow I had a different creature underneath me. Once we had the forward, there was an instant, solid, true connection. His hocks and stifles were flexing (and sweating!). Bending became easier. Leg yields went from somewhat shuffle-shuffle to DANCING across the arena. I was smiling and giggling much of the time. The horse is talented - I just have to ask for it! 

We also worked on cantered for short distances (4-5 strides) .. then HALT. Back, trot off. This helped lower his croup and forced me to keep him packaged. He needs work on the rein back as he is sluggish and tends to back laterally, instead of diagonal pairs. I think he just doesn't understand it yet.

Here's the bad news.

It's time for a new saddle.

Let's all groan together shall we?!?

1) It's too small for me. J (my awesome instructor) had be halt and lift my knees to my chest, then put them back down. THAT is the position I should be riding in. Yup, I felt that my seat bones were more IN the saddle, instead of ON it. BUT my ... um ... crotch was put too far on the pommel. I need a bigger seat. I mean the saddle is fantastic for riding naughty horses and youngsters in (it's a Wintec and you stick quite well to it. Almost too well). But now that we are  beyond that, and are really started to finesse things, I need to be able to use my seat more in the correct way. 

I'm not going to go out shopping right away. (Because I'm poor). But it's time to start thinking about it.

Maybe a brand new County Perfection will drop from the sky?

Come to Mommy!!

E-mail = acid reflux

About 11 a.m. this morning we got an e-mail at work saying that 2% of the company will be laid off TODAY. This means 5 people at our own local paper will be let go.

*gulp*

***

Update: I still have my job as of today. A good thing, but a small part of me knows that I won't be that upset if/when I get laid off or fired.

Birthday boy

Hampton it's your birthday; happy birthday Hampton! :)
(to the tune of "Happy Birthday Lisa" from the Simpsons)

The horse turns 4 years old today!

Lately he has started to look a lot more mature especially in his face. He has that relaxed, wise look in his eye instead of the insecure, I'm a baby look. But I know he still has a lot more growing up to do. Let's hope he doesn't grow too much taller tho. 17.1 is good enough for me!

Here he is at 2 years old when I first bought him:

In which we show hunters at an open show

Our barn hosted an open show yesterday and of course we participated when I wasn't volunteering.

I think a show at your own barn has advantages and disadvantages. Hampton was wound up as his environment changed and 30+ rigs pulled in with new horses. I tied him to my trailer for the experience and he spent most of the time pawing, screaming and wiggling around. I was half temped to leave him stand there all day but decided maybe a 90 degree day was a little mean to do that. So after our halter class, I gave him a stall to chill in.

Halter
So I've never actually show in a halter class at an open show before so I sort of winged it. Hampton thought it was THE. DUMBEST. THING. EVER. and refused to stand still. He also kept trying to eat the reins, my coat and my boob. He was so bored. lol. But we did managed a 3rd place out of 5. Oh boy.

Trying to pull off the hunter look.

Hunter under saddle
Meh. The creature was still a bit wound and did ok until the second direction canter when OH MY GOD there is a tent on the side of the arena that was not there yesterday! We did a lovely canter side pass down the side of the rail. Really Hampton? 5th out of 5.

Hunter hack
This is where you jump 2 jumps and then do rail work. So we trotted the first jump and he popped over it like a little champ! (and um we haven't schooled any jumps in a month?) And SOMEONE (like the rider) did not ride the second jump and therefore Hampton got unsure and stopped. Doh! Circled back around and he jumped it. Totally my fault! Rail work went much better and I was proud of him for being so game about the whole thing.

And we did pretty well during egg and spoon, too. Coming in 2nd or 3rd (it was sort of unclear who dropped their egg first). :)

The skinny on the skinny

Well, here's Hampton. In all his skinny, ribs-sticking-out glory. *sigh* Not the best photo of him but you get the idea. Hopefully in about a month I will have a better picture to show you! :) In my gut, I am pretty certain that the quality of the hay at this barn is a big part of his weight problem. When we lived at The Barn From Hell last summer, he stayed in excellent weight and he wasn't even on free choice hay. I have  battled weight issues at this current farm with both T-Bone and Hampton. So, I have two choices. 1) Move barns. Or 2) Find a way to compensate for the lack of nutrition in the hay (free choice grass roundbales).

In any case, I did cram wormer down his throat yesterday and today he gets lunged. Super easy week for him right before our barn's horse show. lol. As for me, I'm chopping off my long hair this morning. Yay for a fresh new summer look. (and cooler!!)

And thank you for everyone's feed suggestions! I am researching, making phone calls and coming up with a plan for Hampton for the long term.

Oh, and here's a butt shot. *whistle whistle*

The horseh needs more junk in the trunk

Hampton has been enjoying a few days off. He has certainly earned it. Plus, he is starting to get a little thin on me again (UGH!!) so I am reevaluating. I purchased wormer and will continue to keep him on U-Guard. I thought that he would plump up with all the time they have been getting on grass lately, but he hasn't. So I'm adding rice bran and alfalfa cubes back into his diet and see if that gets us anywhere. If not, I may have to give him a course of Gastoguard. I plan to have a fecal done to see if maybe worms are the issue. Orrrr ... he could be growing again and with his high metabolism, it's just tough to keep up with. Who knows. He's not skinny, but just getting that rangy thin look. He's also very fit and working pretty hard so he may just need more calories. We'll get it figured out.

Our Walk-trot debut. :)

I guess with all the horse show drama I forgot to mention how our actual classes went. :) Ooops.

So, I entered two walk-trot classes. Mostly because I did not feel comfortable cantering Hampton on straight lines when I knew he would be nervous and tense. I like to set myself up for success and not for disaster.

Anyway, the first class had 22 entries. The ring was large enough to fit that amount of horses, but it was still chaotic. I kept Hampton on the inside track most of the time. We were the only horse and rider of sport horse type there. Everyone else rode Wenglish ... or rather, they put English tack on their peanut-roller Western horses. And the judge rewarded those horses with low headsets, and slow trots. (and riders that ride with their fingers open. omg!! pet peeve) Hampton and I were far, far from what that judge wanted. lol. No ribbon for us. But I was pleased that nothing went wrong, and Hampton handled the traffic and crowds with much maturity.

The second class was about the same - 17 entries. Hampton was much more relaxed and I was able to let him have a bit more stride this time. His was more quiet with his mouth and again handled everything like a champ. No ribbon for us. Shucks! But I was not about to force myself or my horse into something we are not, just for a chance at a little ribbon. I was frankly loving the fact that he was keeping his poll up so nicely for me! Screw the judge. lol!

So this weekend we are going to another open show - only because our barn is hosting it! :) I think I am going to be silly and enter a halter class, and maybe egg and spoon. Poor Hampton, he certainly does not live the posh life of a typical dressage horse. lol.

Ponies + the trailer

Yesterday's show was also the first time Hampton (and Lilly) have been asked to tie to the trailer. Yay for being good!

Spontaneous open show

So this morning my friend S and I loaded up our young horses - Hampton and Lilly (the Walker I sometimes write about) and headed down to the local fairgrounds for an "open show."

And by "open show" I mean "complete and utter clusterf*uck." Read on.

The goal was merely to give the horses a nice relaxing experience off the farm. Lilly has never left the farm and I felt Hampton could use another trip just for fun.  I entered two classes. Both walk-trot. :)

The both loaded and traveled well and when we got there, Hampton tied to the trailer (first time ever) and stood like a gentleman. Lilly was a big bug-eyed but eventually settled to graze.

As far as the riding goes, there was a lot of screaming at first. Hampton was tense and nervous. I just ignored him and went on with my business. By the end of the day, he was relaxed and so was Lilly so we felt the show was a success. Overall, I'm pretty darn proud of my horse. Here's what we encountered:

(warning: I am about to sound incredibly elitist and judgmental here. Sorry)

• One girl getting thrown in the warm-up arena. She hit the ground so hard I heard a SNAP! and low and behold the bone in her arm snapped right out of her skin. Also, her horse was loose and ROARING around the arena - spooking numerous other horses (about 22 were in the arena at this time). Hampton stood like a rock for me - although his eyes were bugging out of his head.
• Minis, ponies and mules (Hampton's phobia)
• The fairgrounds is next door to the fire station. So several times an hour, freaking loud sirens and horns.
• Stupid ass "open show" people lunging their horses and cracking their lunge whips repeatedly.
• Stupid ass "open show" people cutting us off while trop-ing their horses around (trot/lope combo)
• A kid in the bleachers who was jumping up and down making BANG BANG BANG noises (this was the cause of the poor broken-arm girl's demise)
• Riding in the ring with 17-22 other horses. Mostly going way, way slower than us.
• Pretty decent crowds lining the ring
• Dumb "open show" people yelling "YUP! YUP!" and smacking their horse into the canter - right as they pass us.
• Lots of little kids running around. Some waving various bags, ribbons, clothes

If a horse can handle the hilljack, clusterf*uck environment of one of our local "open shows," then you can handle anything. Yes he was screaming and was tense, but never once was he naughty. He tried so hard to be obedient despite the overwhelming, impressive environment. Good boy!

Pictures to follow soon.

To give you an idea of the disgusting displays of horsemanship found at this show, here are a couple of photos I took a couple of years ago. (I don't mind beginner riders - we have all been there, but it is those people who display terrible HORSEMANSHIP that infuriates me.) I could write an entire post on the pathetic riders I saw today, but I won't. I'm sure we have all seen them.

This girl went 'round and 'round yanking and jerking on this horse's mouth (for no apparent reason):

Eventually, the horse got sick of it and rebelled:

Don't take another step. Don't blame it on yourself.

Last night's ride was the stuff dreams are made of! It was finally cool and we managed a good hour riding before a storm rolled in.

Hampton, winter 2010.

The warm-up started off a little disheartening. I could feel his right hind was stiff. But after 5 minutes of warming up on straight lines, he had worked out of it. I started to add circles and serpentines and before I knew it - my horse was right there for me! Holy cow, on the aids, on the bit, poll up, forward, rhythm and relaxed! It's that feeling you get when your horse is ON and you just want to sit there for a few strides, do nothing, and enjoy the moment.

Here's what we worked on last night:
• Shoulder-in. Sharp, good angle, forward, round. This movement has improved SO MUCH the past 2 months or so.
• Leg yields
• Transitions *yawn*
• Asking for some engagement (squeeze and hold, wait for the hind end to come under)
• Haunches in at the walk. He is FINALLY starting to get this! Going to left, it's pretty good. The right direction is more difficult, which I expected.

Then I thought: "Should I canter? What if it sucks? Then I will be so bummed."

But I cantered anyway and it was ... heavenly. Both leads. So much so that I course I pushed the envelope and did some counter canter. He only lost his balance once and broke. And frankly that was probably my fault. We did a few walk-canter transitions, too. I was glad to see that they are still there. Also, Hampton is technically not even 4 years old yet (his birthday is June 20). I am SO PROUD of what we have accomplished so far. I shouldn't get so bummed over some minor issues.

The key to the heavenly canter is a relaxed and swinging back (duh). He gets wonky and lateral when his back is tight. And yes the tight back may be caused my something going on in that right leg. But I know now that it isn't his real way of going. It isn't my fault as a rider (well, not totally). I just need to get that back relaxed and we will be golden.

Baby, it's gross and hot outside

I rode Hampton Monday evening and it was still sweltering hot and humid. Thankfully, he handles the heat WAY better than I do. He is all Thoroughbred about it. He can be dripping wet with sweat and look at me like "What? I'm not hot!" and still have plenty of gas in the tank. Monday evening's ride was just that. In fact, I think he may have had even more energy at the end of our ride than at the beginning. I eventually had to call it quits before I started getting woozy.

I would do a few minutes of work, then take a walk break (more for my benefit, he was hardly even breathing hard). Here is what we worked on:

• Tons of circles and serpentines. Make smooth changes of bend. Inside leg to outside rein.
• Trot - almost walk - trot transitions. Working on shortening the stride, compressing the body, then springing forward. Great for body building and quickness to the aids.
• Half steps (trot, collect, turn on the haunches while trotting produces cute half steps from the horseh)
• Shoulder-in. Both directions. These are sharp and show quality now. Too bad the rest of second level isn't anywhere near show ready. lol. We even do shoulder in on the quarter line.
• Canter work. Right lead was nice - very bounding and forward. Somewhat croup-high. Left lead went back and forth. Had moments of rhythm, then moments of a tight back and lateral tendency.
• Lengthen the canter
• Change direction at the canter with simple change of lead through the trot. Need crisper transitions, but the leads are reliable.
• Stretchy circle work to finish out the day. Lovely stretching.

Overall a very productive day! He did spend quite a bit of time chomping on the bit. (no teeth grinding, thankfully) I can't quite determine if this is a nervous thing (ulcers?) or a good thing. He had excellent "lipstick" at the end of the ride. I rarely have to even work at keeping his poll up anymore. That has become muscle memory for him.

I need to schedule another lesson but I've been so broke lately. Ah well, soon!

Hope everyone is staying cool and hydrated.

What I do for fun when I'm not riding.

(these are not my photos. I for once didn't take any, as I got there a little late and was having too much fun)

A break from the ponehs

Today I'm driving to Cinci to see my favorite band. The Phish. :)

The lot never fails to provide excellent photo opportunities.

And I love the music of course. Will return with photos!

I lie. (plus fun with fish-eyes)

So I said I was only going to ride "a few" horses yesterday, and ended up riding 4. I mean who takes a vacation from work to ride horses all day? this girl.

This is Zippy. His attitude makes up for what he lacks in looks. Bless his little heart!

I rode Zippy first. He was much better than wednesday. No spooking, no sucking back and thus no bucks. We walked, trotted and cantered with lots of circles, turning, serpentines, etc. He is really starting to accept more contact in the bridle (he used to flip his head around all the time). At times he even starts to offer roundness. But I don't ask for it, he's still not ready. He needs more miles and better balance yet. He is a big boy (round, but not tall) but quite insecure and while he is "broke" in that he accepts a rider, he is still in a bit of a wobbly stage. Overall, he's going well under saddle. He hates standing tied in the barn tho. Thus I left him tied in a stall while I worked other horses. He made lots of noise, broke out once (just like Noah did the other day. For the love!) ... and he ended up standing quietly for a bit before getting to go back out.

Fun with Zippy and the fish-eye lens!

Next up, is Marisol. We did about 15 minutes of walking. Unfortunately, when I started trotting it was immediately obvious that she was off. Like super foot sore in front. Stone bruise? I jumped off right away and decided to instead give her a haircut (a summer bob, if you will). Here she is:

Marisol. aka "Mare-mare" before her haircut

Mare-mare is an TB supposedly from Argentina. She is about 20 years old and doesn't look or act much older than 10. Rumor has it that she has done nothing but polo her entire life. She ended up here since she was part of the University's polo team. Well, they sold all of their horses and now Mare belongs to the barn. She has a severe tongue injury from a bit. I wish I could get pics of it, but basically her tongue was almost sawed in half. Thankfully, she rides completely off your seat and thoughts. I ride her with VERY little contact, if any. As soon as you take up contact, she hollows and goes faster. She has a lot of baggage from bad riding in her polo days. But remarkably, she is well trained if you ask her nicely. I have found that she leg yields, jumps (quite well) and will do lead changes (hunter style, not dressage style). She has lovely gaits and frankly if she were younger I would say total eventer prospect. But the mare has done her time. She deserves light, kind riding and someone to spoil her. 

Next on my list was Hamper. He was a friggin PISTOL. Not sure why he was so fresh and tense in 88 degree weather but I did manage to use that energy to get some half-steps. wooohooo! Plus solid shoulder in. Otherwise, things were tense and short strided. The left lead canter was still a bit of a hot mess. I am going to video him today so you guys can see. I also put him back on U-Guard as he was doing a bit of teeth-grinding and was so tense that I had to wonder about ulcers ... More on him later.

To finish the day. I rode a barrel horse.

You read that correctly.

The BO offered me a chance to hop on a palomino mare named bubbles. Imagine this. Here I am in tall boots, cute plaid breaches and an IRH helmet. Aboard a palomino mare, western saddle, nylon tie down and all! LOL!!!! It actually ended up being a total blast. The mare can turn and burn. I didn't run the barrel pattern, but I did canter it. :) Perhaps gaming is in my future?

Bubbles and the BO.

Full-time trainer for a day.

Yesterday I rode 5 horses and enjoyed every moment of course. :) Here is a round-up:

Hampton: Walk and trot work was good - smooth leg yields and easy shoulder-ins. I really worked on using my outside aids and he was uphill, poll the highest point and forward. His ears were pricked and he seemed happy to be working with me. The canter is ... well, still a mystery to me. On my first canter attempt (to the left), he did this weird thing. He came above the bit and totally cocked his head to the left. I don't mean his neck, just his head. So I was staring at the left side of his face. Weird. I tried it again. Same thing. Lateral canter. *groan* ... he's trying to tell me something. I decided to canter to the right and see if the same thing happened. That went well - pretty much a normal canter. Not super collected, but totally acceptable for a 4-year-old. We trotted a bit more and then I went back to the left lead canter. Much better transition. Better rhythm. It started to get lateral, and then I counter flexed him and it went away. Hmmm ... I still plan on getting some hock X-rays done, but I have to wonder if this canter wonky-ness also stems from being tight in his back right behind the saddle. Which would explain why the chiro fixes the problem. Anyway, I'm just going to stick with walk trot work for a while until I can get the money for those X-rays. We may canter a little bit, but I don't want to canter "badly" because I don't want his muscles to remember that as being the right thing to do. 

Me showing Phoebe a year or so ago.

Phoebe: This is the BO's own personal horse that I ride every once in a while. She was forward and peppy yesterday which makes riding her so much easier. I also took her down the driveway and worked on walk-trot transitions. She was lovely and uphill (she is naturally quite uphill, especially for a Paint). 

Zippy: I'm not sure when the last time this dude was ridden but it took me probably 10 minutes to sort him out. There was head tossing and a few violent spooks and then things clicked with him and he was a good boy. Until we cantered. Dang left lead again - he was going well, then sucked back in a major way. That meant he got a growl and a good pony club kick from me. He answered that with a HUGE buck. I stuck it, gave him hell and went on with it. He never tried it again and was nice and forward the rest of the ride. Green bean moment. :) He was otherwise lovely.

Marisol: (I need to get photos and give this girl a profile soon!) ... This mare is turning into a favorite of mine. I work mostly on relaxation and rhythm with her. And I rarely ride with any contact on her mouth (she has a tongue injury amongst other baggage). We did lots of slow trotting, cantering and even popped over a jump a few times. She LOVES to jump and is really good at it. So I use it as a reward for her. (Plus it's fun). I took her on a short trail ride down the driveway and she was clearly barn sour but held it together decently I guess.

Noah gets kisses from me!

Noah: The big guy is staying with me another month and yesterday I rode him for the first time in the big arena. He was great - we walked around and worked on steering and stopping. He was quiet and well behaved. We had a little drama lunging, but worked through it. He also is not happy when left alone in a stall for more than 10 minutes or so. In fact yesterday he pawed and pawed at the door so hard that it broke open. I caught him just as he was walking out of the stall. Geez.

Tomorrow I have another day off and plan to spend it again at the farm. I might not ride 5 horses again but I will ride a few! Five horses isn't a lot to professional trainers, but it is A LOT when you have to walk out in the big field to catch each one, walk back, groom, tack up, ride, untack, cool out, etc. etc. I was EXHAUSTED at the end of the day. But I liked it. :)