"I gotta go!"

Things were going to well today with Hampton until I asked for the left lead canter. At first it was OK, then he got a bit wiggly and sassy and threw in a head toss. Hmmm. Ok maybe I accidently goosed him. So I tried another transition and WHAM! He kicked out, NAILED the letter A (and shattered it) and therefore earned himself a spanking and about 10 minutes of leg yield work. Tried the canter transition again in the same spot and while it wasn't as prompt as I would like, it was calm and obedient. Sheesh. 3 year olds! As soon as I put him back in his stall, he peed. So I'm going to blame that on the reason for his mild hissy fit. Still no excuse. I do not know why, but a lot of young horses seem to do that - they end up getting this "I have to pee" look about halfway through the schooling session. Weird. Otherwise the session was good - he's really getting the hand of stretching down at the free walk. Stretching at the trot is good, too, but his nose could be a little more out. Something to work on. Turn on the haunches is starting to get there, although he is still a little confused. I just take it slow. One step at a time. He's getting it. One of my favorite exercises is "Think turn on the forehand while walking a circle." .. I started doing this with Hampton and it does WONDERS for him. Makes him soft and supple. He's really good at stepping way under himself. While he can't do many steps in a row (he will "protest" and come above the bit and want to stop because the work is hard), I think it's a great exercise for any horse. Even if you just do little bits.

I'll work him probably almost every day this week and really start working on the transitions and making our 20 meter circles smooth and consistent.


***
More from the song challenge:

Day 08 - A song that you know all the words to:

"Disarm" by the Smashing Pumpkins. Every time I pick up a guitar, I almost always play this one. :-)

Day 09 - A song that you can dance to

"2001" by Phish. ... actually just about anything by Phish but if 2001 doesn't inspire you to dance, then,

well, maybe you are catatonic?

Day 10 - A song that makes you fall asleep

"Night Moves" by Bruce Springsteen. Sorry, but it's sleep inducing.

Day 11 - A song from your favourite band

I have to pick just one? OK this time I pick "Tweezer." by Phish

Day 12 - A song from a band you hate

Nickelback has been selected as the band I hate most. I'm not sure I know any of their songs. How about "How you Remind me"

real quick

Ok, catching up on the 30-day song challenge. Here we go:

Day 02 - Your least favourite song: I only get to pick one? Anything by Lady Gaga I guess. lol

Day 03 - A song that makes you happy: Bouncin Round the Room (Phish)

Day 04 - A song that makes you sad: Last goodbye (Jeff Buckley)

Day 05 - A song that reminds you of someone: I Am the Highway (Audioslave)

Day 06 - A song that reminds of you of somewhere: Wait for it ... Bye Bye Bye (NSync) remind me of college!

Day 07 - A song that reminds you of a certain event: I will Remember you (Sarah M.) .. high school graduation.

***

No news to report on the horse front. Its been 90+ degrees 
so I haven't ridden the past few days. Its supposed to 
somewhat break tomorrow so hopefully will get some time 
in the saddle. Still on the hunt for a horse trailer ... grrr ...

ONE YEAR

One year ago, I wrote a check for a barely-handled 2 year old TB/warmblood/clydesdale cross. He was leggy, awkward, a little clumsy. But he was handsome and appeared to float across the ground (when he wasn't bucking ... derrrr ...) When I approached him in his stall, I saw intelligence and kindness in his eye. Despite having limited handling (he was maybe 30% halter-broke), he stood there quietly while I touched him all over his face, neck and belly. I wasn't brave enough to go to the hindquarters. lol. He was priced CHEAP.

It was the best money I have ever spent.

My first encounter with Hampton (who at the time was named Smitty, but I quickly changed that)

... thank goodness THIS didn't become a habit!

30 day song challenge

Here's a neat concept that I think I'll include with my horse-related blogs:

30 Day song challenge

Day 01 - Your favourite song

Day 02 - Your least favourite song

Day 03 - A song that makes you happy

Day 04 - A song that makes you sad

Day 05 - A song that reminds you of someone

Day 06 - A song that reminds of you of somewhere

Day 07 - A song that reminds you of a certain event

Day 08 - A song that you know all the words to

Day 09 - A song that you can dance to

Day 10 - A song that makes you fall asleep

Day 11 - A song from your favourite band

Day 12 - A song from a band you hate

Day 13 - A song that is a guilty pleasure

Day 14 - A song that no one would expect you to love

Day 15 - A song that describes you

Day 16 - A song that you used to love but now hate

Day 17 - A song that you hear often on the radio

Day 18 - A song that you wish you heard on the radio

Day 19 - A song from your favorite album

Day 20 - A song that you listen to when you’re angry

Day 21 - A song that you listen to when you’re happy

Day 22 - A song that you listen to when you’re sad

Day 23 - A song that you want to play at your wedding

Day 24 - A song that you want to play at your funeral

Day 25 - A song that makes you laugh

Day 26 - A song that you can play on an instrument

Day 27 - A song that you wish you could play

Day 28 - A song that makes you feel guilty

Day 29 - A song from your childhood

Day 30 - Your favourite song at this time last year

••

Day 1: Your favorite song.

Man, that's difficult. My favorite songs are always changing. It depends on where I am in my life, who my friends are, what my mental state is, etc. etc. Seeing as how Phish is my very favorite band, you'd think my ultimate song would be a Phish song. But not today. I think the one song that would win out pretty much anytime would be Pink Floyd's "Wish you Were Here."

Opposites.

< < < < OMG. Right toe & ankle FAIL.

Rode the critter again last night. I LOVE riding in the evenings, but it is a rarity since I usually work 3-midnight, except for this week.

Sidenote: Barely 5 minutes after I had walked Hampton back into the barn after riding outdoors, the neighbors started setting off fireworks! Note to self, ride indoors until Monday ...)

 Started out in the indoor with the usual warm up. I chose the Leg Yield to the wall, then canter, exercise from my 101 book. Trotting on the right rein, turn down the centerline ... leg yield left to the wall, then immediately canter right lead. I modified this just a bit for Hampton's training level and made sure that by the time I got to the rail, we were close to the corner to help our transition out. Seemed to go well, except he's started to anticipate the leg yields, and I lost the haunches a couple of times. ugh. I may steer away from leg yields for a while. He's getting a bit too smart about them. I'll probably spend the rest of the week riding the quarter line all the way around.

No bucking or pig rooting with canter work. Woot! We actually had a couple of AWESOME straight-away canter sections (like from Training Test 1). Still need more uphill balance when we turn on another circle, but it will get there. Then I went to the outdoor to run through Training Test 1. The outdoor is USDF regulation size (the small size) so I knew I could more accurately ride my figures out there. One centerline was a little wiggly, and there was some resistance on a trot circle or two ... but the canter transitions were prompt, correct lead, balanced. Score!

I know the issues are very likely due to Hampton being behind my leg. I just am not used to riding a horse that needs so much motivation! T-Bone was VERY forward (although still behind my leg), and I was always holding him back. Hampton needs much more forward and the issues pretty much go away. I know this. Why do I not do what I say? The nice thing about Hampers is that I can rev him up and he won't get hot. With T-Bone, everything I did was slow down ... slow slow slow. So, it's different for me. I don't have to be so "careful" with Hampton, we can make a mistake and it's just that, a mistake, both of us move on. With T-Bone, once he got "offended" or upset, you might as well have put him away because his brain would NOT come back.

Below is a photo of me and T-Bone, my Morgan I sold last year (I also started him as a 2-year-old). Notice the tension in both of us ... when I look at photos of Hampton and me, I don't see this. Maybe I have rose colored glasses on, though.

No wagging allowed.

Hampton's official birthday was yesterday. I'm a bad owner and didn't really do anything special except ride him in the evening. Our ride went pretty well. For some reason he was a little narly in the mouth - wanted to be above the bit, not bending as easily as he usually does, wanting to "wag" his head a little. I'm very careful about this, as I think it looks awful when I rider uses their hands too much and creates the "head wag." I was extra careful with my hands, but he just was stiff and every time I tried to supple him, instead of softening and giving like he usually does - he poked his nose out and wagged. ugh. In his defense, I hadn't rode since Thursday (3 days off for him) and I didn't lunge him as long as I usually do so maybe he just wasn't loosened up well enough.

And he was behind my leg. It got better as the ride went on. We worked mainly on trot to canter transitions. Most were good, a couple were accompanied by a little buck and/or pig root episode. Again, it goes back to the root of the problem - he was behind my leg. This generally never happens when he's quick and sharp off my aids. It was somewhat hot and I wasn't feeling too well, so I'm sure that contributed. All in all he was a good boy and I think today we'll work on more trot to canter and the canter work from T1-2. Maybe throw in some more leg yields, and pick an exercise from 101 Dressage Exercises. Going to take a small trail ride around the hay field too I think ... to keep us both fresh.

***

In other news - how many of you horse owners out there are feeding electrolytes to your ponehs? It's been SO hot here, that the horses are sweating just standing in their stalls (with fans). My train of thought is that if they are sweating, they are keeping themselves cool. And Hampton is a VERY good water drinker and doesn't seem affected by the heat (other than the bugs). I was thinking of getting an electrolyte supplement. (maybe just for super hot days). Any recommendations?

Back in the day Part 4: JLS High Tech

This is part of a "mini-series" on the horses who have influenced me and taught me the most. 


"Doc" was the first horse my family actually purchased. Before him, we had only leased horses. We went to look at Doc at the Cochren auction when it was in Columbus Ohio. I watched his trainer ride, then my trainer rode, then I rode. The horse was fun and full of spunk. He never spooked or did anything stupid. I think at the time he was just 4 years old. Maybe 5. We had some trouble getting him to canter but my trainer at the time said that wasn't a problem - he could fix that. He was also broke to drive. So, we took him home.

He was a friendly, well-mannered son of the famous Morgan stallion, Tedwin Topic. Had I know anything about that particular line, I probably would have turned the horse down. But I was only 14 or 15 and all I knew was that I loved Morgans and wanted a show horse. Topic babies are pretty nortorious for testing you and pushing the limits. They are smart, clever and can be lazy. And by lazy I mean they might do something dumb to avoid working for you.

So after a few weeks of the training riding Doc and "fixing his issues," I got to ride. I liked the horse. We got along most of the winter and decided that we'd show in Junior Exhibitor English Pleasure the following season. We won at Gold Cup and I was thrilled. However, the horse's true personality started to come through as the season went on ...

Doc had a tendency to scoot off/bolt at random moments. It was 100% a naughty behavior, because he NEVER did it with my sister - who was a tiny walk-trotter at the time and also showed him. But he would pull that stunt with the trainer, and me. He also got into the habit of flipping his head almost upside down with me. It was annoying and I felt out of control. All I could do was lower my hands and wait it out - meanwhile looking like a hot mess in the arena. We lost a LOT of classes because of this. Looking back, he was avoiding the action of the curb. He learned that  he is started flipping his head, I would lower my hands, soften and stop asking him to work. I would take a very different course of action these days.

At the Mid-A regional show (at the time in Hershey, PA), my trainer tried a different approach. He let Doc sit in his stall for a few days, then on show day he brought him out, threw a gag bit on for the snaffle, warmed him up briefly and threw me on. The horse had his trail over his back, blowing and snorting, high as a kite. I don't remember warming up much, just that my trainer had to lead me to the show arena. I do remember literally HOLDING ON FOR DEAR LIFE the entire friggin class. I thought my arms would literally fall off. My trainer shouted at me from the rail "He looks like the Master's Touch!" (a world champion park horse ... I was like, uh, doubt that!) ... We amazingly placed 3rd in a pretty competitive class. But that was NOT fun.

The last year we owned him, I was blessed with the opportunity to show at the Morgan Grand National. Doc was a complete and total JERK in the championship. Head flipping, scooting, wiggly. We never came close to even placing. I was almost in tears at the end of the class. My trainer came up to me, mad at the horse too. We sold him quickly after to a lady and daughter who rode with a famous Morgan barn in Michigan.

The next season I saw Doc at a few shows - he looked great. The mother drove him in pleasure driving and the daughter rode. But they never finished the season.

At a show in Michigan, the mother was jogging Doc around the fairgrounds. He pulled his scooting tactic, however he was hooked to a cart. Something must have scared him because he truly bolted, the lady fell out of the cart, which then caught on a fence, ripping up the cart, fence and harness. Doc tore off around the fairgrounds before finally being caught.

After that incident, he never went back in the show ring again. The last I  heard, they donated him to William Woods University. Someone told me that the college sold him to the Amish. But frankly none of that is confirmed. I sort of wish I knew where he was. He was a wonderful horse on the ground - the best a girl could ask for. Very easy to handle and super friendly. He just did not like to work. Soon after we sold him, my trainer at the time took in a half brother in training. The horse looked remarkably like Doc - and had the same issues! One day I heard the trainer yell, and I went to the arena to see that the horse had dumped him out of the cart, which had flipped on its side and the horse was going in circles, cart banging and dragging everywhere, with the trainer desperately trying to stop him. No body got hurt, but I was reminded that we were lucky we never had a super scary incident with Doc.

Part 3: Queen
Part 2: Sparkles
Part 1: Star