A little too much fun in the snow

This Morgan belongs to a friend of mine.

Sunday a good friend and I decided to try and sneak in another ride before the "Historic Snow Storm of February 2011" hits Indiana. *gag*. She leases a 5 year old Tennessee Walker mare, who is quite green but sweet and willing to learn.

After some time working in the arena (walk, trot only. The snowy footing was decent but I didn't trust it for cantering), I decided we should take a trail ride. I specifically had an area in mind that is basically a huge ditch in  between two corn fields. It is about 3 horses wide and long enough to have a good canter/gallop. And because it is between two cornfields (and it set below them, like a big ditch), it also has about 3 feet of snow. That means the horses will get a good workout.

We walked and trotted some. Both horses were being good. So I decided to try some cantering. It was SO. MUCH. FUN. Hampton was bounding through the snow - snorting and blowing and picking up some serious enthusiasm. I was laughing and had a really good hold of my running martingale strap.

We reached the end of the path and I stopped and turned around. Then I see my friend with her horse cantering at us. They look lovely ... and then ... the mare sort of leaps out of the path, up the small hill and into the cornfield. A stride after that she bucks. And I mean her rear end was far above her little head type of buck. My friend tumbled into the snow. Then the mare sort of trots off in front of us and I realize Hampton thinks this is great fun and does a little mini-leap which doesn't get far because I have him in a one-rein stop before he realizes what has happened. We get the naughty mare caught and return to the ring for more work.

We end on a good note. :-) Good times, good times.

And now, more snow. I did put a warm liner blanket under Hampton's turnout sheet so he should be nice and bundled up now. But of course the horses always handle it better than we do.

You make me wanna shout

Saturday's lesson

Hampton loaded up in the trailer like an old pro and we ventured over to the Dressage Barn With an Indoor. He started out really nervous in the crossties, so I'm not sure what that was about but he settled down. (oh yeah, it might be because I haven't ridden him in a week!) Here are the main points of our lesson.

• He has been learning things faster than his body can keep up with. Basically, while he has the mind to learn things, his body is still quite gangly and awkward and not strong. For crying outloud he knows A LOT for such a youngster. He won't be 4 until June. My instructor said that I will likely encounter periods where it will appear that we won't make much progress as I have to wait for his body to catch up with his education.

• His right hind leg is weak. I knew this already, and we discussed that at this point the best thing I can do is just to make him stronger. The leg (actually I think it is the hock) may become an issue in the future, or it may not. But even with a perfect horse, you can't guarantee it will stay sound.

• Installing buttons. Here are some exercises we need to test his buttons:
   • Leg yield off the wall to the right a few steps. Then turn him off my right leg and swing the shoulders around and go the other direction. Repeat off both legs and directions.
   • Trot down long side. Walk transition. Halt. Back a few steps, then trot off.
   • Lots of turning the shoulders.

• Keep the withers up. He's still quite croup high in the canter.

Ladies can't resist this!!

It was a productive lesson and I was happy with the horse. It's clear he has lost some strength, but his basic fitness isn't bad. Plus he's in another growth spurt. I also think he may be losing another cap or two as there was some uncharacteristic head tossing a few times. Could have been just basic resistance ... but I will make sure it's not his teeth anyway.

And on a funny note ... seems Mr. Hampton loves blondes. At one point, there was a lovely bombshell blonde Belgian cross mare lunging. Hampton took one look at her and his head shot so far up on the air I thought I was riding a saddlebred. He began calling to her and got quite distracted. He eventually came back to me, but continued the shouting and calling BS for a while. In fact when I went to load him back in the trailer, he started that crap back up and didn't load as easily as he usually does. Brat.

What do you all do to handle a horse that has this shouting/calling issue? T-Bone was HORRIBLE about it and at that time I really didn't know better and would punish him when he would scream. So, he learned to scream and then BOLT because he knew what was coming. I do NOT want that again, so today I just ignored Hampton except maybe a little bump with my inside leg to try and get his attention. I hope it will go away with more miles. Any tips welcome.

Annnd I think I'm going to ride AGAIN today. In the snow this time though. Ah well.

Saturday plans

I miss summer!!!

I'm really hoping the weather channels are right and it is going to be 35 on Saturday. I've scheduled another lesson over at the Dressage Barn With An Indoor. Please, please do not dump more snow. Ugh.

**

In a unrelated note, I am a sell-out and have added ads to my blog. *sigh* If you feel so inclined, click on the Google ads so I get some cash in my AdSense. Errr, I mean - support the advertisers! I'm just trying to make any extra I can. Money is so tight and I refuse - REFUSE to sell my horse.

Blinded by the light .. I mean snow ...

I was so tickled to see that temps outside today were ABOVE 30!!! So I bundled up and jumped in my truck - out to the barn to saddle my mule ... horse and go for a ride. The snow was literally blinding today. I should have worn sunglasses!

My first attempt was the big arena - it has been the most reliable all winter as far as footing. Mostly because it is never plowed so the snow gets nicely packed down and is grippy. Well, as soon as I asked Hampton to step off from the mounting block he slips on a (well hidden) patch of ice. He didn't slip badly, but it startled him so much that he grunted. Then stood stock still. Um, ok well this isn't a good start. I promptly left that arena before we stumbled upon any more ice. I tried the small area ... no ice to be found but it has been plowed so it was that slick snow and I didn't trust it.

Sooooo I decided we would just power walk all over the property. We did a pretty good 20-25 minute power walk. I didn't worry too much about his head and neck - only that he was marching foward. He listened well and although a little bit distracted in that he wanted to be a tourist, he behaved himself. No spooking or anything like that. We even passed the back side of the donkey and mini pen of death where several saber-tooth donkeys and this ferocious creature live:

Hampton's worst nightmare. Get it. Night MARE?

Hampton was good though, only stopping and snorting a bit. :-) I finally found a lane out in the farm fields where the snow was up to his knees. muwahaha! Yes we power walked through that too. I hope I got his heart rate up a little, but I have no way of knowing. At least it was some sort of exercise ...

The BO and I are aiming for a Feb. 26 show at Come Again Farm. I have a feeling we may be winging it ...

Virtues

So once again I have been inspired by Kate over at A Year With Horses. Her series of posts of Virtues Instead of Actions has really intrigued me. She is an intelligent and thoughtful writer and writes about not only her horses but how we, as humans, interact with them. Good stuff. Good stuff.

Attention
Patience
Curiosity/ability to experiment
Forward/impulsion/responsiveness
Willingness/softness
Kindness/sociability
Calmness/relaxation
Self-confidence
Trust/trustworthiness

The above are virtues that Kate listed as those she'd like to develop in her horses. I'll start with those as my base as well for Hampton.


ATTENTION: While working, Hampton has an excellent attention span. Especially for such a young horse. When I am not asking anything of him, however, he can have a tendency to do the "stare off into the distance" thing. Especially if we are close to the pen with the donkeys. 


PATIENCE: Again, Hampton has developed excellent patience. I think this may be a result of how I started working with him as a 2 year old. No matter what I did (throw ropes over his back, rub saddle pads on him, jumped around next to him, etc.) he quickly figured out that if he just stood there, he would get rewarded. To this day he will stand FOR.EV.ER. if I asked him to. He is not much of a wiggly horse and stands quietly when tied as well.

CURIOSITY: I think Hampton has always been curious by nature. If anyone goes out in the field, he is one of the first to approach them. Frisk for treats, follow them around, etc. When we encounter something scary on the trail, all I have to do is give him some rein, and keep his head pointed in the direction I want to go. He may hesitate at first, but he has always been willing to eventually begin sniffing and will go past (or over in the case of logs, etc) the object. He also loves to sniff barn cats that approach and every grooming tool I use. 


FOWARD/IMPULSION: Ah, yes this still needs a little development. He is for the most part quick off my leg - but he wasn't naturally so. I had to develop that. If I allow him, he will be "lazy." I say lazy, although I don't really believe horses are lazy. I think that is a form of dominance, by not moving when I ask. 


WILLINGNESS/SOFTNESS: From Day 1, Hampton has been willing to work with me. Even when unsure, he has always tried. And I have never punished him for at least trying to find the answer. 

KINDNESS: This I think is Hampton's best virtue. He is so incredibly social with both people and horses (and cats, too!). Which is why I feel guilty for keeping him at a barn this summer where he only had 4 hours of turnout a day and with only one other horse. He loves being in a herd and fits in well. He has a kind eye and is just a total sweetheart.


CALMNESS/RELAXATION: I think this virtue has developed over the past year or so. He has always been a laid back dude, but I think with training and handling he has really learned to relax. I am always calm and chill when I handle him (or at least I try to be), as I am also a calm, laid back person by nature. But Hampton is no deadhead. He is alert and uses his ears well. He does shy and spook sometimes so I know we have more work to do.


SELF-CONFIDENCE: Another virtue that I think has been in progress. He was insecure when I got him  even abut haltering. You can totally read his face when he is worried or unsure. He wears his heart on his sleeve. But with patience and kindness, he has learned to trust me and other people. He has developed self-confidence as he has gotten older and experienced new things.


TRUST: Another virtue that I think most horses have to develop. But I do think Hampton put a lot of trust in me from the beginning. And I have kept my end of the bargain by never putting him in a situation that was beyond what he could handle. I find him quite trustworthy as well. 

Geez sorry if I wrote a novel but I find this fascinating! It's been too damn cold to ride lately so of course I have been bored. Hampton has been enjoying the daily alfalfa cube mash I bring him. He's otherwise comfy and happy.


Peace out.

Style? Me?

Hee hee this Stylish blogger award is everywhere! Thanks to JJ and a couple of other fellow bloggers who nominated me. So I'll take the bait and participate. :-)

1. Thank and link back to the person who awarded you this award

2. Share 7 things about yourself

3. Award 15 recently discovered great bloggers

4. Contact these bloggers and tell them about the award!

Seven things about myself

1) I have an equestrian degree from the University of Findlay (Ohio).

2) I talk to my cat even when no one else is around to listen and appreciate my humor (sometimes I think even the cat is not listening)

3) There is a part of me that wants to quit my job and follow Phish around on tour for several months. So far, the rational, sane part of me has won out.

4) I have a dry, sarcastic sense of humor. I think some people don't get it and think I'm a bitch.

5) Sometimes I don't wear matching socks!

6) I collect model horses (Breyers and such). I used to also show them frequently but haven't been able to do so in a while.

7) I have a really large cardboard figure of Steve Irwin in my living room. It. is. awesome.

I nominate all the blogs I follow. I know, it's cheating but I can't pick just a few!

Who rode their horse finally? THIS GIRL!

I have gotten good rides in on Hampton on both Friday AND Saturday. Yipeee!! It snowed again and so the big arena has not been plowed which has made the footing quite nice. Just deep enough snow for some traction. I was able to walk, trot, canter with no issues. Score! (Fellow boarders were actually barrel-racing on the footing ... brave souls!) Yes, my face did freeze off on Saturday. My toes got so cold that there were fire-engine red for a few hours after I got home. But I rode my horse dammit!

Friday night's ride was really quite nice. No wind. It was dark by the time I got on. And no one had yet walked, drove or ridden through the snow in that arena. It was just beautiful riding through the untouched snow. It was so quiet and peaceful. A couple of my friends ending up riding with me which I always enjoy. I have basically just been sticking to many transitions with Hampton and some little trot - big trot exercises. Sticking mostly to straight lines. Figured that was the best plan while working in the snow.

I am still amazed by this horse. He is the first horse I have ever owned that has not required lunging before I get on and ride. He is the same horse in the cold, hot, snow, wind, rain, if he hasn't been worked in a week or a month, alone, with other horses ... etc. On both days he was pleasantly forward and perky, but listened to my half halts. It just was so nice.

I'm thinking I might ride again today ... my toes are not happy about that idea, however.