I actually got to ride my poor neglected horse yesterday. It was the first ride in 2 weeks. :-( This work stuff really gets in the way of my life. Sigh. He was good. I just did some basic suppling work, w/t/c, trying to stay focused on response to my leg aids and keeping him light in the reins. We did some walk half-pass down the long side--track to quarter line back to track repeat as many times as we can fit in on the long side. Then, I let him stretch through the short side. It's so nice to have him follow the bit all the way down when I let the reins slide through my fingers. His stride lengthens and I can feel the swing in his back. Those little details show me that he was truly connected to the bit, not just faking a pose. He was really taking shorter steps in collection, not just being lazy. I like doing work like this at the walk. It's so much easier to feel these little details. And, it's paying attention to these little details that keep us going in the right direction.
The short stretches through the short side are a really good part of the exercise. He used to get stiff in the collected work. Letting him stretch out after brief periods of work let him know that he doesn't have to stiffen. It helps him realize that I'm not cramming him into a "frame". It's helped so much with his longitudinal suppleness. He still gets a bit fussy with his face when I pick up the reins, but he no longer shortens his stride and hollows his back. He keeps marching forward.
No ride today. The work calls started at 8:00 am and the last one finished just before 6:00 pm and no time to squeeze in a ride in between all the calls. I don't have lights in my ring, so another day without a ride passes by. Tomorrow will be stormy--they're actually talking about SNOW! It's not going to stick, just enough to make things messy...and keep me from riding again. Grumble, complain, whine.
Monday, October 27, 2008
Monday, October 20, 2008
Winter's Coming
We've had a real weather change the last few days. Hard frosts up here. This morning it was 26 degrees when I got up. Brrrr! I actually like this. I much prefer the cooler weather to the oppressive heat and humidity of summer. The horses like it, too. They've been running around their paddocks, kicking up their heels and just having a grand ol' time! No bugs to bother them.
The only thing I don't like about the cooler weather is the shorter daylight hours. :-( My alarm goes off before 5:00 am every day and it's sooo dark now. It makes it harder to get out of bed in the mornings. And, it's very hard to walk three dogs in the pitch black. When it was just 2, I could carry a flashlight, but with the 3 of them, it's too hard. So, I've taken to checking my e-mail and doing a little bit of work before I head out to walk the dogs. Then, when I get back from walking, I feed and turn out the horses. By that time, the sun is just dragging itself over the horizon.
I haven't started blanketing, yet. I go through this every year--to blanket or not to blanket? The last two winters we've had more ice than snow, so my riding has been limited to mostly walking. Had I known that, I could have NOT clipped Jeeves and not blanketed. But, you just don't know. I start out the winter with hopes of being able to ride. If there's enough snow cover that gives me decent footing in the ring and I can do trot and canter work. Can't do alot--have to keep his strides shorter and more collected. He sweats alot, so if I do much work, he needs to be clipped. Decisions, decisions.
Of course, the way work has been, I haven't ridden in over a week now. I'm very upset about that, but i've just had conference calls and deadlines and just haven't been able to eek out a block of time long enough for a ride. I even worked over the weekend--and it was a glorious autumn weekend. Oh, well. There's always next weekend. And, in this declining economy, I'm just happy that I have a job.
The only thing I don't like about the cooler weather is the shorter daylight hours. :-( My alarm goes off before 5:00 am every day and it's sooo dark now. It makes it harder to get out of bed in the mornings. And, it's very hard to walk three dogs in the pitch black. When it was just 2, I could carry a flashlight, but with the 3 of them, it's too hard. So, I've taken to checking my e-mail and doing a little bit of work before I head out to walk the dogs. Then, when I get back from walking, I feed and turn out the horses. By that time, the sun is just dragging itself over the horizon.
I haven't started blanketing, yet. I go through this every year--to blanket or not to blanket? The last two winters we've had more ice than snow, so my riding has been limited to mostly walking. Had I known that, I could have NOT clipped Jeeves and not blanketed. But, you just don't know. I start out the winter with hopes of being able to ride. If there's enough snow cover that gives me decent footing in the ring and I can do trot and canter work. Can't do alot--have to keep his strides shorter and more collected. He sweats alot, so if I do much work, he needs to be clipped. Decisions, decisions.
Of course, the way work has been, I haven't ridden in over a week now. I'm very upset about that, but i've just had conference calls and deadlines and just haven't been able to eek out a block of time long enough for a ride. I even worked over the weekend--and it was a glorious autumn weekend. Oh, well. There's always next weekend. And, in this declining economy, I'm just happy that I have a job.
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Annoyed
I'm so annoyed, about several things, but mostly because I'm out here in California all week in training for work. After my fabulous lesson last Monday, I was only able to ride Jeeves two more times. I hacked him out on Tuesday--he had been working so hard, he needed a light ride to just stretch out. Then, Thursday, we did an easy ring work day. It started pouring rain on Friday and it was still raining Monday when I left. So, we're getting another week without riding. Sigh. Oh, well, I keep reminding myself that I need the job to pay for this hobby.
The other annoyance is the farrier. He was supposed to be out Monday at 8:30. Since I wasn't going to be there, I arranged for Terri to be there and, also, Jenn came out to hold the babies, since they're still a bit anxious about the farrier handling them. He NEVER showed up!! Terri called him left him 2 v-mails on Sunday just to confirm that he was coming out. She called him several times on Monday. Argh! I'm not sure if anyone has even heard from him, yet. I've been so busy with the training and then catching up with my projects when not in training I haven't had a chance to call anyone.
What is is with farriers?! He's a good farrier. It's hard to find a good farrier out in the boonies where I am. But, he does have a reliability problem. Usually, he will call, but sometimes he'll just show up hours late. He's never just not shown up at all, so I am a little worried that something happened to him.
Oh, well, hopefully, he'll get out there....soon. Grumble.
The other annoyance is the farrier. He was supposed to be out Monday at 8:30. Since I wasn't going to be there, I arranged for Terri to be there and, also, Jenn came out to hold the babies, since they're still a bit anxious about the farrier handling them. He NEVER showed up!! Terri called him left him 2 v-mails on Sunday just to confirm that he was coming out. She called him several times on Monday. Argh! I'm not sure if anyone has even heard from him, yet. I've been so busy with the training and then catching up with my projects when not in training I haven't had a chance to call anyone.
What is is with farriers?! He's a good farrier. It's hard to find a good farrier out in the boonies where I am. But, he does have a reliability problem. Usually, he will call, but sometimes he'll just show up hours late. He's never just not shown up at all, so I am a little worried that something happened to him.
Oh, well, hopefully, he'll get out there....soon. Grumble.
Monday, September 22, 2008
Awesome Lesson!!
We had such a great ride today. Kathy got here early and she watched our long rein warmup. Basically, just forward, stretchy, round, big loopy figures like broken lines and serpentines. At the canter we even did a lead change on the long rein. He was so loose, round through his back, powerful, thrusting from behind. I remember working hard just to get gaits 1/2 that good by the end of an hour, forget about starting out like that. :-) (I have to figure out how to insert emoticons.)
I mentioned to Kathy about playing with the haunches in on the 5m circle to get the canter transition and she upped the ante some. On the open side of a 20m circle, do a turn on the haunches (walk pirouette) 180 degrees and pick up the canter. Canter the circle, then walk as we get back to the open side. Turn on the haunches and pick up the other lead, canter the circle. Repeat. Each time we did it, the canter transition just got better and better. I could really feel him lifting up through the withers. After doing that, we did some canter 1/2-passes and those went really well. We did one that felt really good, no loss of rythm, no stickiness, just slid right over. Kathy said it would have been a 7 in a test.
Then, we did the "squat" exercise that she us do the last time she was out and again she upped the ante on us. This time, we stayed on the long side (last time she had us do it on the 1/4 line), three strides canter, walk. Maintain the activity in the walk, pick up the other lead, 3 strides, walk, etc. We did that down the long side, through the short side and down the next long side. As we approached the end of the long side, doing the 3 strides of canter, she asked me to do a lead change without the walk. He did it, though!! Woohoo!! Walk, drop the reins for a break, then we changed direction and did it in the other direction, including the flying change at the end. Tempi changes, here we come!! :-)
After doing those, just a long stretchy trot to make sure he stretched out all his muscles after that collected work.
It's amazing how a good ride can just make my day. I was on cloud nine for the rest of the day, despite having to go back to work and deal with some difficulties there. I just thought of that ride and a big grin would steal across my face. Who cares if my system isn't working, I had an awesome ride on my awesome horse! Nothing else matters.
I mentioned to Kathy about playing with the haunches in on the 5m circle to get the canter transition and she upped the ante some. On the open side of a 20m circle, do a turn on the haunches (walk pirouette) 180 degrees and pick up the canter. Canter the circle, then walk as we get back to the open side. Turn on the haunches and pick up the other lead, canter the circle. Repeat. Each time we did it, the canter transition just got better and better. I could really feel him lifting up through the withers. After doing that, we did some canter 1/2-passes and those went really well. We did one that felt really good, no loss of rythm, no stickiness, just slid right over. Kathy said it would have been a 7 in a test.
Then, we did the "squat" exercise that she us do the last time she was out and again she upped the ante on us. This time, we stayed on the long side (last time she had us do it on the 1/4 line), three strides canter, walk. Maintain the activity in the walk, pick up the other lead, 3 strides, walk, etc. We did that down the long side, through the short side and down the next long side. As we approached the end of the long side, doing the 3 strides of canter, she asked me to do a lead change without the walk. He did it, though!! Woohoo!! Walk, drop the reins for a break, then we changed direction and did it in the other direction, including the flying change at the end. Tempi changes, here we come!! :-)
After doing those, just a long stretchy trot to make sure he stretched out all his muscles after that collected work.
It's amazing how a good ride can just make my day. I was on cloud nine for the rest of the day, despite having to go back to work and deal with some difficulties there. I just thought of that ride and a big grin would steal across my face. Who cares if my system isn't working, I had an awesome ride on my awesome horse! Nothing else matters.
Friday, September 19, 2008
Back to Normal
Jeeves's legs are back to normal. Yesterday morning he had a small bit of fluid in his hind. I wouldn't have noticed it if I hadn't been looking for it. This morning, nothing. Soooo, I don't know what it was. Maybe it was something in the flax seed? Maybe the weather change, as Victoria mentioned? Perhaps with the cooler weather and all the rain we've had, there are some new things growing out there in the paddock? Who knows. I'm just glad he's back to normal.
The weather this morning was quite fall-like. Temp was 38F when I got up. :-) I love it. I love the cooler weather. It makes me feel energized. I greatly dislike summer heat and humidity and when this time of year comes along, I'm always grateful that I survived another summer.
It was back to work with Jeeves today. Trot 1/2pass was really good. Nice bend, hind end not trailing, maintained the rhythm nicely. Canter 1/2pass not quite so nice. He lost the rhythm at times. So, I kept it short and accepted what he could give me.
I did an exercise that Kathy gave us last year. It's been a while since we've done it and I thought it would be good to use that today, since he needed more engagement. Walk a 20m circle, then go on a 5m circle inside the 20m. Do this in haunches in and pick up the canter while still in the haunches in on the 5m, but continue on the 20m. One circle, walk, repeat.
Jeeves's reaction the first time Kathy had us do this last year was "You want me to do WHAT?!". When I asked again his reaction was "You can't possibly be serious." Third request, a big, long suffering sigh from him and he did it. :-) Today wasn't quite so dramatic, his first reaction was "Oh, darn, I remember this exercise." Second request and he picked up the canter. He's such a good boy.
This exercise is really good for engaging the inside hind and collecting the horse. In the canter transition, I could really feel him lift up through the withers. The transitions to the walk were balanced and light and the last one was awesome. It was up, forward, prompt and still engaged. It reminded me of what a clinician once told me about a good down transition -- it shouldn't be like a rock plummeting to the ground, it should be like a snowflake floating gracefully to ground. I just dropped the reins, patted him, and gave him a walk break. It was a great ride.
We have a lesson scheduled for Monday afternoon. Hopefully, the weather and everything will cooperate and we'll actually get to have our lesson.
The weather this morning was quite fall-like. Temp was 38F when I got up. :-) I love it. I love the cooler weather. It makes me feel energized. I greatly dislike summer heat and humidity and when this time of year comes along, I'm always grateful that I survived another summer.
It was back to work with Jeeves today. Trot 1/2pass was really good. Nice bend, hind end not trailing, maintained the rhythm nicely. Canter 1/2pass not quite so nice. He lost the rhythm at times. So, I kept it short and accepted what he could give me.
I did an exercise that Kathy gave us last year. It's been a while since we've done it and I thought it would be good to use that today, since he needed more engagement. Walk a 20m circle, then go on a 5m circle inside the 20m. Do this in haunches in and pick up the canter while still in the haunches in on the 5m, but continue on the 20m. One circle, walk, repeat.
Jeeves's reaction the first time Kathy had us do this last year was "You want me to do WHAT?!". When I asked again his reaction was "You can't possibly be serious." Third request, a big, long suffering sigh from him and he did it. :-) Today wasn't quite so dramatic, his first reaction was "Oh, darn, I remember this exercise." Second request and he picked up the canter. He's such a good boy.
This exercise is really good for engaging the inside hind and collecting the horse. In the canter transition, I could really feel him lift up through the withers. The transitions to the walk were balanced and light and the last one was awesome. It was up, forward, prompt and still engaged. It reminded me of what a clinician once told me about a good down transition -- it shouldn't be like a rock plummeting to the ground, it should be like a snowflake floating gracefully to ground. I just dropped the reins, patted him, and gave him a walk break. It was a great ride.
We have a lesson scheduled for Monday afternoon. Hopefully, the weather and everything will cooperate and we'll actually get to have our lesson.
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Jeeves's Relatives
Billie mentioned that she has been checking out Cleveland Bays and I thought I would write about Jeeves's siblings that I have met.
Shortly after I brought Jeeves home, my neighbor and her daughter came over to admire the horses and they asked if Jeeves was a Cleveland Bay. I was surprised because Cleveland Bays are rather rare. Turns out the daughter used to ride and there was a Cleveland Bay, High Five, at the barn she rode at and they said Jeeves looked just like him.
A few months later a woman I didn't know drove up my driveway. She got out of the car, introduced herself as a student of my then-instructor and said that she owned Jeeves's 1/2-brother! She had pics of him and he and Jeeves really did look alot alike--especially the head. They're the same size, also. About 17.1-17.2h.
Then, winter before last, a friend and I accompanied another friend on a horse trying trip to Vermont. Another friend (our former instructor who abandoned us when she moved to Vermont a few years ago, sniff) met us at the barn where this potential horse was. As we were standing around talking with the owner of the horse, waiting for her to get tacked up, etc., another boarder walked past us leading a horse to the indoor. All 4 of us looked at the horse and at about the same time said "It's Jeeves!". Of course, this was a mare, so it wasn't, but again, the head looked just like him! Turns out she was his 1/2-sister.
All three were by Fryup Marvel, Penelope De Payer's stallion. Jeeves was bred by her, out of one her mares. High Five was bred by his owner and I'm not sure if the mare was Penelope's or if someone just used Marvel for stud. Conformationally the three are very similar, but Jeeves, if I do say so myself, is the better of the three. Jeeves also got the best attitude of the three. High apparently has quite the buck in him, something that Jeeves does NOT do and would never dream of doing under saddle. The mare, while sweet to people, had an attitude towards other horses. I watched her being ridden and every time another horse approached her or she approached another horse, she tried (or thought about) kicking it. Another thing Jeeves has never and would never do! We've been out on trail rides and had other horses run right into his butt and he never even switches his tail.
Jeeves's little quirk is that if all is not exactly "right" in his world then he gets very upset and can be very difficult, if not impossible, to handle from the ground. And, "right" is hard to define. One spring, there was a wood duck in the big tree in the paddock, quacking...as wood ducks are apt to do. Jeeves was convinced this was not really a duck but must be some alien and he absolutely could NOT possibly come in for dinner. He had to stand watch and make sure this 4 pound duck didn't sneak up on him and the other horse in their stalls. I got the other horse in for dinner, but there was no way I could catch Jeeves. So, he spent the night outside, standing watch. I brought him hay out there. This kind of thing doesn't happen that often. Last time it happened was last October when the next door neighbor was burning brush.
The odd thing is that when he's like that, if I can manage to keep him still long enough to tack him up and mount, he will behave like the perfect gentleman he always is under saddle. He might look at the smoke from the brush fire and he'll look towards the tree where the wood duck is, but he won't bolt, won't buck, won't misbehave at all. Which is fine by me. I can deal with this one idiosyncrasy.
Apparently, his siblings have similar quirks and attitudes about what their world is supposed to be like, although they're not as well behaved under saddle.
From what I understand, Cleveland Bays do have these little personality quirks. But, over all they're great horses, a very versatile breed. Jeeves was actually bred to be a hunter, but I don't think jumping is his thing. He's good at dressage and I think that is his forte. High is currently doing hunters and loving it. He never enjoyed dressage.
All three horses are also very good out on trails and love the trails, at least as far as I could tell in talking to the owners of the other two. I can trailer Jeeves somewhere he's never been, hop on, point him towards a trail and he'll march off like he knows where he's going. I've never had a horse like that before! He'll go through mud and water up to his chest. I know, I know, you western riders are wondering what the big deal is, but for a DQ, having a horse that will even go through a puddle is a Big Thing! ;-)
So, it's not much, but that's what I know about the Cleveland Bay.
Update on Jeeves, his stocking up seems better. I gave him 2 bute last night, and hand walked him at dinner and again at bed check for about 20 minutes each time. This morning he was stocked up again but not nearly as bad as yesteday. I gave him 1 bute with breakfast. I rode him in the ring today (oh, my instructor had to cancel our lesson today) but kept it fairly easy. We did a long walk warm up, with some walk 1/2 passes. Then, some trot and canter work, focusing on transitions, bending and straightness. Nothing too strenuous and his legs looked fine after the ride. When he came in at dinner, there was a little bit of puffiness in his hind legs but only noticeable because I was on my knees looking at and feeling his legs to see if I could find anything! LOL!
Shortly after I brought Jeeves home, my neighbor and her daughter came over to admire the horses and they asked if Jeeves was a Cleveland Bay. I was surprised because Cleveland Bays are rather rare. Turns out the daughter used to ride and there was a Cleveland Bay, High Five, at the barn she rode at and they said Jeeves looked just like him.
A few months later a woman I didn't know drove up my driveway. She got out of the car, introduced herself as a student of my then-instructor and said that she owned Jeeves's 1/2-brother! She had pics of him and he and Jeeves really did look alot alike--especially the head. They're the same size, also. About 17.1-17.2h.
Then, winter before last, a friend and I accompanied another friend on a horse trying trip to Vermont. Another friend (our former instructor who abandoned us when she moved to Vermont a few years ago, sniff) met us at the barn where this potential horse was. As we were standing around talking with the owner of the horse, waiting for her to get tacked up, etc., another boarder walked past us leading a horse to the indoor. All 4 of us looked at the horse and at about the same time said "It's Jeeves!". Of course, this was a mare, so it wasn't, but again, the head looked just like him! Turns out she was his 1/2-sister.
All three were by Fryup Marvel, Penelope De Payer's stallion. Jeeves was bred by her, out of one her mares. High Five was bred by his owner and I'm not sure if the mare was Penelope's or if someone just used Marvel for stud. Conformationally the three are very similar, but Jeeves, if I do say so myself, is the better of the three. Jeeves also got the best attitude of the three. High apparently has quite the buck in him, something that Jeeves does NOT do and would never dream of doing under saddle. The mare, while sweet to people, had an attitude towards other horses. I watched her being ridden and every time another horse approached her or she approached another horse, she tried (or thought about) kicking it. Another thing Jeeves has never and would never do! We've been out on trail rides and had other horses run right into his butt and he never even switches his tail.
Jeeves's little quirk is that if all is not exactly "right" in his world then he gets very upset and can be very difficult, if not impossible, to handle from the ground. And, "right" is hard to define. One spring, there was a wood duck in the big tree in the paddock, quacking...as wood ducks are apt to do. Jeeves was convinced this was not really a duck but must be some alien and he absolutely could NOT possibly come in for dinner. He had to stand watch and make sure this 4 pound duck didn't sneak up on him and the other horse in their stalls. I got the other horse in for dinner, but there was no way I could catch Jeeves. So, he spent the night outside, standing watch. I brought him hay out there. This kind of thing doesn't happen that often. Last time it happened was last October when the next door neighbor was burning brush.
The odd thing is that when he's like that, if I can manage to keep him still long enough to tack him up and mount, he will behave like the perfect gentleman he always is under saddle. He might look at the smoke from the brush fire and he'll look towards the tree where the wood duck is, but he won't bolt, won't buck, won't misbehave at all. Which is fine by me. I can deal with this one idiosyncrasy.
Apparently, his siblings have similar quirks and attitudes about what their world is supposed to be like, although they're not as well behaved under saddle.
From what I understand, Cleveland Bays do have these little personality quirks. But, over all they're great horses, a very versatile breed. Jeeves was actually bred to be a hunter, but I don't think jumping is his thing. He's good at dressage and I think that is his forte. High is currently doing hunters and loving it. He never enjoyed dressage.
All three horses are also very good out on trails and love the trails, at least as far as I could tell in talking to the owners of the other two. I can trailer Jeeves somewhere he's never been, hop on, point him towards a trail and he'll march off like he knows where he's going. I've never had a horse like that before! He'll go through mud and water up to his chest. I know, I know, you western riders are wondering what the big deal is, but for a DQ, having a horse that will even go through a puddle is a Big Thing! ;-)
So, it's not much, but that's what I know about the Cleveland Bay.
Update on Jeeves, his stocking up seems better. I gave him 2 bute last night, and hand walked him at dinner and again at bed check for about 20 minutes each time. This morning he was stocked up again but not nearly as bad as yesteday. I gave him 1 bute with breakfast. I rode him in the ring today (oh, my instructor had to cancel our lesson today) but kept it fairly easy. We did a long walk warm up, with some walk 1/2 passes. Then, some trot and canter work, focusing on transitions, bending and straightness. Nothing too strenuous and his legs looked fine after the ride. When he came in at dinner, there was a little bit of puffiness in his hind legs but only noticeable because I was on my knees looking at and feeling his legs to see if I could find anything! LOL!
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Stocked Up
Last night, I noticed Jeeves's hind legs were a bit stocked up. I was somewhat surprised, but figured with the weather and I haven't ridden for several days it's probably not a big deal. This morning, his hind legs were QUITE stocked up and the fronts were stocked up about halfway up his cannon bones. Sigh.
I rode him lightly in the ring--just long and low, walk, trot and canter, to see if he was sound. He started off a bit stiff, but if my legs were that swollen, I'ld be a bit stiff, too. He warmed up out of it, then I decided to just go for a hack. He enjoyed that. I wish we had better/safer trails here. Alot of the trails have been flooded by beaver dams and are impassable. The ones that are left are frequently used by dirt bikers and ATVs, usually going at very high speeds. So, I keep my trail riding to a minimum. If I had someone to hack out with, I would do more. But, living alone and working from home, if something happened out there, it could be days before my absence was noticed. So, I figure it's better safe than sorry. We stick to walking trails, usually about 30-45 minutes. It's a nice change from the ring, relaxing, and we both enjoy it.
Anyway, the swelling his legs came down after the ride, so I was encouraged by that. By dinner time, they were stocking up again, so I added a couple of bute to his grain.
I had started him on a flax seed supplement over the weekend, to help move any sand out of his gut. The girls are getting that, and have been since late July. They have been fine. I wonder, though, if that could be causing this? I'm taking him off it, just in case. Nothing else is different.
Always something to worry about, eh? We're having a lesson tomorrow, so we'll see how he is then.
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