Mr. Sassy Pants

 In my post I alluded to a clinic that I took Quaid to and now I'm here to give all the details. 

Spoiler: he had lots of feelings. None of which were 'yes let's do this' or 'I just love clinics' or even 'sure if you really want me to' 

These clinics are not new. They are at my friend's Krista's place and he's been participating in them for 3 years now (I had to double check, like 3 years already?!). So the location is not new. And we've been there multiple times since spring. After we had been so successful at the show I was expecting, not pefection, but that we could carry forward with the work we've been doing. 

I rode him 2 days, Friday (when I brought Carmen) and Sunday when he came by himself. 

Saturday: 

It was a windy day and the indoor was blowing. He was, understandably, a bit tense to start but Jane had me regulating his rhythm and asking him to step under. It actually was going really well. 

He was listening and trying really hard to follow what I was asking for. We had some lovely trot going and then it all fell apart. 

He began to protest going forward and began to hydroplane (which is what I call when he throws his haunches to the inside and starts to go sideways). Jane was getting me to ask him to go forward and to have flexion. Right before he starts to throw his body around his neck gets straight and becomes rigid. then he can do what he wants and go where he wants. 

My job was to get flexion and steer him forward. If he broke out of trot, fine but there was to be no rest. Once I had him straight he had to trot right off. Jane believes (and I agree) that he knows when he gets upset and acts up I'll stop and let him rest. Which was fine when he was 4 and super green but now he's using it against me. When he can shut down and get behind the leg he can do lots of things, few of which I like or are productive. 

If I can unlock this horse he's going to have one
hell of a piaffe. 

My job was to quiet my hands (even when he was throwing his head around and they were innocent bystanders in the whole thing) and to keep my tailbone down in the saddle.  I made good use of the grab strap to stabilise my hands. If I lightened my seat I could not be effective. It was interesting watching the lesson after because I didn't look as wobbly as I felt in the saddle. Not that I was awesome and you all should follow me on IG because I'm the best trainer ever.  But I felt like a beginner rider with all the changes in pace, direction and flow.  and I was to ride him forward. If he got all wobbly go in a circle to get flexion and then carry on. Jane likened it to a hose. If you choke a hose the nozzle will start whipping around everywhere. So you need to let the water flow out and everything stays stable. 

Which, like, yeah. Sure. I'm trying. Riding is hard. 

We had moments that looked good. 

And moments of sideways. That I  didn't ask for....

At the end we had some really really good trot work. 

I felt pretty good about riding through all that and getting to a good place. And I enjoyed having a day off in between, lol. 

Sunday

I loaded Quaid up mid morning. He was not thrilled to go by himself and Carmen was calling in the barn. But we got loaded up and hit the road. I was, to be honest, expected us to pick up where we left off. and initially it felt like that was true.  I had put my crop down because I found holding the grab strap and managing the crop a lot. Morgan Freeman's voice: she would, later, regret that decision. 

We went into trot and it was all going well. Until it wasn't. And he started to protest the whole forward thing again. 

I was feeling so optimistic  here. 

We were trotting down the long side when I could feel him just switch to 'nope, not gonna'. Honestly, that's how it felt. Jane told me to bend him on 10 metre circle to get the flexion and then ride out. At which point he stopped all four feet and refused to move. Jane quietly picked up my dropped whip and told me to keep asking for him to walk out and to not stop. She then gently tapped him on the butt to get him going. 

Quaid: stop tapping my butt! 

I'm so glad I did all that groundwork with him teaching him that a tap is not a punishment, it's an ask. Because he totally understood it. 

The entire lesson was of him shutting down and us getting him forward. And he was not allowed to rest unless he gave a try. 

Here's a brief clip (I'm sharing with trepidation because people love to hate on a bad ride but whatever). 

By the end we were totally sweaty. But he didn't get to end until he was actually listening to me and not making all therse decisions. I've watched the videos and I'm happy with how I stayed quiet. I was definitely exasperated but I was not mad. I was just done. I've done a lot of thinking about his behaviour trying to understand it. There's a definite in-gate sourness component because a lot of it occurs when we ride away from the door. And that's interesting because I swear by all that's holy I do not stop and rest or dismount by the gate. EVER. Usually our rest spots are by the more 'spooky areas'. But horses are smart and they know where they came in. I also think that him being alone contributes too. Again that is something he needs to adapt to. I do not want a horse that I can only ride if conditions are perfect. 

I walked away from the clinic with more information and a game plan from Jane. which will need to be another post because this is too long already. 

Rehabbing is my life: Carmen update (also horses are expensive)

 I realise that I am overdue for an update on Carmen. In my last post about her she was lame with heel pain, possible inflammation and back soreness that could be from her foot and her saddle. I had a long plan given by the vet and I've been picking away at it. 

With the lack of exercise Carmen has packed on far too much weight. Since that visit I cut out her grain ration completely and replaced it with a low-calory top dress to provide the nutrients/vitamins she needs. I have also been more careful about how much hay I give her overnight. As of this week I have her weight down by approximately 50 pounds.  She's looking so much better. I want to get her down at least another 50 pounds.  She's actually handling her diet fairly well. Although I'm sure when I first gave her the new 'feed' she looked at the amount and looked at me saying 'seriously? Is this an amuse bouche? Where is the rest of my meal?!"  I may or may not have run out of the barn without making eye contact. 

Carmen: omg everyone send snacks
before I die of starvation

My farrier is great and as soon as I contacted him with the information he booked a time to come out on Monday (vet appointment was Friday) and reached out to the vet. She has new bar shoes with a wedge pad and cushion injected underneath.  She is now in bell boots to make sure she doesn't tear them off. 

while waiting for pre-made shoes he 
made these so she didn't have to wait. 

I had already started the hunt for a new saddle so that was able to go fairly quickly. My fitter had measured her and had some ideas so when she came the first saddle she plunked on looked like it was made for her. 

ta-dah

 I had money from selling my Spanish saddle and from trading in Carmen's so that helped with the cost. It's a Hastilow Bentley and it's the first deep seat I've had (not counting the Spanish saddle). I find it to be comfortable and not restrictive at all.  I found that I had to drop my stirrups another hole.  It has the changeable gullet system so I can change if her weight loss results in a change in shape. 

Carmen was prescribed previcox and we're on the weaning process. I also purchased an infrared wrap to use. There are some indications that infrared helps with circulation and improves joint function (at least in people). But I figured that it wouldn't hurt so why not try it.  I mean, at this point what is money anyway? 

So with new shoes, new saddle, and treatment I was able to start exercising her. We started with hand walking. Once the saddle was purchased I began with riding. And she felt good. 

yay

I started with just 20 minutes of walk. Then increased to add some bits of trot on the long side. The first time I asked her she was like YES, LET'S GO! Which was cute. I've been gradually increasing the amount of trot and felt super brave when I asked for a short canter. I realised that everything was done that could be done and she would either stay sound or she wouldn't. Which doesn't mean that I was all hee-haw or worked her hard but I began to ask her for more. I had Quaid in a clinic last weekend (stay tuned) and I brought her one day to ride her for 30 minutes in the arena.  She felt really good. 

I rode her yesterday and she felt amazing. In fact she felt good enough that she started to pull her signature big spooks and trying to take off.  I didn't, of course let her be that silly and kept a lid on it. Inside I was equal parts irritated and delighted. 

Carmen: I regret nothing and 
10/10 will do it again

So things seem to be on an upward trajectory and Carmen is not retiring yet. I know that nothing is guaranteed and I will adjust as needed. But for now I'm going to enjoy the moment. 

Showcation

 The nice thing about being retired is having time to do what I want. In the past every hour of vacation was carefully utilised and typically was around horse activities. I loved my 'staycations' because I got to do a lot with my horses. Now everyday is pretty much a staycation. So when Jane signed herself up for a big show in Quebec I offered to go with her as a helper. 

The plan was leave Monday and return the next Monday, taking the whole day to drive up to the venue and then back. On Sunday I was getting things organised for Ed when my hay guy called and said it would be ready for pick up on Monday. 

crap. 

I called Ed because I couldn't leave him to do it alone but I also didn't want to leave Jane in the lurch. There was no decision that did not come with a healthy dose of guilt. But I managed to get my son to come and help and Ed roped in a friend so I was good to go. I still felt guilty about not helping with the hay for my horses but Ed said it was fine. 

We left at 5 a.m. on Monday morning. The drive was long and, except for one detour through Levis Quebec because of an accident on the highway, uneventful. Juno is such a great traveller.  We'd stop about every 3 hours to gas up, check on him, go to the bathroom and switch driving. 

wassup? 

When we arrived at the grounds around 7:30 the barn was locked up instead of being open for us to bring Juno in. I tried calling the grounds but, of course, no one was working. I then started walking around and found a nice young man sitting outside a trailer. He was a worker there from Guatemala (I found out later). He spoke Spanish and French but not English. I have a small amount of French and no Spanish. But somehow I explained our dilemma and he came and let us in. Phew. 

The grounds themselves, Complexe Equestrienne Becancour,  are beautiful and the town they are in is a small little hamlet called Gentilly. Our Air BnB was 1 km away and right in the 'downtown'. 

part of the grounds

local graveyard

our tack stall with the Nova Scotia theme

Many mornings Jane left early and I enjoyed a lovely walk to the grounds before it got too hot.  The show itself was lovely, it was a gold show and CDI** so lots of horses. A couple riders from the National Team were there and a few who had competed in the olympics and para olympics. Jane had bought us passes to the VIP tent so we had ringside seats to the ring. It also provided breakfast and lunch which was great. Living in NS I don't get to see that level of horse and riders so it was a real treat to see them warm up and ride their horses. 

some interesting tow rigs as well. Why
yes, that is a Porsche towing a horse trailer. 

Everyone was really nice and friendly and one night we sat on the patio at the restaurant on the grounds and had dinner and socialised with our new friends. It was fun. One story: I saw a mother helping her daughter mount up on her pony. when I looked I thought 'uh oh' because she had on peacock style safety stirrups which have been banned from competitions. I was worried about saying something because I didn't want to be seen as intrusive.  But I did go up and tell her that I worried the stirrups were not allowed and that she should check with the steward. I said that I wasn't trying to be interfering or a know it all but that I'd hate for her daughter to be eliminated because of them. The mom took it really well and did check with the steward. She came up and thanked me after  and said that the coach had told her daughter to replace them but she forgot to tell her. lol, kids, am I right? 

horse shows are such hard work

a delicious bowl of food. 

But it wasn't all eating and drinking. Jane was there to ride and she did such a good job. Her coach was helping via video chat but we had some issues at times and I had to problem solve. The first time, the headphones would not connect to Jane's phone. She has a her phone and an old phone she uses for her pivo. So we had the pivo lesson feature going on one phone, I set up the other to video and then I used my phone to call her coach and then I relayed the messages. I told Jane 'now everyone thinks I'm your coach'. 

There were a few technical challenges but we muddled through and made it work. Jane had some really good rides on Juno and she capped it off with a Intermediare 1 freestyle on Sunday. It was fabulous. 

I was also the main caretaker of Jane's dog, Dottie. She's a very sweet dog and makes friends wherever she goes. There were a few people who recognised her from other shows. 

the best horse show dog

Dottie decided that I must be lonely and that she would sleep with me at night. Which would be fine. Except that when she was ready to go to bed she expected me to come. It would go like this: 

Dottie; Time for bed! 

Me: I'm not tired. 

Dottie: did I ask if you were tired? IT'S BEDTIME! 

Me: I'm not coming to bed yet! 

So then I went to bed. 

They had venues set up as well and I scored some wicked deals. Including a set of leather bridle numbers holders for my two. 

The week flew by and soon it was time to head home. Also a long drive. We left at 5 a.m. and by the time I got home it was 9. But I was happy that I was helpful to Jane and, honestly, being a groom/helper is the best way to enjoy a horse show. It's hard to find time to watch other riders when you're showing so this allowed me to see others.  It was also fun spending some non-lesson time with Jane just chatting and having fun. I hope I was of use (pretty sure I was).  At least Dottie wasn't lonely.... 

Stepping Up

 With Carmen on rest I was able to transfer all my focus to Quaid.  It's been a while since I've had just one horse to ride so I didn't want to over do it. Well, that's not true, I know I would want to over do it so I needed to make sure I didn't.  

Quaid: I thought I was resting on my laurels? 

What's interesting is how he's responding well to the added pressure.  And by pressure, I don't mean that it's heavy but that I'm (finally) treating him as a grown up horse and expecting him to follow my lead. Since the show I noticed a huge boost in my confidence and it's carrying over into how I'm riding. 

square halt! 

I'm not avoiding things because I worry how he'll respond. It doesn't mean that I'm attacking it either. Instead I try to ask 'what does he need from me right now?' and do that thing.   I can feel that he's noticing the change but he's not upset by it. 

I also was lucky and was able to have two lessons with Jane a few days apart. She came with her horse to practice her freestyle in my ring and I snagged her for an extra lesson.  In both Quaid and I had to most balanced canters we've had.  

He gets a little excited and then starts to anticipate (like every horse on the planet).  I had this aha moment when Jane was saying 'don't ask him to canter now' 

Me: I'm not asking him to do this! 

Jane:  yes but are you telling him what you want him to DO? 

Me:  .....well crap. 

I mean if I expect him to step up I need to make sure that I do the same. 

getting all the pats