Kintsugi

 Saturday marked 10 years since I lost Steele. It seems amazing how quickly time passed. I usually spend the day quietly and do not make big plans. In the past I would often have nightmares about that day leading up to it. But the past couple years this did not happen. 

he's the reason I even started this blog

This year I reflected on how much I have changed that can be traced directly back to that one awful day.  I learned to deal with my anxiety, mostly by starting to acknowledge that I even had anxiety. I spent a lot of time pushing those difficult emotions into a box and locking it. Now I have much more awareness of it and what triggers it. I still have difficulty leaving the farm for the day with the horses alone but I can do it. I try to give others (and myself)  more grace and kindness. I don't always manage to, because, hey, human, but I try. 

Before I had a lot of self-confidence and was sure about things. But it wasn't built on a firm foundation.  I've spent the past few years rebuilding.  Carmen was a huge part of that as well. She showed me all my flaws as a rider and a horse person. 

not interested making friends at all

It would have been so easy to give up and I almost did. But for whatever reason, I refused to give up and I kept trying. It was definitely a 2 steps forward, 1 back, 3 forward, 4 back kind of deal.  Now she is my heart. We have a really good connection now and it shows up in all sorts of ways.  Knowing what I know now it probably would have gone smoother but there's no point in regretting that I didn't know what I needed to know to help her without having her show me that I didn't know (hopefully that made sense). 

Not that it was all me. In fact, it would be impossible without all the people who helped me. I am where I am because of their kindness and willingness to share their knowledge.  

Quaid has been a huge part of my healing. Like Steele he has an 'old' soul. He's smart and kind, even when he's being a bit of brat. I think it's time for him to have his own page.  

On Saturday I let the horses out and I was cleaning their stalls. They have transitioned to hay outside now that the grass is dying.  I was quietly picking out the stalls and then Quaid quietly walked in. I tried to work around him but he was quite insistent that I give him scratches. Not in a pushy way, he just kept standing by me. 

Hai, I need scritches. It will 
make you feel better

It was lovely to stand in the stall just being with him. I heard a nicker and I looked out and there was Carmen standing right outside the door. I don't know what she wanted, but I will say that she nickers at me a lot these days. 

No one gets through life without failure, loss, heartache or trauma. It can be painful and horrible and feel hopeless.  Rebuilding from these events are what make us who we are. They give us depth and beauty and strength.  

2024 Takeaways

 December is here and riding is really limited with the weather. I've been taking advantage of the weather when I can but because I can't be super consistent I keep the rides short.  

It feels like a good time to look at the past year and all that happened. It feels like it's been a really packed year. I realised that I never wrote down any goals but I definitely had them in my head. Mostly around improving my riding and showing the horses. I did join a FB group called PonyUp Pro. The idea behind the page is to set a goal (typically 100 rides) with the aim of improving through consistent horsemanship. It is a judgement free zone with no unsolicited advice allowed. I decided to set a goal of 100 rides on both Carmen and Quaid and 100 workouts through the year (gym workouts, riding or walking dogs was not included in this).  

It's cold but it's nice to see the sky

January was pretty low key which is pretty typical given the weather. Carmen did manage to surprise me with coming up lame. Surprising because she is rarely lame and those have always been abscesses. Fortunately, she recovered pretty quickly and I learned the usefulness of Voltaren in reducing swelling. 

February was an exciting month. Quaid went away for training and did really well. The getting there was pretty exciting when my truck caught fire.   I learned that I should always have a fire extinguisher in the truck. I also learned that I will crawl under a burning vehicle to save my horse. And, most importantly, that people are awesome and will step up to help.  Within an hour I had a new truck and help to hook it up. 

Julia and I now use this experience as a new standard. When things seem crappy we just ask is it on fire? No? Then it's fine.  And I got a new truck that hauls like a dream: 

Quaid was a rockstar through the whole ordeal although it clearly had an impact on him.  He ended up being treated for ulcers and broke out in hives when excited. And still managed to be a real star with the training. 

I loved getting to ride him at
the end of the month

In the meantime Carmen was staying at my friend's place and she had an indoor. It was fabulous to have a place to ride her in all weather. She was also a total rockstar and seemed to really enjoy her time there. 

she loved the mirror. 

When it was time to leave she refused to get on the trailer. It was really frustrating but I learned that I do know what I'm doing- as long as I take a deep breath and then use the fundamentals of good groundwork.  I then bought some stuff to take the smell out of the trailer and she hasn't had any issues since. 

Honestly, it was an incredibly busy month which is not typical for February (I am not counting last February when I had to take Quaid to the vet college for his hoof puncture surgery!). 

March was a welcome reprieve and a chance for us all to settle back into routines. We had the annual vet visit and Quaid did not react well to the vaccine. He did respond really well to ulcer treatments and I was able to pick up where he left off at Mike and Nikki's training. It was interesting- I learned that Carmen was much further ahead after being ridden consistently in February. I also learned that my confidence in picking up Quaid's training was a bit lacking. I was so worried about screwing things up and/or him exploding that I was being far too careful. Slow is okay but doing nothing is counterproductive. 

April saw us get back to more regular work. I learned the value of consistency and focusing on how I work with the horses vs the frequency. I also was able to score a lesson on Quaid with Jane and it was exactly what I needed. 

the big takeaway? Stop riding him like a baby.  

There was a huge addition to the family in April with the addition of Cordelia. She has been a true gem and I'm so happy she's joined us. That is was part of a fun trip to Montreal was just icing on the cake. 

in May I celebrated turning 60. It was a big milestone and it still feels surreal that I am officially a senior. 

Cordelia and Guinness bonded

Riding really ramped up as the weather improved. There was one near-disastrous ride on Carmen but Jane was teaching and we worked through it. This marked a turning point for me (even though I didn't realize it at the time) that I was fully capable of dealing with a full on tantrum and coming out the other side.  It was a real boost to my self-confidence. At the same time I was chipping away at things with Quaid. 

In June we had our first show. Carmen and I had a very successful time showing at Second Level. Not only was I happy with our performance but I had a lot of fun riding and socialising.  Carmen showed me that she understands the work and I learned to really ride her through all the tests and not be a passenger. 

June was a lot of firsts for Quaid as well. I rode him in the ring on the Friday and then in the warm up ring during the show.  He also went on his first hack with Carmen being a very solid babysitter. 

July in NS is always beautiful

Quaid was also ridden in his first clinic with Johanna Batista. Long time readers will recall that she is a dressage trainer from Spain. She really helped me to understand how to establish a solid contact with him. It was very useful to ride him in a lesson two days in a row. 

July was packed with riding and adventures despite the heat. It started off with the very scary situation of being without a vet when our clinic suspended all equine services. Fortunately we were able to be picked up by a vet clinic that is much further away. It's never been more important to have a truck and trailer. I learned a lot about the current crisis in veterinary medicine and I don't anticipate that it will end anytime soon.  

Both horses also travelled to Krista's for a 3 day Jane clinic. Both of them were ridden just twice and Julia did a lesson on Carmen for one of those. It was a good dry run of taking the two horses and riding both of them away. It was intense and I learned a lot but it was so valuable. With Quaid I learned that I need to stop just f-ing sitting there (my words) and ride this horse forward. He is, of course going to be uncertain and I need to be the rock for him. Not that this really gelled for me right away. But at least the foundation was laid. Carmen was completely magnificent. I can trust now that I can take her places and she will be a solid citizen. I don't need to manage her emotions anymore.  Quaid, of course needs more management. 

 

we had our moments....

Carmen showing how it's done

August was all about working away at things. Things really began to jell with Carmen in our lessons. We began to soften and reach for contact rather than take and fuss. 

like I can give here and not die. who knew? 

Riding Quaid really solidified the need to have answers for his questions. Because he's green very little can be attributed to will disobedience. It's all just a question 'is this what you want?'.  And because he's green having answers pays off almost immediately. Because there's nothing to unlearn.  We really gained some confidence in our canter as well. 

Ed and I also had a fabulous vacation in Newfoundland. If you have the chance go, it's incredible. We hiked a ton and, also, ate a ton so it all worked out. 

The big event in September was that I showed both horses. Thank goodness Julia was there to help because it felt like a lot. Mostly because it was a lot. But honestly, it was such a great experience. Both horses exceeded my expectations. For one of the first times Carmen was really forward and I learned that she really does not have a half-halt at canter and I really need to work on that.  Quaid did two tests and it really pushed his limits. I learned that riding him forward is key. I also learned that he can be a little gate sour and that I can totally keep my cool when he's melting down. We earned my favourite comment of all time: 'very naughty'.  It was really hammered home that I need to be his rock and give direction. And that he will respond to that.  I also learned that Quaid can break a bucket with his foot which led to the purchase of a rubber bucket to prevent this in the future. I'm hopeful that I can work through his separation anxiety. 

In early September I also hit the 100 ride mark on Carmen. That averaged out to approximately 13 rides per month (since I didn't ride in January at all) which is not bad. By this point Quaid was at 68 rides. By the end of the month I hit my goal of 100 workouts for the year. 

Near the end of September Guinness had to have emergency (and expensive) surgery to remove a toy from his intestine. He did really well with surgery and bounced back to his normal self. 

October saw Quaid getting a new bit that really worked for him. I didn't write about it but I also got a new bit for Carmen. It was a broken snaffle but one designed to prevent  her from putting her tongue over the bit- something she liked to do to evade. It really works well for her and has allowed us to be a lot softer (if you're curious it was the Neue Schulz Verbindend bit). 

I had a bit of a breakthrough with Carmen realising how important the rhythm was for our work. It was a real paradigm shift for me and has led to all sorts of progress. 

Julia, Tanya and I had a blast travelling to Coveside to ride the trails. It was a lot for Quaid but he handled it well with his support group. It was so much fun. 

November was a shit show to be honest. It started with Quaid coming down with Anaplasmosis. I was able to get him treated right away and he responded really well to the treatment. The only downside was that, unlike many horses, he wouldn't eat his meds sprinkled on his feed so I had to syringe him twice a day for 21 days. He's so good for this but it was taking a toll on both of us. 

Then near the end of the month Guinness suddenly passed away. It was awful and we're still dealing with it. Thank heavens for Cordelia, she's been a real source of joy. 

I continued to ride and school with really positive results. But honestly, these all fade in light of his loss. 

Which brings us to December. Quaid has been returning to work but the weather is not being very cooperative. I try to make the time count when I ride so that I'm building on progress. I'm hoping that we'll have some better weather soon. In good news I did hit 100 rides on Quaid last week which felt like a big milestone. 

And that is a summary of our year. We did a lot and I learned a lot. If I had to sum up lessons learned this year they would be: 

• I am more competent than I believe at time and I need to ride with this in mind. I am quite proud of the work I have done with both horses. 
• Physical fitness makes a huge difference in being able to ride well. Which, like, yeah it shouldn't be a surprise. I remember the first time I was riding Carmen and she was throwing her shoulders around and I realised that I could just sit in the right position and not be unbalanced. I enjoy the workouts and I like feeling in control of my body. I have lost a lot of weight but, more importantly, I am stronger. 
• Having a good ride on Carmen is no longer dependent on her mood. I knew I could ride through things with her. But now I am able to influence her feelings so she can start off feeling like 'fuck this crap' and end up in a soft and happy space. 
• Quaid is well on his way to being a solid citizen. A lot of that is his basic temperament. But he's also sensitive and can be a bit emotional. It takes good work to create a good horse. 
• Keeping two horses in work is a lot. I'm glad I'm retired because it makes it easier. I am planning to show both of them next year and I won't have Julia for help because she's abandoning me moving away to follow her dreams. I'm devastated really happy for her. 

Creature Comforts

 Thank you everyone for your kind words and sympathy for Guinness' passing. It helps. I still find myself looking for him but not as much. He was a grand dog and we miss him. Cordelia and chickens. One thing that was a bit overwhelming was what to do with his body. In the past our pets have been cremated and it was part of the overall euthanasia. We were unsure what to do with him dying at home. Friends told us who to call and Ed was able to transport his remains to the person who does the cremation. He's now back home. 

However, no matter how I feel there are animals that need to be cared for. I find comfort in the routines of looking after the horses, Cordelia is doing much better and returning to her normal bouncy self. Animals are much more resilient when it comes to death I think. She's definitely sticking close to me and I'm doing my best to keep her with me. When I can't, Ed is staying with her. Our walks are different without Guinness but are starting to feel more normal. I signed her up for agility in the new year and I think she'll enjoy that.  Cordelia was out keeping Ed company while he put up the outside Christmas decorations. I was riding but heard her barking. After I asked him what was going on and he said that she was backing at the Grinch. Which, let's be honest, is kinda adorable. 

Cordelia: "There will be no stealing of Christmas. 
Not on my watch. No-Siree-Bob!"

The weather has been pretty awful- high winds, cold, rain, and so much cloudiness. Finally, this week there have been some breaks which allowed me to squeeze some rides in. Quaid, after some time off was not so sure at this 'return to work' thing but it's been fine. I've been taking it a bit slow. Probably too slow but I'm not pushing myself. I hadn't felt like riding before so it's nice to want to ride again. He's still on the antibiotics but they will be finished Saturday. We're both excited for that. 

Hey Quaid, look pretty for the camera!
Quaid: 'okey-dokey'

My rides on Carmen have been interesting. I've been keeping on with the getting her to stretch out her neck and relax. I find it's getting easier every ride and it feels like she's also searching for that too. I mean she's still Carmen but with  softer edges. 

Hey Carmen, look pretty for the camera!
Carmen: 'how about bored?'

Both are easy to catch in the field. Probably because I always give them a treat when I put the halter on. Quaid likes to try and sneak one even if he's not the one being haltered. It makes me laugh. Don't tell me that Carmen is not tolerant!

Quaid: 'oh hai. I also like apples'. 

In other news, I think Henry is going to be seeing HR. This morning Cordelia and I were cleaning stalls when suddenly Diana came running through the barn yelling her head off with Henry in fast pursuit. We looked outside and there was Henry now flirting and trying to mount Penelope who just kept shaking him off while she was foraging. He looked quite put out by the whole thing. Diana was standing there looking outraged. I told her that since she was always going broody she should probably have some sex to fertilise her eggs. She looked appalled at this information. 

Henry: why won't anyone love me? 

Losing Guinness was devastating. And life continues to go on. I believe that that is a good thing. Not in a cold way but in a 'love carries on' way. I wish I could explain this better but the words are escaping me.  That's okay, sometimes it's enough just to breathe. 

Not Ready Yet

 I've been working in my head on a blog post. It was going to be about Carmen and how interesting (in a good way) our rides have been. However, it all changed with the sudden and unexpected loss of Guinness. 

my favourite puppy picture of him

Ed and I are still reeling from the loss and trying to make sense of it. On Thursday he was completely normal. We walked, he helped with chores and chased his ball.  That night he was really restless. I took him out a few times and I even got a little cranky with him. He finally settled and we all went to sleep. 

from a couple days ago

In the morning he couldn't walk. I got him standing and he was unable to stay up. I carried him downstairs because I didn't want him to fall trying to get down on his own. I knew things were bad and I needed to call the vet. I also knew that he wasn't going to come home from the vet. I was sure that I'd have to take him to the emergency vet that was 90 minutes away (where he had his surgery a few weeks ago). I really wanted to take him to the vet he's had all his life so I decided to call them first to see if I could get him in. 

Cordelia wouldn't leave his side

We never had the chance. He died 30 minutes later. I'm not going to share the details of that. It was hard. I believe by then he was out of it and it was hard on us, not for him. Had I put him in the car to take to the city he'd have died in the back all alone. Instead he passed surrounded by Ed, myself and Cordelia. 

He was 7. I think he had either a tumour that bled out or an aneurysm. I do not believe it was related in any way to his surgery. 

Like I said we are all in mourning. We were not expecting to lose him so soon and like this. Cordelia has been by one of us since it happened. I keep expecting him to pop up to go for a walk or get a treat. 

He loved the snow

Guinness was a great 'uncle' to Cordelia, even 
when she stole his toys. 

Cordelia needing some extra snuggles

What else is there to say? I loved him. He's gone. I miss him. 

Good bye G. You were the best. 

Rebranding

First of all, thank you everyone for the kind words about Quaid. He's responding really well to the medication and seems like his old (young) self. He's perky and hungry and wants me to do things with him again. It's a nice thing to see. 

 Longtime readers of this blog know that Carmen and I have come a long way. They also know that there is always a certain amount of tension between us when she's being ridden. It is rare that I don't feel a need to manage her emotions or direct her feet. 

To be honest, I have accepted that as part of our relationship. It's not even that the tension is necessarily a bad thing. Sure, sometimes she's agitated or reactive. Other times she's forward and just wants to go.  But it always feels like there's a certain level of push and pull between us and that is how we find our balance. 

In our last lesson I was blown away by how relaxed she was by the end. I think she was too. When I have been able to ride I've been trying to recreate it by following what we were doing in the last lesson. I've been asking her to flex but softly and slowly and then releasing the same way. I can feel it working and it's neat to add this our sessions.  

I had a lesson last Sunday and we picked up from where we left off. Jane had me suppling her by getting her to move her body through various gymnastic exercises: leg yield across the arena, shoulder in to straight, shoulder in to renvers, shoulder in to haunches in, shortening the walk and then letting her out again. Jane would call me on every time I held too much because Carmen's mouth would gape. I had to have my legs on but not hard. 

shoulder in

Doing all this took a lot of focus on both our parts. It felt like I was making adjustments every stride (or half-stride). But man did it pay off. Jane noted that I was much better at keeping her rhythm steady and fixing it before (or at the same time) she had to tell me. I wasn't always aware that I was doing it so that's good. 

As we worked I would give her opportunities to stretch out her neck, rebalance if she fell on her forehand and sped up and then repeat. The goal was for it to all just be smooth. No sharp aids. A couple times I had to bring her down to halt because she wasn't listening to my half-halt but it wasn't harsh. 

offering a softening of the rein to invite her to stretch a bit

Without going into mind numbing detail, it was a bit of a mind-blowing experience for both of us. There was this one moment when her shoulder-in felt so effortless that I was just in the moment and totally forgot to listen to Jane. 

Jane: did you hear what I said?

Me: oops, no, sorry I was just enjoying this so much. It's not that I didn't hear you, I just wasn't listening. 

Fortunately for me, Jane has a sense of humour and was not annoyed.  At another point Carmen and I did a circle and then headed up the long side. It felt like moving anything on my body a millimetre was telling her to do something. She was soft and forward and 100% balanced. 

We both freaked out. 

Carmen: what is happening, this feels so weird. 

Me: I know! 

So I halted her and just let us breathe for a second. And I'm not making it up that that's how she was feeling. I swear. It was like we were totally communicating.  We took a beat and then carried on.  There were times when she fell behind the vertical, but not to avoid contact, and I was trying hard to help her reach to the contact but not drive. 

behind, but also reaching?

I don't even know if I'm explaining it right.  It's not even that I was perfect. I really was not. But all the work we've been doing seems to be coming together. There was another moment when I said to Jane I can't hear you. 

That's because I didn't say anything, I'm just watching. Do you know how rare it is for Jane to not have a correction/suggestion/advice? Like this is the first time ever. 

flow-y canter, 10/10 stars

We finished with a lovely, balanced counter canter. We stopped and discussed and then Jane said 'we do more but look at her, I just want to leave her here. Like how much more could she give us? 

I was in total agreement. I think our ride was around 50 minutes, it felt like forever and also five minutes. Jane thinks that this is getting unlocked because of the focus I've (finally) put on keeping her rhythm. That makes sense to me. 

How cool is it that we can change our pattern from balance through tension to balance through softness?  I'm sure we'll be tempted to fall back into old patterns but that's horse training for you. If riding/training was easy then everyone would want to do it, lol.  

balanced counter canter

Ticked Off

 So I was thinking the other day that is was time for a Quaid update. As we move further into fall towards winter the number of rides begins to drop off simply because it's too unpleasant. I don't mind so much because I can take advantage of every good weather day. 

look at that adorable face

 I still hate the time change in fall but I'm much less inconvenienced. So yay for not working. 

Ed and I

Anyway, in my rides on Quaid I've been focusing on having him forward and rhythmical. All of his fussing with contact or resisting a transition comes from him not being forward and balanced. When he gets fussy with the contact I make sure my hands are quiet and steady and just ride him forward to find me. I no longer drop the contact because, funnily enough, it turns out that is not helpful to his learning.  Unless I want him to learn to fuss to get me to back off.  

I had one ride where he was bucking in his right lead canter, which was throwing us all off balance. I actually dismounted and worked on the transition on the lunge, then got back on and worked through it. After a couple good transitions I called it a day. 

**side note: I find it amusing that I am amused by Carmen's bucks but not her spooks and it's the total opposite with Quaid....

On Monday I rode him and he was lovely. Responsive to my leg -which I'm really trying to keep quiet and not nag him every stride because this is a trap I fall into with less forward horses. We had a lovely right lead canter depart and kept the canter all the way around the ring. I ended the ride there because I was so happy. 

I took this picture right before I put on his bridle and got on: 

I realised that he's getting a little, ahem, chunky. Which is fine heading into winter but I decided to cut back his feed ration a bit. These Iberian horses can get overweight pretty quickly once they stop growing. I don't think he's stopped growing quite yet but it's definitely slowed down. 

The next day I figured I'd ride Carmen first and decide after if I was going to ride him too. I noticed in the morning that he didn't finish his breakfast but otherwise his stall looked normal and he seemed fine. I let him out and decided to just monitor.  

When I brought Carmen in he was standing, napping in the sun and didn't really care when I took her. Again, not unusual that he doesn't care but he normally comes up to score a cookie (I give my horses a treat when I get the halter on). 

I was riding Carmen but also keeping an eye in the paddock. Quaid hadn't moved. I told myself I was being overreactive and I would just check him after my ride. Then he laid down. At this point, I'd been riding about 15 minutes and 90% of my attention was not on Carmen. I gave it up and dismounted. I put her away and brought Quaid in to check his vital signs. 

I started by trying to find his heart rate. Full disclosure- I suck at it, even with a stethoscope so I gave up. I did check his breathing rate: 20 breaths per minute. A little high for a horse at rest. His gums seemed pale and then I took his temperature: 40.6. Uhoh. That is quite high (about 105 for non-celcius people).  I put him in his stall and brought Carmen in and then called the vet.  You may recall that our local vet clinic no longer does equine services. My new one is about 90 minutes away.  The person answering took my info and told me that someone in equine services would call me back. In the meantime I was worried about his temp so I gave him some Banamine.  After about 40 minutes the vet called and said she was in the area already so would shoot me a text when she was on her way. That was great, while I was prepared to trailer him over it's much better to not stress him with that.  

The vet, Dr. Kate, arrived before 2:00. I was out in the barn. Quaid was a lot perkier and had sweated, probably because of the banamine. We chatted about his symptoms. She took his temperature and it was 38 something. We both had the same thoughts about the diagnosis: Anaplasmosis. 

Ironically enough I had just researched and written an article for it for our local horse magazine. It is a tick-borne bacterial infection. It is all around me and I know of at least 3 horses who have had it this year.  The vet said she treated 6 horses with it last week. The main symptoms are: 

• Fever- typically 39.5-40 C but can go as high as 42.2C. It is usually highest after 5 days of infection. 

• Decreased appetite or refusal to eat

• Reluctance to move

• Limb edema

• Petechia- small, purple dots on the gums and/or skin

• Iceterus- jaundice of the skin, gums and whites of the eyes. 

• Increased heart rate

• Increased breathing rate

 

Quaid had 4 of the symptoms. No swelling and fortunately, no neurological signs (which sometimes happen). Dr. Kate  drew some blood to check for infection (she also showed me how to check his pulse on his jaw. She told me that his heart beat is difficult to detect with the stethoscope, even for her, which made me feel better.  His white blood cell count was a bit high but not as high as you would expect with anaplasmosis. But it was quite possible that I caught it really early and it hadn't had time to get high. We decided to treat it as Anaplasmosis because he had an infection somewhere. 

She did a dose of IV antibiotics and left me with some to give him orally. I'm to text her his temperature and how he's doing every day. Last night at supper time his fever was back up: 40.5 and he wasn't really eating his supper. But he was interested in his hay. I gave him more banamine (he's to get it for 3 days). This morning his temperature was 38.9. He hadn't finished his feed but ate a chunk of his hay. Right now they are still finishing up last year's hay but I've been giving him the current crop.   He's outside and is quite interested in grazing so that is good. 

Dr. Kate texted me today and said she looked at his blood under the microscope and there were some signs of Anaplasmosis but his white blood cell count was not as high as they would expect. She wanted to know if I wanted to run further tests. I asked her if it would change what we're doing and she said not right now. So we decided to wait. If he's not a lot better by Monday then I'll bring him in and we'll run more tests. She'll keep his blood in the fridge so if it needs to be sent off she can do it Monday. 

As always, Quaid is so good with the vets. I held him while she did the IV and fed him cookies. I can check his temp and dose him in his stall with no halter (at least right now).  Keep your fingers crossed that he continues to improve. 

here we go again.....

Honestly, if we could eliminate all the ticks in the universe I would not bat an eye. 

Releasing the Dragon

 Well I've had four lessons in a row and it's been amazing. The last three have been with Carmen. In my recap a couple weeks ago I talked about how we're working on establishing (and keeping!) a steady rhythm. Last week we built on that and worked on flexion and doing transitions from behind rather than her throwing into them with her chest. 

I will love this image by Emma forever
(and my goodness she's lightened up)

It was good work and a great lesson. I can see huge improvements in our transitions. We even did some work on counter canter and it was great. Our first time through I took my leg off and she dropped to canter and then picked up the 'correct' lead. I couldn't be mad, she was clearly helping. 

I did a quick debrief with Jane and we tried again and it was great! Look. how balanced we stayed. 

To the left it was even better. These are the best counter canter loops we've ever done. 

I had a good week practicing encouraging her to stretch her neck and to be soft with her body. As always, it's Carmen so every ride is a new ball of wax. But overall things have been going really well.  

I was excited for this morning's lesson. I thought briefly of doing it with Quaid but decided I wanted to keep the momentum with Carmen going.  After a few unseasonably warm days last week this weekend was more typical. So cool and a bit breezy. Carmen was definitely feeling more challenging and dragon-like. 

Carmen: what part of 'I'm not in the mood' don't you understand
Me: ......oh I understand...

Jane came and immediately honed in our total lack of rhythm. Which I was like 'yeah I know, I keep trying'. 

Jane had us do an exercise of shoulder in a few strides, straighten a few strides, repeat all the way around the ring.  It was really hard because I had to stay soft but firm and keep the reins active, but don't be abrupt. 

but it really worked

It's funny, it felt like a train wreck to be honest. But when I look at clips from the video it wasn't as awful as it felt. As tense as she felt at times I never felt unsafe. 

I also found at times that I was getting lost at what to do but Jane just kept talking me through it and the pieces began to fall into place. 

We finished on the middle 20m circle practicing getting her to flex and soften to the inside while maintaining a light light leg. All my moves had to be slow and deliberate. Carmen's ears began to bob, then her neck began to soften. Like really soften (unfortunately my pivo quit here so no media).  Carmen was completely unsure of this but at the same time she felt like playdoh. The lightest aid made a difference. I have worked with Carmen a long time and I have never felt her this loose.  We finished and I dismounted. Carmen did a number of 'releases' just like horses do after a massage when they let tightness go: she shook her head, blew and yawned and yawned. Her face during this was adorable. Instead of a fire-breathing dragon she looked like a kitten. 

I am fascinated to continue on this path. 

Putting the 'Fun' in Fundamentals

 There are a lot of basics things that horses need to know in order to live in our world. And a lot of it can feel like work. 

My horses have it so tough

But it doesn't have to. 

I mean, I know that horse training requires focus, dedication and persistence. But working on these things allows us to do the fun things and be safe. 

At the September show (that seems so long ago!) Tanya, Julia and I were chatting and riding at Coveside came up. Longtime readers will recall that we have ridden there before. We realised that it's been a long time- October 2021 in fact.  Then at one of our joint helping sessions we got out our calendars and found a date that worked for all of us- October 24th. I emailed the owner and she was fine with us coming and,  fortunately, the weather cooperated and plans were finalised. 

I've been hacking Quaid out on our property this year and he's doing really well. It is a big ask though to trailer somewhere new and do it. It would also be his first time trailering somewhere and being tacked up off the trailer and getting down to it. I knew it was a big ask but I also felt like he was ready. 

all ready to go

Early morning Julia came and we groomed the horses and loaded them on the trailer. Both self-loaded without an issue. I sent a quick text to Tanya that we were leaving and we hit the road.  When we pulled in Tanya was right behind me and pulled up beside us. We unloaded the horses and tacked up chatting like a bunch of 12 year old girls. 

Quaid: I don't know what's going on 

Quaid was quite understandably a little worried and curious about his new adventure. Carmen looked around and knew exactly what was coming.  We mounted and headed off. Quaid was put between Suzi and Carmen so he'd feel safe. He felt quite tense but he listened really well. I worked really hard on staying relaxed in my seat and not holding him tight.  

Carmen: just relax kid, I've got this

The trails are beautiful at Coveside. They wander the whole property and go up and down hills.  I didn't get a lot of photos but I enjoyed the view and the company. There's something about riding through the countryside on horseback that just makes me so happy. 

There was one spot where there was a shed with stuff inside. Carmen spooked but then went by but Quaid refused. So we sent Suzi ahead. He was still worried and did not want to go by. Julia brought Carmen back  and she stood like a statue by the scary shed. I sat there and quietly urged him forward but did not push. After a few minutes he screwed up his courage and tiptoed by (he might have had his eyes shut). I was very proud of him. 

I'm laughing here because he gave a huge shake and 
I almost came off from it. 

We went up and down some fairly stop hills and he handled it really well. He didn't get too upset when I kept him to a walk. Quaid did really well on the bridges. I don't know how far we went but we were heading back to the barn and passed through the area where they have the temporary stalls during show season. There was a girl on the back of a pick up truck parked there and we stop to chat. I could feel that Quaid had had enough. We were an hour in and he handled everything I had asked of him. So I decided to dismount and walk him the rest of the way. He walked beside me happy to have me beside him. We arrived at the trailer and I took off his tack. Quaid was as sweaty as I've ever seen him. I know that he worked hard carrying me over the hills but it was also nerves. I think he would have walked right on the trailer if I dropped the lead line.  Instead we loaded them as usual and headed home. 

all smiles at the end

I forgot how much support a green horse needs when first being ridden on new trails. We were both really tired when we got home. It was a big ask of a young horse but he exceeded my expectations.  Carmen felt great and really enjoyed herself. Quaid will get there. 

I can't wait to do it again.