The Princess and the Pea

I love to ride. I truly do. There's a feeling of 'home' sitting on a horse that is rare and magical to me.

So of course I had plans to ride on Sunday. I waited for Ed to get home from Church so that I wasn't riding alone. I decided to leave Irish out in his paddock. I knew that that might cause some issues with Carmen but I'm not moving horses in and out because one might be upset. She would simply have to adjust. That said I shut the barn doors and made sure that I had everything ready so that I could be efficient. I decided to try Irish's memory foam pad under the saddle to see if she liked that (saddle fitter is coming soon).

She came right up to me in the paddock and followed me in. When I put her in the cross ties she began to get upset but I simply reminded her to stand and went about my tasks. I was very pleased that she settled in a few minutes. Not that she was pleased- far from it- but she was well behaved. That was enough for me. Irish stayed out of the barn.

We entered the ring and she showed me that she knew the drill. I was leading her around and she was being lovely when all of sudden all hell broke loose with Irish in the paddock. He began to run up and down, squeal, buck and generally through a hissy fit. I couldn't figure it out. But, what I was thrilled about was that Carmen completely ignored such shenanigans. She stayed focussed on me and really tried to figure out what I wanted.

I brought her over and got ready to mount. She backed up when I stood on the step stool. I got off and had her back up even farther. I then brought her back up. I was prepared to do this for an hour if required- I wasn't getting on until she stood. I must have conveyed that idea because she stood perfectly still. I guess she was just checking.

Our walk work was quite nice so I asked for a trot. She gave a small crow hop and was not happy to go forward.
hmm.
After a few more small bucks and ear pinning I stopped her and dismounted. I took out the pad and got back on. At my first request to trot she hesitated and then surged forward. Obviously the pad was pinching. Our trot work, while not stellar was pretty good. Our only issue was that she started to get a bit over-tempo. I focussed on slowing my posting to bring her back. She broke into a canter and I let her go forward for a circle or two before I asked her to come back. She really didn't want to but I wasn't ready to let her go- Ed was also no where in sight.

Should I mention that through all this Irish continued to pitch his fit? And this was our first time solo in the ring? I found a good moment and dismounted. She walked down with me like a good girl. I untacked her in her stall and she went out to see Irish. She then came right back in to eat hay keep me company.

As I was doing my chores, a girl mounted on a horse went cantering down the road. Irish freaked out again. Ahh. Ed confirmed that she had ridden by when I went up to the ring. That was why Irish went crazy. For whatever reason, horses going by make him lose his mind. Carmen looked at the horse and then carried on calmly eating. Phew.

just keep listening to me and it will all be fine

Ride #2

Yesterday my friend (and fabulous farm sitter) Joanne came out to see me ride Carmen. She also brought her camera so all photo credit goes to her.

Cynthia also came to ride Irish, who made sure that he had a good coating of mud so that he was wasn't cheated on the grooming. Don't tell me that that horse does not have a sense of humour.

As soon as Carmen and I started lunging it was obvious that she was not as mellow as the day before. There was far more zip in her step and she was just a beat or two behind listening to me.
'just a sec, I'm busy right now'. 

whee

While I am fine with horses expending energy on the lunge, I believe that it should be controlled energy. I don't like feeling like I'm flying an 1100 pound kite in a thunderstorm. So as we lunged up and down the ring I kept reminding her what I wanted.

Whoa is not 'I would really appreciate it if you would whoa. That is  you don't mind stopping, take your time."

I'm more like 'whoa' and then 'WHOA'.  After a few WHOAs, Carmen tuned in to the 'whoa'. And got lots of praise for it. When she was clearly listening to me I decided that it was time to get on.

ohhh you meant Whoa? why didn't you say so?

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She walked up to the mounting stool (Ed hasn't finished my big mounting block yet) and stood completely still while I mounted.  When we walked off it was clear that she was still a bit tight. So I did lots of changes of directions and circles (big and small) to keep her mind on me and not all the other things that could get her into trouble. After walking for a bit I asked her to trot. I felt a hesitation at first but that could be the saddle. I posted gently trying to see if she seemed to feel pinched. However, after a few strides out she settled in to the trot work.

Carmen definitely has a lovely forward stride in trot and walk. I kept my reins a bit short because I still don't know what she does if she spooks and I didn't want us to get in trouble.

Carmen looking at the tarp on the ground and me riding a bit defensively. sigh

I was really focussing on sitting up and keeping my core engaged rather than curl forward which is what I do when I'm feeling vulnerable. I'm doing way better with that but it take mental effort. 

Irish and Cynthia were going around doing their work and Carmen decided that that's where we needed to be. I, however, had other ideas so I kept us away. This lead to a  few disagreements. 

 I made sure that I released each time that she went the way I wanted and she started to get the idea. She did do one big spook at something in the grass and started to run away. I pulled her into a one rein stop but it took a few circles for her to realize that she wasn't going anywhere. As I pulled her head towards my knee she was all "hey stop that!" and I was all "you first". As soon as she stopped I released the rein and while she thought that over I stroked her neck. After that things went much better. She might be a bit of a princess but she's a smart princess.

According to Cynthia and Joanne I smile a lot when I'm riding this horse. I am not aware of it.

But can you blame me? 

The Right Moment

This was a busy week at work. I spent a large part of it on the road.  We've also had lots of rain. The good news is that the snow is gone. The bad news is that everything squelches. But I'm not complaining. 

Today I had to go into the city. I texted my friend Cynthia and at the end I was picking her up on my way home so we could play with the ponies. There was rain on the way home but the sun came out when we got home. After a quick change we got the horses ready. Both Irish and Carmen were pretty mellow getting ready. I decided to put on her saddle and bridle. She looked at me as I put her tack on but didn't seem concerned. I used my thick pad and the fit seemed to be pretty good. 

My plan was to lunge her and play the rest by ear. We walked around and then lunged up and down the ring. She was very good. She did spook at the some stuff by the gate but it was no big deal and she settled down very quickly. By the end she was stretching out and blowing. I asked her to halt and then lowered the stirrups. She stood there looking at me. I brought her up to the mounting stool (the one Ed is building isn't done quite yet). She stood while I climbed up on the block. I shook the stirrups and leaned over. She stood there.

I realize that she's a trained horse and I am, perhaps, being too cautious but I've always had green horses to start so this is what I know. I led her back up and stood in the stirrups.

 I swung my leg over and I was on. 

Finally.

On my horse. 

She stood there with her ears swivelled back. I patted her and asked her to walk forward. We walked up and down the ring, doing circles and changes of direction. She was perfect. Cynthia, who was riding Irish, looked at me and said- 

'you know that you are grinning like a Cheshire Cat don't you?"

 I asked for a few walk-halts and decided that that was a good point to stop. I hopped off and gave her a big pat. 

 She looked at me: "that was it?"

We walked down to the ring for a well earned supper. It was the right moment to get on and it was the right moment to get off. 

And it was great way to start.

Lunging Work

I was off on Monday as well. My friend Cynthia came out to ride Irish and brought a mutual friend Barb. Barb hadn't met my horses yet and wanted to come and see our place. She took the pictures below. 

We brought in the horses to get them ready. Carmen was very good in the cross ties, except when it came to picking out her feet. She decided that I was holding them too long and should.let.go. NOW. Which means, of course, that I hang on longer and kept picking up her feet and holding them until she realized that it wasn't her decision to make but mine. My horses must behave for the farrier so I will do what I need to in order not alienate him. 

I took her out and up to the ring. I wondered if she would mind leaving Irish but she seemed okay with it. We started off with leading work. I led her around from either side, started, stopped, sped up, slowed down, changed direction and just generally was unpredictable. Her job was to follow me, stay out of my space and pay attention.She did very well. Even when Irish came up she stayed focussed. 

Cynthia mounted and walked off and I stood there as Irish went by. She didn't move a muscle. 

here I am leading her on the off side. She didn't mind. 

I love this'what do you want' face

look at that reach

We started lunging. I wanted to focus on response to my commands- walk, trot, canter, whoa. There ware good moments and bad moments. Our trot-walk and halt-walk needs work. I believed that she genuinely didn't know what I was asking (again how I was asking or my accent), so I treated it like she had never been lunged before and showed her what I wanted. After about 15 minutes she walked off from the halt (rather than trot) and I praised her profusely. She likes praise. I fell in love with the rhythm of her trot. It stayed so regular even when she was a bit excited.

see- she can walk! 

me giving some encouragement. Carmen is clearly thinking here. 

The canter was a bit excited at first. She wanted to canter off from the tarp laying on the ground on the corner. After being pulled a few times up the ring I realized that I needed to cue her sooner to not run out of the circle. I started gently reminding her (with tugs) to stay with me and it worked very well.

and CANTER! 

look at that lovely square halt

We finished with me bring out a small step stool. I wanted her to stand by it and not move away. I don't like moving the block to the horse, I prefer to be able to move the horse to the block. After a few trials I could climb up, lean over her and jump down and she stayed. 

getting a pat for good work

After I walked her out of the ring to eat the grass that is starting to come in. Cynthia rode Irish by and back to the barn (in case you wondering Irish was a star too). I was ready to discuss with Carmen that she needed to stay with me and not follow but I needn't have worried. She could have cared less. At first I thought it was the grass but even when I led her back down she moseyed beside me like a seasoned horse. I remembered that Warwick Schiller says that a horse doesn't experience separation anxiety if they have a leader (or something like that). I'm thinking that's what was happening here.

I love that our third time in the ring went so well. I'm getting excited to get on her. Can you tell?

My Fabulous Weekend

With the snow melt starts the spring cleanup. This time of year when the snow is going and the grass hasn't started everything looks very messy. Some of it is perception and some reality. The accumulation of hay and poop in the snow leaves quite the mess.

I started some of the clean up of the little paddock. I got a bit done and then the tractor got a flat tire. Of course everything closes at noon on Saturday and it's now 11:30. So we use the ATV to finish dumping the cart and leave it for now. I did put some into piles to make the pick up easier. Ed and I also cleaned the house from top to bottom. We joked that it was too bad no one was coming so that they could see it before the dogs tracked mud in.

Ed has also been busy in the garage making some things for me:

new letters for my ring: don't you love that they spell 'behave?'

a new mounting block. it's perfect. 

The weather was getting warmer and I checked out the ring. It's pretty much thawed so I go into the field and put a halter on Carmen. She followed me out of the gate and we went up to the riding ring. She was 'up' but well behaved. My plan was to lunge her lightly. I wanted to see what she knew and introduce her to what I knew and see if we could communicate. She started off quite excited and a crowded me a few times. I introduced her to the idea of my 'bubble'- I have a space around that she's not allowed to intrude into. Once she was quite pushy and hit me with her shoulder. I smacked her with the end of my lunge whip and sent her out. She tried to run away but I kept her with me. After that she was more respectful of my space.

After 15 minutes I called it a good start and we headed back to the barn. when we went out the gate she trotted out ahead of me. This led to us going in and out and in and out and in and out until she was walking like a civilized horse. In the barn I wanted to give her a good grooming.  That, in retrospect, turned out to be a mistake. Irish followed us into the barn which was good but then he left. That's when her separation anxiety kicked in. She became quite agitated and banged around pretty much ignoring me. I did some more ground work to keep her focussed on me but as soon as I put her back in the cross ties she became agitated again. In the end I decided to let her figure it out by herself. So I stopped trying to groom her and stepped back. I kept the lunge whip with me to keep her from charging forward (and the barn doors were closed). She pranced, whipped her head around and pawed. Essentially she threw a tantrum. I realized that I should have left the lunging on a good note and put her right back into the pasture - I prefer to work on one new thing at a time. But it was too late and we needed to work through it. Once she was standing calmly (if not happily) I quietly undid the cross ties and led her back out.

Then two friends came to visit so we got to show that the house can be clean.

After I brought the horses in and then I brought Carmen back out to the cross ties. I was hoping that I hadn't undid my accomplishments. I needn't have worried- she stood completely still and I was able to groom her like I wanted. She seemed unfazed by her experience.

Today was lovely as well. I went for a 5 km run first thing. It was great to be able to run outside again and not on a track. Later I  had a visit from a friend who wanted to meet Carmen. Both her and Irish were well behaved and charming. We had a nice chat and after she left I went in and changed into riding clothes. I went out to the field with lead line and halter. Carmen headed down towards the barn but Irish came charging down and chased her back into the field.
Irish: "no you fool- it's a TRAP!"

I waited and followed them out.
Irish: "don't say I didn't warn you"

I put the halter on Irish and led him down to the barn.

Irish: "wait? what? I thought you wanted Carmen. Hey, you have the wrong horse"

I tacked him up and led him out of the barn while Carmen munched in her stall. When we left she became upset and ran out to the little paddock. I mounted and we headed up to the ring. I wanted to have a short ride working on stretching and suppling. I know that Irish lost a lot of muscle tone over the winter and he needs to be brought back slowly. While we were riding, Carmen ran out of the barn and gave a long whinny. She then ran into Irish's stall, gave a loud whinny. Ran back out and into her stall and then back out. She then stood there and watched us.

The nice thing about a 15 year old horse is that you can throw a saddle on after 4 months off and he'll behave. Mostly. But he's Irish so I didn't give him that long a rein (after all he dumped me last year). However, he was very well behaved. We walked mostly with a little trotting. After 15-20 mins I rode him back to the barn. Carmen was happy to have us back.

Now it was her turn. While Irish was in the barn cooling off I took Carmen up to ring. Every time she tried to get ahead of me I would make her back up. If you were watching us it probably looked we were doing a cha-cha. In the ring I lead her around a bit and she was very good. We then started to lunge. Over all she was very good. Our only issue was she didn't seem to understand my walk command (probably my accent). Every time I said 'walk' she would stop instead. When I asked her to walk on she would trot instead. However, with repetition I finally got her to walk and then gave her lots of praise. She never pulled against me and seemed to be trying to figure out what I wanted.  I really liked her focus and how she didn't seem to care that Irish was calling from the barn. Back to the barn and I let them out to have a few more hours of sunshine.

I was really happy with how well she's settling in.

I had such a lovely weekend playing with my horses and just being outside.

Excited over Nothing

The snow is melting rapidly. Actually, Ed pointed out that it's not melting so much as receding. And it does look very much like flood waters. Especially since all that melting snow is turning into rivers. My ditches are doing their job of taking the melting snow and ice away.

I brought Carmen out to groom last night and she stood completely still and calm while I gave her a good cleaning. I was very excited. When Ed came in I exclaimed 'look!' while gesturing excitedly at Carmen.

What? She's not doing anything.

Exactly. I smile.

Ed has been around this block before so he realized what I meant.

Oh, you're happy that she's doing nothing? Congratulations. 

I'm choosing to believe that he was sincere.

If Carmen poops in the cross ties she becomes very concerned that she might step in it. She gingerly hops sideways to make sure that her hoof does not touch it. It's quite comical. And it explains why her manure is often buried- maybe she's part cat.

The horses are also able to move around more in the field. There is still some snow but it's very shallow. On Wednesday I looked out my bedroom window and saw Irish very slowly and carefully picking through the snow- checking to make sure that the footing was okay and that he wouldn't sink. Carmen was right behind him following. It was too adorable. You could see that she was unsure but willing to try it. Every now and then one of her feet would sink in about 4 inches.

oooh ooh IRISH help! I'm sinking! 

oh wait. No, I'm okay. (*shakes snow off foot*) but that was a close one! 

Last weekend I could barely make out the top of the mounting block in my ring. Last night I saw that there was enough space to begin lunge work. That large open area with nothing  got me planning for Saturday....

mounting block on April 11

Standing Still

As the snow continues to melt I am still easing into our work. One of my expectations is that a horse will stand quietly and without drama in the cross ties. It took a while for Irish and Steele to figure it out. I rely on frequent practice and consistent expectations. Over time it becomes a non-issue.

Miss Carmen is your pretty typical 5 year old. She's happy to stand in the cross ties for a minute or so and then becomes bored. She will paw and shuffle and generally look surprised that I would expect her to stand there.

'come on mom, I've been here for HOURS. And I'm bored. And hungry. And I'm pretty sure I have to pee"

I maintain my patience and keep putting her back to where I want her and praising her for standing still. I do correct the pawing though.

The other day I was giving her a thorough grooming and she was feeling pretty restless. I just kept working away. I usually save the tail for last. I sprayed in some Cowboy Magic (I like it for keeping the mud out of it) and began to brush it. She did not like the spraying
'ohh oooh. it feels weird!"
I just ignored this and kept spraying. I then started brushing. Carmen has a beautiful tail- thick and wavy. I quite enjoy brushing it and getting out the bits of hay and shavings, untangling the knots etc. As I was brushing I realized that she was standing perfectly still. I looked up- her head was lowered, her eyes were soft and it was clear that she was really enjoying the attention.

Turns out that my princess likes to have her hair done.