Big weekend for the kids

What a weekend!  Not only has Joe improved significantly over the four times I've ridden him, but I finally back the pony!  I'll start out with Joe though.

Thursday was my first time riding him, and when I first get on a horse, especially one that I have time to work with (no rush for results) I like to feel out how they go and how they like to use their bodies.  Many OTTBs (Off the Track Thoroughbreds) are strong to the left, weak to the right, and stiff through their whole bodies.  Because Joe was turned out for 18+ months before I bought him, most of his body soreness from race training should be gone.  Living out in a pasture doesn't improve one-sidedness though.  

Since when I watched him be ridden by the cowboy last weekend I noticed he had a tight grip on Joe's mouth (and a corkscrew snaffle- poor boy) I also wanted to see what how he'd go without any support.  As I imagined, he went with his head up, bracing with his lower neck, and using his neck to balance himself in turns.  He also wasn't interested in picking up the right lead at all.  The next day I had the privilege of having a great professional watch me ride, and on the second try, with his tips we got the right lead, and I was impressed by how soft and balanced his canter was!  This is going to be a nice horse.

On Saturday I began asking for a bit more from him.  We spent some time walking and trotting on small circles where he was rewarded for bending to the inside and giving to the pressure. These exercises will help him become much more supple through his whole body.  I also began to ask him to drop his head down and lift through his back.  Right now, because he's not completely accepting of the contact, he is not truly on the bit, rather he's just in a frame, but working this way will help him to build his topline and gain muscle in the right places.  As he learns to understand the aids better he will learn how to carry himself correctly.  Since he still needs about 300 lbs I'm taking it slow and letting him figure things out as we go.  He's proving to be very smart and quiet though, which is exactly why I bought him!  I'm so glad that Janene was around to take some video so you can see exactly why I like him so much.

Afterwards, I went through my routine with Starbucks, and since I had Janene around to help I thought it would be the perfect chance to back him for the first time.  I lunged him til he was pretty tired (did I mention he picked up on how to lunge right away?  He's an old pro now!), and then I went through my routine of jumping up and down, banging on the saddle, shaking everything, waving my hands all over the place - Starbucks just looked at me like I'm crazy.  I swear if horses could roll their eyes, he would have in that moment.  So I had Janene lead him up to the mounting block and I layed across his back several times from each direction, and then I mounted and dismounted several times, and finally we walked off! We walked about 20 ft and then I hopped off and started over with the whole process.  The second time (after the same process of laying across him and mounting and dismounting) I got on and we walked around the whole ring with much less stopping and starting!  He's such a good boy and deserves a ton of treats!  (although instead of treats I just tell him he's a good boy, I hate mouthy horses).  

+1 this week! Meet Joe.

Its almost time to back Starbucks (that means get on his back)!  He's getting better about all things preparation- he's lunging great, lets me stand above him and wave my arms, and lay across his back.  He's much more comfortable wearing tack, especially with the bit in his mouth.  He's still nervous when there are other horses being lunged or ridden in the ring, he can't seem to figure out why those horses look so different!  He's still reactive when there are noises or anything else going on behind him, but he improves each day.  He seems happy to be engaged in work and learning a job.

There is more exciting news though, today my new horse arrives!  

Joe is a 16.3h 5 year old TB gelding.  He's well bred (Chief Seattle x Outflanker), and although he's 5 he only raced 5 times when he was a 3 year old.  He's a plain bay with a small star and a good mover.  A cursory google search revealed some photos from his racing days, including a conformation shot from when he was a yearling.  He won $5000 on the track, and then was turned out for 18 months until I found him.  Not all thoroughbreds need or get time to decompress after a racing career, but it certainly never hurt any of them.  His body has gotten a chance to rest and recover, and his brain has had time to come down.  The beauty of ex-racehorses, and one of my favorite things about them, is that they have seen so much at a young age.  Horse shows will be no big deal for him, because there is less hustle and bustle there than there is at a racetrack.  He knows how to go (anyone who has started young warmbloods will tell you that 'button' doesn't come preinstalled!) and stop, and he bathes, lunges, ties, loads, clips etc.  All the groundwork has been done, and I'm simply going to have to retrain him to be a riding horse instead of a race horse.  Piece of cake!

I found him in a field about an hour and a half away, watched him get lunged and ridden, then vetted and bought him.  Wait, did I just buy another horse without sitting on it?  Oops!  I'm not worried about it though, this guy is kick-along quiet, and I think he'll make up into a great hunter prospect. He's got a big, slow, rocking horse canter, and as he was lunged over fences he got the hang of it quickly.  He needs about 300 lbs right now, his feet badly need to be done, and his dead summer coat needs to fall out.  I'll get him cleaned up though, and by spring he'll be a different horse.  I will post pictures when he arrives this afternoon, and I'll be blogging about both his and Starbucks progress in the coming months. 

Week one

I know I always say how much I love ponies.  They are the BEST.  I've been having so much fun getting to know Starbucks, playing with him, and introducing him to his new life.  Its only been a week since he arrived and we have been working on groundwork everyday.  He took to lunging right away, and is already responding to the voice commands I use.  We work in the roundpen some days, the ring others, and sometimes we go and walk the trails.  I want him to see as much as possible so that everything becomes no big deal. 

 I introduced him to a saddle and bridle earlier in the week, and while at first he wasn't too sure about the whole "bit" thing, the more time he spends wearing it, the more comfortable he gets.  I still had credit at Smartpak so I ordered him his very own bridle, and have him in a loose ring happy mouth snaffle that he seems to like much better than the big rubber D-ring I used on Prince.

Side note: Everyone knows how much I love Smartpak, so I thought I would add a review about the bridle I just bought.  Smartpak has a line of bridles called Plymouth, and despite the fact that the new bridle was only $52, the leather feels like the same quality you find in $100+ schooling bridles.  Its soft, supple and comfortable on the horse's face.  It comes with reins, and in pony, cob, and horse sizes.  I would recommend it to anyone looking for a quality schooling bridle!  I happen to have their flash bridle in horse size, that I used on Aston and Prince, and a pony sized bridle that the Yellow pony shows in.  I love nice tack, and although with horses usually my taste doesn't match my budget, this time I feel like I have a great bridle at a price I can afford!

Anyway, back to Starbucks.  On Thursday Grayson helped me introduce him to ground driving.  I like to have a rapport and language established with the babies before I'm on their back.  I think it makes the experience much better, and the training process becomes much easier.  I like to establish the go and stop (cluck/woah) and steering.  Having a language is important to me when I'm about to introduce them to something entirely new in their life, and I want them to trust that I'm worth believing.

On Friday I free-jumped him for the first time, just over some little stuff, and he was great!  We had a bucket of food so that we'd be able to catch him on the back side, and when Christine had the bucket with her from her post with the video camera, he actually decided to jump the 3' side rail in the chute rather than the cross rail so he could get to the bucket of food.  I think he likes to jump! After that we put the bucket at the end of the ring and he jumped great through the chute.


One of the fun thing about ponies is that they tend to have all the personality of a big horse, packed into a little body.  Starbucks is no different.  He's got a huge personality and I just can't wait to tap into his athleticism and talent.  He's got BIG movement, and a great brain.  He's not as quiet and simple as Prince, but he's got try.  He's going to do big things, I can feel it.

I think within the next week I'll back him.  Once he's a little more confirmed with the ground driving I think he'll be ready to learn how to be a riding horse!

First ride!

I went out to the farm this afternoon, since I had plenty of time.  Since I'm still not feeling like 100% I just played with Aston and called it a day.  I got out there and continued to work on her mane.  She HATES having it pulled, but doesn't actually get mad at me about it.  She just dances around a bit and as soon as she realizes my intentions tries to keep me from grabbing a handful of it.  Fortunately, I have about 80% of it done, so just a few more days and the whole thing will be done.  I then tacked her up, and as I tacked her Sarah arrived.  I didn't want to be alone for my first ride, so I was glad Sarah made it at that point.  I threw her bridle on, my boots and helmet and off to the ring we went.  As I got on, I didn't add leg I just let her walk off.  We walked around for 7-10 minutes and then I hopped off.  That's all I wanted from her, a happy experience!  

Tomorrow I will free jump her and hopefully get some good photos!

A good support system is better than gold

"So is getting a new horse like getting a new car?  Is there, like, a new horse smell?"

All of my family and friends are very excited for me, and happy for me because they know how badly I have wanted a horse and how hard I have worked for it.  But no, there won't be a new horse smell, it will just be the same old smell.  

I remember begging for a horse growing up.  I remember how I would ask my parents to buy me something and how I'd scour the internet for free horses (hint: its not the purchase price that ever counts as expensive).  I even remember the days when my dear mother would look at me sweetly and say "Sure!".  My eyes would light up with glee until I would of course realize this was some sort of trick, and I'd narrow my eyes to get a good look at Mom.  Then, inevitably she would continue the rest of the sentence matter of fact-ly, "When you are 21 and are paying all of the bills yourself!".  I kid you not, that is exactly how it happened.  Mom, are you a psychic?  

She's officially mine!

Today I finally received the bill of sale for my new mare, and this afternoon Dad went out to pay for her (with my money of course).  This means its real!  She's officially mine! She's supposed to ship down to me on Saturday, so as long as the weather stays decent I will go receive her Saturday night!  So I guess its time to talk a little bit about her.  She doesn't have a name, so that's one of the first things I will have to do when she gets here..  She's a 16h coming 5 year old Dutch Warmblood/Thoroughbred mare.  She's a dark bay with only a tiny bit of white on her back left heel.  She's very feminine but big bodied, and extremely sweet natured.  She was started last summer at a dressage barn (the same fancy dressage barn I found her in) and then was turned out for the fall to grow up a little bit after about 10 rides.  Since then she has been ridden once (the day I went to meet her) so she really is green as grass.  She's athletic though and fancy though, which all I wanted.  I'm super excited to get started with her on this journey.  I've never felt so broke, but I've never been so happy. 

Moving right along. Or stuck in a square box?

Today I booked the shipping on the beautiful new mare!  I'm trying not to get excited but its really hard not to.  She's going to be a super fun project and she's going to be ALL MINE.  For the first time I will be able to take full responsibility for any success or failures, and be responsible for the outcome.  Slow and steady is how we'll proceed, but its going to be hard!  I think if she's what I think she might/could be I'll hang on to her until I finish college before I try to sell her.  I would like to see how far I (we) can get, and when you own the horse nobody can take/sell the ride out from under you.  

I have been having a really frustrating time at my internship, and I feel bad because there are so many nice people doing really great work.  I'm frustrated though because I'm supposed to be in the field getting experience (like the rest of my classmates are) and yet I'm stuck in a cubicle for most of the day doing cold call surveying or file management.  I have yet to meet a single client face to face.

I have a job interview!

Okay so for one, mare-sy had her coggins pulled and health certificate done today!  Hopefully this means we are moving forward in the process, and as soon as we get the bill of sale completed I can formally buy her and have her shipped!  Hopefully she will be here by next Wednesday or Thursday!

So as many know I wrote up my resume and sent out to a bunch of farms in the area.  I hoped that if anything I would be able to get a part time job that will cover enough that I will be able to pay board and bills on my horse.  The alternative is getting a waitressing job, and that option is still on the table.  I have until March 1st to find something.  I had decided to postpone the waitressing job search under January was over because my internship has taken over my life.  I work from 8-5 everyday and barely have time to make it out to the barn before it gets dark.  Anyway, one of the farms I emailed my resume to in December wants to interview me on Saturday!  I'm really looking forward to this opportunity to meet a new barn owner in the area, and hopefully since its part time I will still have time to ride my horse/my projects this spring (there will be at least 3, with a few more possibilities in the works).   I suppose I just need to take my time and get things all figured out.  When the internship ends I will likely have to look for a waitressing job too, so I'll certainly be busy. 

The mare called Fox

We came up with a barn name for our lovely Show Stopper. We decided to call her Fox.


My lesson on Friday with Adam was great, and I definitely came home with lots to practice. The main focus of the lesson was forward and straight, and making sure to keep her happy. I kept her on a fairly loose rein, and focused on forward, so that later it can be forward into light contact. 

The new Miss Thing

Today was my first ride on Showstopper, and boy is she fun! And adorable! We just walk trotted, and cantered, and her transitions need a whole lot of work, but she is only three. Marilyn and I went down to Horseman's after the ride and bought her a new bridle and halter. Also a baker sheet. I'm going to treat myself to an early christmas present and get a wool cooler, and have my name embroidered into it.

Here is the link to the video from today's ride - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BlBvHZRWxrc

Hey truth, where did you go?

So the guy who broke this beastie, Heath, came out to ride her tonight. I wasn't able to get out until class was over, so I missed the first half of the ride. Grayson sent me short texts to keep me posted. Apparently the little one reared on him while tacking, and under saddle. This guy just over powered her, as he is a 6'+ 190 lb+ man. To me that is not breaking/starting a horse, thats breaking a horse's will. He said eventually she stood still after he beat her up a bit. My guess is that he didn't notice that she was probably shaking and terrified at that point. She has a tendency to do that.

Under saddle she resisted him a lot too. By the time I got there she was dripping in sweat and still fighting. He had a thin corkscrew snaffle in her mouth, and a tie down that works like a running martingale. He basically used all that leverage to force her down into a frame and get her bending back and forth to each side in a way that I have never seen. After watching him for about ten minutes, I asked him to steer her in a straight line without worrying about the bend. Oh wait, there is a hole in what should be basic training. Several other holes came up when he said he had never seen her rear before (oh really?), and again when he had to run her into a canter.

Pretty Lady!

So it turns out the little lady knows a whole lot less than we had originally assumed. When Jim Bob had originally sent her out to be broken, she came home and Jim Bob was told that she had been starting lead changes. Not the pony I rode today. This little mare doesn't steer, doesn't know kick means go pull means stop. There is no way she has changes. I spent about four hours playing with her and cleaning her up. I lunged her before I got on, and when I did get on I felt like I was sitting on a three year old that had never been sat on before. I wouldn't be surprised if this mare has only had ten rides on her. I pulled lightly on the reins to ask for a halt and she got so nervous that she just went straight up in the air. I have found that her tendency when she gets nervous or doesn't know what I'm asking of her, she will just rear. She has done it several times on the cross ties, and she gave me two big ones under saddle today. As much as I hate rearing, hers don't really bother me that much because I know its just fear. I don't think this horse has ever heard a kind word, or been loved on the way she will be in the next few months. Seems to me that everyone was pretty quick to lay a heavy hand on her if she did anything wrong. She expects the worst, and she expects that when she misbehaves that I will just hit her. I won't. I do give her a hard bop on the head whenever she rears under saddle though to imitate a ceiling.

I finally was able to get a brush through her tail today. I washed it again, and its starting to get closer to the white blonde that it is supposed to be. I will probably scrub it again tomorrow, and depending on the weather try and give her another bath. I'm not sure she has ever really been bathed, she was afraid of the hose, so I had to use a sponge. I didn't want to blow her mind though so I didn't really scrub her whole body. I got the front half done though and then next half I'll get her hindquarters and scrub her legs. That way we can find out just how many socks she actually has. I know that she has two stockings on her back legs, not sure about the front. Because she is a sun bleached palomino it all kind of fades in. I also finished pulling her mane, and took scissors to the fluffy parts of her legs, fetlocks, ears etc. She is starting to look pretty good!

Once she has a solid top line she will really be adorable.

Oh and our barn cat Bob is adorable, I thought you all would like him

New Pony!

Meet my latest project, graciously sent over by Jim Bob, my farrier. She is a 6 year old 14h Quarter Horse mare. She looked ratty when she got off the trailer, she has been sitting in a field since July. I immediately threw her in the round pen to take a look at what we have. She is a nice mover, no world beater, but certainly a pony that could win in the NCHJA circuit. She really needs a top line, but she has only ever been ridden western, and hasn't really been touched in at least a full four months. Here are some pictures! She still needs a name, and I have been toying with calling her Penny Lane. If anyone has any ideas please let me know! She is a doll, and is going to be a very fun project.

Changes, changes

Today is the first full day in a long time without the pony in my life. She has been such a fixture for so long, that I hadn't realized how much I would really miss her.

The vet check is tentatively scheduled for Tuesday at 1pm. For anyone interested, this is where the pony is right now: http://www.walnutspringstables.com/ Pretty nice huh?

I spoke with Jim Bob today, and he is going to get his filly over here as soon as possible, he is hoping to do it this weekend. I learned a bit more about her today as well. She is 14h and 6 years old, and bred to be a cutting horse. She has been started, but is apparently pretty wild. She is a palomino that doesn't have a name yet. When she arrives I will post pictures and you all can help me name her! The ultimate goal will be to sell her, and we will probably get her into the show ring first, so we are looking at a spring/summer 2010 sale. I haven't even seen a picture of her, but despite being bred to cut cows, and being out of a pretty crazy mare, he thinks she will make a nice little hunter pony. When I get her fit, she has been out of work since July, I will have Anne over to evaluate her, and we can come up with a plan of action.

Its only the beginning...

The past few weeks have been spent in conversation about what is next for the pony.  She is for sale, but there is not a huge market for what she is - a pony jumper.  So the next question was what will she do when I leave to go back to college?  After a summer of intensive training and horse showing it would be a shame to let her go back let her stop working and moving forward in her training.  And so the next step was to find a shipper to bring her from Center Line to Elon, North Carolina so she can continue her training.

Derrick with Tulip Tree Farms Transport did a fabulous job shipping her, and she had a layover in Maryland at his parent's farm.  She shipped like a champ and looked wonderful when she finally stepped off the trailer.