First Field Trip

This weekend was unseasonably warm and beautiful, with highs in the 70s, sunshine, and a slight breeze.  Friday I tore through the to do list, crossing off 11 items, and still squeezing in a short ride as the sun was setting.  Saturday we raced the car, and Sunday, I met up with my friend M and her reliable old mare at Masterson.  For my non-Lexington horse friends, Masterson Station Park is by far the most awesome public park with horse facilities.  It has some standard public park stuff: soccer fields, a dog park, picnic areas, an in-line hockey area, and space for the annual Bluegrass Fair carnival.  It is also a comprehensive horse playground with 3 outdoor arenas (2 are "saddlebred style" with a sand track and one has full all weather footing and jumps), a 3 level field hunter course with natural obstacles, acres of cross country jumps ranging from beginner novice through prelim, 2 sand dressage arenas with warm up areas, and a couple barns and indoor arena used by the park district.  And everything but the indoor is free and open to the public any time that they're not holding a special event or competition.  It is one of those neat places that I always intend to utilize, yet never seem to get around to as often as I should. 

On Sunday, though, I loaded Larry onto the trailer, grabbed my tack, and met M at the park for my first field trip with Lar.  We weren't the only ones enjoying the bright day with our horses; there were a number of folks riding in the hunter ring and around the grounds.  M and I took a nice leisurely ride for over an hour, wandering around the grounds, into and around some of the arenas, and we did the slowest, lowest-level walk only cross country course ever!  Lar wasn't sure about the jumps and spent quite a bit of time frozen in place and staring at stuff (I'd much rather have a horse who "spooks" by staring and refusing to move than one who bolts and asks questions later!!!).  We had to investigate every jump.  Once the other horse walked by them, he was content to sniff (and chew) them.  He was a little jumpy with all the new things, but very well behaved all together.  If I asked him to drop his head, he would for a moment, before getting distracted by the other sights and sounds (joggers, a truck full of porta-potties, dogs, a cat fight that broke out between an orange tabby and a black cat, a mylar balloon tumbleweed, other horses and riders, etc).  It took us a few tries, but we made it through the creek crossing thanks to our fearless leader.  We also walked up and down the beginner novice part of the bank jump complex, walked over some small logs, and trotted around the dressage arenas and one of the outdoor rings.  All in all, I was very pleased with him and think he's well on his way to being a solid, level-headed horse.  Thanks again, Rob, for my good-minded, sound, and gorgeous new horse!  (With his long mane and forelock blowing around, he looks very exotic to me compared to the traditional short hunter manes I'm accustomed to.)  We'll go back someday when we're farther along so we can canter and jump!

Winterizing

Late fall is my least favorite time of year.  Though the holidays are always a welcome distraction, I hate the darkness and cold of months of winter stretching out before me.  I have previously said that I need some winter hobbies to quell the winter doldrums, and yet my primary hobbies are showing horses and racing cars - both dependent on good weather.  Winter does give me a chance to regroup and prepare for the next busy fun season, though. 

This winter I have a number of aspirations both racing related and riding related.  On the racing front, I want to do some work on the car.  I would love to tackle my engine rebuild project, but fear that I won't have enough time to do so.  I also want to work on the CAI bracket and configuration, and also need to see about getting the new exhaust installed.  I need to look at the bushings and motor mounts, too, and J wants to get a set of super light 7.5 wheels.  Practice will have to consist of time logged on the simulator with Forza and pining for the season to start.

On the riding front, Legs doesn't need much through the winter.  I will ride her a couple times, but she'll get her shoes pulled on the next farrier visit, so we won't do anything intense after that.  Lar's a different matter.  I want to continue to build repoire with him and he has given me a reason to brave the cold for winter riding again.  I haven't been this enthused or die hard about riding in a while.  When the weather really turns, we'll have to work on indoor stuff like clipping around the ears and showmanship stuff.  On the horse front, I'd also like to go through and thoroughly clean all of my tack and work on some new western outfits. 

I've done some winterizing around the place.  The horses got their annual dental check, which is always important for winter hay feeding.  Lar has a full set of turnout blankets now.  He has been modeling his navy Turtleneck sheet last week while it was rainy and cold.  He also has a brand new green midweight Hug which will serve him well throughout most of our chilly but not bitter KY winters.  He also has a Schneider's liner to layer with either of the above to adjust to any temp.  And yes, Legs has matching ones, so they are twins!  The barn is stocked full of 1st and 2nd cutting alfalfa-orchard grass hay, with another 100 bales reserved for later pick up this winter.  There is a large woodpile behind the barn now for cozy evenings in front of the fireplace.  40 tons of class I are piled up next to the field and the bobcat is reserved so we can improve drainage and prevent mud around the hay racks and the top of the hill.  I also had a thin layer of class I spread around the perimeter of my "arena."  The objective isn't to have a true arena with 4 layers of base and proper sand footing, but to firm up and improve the traction on the most used part of the riding track while still allowing grass to grow through so I still have the look of a nice green yard.  I rode Lar on it tonight and it was fantastic (As was he.  He's starting to get a lot more responsive and consistent.  I really like that he's getting much softer on the bit and much more prompt about his transitions).  I think he even moved freer on it, too.  The next step is to add another light to the front so I can ride on the winter evenings.  I bought one to install, but I'm not thrilled about it's design and may end up exchanging it for a different one.  All in all, I think we're in pretty good shape for winter now.

A Little Progress

Well, with DST no longer in effect, I have to race the sunset to try to ride after work, and I usually lose.  My last two rides (over the weekend, and last night) were both good.  I think Larry (or Lar Bear, his new nickname because he's so fuzzy) and I are starting to mesh.  He's starting to respond better to leg and seat cues, and his steering is getting better.  I don't know that we're ready for "prime time" yet, but we're improving.  He still wants to trot strung out with his head up (a natural response to the countless miles he's jogged in harness in an overcheck).  I know that's what he's accustomed to, though it still drives me nuts because he moves so much nicer and is so much softer when he gives at the poll.  Most of the time he will walk with his head and neck relaxed, so I don't fiddle with him for that - it's a great starting point for a green horse.  We have been gradually improving at giving to the bit at the trot, though it's still not reliably in response to my cues.  He feels so much nicer when he does.  Nonetheless, I'm pleased with his progress as he is starting to put some pieces together.  He is also getting a little less lazy, though he still tests me.  In time, I think perseverance will pay off and he'll get more responsive as the cues become more natural to him.  Because he has a riding history (albeit sporadic), I'm not sure what is new stuff that I've taught him and what is him remembering old stuff and/or deciding that testing me wasn't paying off.

I made 2 changes that seemed to help him recently: a sweet iron loose ring snaffle which has just a little more bite than the full cheek but encourages him to mouth the bit, and lunging with a surcingle and loosely adjusted side reins.  He seemed to figure out pretty quickly that flexing at the poll would remove the pressure from the side reins.  I don't like to use "appliances" as a crutch, but they can be useful in getting a new concept across that would be much more difficult to instill otherwise.  I can get him to trallop on the lunge line (a trotty-kind of gallop but of course it is far too early in our riding work to work on under saddle.  I'm confident that there's a nice canter in there somewhere - I can feel the first stride of it when he does the "Standardbred Shuffle" and hops to pick up the trot, and I'm sure he'll learn that it's easier to canter than trot super fast once his self carriage improves)  I am guilty of not trusting him with the road traffic by our riding area, (a fairly busy road is on the other side of the fence and a small grass easement) even though he's been an absolute gem about it.  We finished our rides in the dark, and he hasn't been rattled by the cars or headlights, though I am still careful to let him see them as they approach.  Just part of my cautious nature...  I'm hoping to "beat the sunset" a few more times this week and get some more riding time in and I still need to exchange the outdoor light we bought for another one so we can have "arena lights" for easier winter time riding.

Wet and gloomy weather kept me from riding for a few days, but tonight was riding night with R!  Her old guy was a total superstar, even after an extended time off.  I elected to get on Lar without lunging him first, maybe not the best of ideas since it was especially blustery tonight.  He was a little skittery around the corner by the trees, though it was hard to tell if he was being spooky, or acting out because he wanted to hang out with our riding buddy instead of working independently.  He totally remembered how to move his hindquarters to leg pressure at the halt (turn on the forehand), which was great.  We're not there in motion yet, but I'm glad he remembered so well.  He's also improving at downward transitions with less pulling on the reins.  He's still moving hollow and strung out, not on the bit at all, but now he's not pulling against me as much at the trot.  I thought using treats to help him learn to bend his head and neck around to each side to rein pressure while under saddle might help him get the idea and it worked - far too well.  After that, he would try to stop, no matter what we were doing, and turn his head constantly, looking for the reward.  Perhaps as a racing strategy, his driver should have had an extra long whip with a carrot dangling from it.  I really think it would have worked!  He did show his lazy and stubborn side tonight, though, as he would sometimes decide that he didn't want to walk (or trot) forward and would just park himself.  He even hopped up when I pony kicked him, though I ultimately prevailed and we finally moved forwards.  I have a newsflash for him; we redheads are a stubborn lot, too!    

A Couple Rides In

We've now had 4 brief rides together.  At this point, it's mostly "getting to know you stuff" and trying to gauge his sensitivity.  So far, he's extremely calm and unconcerned about most things (though he is curious and distractable and likes to watch what's going on elsewhere), and a bit on the lazy side.  So far we've been lunging some before riding, which he does quite well.  He is calm enough that I think it is no longer a necessity.  His trot is pretty smooth, and his pace is fairly consistent for a greenie.  He does ride like you'd expect a driving horse to, which is off of the hands alone rather than the seat and legs.  I miss my equine power steering and ABS!  So our main goals are to introduce seat & leg pressure cues, and eventually learn to submit to the bit and work in a frame.  The full cheek plain snaffle is our friend, as it helps with the steering by giving him a little "push" from the other side.  We also tried a sidepull with similar results.  We haven't had any huge "aha" moments yet, but as of our latest ride, he is starting to figure out how to yield his hindquarters to leg pressure and execute a crude turn on the forehand in both directions.  There's plenty of work ahead of us, but it's very helpful that he's extremely easy-going.