v2.0

"You must in all Airs follow the strength, spirit, and disposition of the horse, and do nothing against nature; for art is but to set nature in order, and nothing else." ~ William Cavendish 

    It took me all of about two weeks to realize how good me and Finn had it at our old barn. There is nothing wrong with our current barn but pretty much since I've gotten there I've felt like we don't belong. We don't belong with the owner/barn manager, and her very young lesson kids, and although I've enjoyed working with the hunter jumper trainer a lot, and riding Ben, I know Finn would not mesh with her super intense program at all.

   The past few weeks I've thought a lot, probably a little too much, about what is best for my horse, and myself. Two weeks ago I had a jumping lesson on Ben. The jumps were set at 2'9, and I probably haven't jumped 2'9 in 10 years. There was an oxer set at 2'9, with a pretty decent spread, that gave me the hardest time. Ben sensed my nerves, and jumped awkwardly the whole lesson, because I was basically in fetal position the entire time. For some reason, to me, the gap between 2'6 and 2'9 jumps seems VERY significant. I left the lesson upset, not confident, and kind of...hating jumping. The next week, because it was raining and I had to ride indoors, I basically had a flat lesson, with some gymnastics at the end. AND IT WAS FUN! 

    It suddenly clicked. I love flatwork. I like cross rails, and gymnastics, and cavaletti, but raise those jumps up to 2'9 and ask me to jump a course, and I just freeze. Then I started to feel guilty because I realized I didn't want to, or like to, jump. But that's crazy, because this is a hobby, and it's supposed to be fun, and why would I jump if I didn't enjoy it?!

    In between lessons with Ben I've been walking and trotting Finn. He feels wonderful, is soft, responsive, light, and using his back/hind end better than he ever has. It is strange to get back on Finn after riding Ben so much. Ben is tight, stiff, and has a very heavy mouth. I want a horse that uses his body correctly, understands and likes his job, and stays comfortable and sound for many, many years. 

The big news is.... we are moving back to our old barn September 1st. Crazy right?! We are going to go back to working with the dressage trainer there that we were progressing with before we moved. She will take us to shows when we're ready. I will still pop over the occasional jump, but more than anything, I want Finn to be comfortable using his body correctly. If anything were to happen to him again, the price is practically reflective of retirement boarding, and I know he'd be safe and cared for even if I couldn't visit him for a week or more. 

     I have looked at other barns in the area and nothing compares to the care, amenities, and super individualized care of our old barn. For the price, it doesn't get any better. I am paying a whole lot more for fewer amenities now, than I was to have him further from home. I feel like the people at our old barn are family, and we fit there. I will never complain about the drive again!!

Vet update

The vet came out yesterday to re x-ray Finn. X-ray's looked good, and vet recommended either a Sigafoos shoe, or a shoe that's called a flip-flop, which is basically a thick rubber pad that covers the whole bottom of the hoof, and then half of a shoe nailed to the front of the hoof, over the pad. The vet recommended we try the flip-flop shoe, before trying a Sigafoos. I can't find too much info on them online. My farrier ordered them, and Finn will be trimmed and shod on Tuesday. After shoeing, I can ride at the walk for a few days, then at the trot for a few minutes at a time for a week. If he is sound and going well, I can start to slowly put him back in regular work. Today we walked under tack in the indoor, and then worked on going in and out of the wash stall. He was an angel about everything. He was also very sweaty after a 20 minute walk under tack in the indoor, even though it wasn't hot out today-- someone is VERY out of shape!

OF COURSE he's sticking his tongue out!

I also got to ride Ben today-- my first non-lesson ride on him. I really wanted to work on getting him lighter. He is SO heavy, and the lesson kids that have ridden him have let him be heavy. We worked on a lot of trot-halt-trot, canter-halt-canter, transitions, lots of circles and figure eights, trot leg yields, extending our trot down the long side, and collecting it in the corners. He felt pretty stiff, and I don't think anyone's ridden him since my ride last Tuesday. We also played in the field and jumped a few of the jumps. My next ride, which will be Sunday, I definitely want to work a lot more on getting him to really use that hind end, and release the tension in his head and neck. A few pics from our ride:

Decision made

I am half leasing Ben! It's been riding boot camp with 3 lessons this past week. I got up to the barn today, tacked the hunk up-- everyone calls him "uncle Ben" because he really takes care of his person, I call him the hunk ;)--, and off we went to the derby field. When we got outside I was all:

We started off on the flat in the field, and getting Ben to bend by way of figure eights. It was so, so buggy this afternoon with the humidity and dampness, and Ben kept tossing his head, unable to focus (next time I'll put a bonnet on him). We decided to move it into the ring next to the field. Once we were in the ring trainer had me extending down the long side, and sitting/collected trot through the corners. This really, really opened Ben up and he felt great. Then we worked on two canter poles, down the quarter line, with two strides in between. I really need to work on getting OUT OF MY TACK, and trusting my horse. Then we started working on a little course: trot in, vertical, land in canter, two strides, cross rail, change direction across the diagonal, with lead change, canter vertical on diagonal, after lead change in center, take it back to a trot, trot a vertical down the other quarter line in opposite direction, land in canter. After we worked on this a few times, the first two jumps changed to vertical, vertical, cross rail, with one canter stride in between. I had to stay in half seat through the whole bounce, and look UP, at the trailer in the distance. I have a horrible habit of looking down at the jumps. Really, I have a horrible habit of looking down all the time. This gymnastic really helped me get out of my tack. I'd get in half seat, grab mane, and let Ben do his thing...and he does his thing well!! One thing I really need to work on is not cutting my corners short. Ben anticipates and knows where we're going, and I let him take the shortest route possible. Our last go through the course was definitely our best yet, and I felt like a total rockstar after our lesson. 

     I am so happy to be able to lease him for the month and the improvements I've experienced in my riding with my new trainer in 3 lessons has been more improvement than I've experienced in the past few years. Ben is doing wonders for my confidence, riding, and strength. After our lesson we walked all around the property on a loose rein, and then he got a nice bath, and dinner. There is a show at the end of the month on farm that we're planning on doing, at 2'6, which is what we jumped today. I'm psyched. I'll get to ride him 3 times a week throughout my lease, and I'm hoping I can get hubby to come up later in the week to take pictures and videos of us. 

    After I was done with Ben I moved on to Finn. Finn had already been turned in, had his dinner, and was working on his hay. I bought him SoftRide boots at the start of this whole laminitis episode, and Finn went from unable to walk, to prancing around the second I put them on him. He's worn them 24/7 for the past three weeks, and I can't say enough good about them. They are phenomenal, and unlike any boot I've seen. They're basically like orthopedic shoes for horses. There are these removable gel inserts that fit inside the boots, and for the first three weeks I had special laminitic inserts to help his feet heal. Today I wanted to switch out the inserts to the ones that come with the boots. Finn was 200 times better today than he's been the past week. He is off the Ace, and just his goofy, calm, sweet, self. Barn worker said he was an angel for turnout. THANK GOD! I was able to pick up his hooves no problem, put MagnaPaste on them, and put his boots back on. I didn't even bother with a halter or crossties, I just hung out in his stall with him. Because I've been a bad horse mom and basically ignoring him, I decided to brush him because he was filthy. Then, I looked at the little mohawk growing in on his bridle path and I thought why not, I'll clip his muzzle and bridle path too. Grabbed the clippers, turned them on, and Finn dropped his head to my side while I clipped....WHAT?! He's always been the horse that is somewhat resistant to bridle path clipping, with his head in the air, and I was able to clip him in his stall with no halter, no stool, nothing. It was amazing. I was so excited that I went a little clip happy, and took off about an extra inch of bridle path. He then lifted his head a bit for me to get his muzzle. He had his eyes half closed the whole time. I couldn't believe it. Maybe my horse isn't so crazy after all!

    The vet should be rechecking Finn this week, the next step will be back in shoes, normal turnout, and back to work with barn trainer. I'm hoping after a month of her working with Finn, and a month of me working with Ben, we'll both be much more educated and ready for each other. 

Highs and lows

I don't feel like dwelling on the horrible things that have happened the past few days, so I will keep it brief. Finn reared up on me in the indoor yesterday during hand walking and came at me with legs in the air. He took off toward the outdoor at a full gallop. I cornered him while he was grazing. Once I got him inside he reared up on me half a dozen times. He lost one of his boots on his victory gallop and it took 45 minutes to find it in 95 degree heat. Tried to bring him in the wash stall, he reared. When I got to the barn today I heard from the young girl working there that he did the same thing to her this morning and took off, almost toward the road this time. She wasn't expecting it and he almost pinned her. I know he hasn't been out in three weeks but it's like the past few days a switch has flipped, and he is just gone. He has this faraway look in his eyes. He is almost acting like he's getting abused, which I know is not the case. He is completely and utterly terrified of everything, like the wash stall. He snorts and backs up like a mad man at something we've never had an issue with. He's acting like he's never had a day of training in his life. Oh, and during his gallop this morning he lost a boot again and no one can find it. Me and Matt spent 2 hours searching the entire area he was loose in. There goes $350 bucks, awesome. I had a lesson on one of the lesson horses today and while I was walking my lesson horse around the field to cool him out, we came up over the hill and I see Finn in his pen, charging the pen with his chest, squealing, rearing, and snorting. He is dangerous. He's going to hurt someone. My god.

So anyways, I need a few days to figure out what the hell is going on and get my head on straight. He'll be aced for turnout for the next few days.

I haven't ridden in a month or so, and between everything, I haven't really wanted to. Trainer asked me the other day if I'd be interested in lesson on one of her sale/lesson horses. My friend Carole, who I moved to new barn with, was taking a lesson, and we could do a semi private. I thought, why not.

Today reminded me why I love horses and riding. I rode a 16.3h, 15yr old Warmblood named Ben who is the total, total packer. He's also a total, total hunk!!

Look at those legs!!

I was definitely smitten with his manners: being able to pick his feet without 20 minutes of begging, fly spraying him without him having a mini heart-attack, saddling him without ear pinning, and bridling him without him tossing his head in the air and being a total pain in the ass.
     Our lesson started with a 20 minute warm up and then it was on to jumping. I haven't jumped, aside from the very occasional cross rail, in a long time. Today, I jumped a full course with a smile on my face. I was able to sit back and just have fun. I was able to work on "me", and count strides, and feel how things are supposed to feel when they're right. It was awesome. My trainer pointed out that I look like a completely different rider on Ben. I was...I was actually confident. Carole kept saying how great I looked on him. This is our first go through the first couple of jumps. I'm so used to basically crouching in the fetal position, holding back, and not releasing with my hands (due to fear), that these bad habits carried over to poor Ben today. Hopefully a few more lessons with him I will be able to just let go.

 This was the first time I've had fun riding, without fearing for my life, in longer than I can remember...which is sad.
     I know that horses like this aren't just made this way, and it takes a lot of training to get them this way. My fear with Finn is that his heart isn't in in. That he doesn't want a job to do. That we will get a month of consistency, only to be injured for two months and start all over again. I know for sure that when he's better there is no way I'm going to be the first one on his back. He is either going into full training here, or being sent away for training.

    Ben doesn't know how much I needed him today. Thanks, buddy.

Allergies

Luckily the vet was able to come out right away to take a look at Finn's hives:

They were even worse than this on his sides

After a steroid shot and a day of dexamethasone (of a four day treatment) his hives cleared right up. The vet said his lungs sounded really raspy, but she attributed it to allergies, and not something more serious like pneumonia. She also recommended soaking his hay from now on so he won't be breathing in the dust from it. The barn he's at right now is extremely dusty. The paddocks are dirt and there is basically just dirt and dust everywhere. Luckily, his new barn has grass paddocks and just a whole lot more greenery. I'm hoping his normal little warm up cough (two or three coughs), and his super dry hooves, will subside once we move. Two weeks from now we'll be all moved in to our new home and I can't wait!  Vet also tested for Vitamin E and Selenium deficiency. Finn's had a pretty dull coat recently, even though he's on Omega's, and the vet thought it would be worth it to test. New England is very deficient in Vit. E/Selenium, and even though he's on a supplement, she thought it might not be enough. Results should be in around Wednesday.
   After a week of dealing with Finn's allergies he was finally better for a lesson on Saturday. There was a  well known dressage clinician there that day, so the barn was packed, and Finn was very excited about all the activity. I had the best lesson, and I really feel like we're making progress (finally). I think I'm getting much more consistent in my contact, and a lot more following and not so stuck. My reins felt like elastics. I'm also much better about using my left rein, which is something I always struggle with. We still had some llama moments in the canter, but our trot was great, Finn was supple, really using his back, and not hollowing at all. He is getting so much stronger and I can even see a difference in his topline. Two things I needed to be reminded about constantly was "chin up" (I look at his ears), and to sit back ( I always tilt forward). Then...we did a little jumping. It's been a while since I've jumped him, and oh boy was he excited. There is nothing Finn likes more than jumping. Luckily he really takes care of me over jumps. My trainer could see my nerves...even over a little two foot cross rail, so she made me sing the ABC's over the jumps. This helped a lot! I'm hoping that the more often we jump, and the more I just trust my horse, my nerves won't kick in so much. I also asked my trainer if she'd be interested in teaching me at my new barn. She said she'd love to, but it will probably only be twice a month, as new barn charges a ring fee. After our lesson Finn got a good hosing off. While we were in the wash stall the clinician came up to me and said that I had the most talented little horse, and that she just loved him. I definitely liked hearing that!

Sass

First time the outdoor, temps in the 50s, pony that hasn't been ridden in a week= sass!

Michelle was braver than me and rode him first...

The we took the ponies on a nice hack. Welcome back Spring!

The past month

    Yikes! It's been a month since I've blogged! I've been keeping up with reading everyone's blogs but just haven't had the time, or really, inspiration, to blog recently. It's been a long, LONG, winter here in the northeast. Going around and around in the indoor has gotten old fast. The trails and roads are still covered with ice, and I think everyone is ready for a good hack, especially me and Finn. Finn has been wonderful and uncomplicated. I haven't been getting to the barn as much as I like, but when I do, our rides are really good. I think the SI injections helped a bunch. He has been so much more supple. When the vet was out for Spring shots a few weeks ago she caught the end of our lesson and commented on how amazing he looked. Yay!
    Speaking of lessons...I've unfortunately had to stop taking them. My trainer has not yet renewed her off property insurance, and without it, she's not allowed to teach at the barn. Michelle has been riding him a few times a week and jumping him once a week, since her horse is currently laid up with an injury, and he is doing really well with her. She's been jumping baby courses with him, and he is really enjoying himself and doing great.
     I've been thinking more and more about moving him. I just can't see us preparing for a show with him an hour away from me. There also aren't any good trainers in that area, and all the good trainers won't travel that far. I found a barn literally 10 minutes from my house, that borders Water's Edge Farm, a very well known eventing barn with a great trainer. If I boarded at the barn next door I would be able to hack over to Water's Edge, take lessons, and use their indoor/outdoor/and jumps for a fee. It would cost about $400 more a month, with regular lessons, than I'm paying now, but I will be saving about $200 a month in gas alone, and be getting some quality training. The barn next door also has acres of grass turnout, big stalls, and miles and miles of trails (including the local hunt club's trails complete with x-country fences). The owner should have an opening on May 1st, and if she does, we will hopefully be moving.
       I just can't have my horse this far away from me anymore. Two weeks ago Finn was playing halter tag with his buddies, and one of the geldings got him right around the sensitive skin on his eye. He had a little cut, that I cleaned and put some antibiotic cream on, and it wasn't that bad even though his eye swelled a bit. He got some bute in his PM grain, and AM grain the next day. The next day the barn manager called me and said Finn's eye was really swelled, even though the cut looked fine. I got about 4 text messages, and two calls about how bad his eye was...until finally she called and said it looked like his eye was disappearing, it was so swollen. So, that Friday night me and Matt drove up to the barn after work in a panic, ready to call the vet. It took us almost 3 hours to get there in rush hour traffic. Matt literally ran up to his stall, threw the door open, and said "you've got to be kidding me". His eye was FINE. It was a little swollen, but no worse than it had been the day before. And that was when I learned that the barn manager exaggerates.
    I hate not being able to just pop up and check on him, or brush him. If I moved him to this new barn I won't even have to get on the highway. I really hope it works out.
    Oh, and we also got a truck!! A 2004 Ford F-150. It is so nice to be a two car family again!

Finn in his BOT sheet, which has made a BIG difference in warm up!

My cute little scarface.

Starting her early...Addie reading her horse book

The new truck!


Here's a video of Michelle and Finn jumping...sorry so blurry, our indoor is dark!

Also, be sure to check out the contest over at SprinklerBandits blog here, for Riding Ninja apparel. Super cute stuff!

Life, riding, trainer updates

Well, I haven't been riding much. I think I've ridden 3 times in the past two weeks or so, and seen Finn probably about 5 times. I have a whole bunch of excuses...
First, hubby crashed his car coming home from work a week and a half ago. Thank god he was totally fine, but the car was totaled. We thought it could be repaired, as it was just the front end, but the insurance adjustor said it was nearly $13,000 worth of damage. We bought this car last April and ever since we bought it it's been nothing but bad luck. I've never gotten a flat tire in my life, two days after owning it, I got one. We also got another flat tire, and a cracked windshield in under a year of ownership. Neither of us ever liked the car, so in some ways it was a relief that the doomed car was gone. We financed it, and after all was said and done we pretty much broke even on it and luckily didn't owe any money on it or a deductible. In fact we're receiving a WHOPPING $68 check. Rather than financing another car right now hubby and I have decided we're going to try and get by with one car. We work at the same place, and work opposite schedules, so it's not difficult to pass car and baby back and forth. It is, however, difficult to get to the barn often! Good news is, we're going to save up and get a truck and trailer...which I am so excited about! And, today, after all this stress, hubby's parents told us that they will pay for the three of us to come down to Florida to visit them for a week at the end of March. I'm pretty sure hubby almost cried. We need a vacation THAT much.
    We were also hit with a monster storm last weekend making it even more difficult to get to the barn. It sure was a lot easier plowing the driveway with only one car in it though.
     The few times I've ridden Finn all we've done is work on the basics. I've also decided to stop using the barn trainer for lessons and training rides. Every time I've had her do a training ride all she's basically done with him is trot him in circles for half an hour...barely any canter work or anything else. When she rides him I also have to tack him up, warm him up, cool him down when she hops off, and then untack him. If I wanted an exercise rider I'd pay one of the barn kids $10 to do so! Our lessons also haven't been progressing. I talked to Amanda, as she also takes lessons with former trainer, and she felt the exact same way and has also stopped riding with her. I love the barn trainer and think she's a wonderful person, and accomplished rider, but I'd rather save my money if we continue to not progress.
    One of the other girls at the barn, Michelle, who is an amazing rider/eventer/jumper and trained her young warmblood agreed to hop on Finn one day. After watching her ride and seeing how well my horse took to her, and then having her give me a little mini lesson on Finn, she's agreed to help me out with him. She's been riding him 2-3 times a week and JUMPING him which I'm so excited about. The other night he did his first grid. She's also been working a lot on strengthening his canter. I also don't have to be up there when she rides him, so he's still getting that exercise when I can't be there, and then when I can get up there he's not a hot, uneducated mess. I also get full updates and videos from Michelle after her rides. I'm very happy with my decision and think Finn will really start to progress from working with her. I noticed after I rode him the other day how responsive he was to my aids, and his canter was so much more relaxed! Yay!
     Finn will be getting a chiro adjustment this upcoming Tuesday. Then, on Wednesday afternoon I scheduled a full lameness evaluation and possible radiographs of his hocks and stifles. I've decided to use a very well known sports medicine vet that works with a lot of top sport horses in the area and is supposedly very good at pinpointing any issues. Finn is not lame, but I've always been a little paranoid that there's a little something going on and that he's not quite right. Not sure if it's a bit of arthritis in his hocks, a stifle, or SI issue. I want to get radiographs done and know if there's something we need to treat, especially now that he's really in work.
    Finn's been super girthy and crabby on the crossties so I ordered him a month's supply of omeprazole from www.horseprerace.com. I was a little concerned about ordering off market medicine, but I know a lot of people who have had no issues ordering from them, so I really hope it helps with his girthyness/grumpiness!
   I'll be headed up the barn tomorrow morning and hope to do a few crossrails with Finn and work more on his canter.

Here's a video of my munchkin doing his first grid!

You want him to believe that he can do everything fabulously.

Today I had a great lesson. My lessons are usually half an hour, but after feeling like I can't really get my groove in half an hour I asked me trainer if we could do an hour. We started really working on Finn's canter today. His trot is becoming much more balanced, but his canter is very unbalanced, and I have a tough time staying with him, and trying to help him. I tend to hold his head, which is a bad habit I've been trying to break. My trainer told me to just let go of his head and let him find his own sense of balance for now. I essentially had to act like the passenger, not the driver. For the first time ever, I sat back, relaxed, opened my hips, and Finn dropped his head, became round, and started really using his hind end. It felt amazing. I have the tendency to lean forward, push Finn into the canter, hold my upper body like a board, and not have a following hand. I think today was the first time I ever relaxed at the canter with him.
    My trainer commented that Finn is a very forgiving horse and that he instantly tells you if what you're doing is correct. I feel like our moments of correctness are becoming more and more.
    After working on the canter for a bit we started doing some crossrails. I haven't jumped in a while, so I was really psyching myself out about it. The first jump we came up to at the trot didn't feel right to me. He wasn't paying attention, and I hauled him to a stop DIRECTLY IN FRONT OF THE JUMP. I can't even believe I did this...I never ever have before. I was completely horrified. I immediately realized that that cannot happen, and before he could think about it to much, we circled, trotted up to the jump and sailed over it. My horse really is forgiving of all my faults!!!
    We then worked on cantering cross rails. Finn is such a smooth jumper (at times) that cantering jumps with him just feels like another canter stride and not a jump. He was such a good boy and dripping in sweat by the end of our lesson.
    At the end of our lesson we worked on a little more flat work. He was so loose, forward, and off the forehand, I felt like I had a different horse under me and it was amazing. I currently have Finn in a Myler Comfort Snaffle, but my trainer suggested I try a double jointed loose ring snaffle. I think I'll pick one up tomorrow and see how he goes in it.
    I feel like with all the riding lately Finn's level of fitness has greatly increased and my fear of his inabilities has greatly decreased. I think that with all the injuries Finn has had in the past year has made me think he is chronically lame, and that I needed to baby him (like ride only twice a week at the walk and trot...).
     I recently started reading Jane Savoie's Dressage 101. I've watched Jane's training videos in the past and absolutely love how she teaches in such a clear, "makes sense" approach. One quote really stuck out to me:

"You need to build the horse's self esteem. You want him to believe that he can do absolutely everything fabulously. This attitude goes for riders as well... Build your self esteem and your confidence in your abilities. The way to do this is to practice being positive about yourself. Create a mental image of yourself as a patient, capable, brave rider". - Jane Savoie

    This quote sums up everything I struggle with, and everything I need to work on. I know how Finn reacts when my confidence is there. He would jump the moon for me. I need to believe in that, and I need to believe in myself to get him there. I have big goals for both of us, and I know that we are both capable of getting there.
    I can remember only TWO good rides of 2012. One, a jumping lesson around June of last year, and two, our dressage clinic last September. To only be able to remember two really great rides in nearly an entire year of ownership is not good, or fun. Luckily, this year is off to a much better start.
     I have off from work tomorrow and plan on heading up to the barn in the afternoon. I'm thinking of doing some no stirrup work, riding for a while in two point (my legs were killing me after our lesson today!), work on the canter some more, and do lots of trot and transition work. I'm hoping to convince my husband to come up to the barn with me to get some pictures and videos of us.