After I started him under saddle, Romeo, Jen's TB/Percheron, went on a handful of trail rides then got most of the winter off to continue growing. Jen contacted me earlier this year to ask if I knew anyone who could come ride him and put some miles on him. I couldn't do it for obvious reasons. My go-to recommendation is always Tor, and that's exactly what I told Jen; so Jen hired Tor and she's been coming out a few times a week to put some training on him.
As I may or may not have mentioned, Romeo is for sale. Jen's not in a hurry to move him on, but he's listed and ready to go to the right home. Jen asked me to come out and get some photos and video of him,which I readily agreed to do.
Of course, Jen also moved him to a new farm two days before I was scheduled to come out. *sigh*
It was good to see Romeo again. He is starting to fill out and look less like a gangly thoroughbred and more like a draft cross.
Tor has done a very good job continuing his training and he's just as steady and reliable as ever. You really couldn't ask for a better personality on a horse. He's only three so they're keeping it easy on him. Lots of walking and trotting with a little bit of 'brain exercises' such as ground poles, walking over cross rails, and maneuvering around obstacles thrown into the mix. He's a willing and laid back horse who I think has the potential to do just about anything.
It'll be cool to see who he ends up with and what he winds up doing. In the mean time, have some photos and video of one of the quietest three year olds I've met.
In all this blogging about regular client horses, I have totally failed to mention the fact that young Romeo went on his first trail ride about a month ago. Jen and her niece, Alissa, were going out for an evening jaunt through some of my favorite old haunts and, despite the fact that I had had an extremely long day, I couldn't say no to the invitation they extended to me.
Romeo had already been ponied on the trails and we wouldn't be going far or fast. The handful of rides I'd had on him indicated that he's a mellow horse who isn't likely to spook or act up. The difference between riding an older horse with some rough miles and a youngster with a clean start is unbelievable. Romeo made a lot of seasoned trail horses I ride look like spooky greenies.
We kept it to an hour of walk-only riding. We made our way down the street, up the neighbor's impressive, tree-lined driveway, and across fields to where I boarded Ozzy back in 2008. I was sad to see how run down that farm has become, but glad to be back on trails I haven't ridden since I moved him. Along the way we saw deer, barking dogs, other horses (both ridden and loose in pastures), cars, bicycles, and all kinds of footing and shrubbery. Romeo just plodded along on a loose rein, ears floppy, eyes soft, taking in the sights with a subdued kind of interest.
Our route took us out to the creek, which Romeo had seen before and splashed right into. He actually seemed to delight in nosing through the cool water and hanging out with the older horses. What a good man!
As we rode back under a blue moon in a pink sky, I thought to myself, "If they were all this easy, I'd be out of a job!"
Jen and I happened to have some coinciding free time today because it's the week of Cancel All the Things. She texted me to ask if I could come up and ride Romeo for the first time. After some internal debate, I agreed. I am generally against riding two year olds. I'm not even a big fan of riding three year olds. I'm all about letting horses grow and mature, both physically and mentally. However, at the end of the day, I respect an owner's wishes and I realize a good start at an early age is much better than a crappy start later on.
Those of you who have been reading along know that Romeo has done a lot of ground work. I myself did a good bit of lunging and ground driving with him, both under saddle and in harness. I even threw a leg over him once to see what would happen (nothing). Jen just wanted me to hop on him and walk around for ten minutes. Why not?
Romeo hasn't done much in the last couple weeks. The last thing he participated in was a bomb-proofing clinic in north Jersey (which Tor handled him at). He did very well and has just been out in the pasture, being a horse since then. I hadn't seen him for some time before that either.
I arrived and Romeo looked happy to see me. As usual, he stood politely to be groomed and tacked up. Jen put a dressage bridle with a double jointed snaffle on him and we walked out to the recently-fenced arena. I lunged him for a couple minutes just to make sure he wasn't feeling frisky (he wasn't). I led him around the ring to get a good look at everything and made him lead the way back.
Before long, it was time to mount. I threw the mounting block alongside of him. No response. I stomped to the top of the steps. Still nothing. I leaned on him, patted his far flank, and thumped the stirrups. He stood still. With no further ado, I swung on board. He basically rolled his eyes at me and went with it, as most young horses I've started tend to do.
The hardest part was getting him to take the first couple steps. He's so desensitized that he happily ignored my leg, standing still like a good boy. Eventually he accidentally took a step forward. I praised him and the connection clicked. By the end of our ten minute jaunt, he understood what leg meant. We did a few laps around the ring, changed direction, and did some circles. Then I dismounted. Romeo was AWESOME. He was soft, supple, and relaxed. He should make a great riding horse in no time.
The cool thing about having C come down on a regular basis is that I can twist her arm into taking pictures of me doing all sorts of stuff. I was going to blog about all of this in detail, but I think I'm just going to do a massive photo dump of things C has taken pictures of over her past couple visits. (That's right, I'm totally stealing all her photos.)
Gorgeous photo of Herbie after a bath. I love that you can see all her spots.
I think I can officially say that I'm getting back into the swing of this horse thing. My day yesterday featured five horses in a row. It's like being back at the rescue... only not miserable.
I started off by going to Jen's to work with Romeo. Herbie was so excited to see her pig that she didn't even say hi to the guys that were doing the landscaping and painting the house. Talk about a dog on a mission! As for the landscaping guys... they got to watch Sunraider barge right over top of my and let himself loose on the lawn. It was the rudest thing I've ever seen him do and I do believe I called him a dirty name for it. I put the two year old in the barn and marched back outside, where Sunraider greeted me with perky ears and bright eyes. "What? I didn't do anything bad." I threw him back in his field and went back to work.
Romeo is really starting to get the hang of this ground driving thing. He no longer has a problem with me standing behind him and we did enough trot work for him to break a sweat. He really seems to enjoy learning and I think he's about two sessions away from me throwing a leg over his back. Good boy.
Next, it was my turn to break a sweat. The morning had started off damp and cool, but as I drove back to Carolyn's, the sun suddenly burst through the clouds and the temperatures climbed into the 80's.
I was originally going to make it a lunging day (god knows JR could use it) but I couldn't resist the beautiful weather and wound up riding BOTH ponies.
CP had rolled in something gross and stunk to high heaven. I would have given him a bath even if we DIDN'T work hard.
He was really excited to be in the ring with the jumps, and while he was behaving himself, I didn't want to get him into the habit of anticipating. Instead, we worked on some of our dressage until his trot was soft and relaxed and he stopped looking at the jumps. Only then did we approach the cross rail. We trotted in and he landed o so softly and trotted away. Good boy! We cantered the rail a couple times in each direction and called it a day. Good pony.
JR was a joy, as usual. We started by warming up at the walk, trot, and canter, then schooled the cross rail and vertical a few times. By then he had already worked up a sweat and we went out to the front field to work on that frame of his. He's such a willing and honest pony and he picked up on what I wanted right away. Unfortunately, he just doesn't have the muscling to hold it for more than a few strides at a time. It's going to be a while.
Just as I finished putting the ponies away, my 4 o'clock client pulled up the driveway. Traz's owner had brought him back for a lesson with me.
Traz seemed happy to be back and unloaded happily at the barn. We had him tacked up in minutes and his owner climbed on board. I was pleased with her equitation. She warned me that she's a timid rider and I told her to just relax.
It became clear right away that Traz hasn't been taught to stand still. That's pretty high on my list of pet peeves and we started by addressing it right away. Within a few tries, he really started to get the idea of 'park'. His owner was THRILLED.
I also showed her how to ask him to soften his poll, just at the halt. It wasn't long before she figured out how to ask and he gave her exactly what she wanted. By the end of the lesson, he was even walking a few strides at a time in a nice frame. Good boy.
Before long, we moved into the trot. We spent the majority of the lesson working on the quality of the trot. Traz's rider is used to a much smaller, shorter trot and it took some convincing to get her to relax with his natural stride. I explained to her that 'forward is always the answer' and touched on the difference between true collection and just slowing down, which creates a mincy stride that I HATE and which is unnatural for the horse.
Once Traz's rider relaxed, we started working on introducing bend in the corners, another concept that the poor horse has never been introduced to. When I rode him, he was totally dead to the leg and stiff through the neck. Thanks to the exercises I taught his owner at the beginning of the lesson, he started to get the idea and soften. A couple of times, he even offered to bring his head down and flex through the poll just the tiniest bit.
At one point in the lesson, Traz and his rider had a real ah ha! moment. Everything came together. Without his head tied to his chest, Traz was able to listen for subtle hints like half halts. He softened his poll, relaxed his stride, and actually engaged his hindquarters. His back lifted and his rider grinned. The entire quality of his trot had changed.
"Feel that? That's you putting your horse together." I praised her. It only lasted a few strides, but it was exactly the confidence boost she needed. Hooray!
We also worked on the canter for a tiny little bit. Sitting quiet combined with half halting in the corners really made Traz relax. He pulled out that gorgeous canter that I got out of him when I rode him. His rider beamed. Reportedly, he's never cantered that nicely for her ever.
The lesson ended on a good note and his rider was surprised at how tired she was, even without doing any jumping. "That's how you know you're doing it right," I told her. I gave her homework to work on between now and our next lesson. I told her to ride the walk until the walk is perfect, then trot, to trot until the trot comes together and only then canter, canter until the canter comes together then QUIT. I told her I don't want her jumping, even cross rails, until all of that comes as second nature. "Jump cross rails until cross rails are boring. Jump verticals until verticals are boring. Jump courses until courses are boring, then raise them. I want you and Traz to be RELAXED through everything."
Traz's owner and her dad were delighted at the end of the lesson. His rider says I restored her faith in her horse and that she feels better about him than she has in a long time. She emailed me last night: "Thank you again for a great lesson and having me realize that it's not my horse that's just acting stupid. I was just telling my dad I wish I could work with you everyday!! Hope to see you soon! Next week! "
Traz, for his part, didn't want to leave. He hesitated getting on the trailer and neighed the entire way down the driveway. It's too bad he can't come live with me. I think it would do him a world of good.
Traz
And after all that, I still had the time to pamper Ozzy. I had seen him galloping back and forth in his pasture all afternoon and figured he wouldn't want to be caught, but as soon as he saw me heading toward the indoor, he came running up to the gate and stared eagerly at me. He practically threw his head in the halter.
I wound up taking advantage of the warm weather to give him a nice, long bath to really get the dead hair off. He seemed to really enjoy himself and stood ground tied with one foot cocked the entire time. After he was bathed, I spent some time hand grazing him while he started to dry.
I thought I might do some free lunging with him in the outdoor. As many of you know, he has a thing about jumping. I wanted to see how he'd react to the addition of the new jump standards, but I had no interest in being on his back for the experience.
As soon as I turned Ozzy loose, I realized what a frisky mood he was in. He was charging around the ring, rearing, striking, and flinging his head around. I ran back to my car for my camera, but he was over the worst of it by the time I returned. Damn. I would love to get a picture of him with his leg over his head sometime. I took photos anyway. I am pleased to report that he seems to have gotten over whatever physical thing was bothering him and is looking more like himself. I guess all I had to do was worry. Maybe the same will go for his attitude. I can hope... right?
Anyway, enough rambling, on to the part you're all here for... pictures!
Aside from yesterday's excitement, things have been going well in the horse-training part of my life.
Yesterday morning, I drove up to see Romeo. This time, I stuck him in the harness and long lines instead of his saddle, and we worked on ground driving. It was a challenging concept for him at first because he kept trying to default to the PP concept of 'hide your butt', and that REALLY doesn't work well for an exercise that involves a human walking behind you. Thankfully, once he figured out that it really was ok to turn away from me instead of toward me, he seemed to relax, and it wasn't long before we were walking and trotting circles, figure eights, and serpentines around the outdoor. Good boy! He'll need a little more practice before he really gets it, but he's off to a good start!
Today, Christine came down to ride again. This week, the weather was perfect and we didn't have to worry about the horses stroking out from the heat. My original plan was to take CP, but when I went out to the pony pasture, JR volunteered himself. The little guy is still pretty unfit and I'm going to ease him into serious work. This seemed like the perfect pace for his first ride back and I wasn't terribly concerned about the possibility that he might act up.
We ended up having a perfect ride. JR was on his very best behavior and Art took good care of C. We warmed up by walking around the front field by the barn, then wound our way around the back of the property with Herbie in tow. We meandered through the woods and came out in the field behind the indoor. There, C decided she was feeling brave. Before long, we were trotting and cantering in big circles all over the property. We even rode in the part of the horse pasture that's currently being rested. It was nice to get to do something nice for my bestie for a change.
JR was a very good boy. You never would have guessed this was his first time being ridden in close to a month, or that he'd only been on this property for a few days, or that this was his first trail ride in a new place. He started off a little sluggish, but a reminder with my dressage whip woke him right up. He walked, trotted, and cantered on a nice, loose rein and wasn't bothered by anything. He led the whole way and didn't put a hoof out of place. He really is a nice pony, and one that I would love to add to my stable long term.
Yesterday was a lovely, relaxing day. The weather was gorgeous and I was free to make my own schedule. I slept in then did some useful things around the house, including laundry, before joining Bryce on his lunch break. The afternoon was spent with the horses.
I started by running over to Jen's to work with Romeo.
Herbie entertained herself by playing with the pig the whole time. The two of them have gotten really comfortable together and I found them sitting in the sunshine together after I was done tacking up.
Romeo had another great session. We lunged under tack and he did very well. I've left the side reins pretty loose because he's just a baby. I want him to accept bit pressure before I teach him to ground drive, but I'm not really worried about developing a frame at all. He was very good, but there were moments where he really showed his age. He may be a big and level-headed boy, but there's a reason I don't ride horses until they turn three.
Regardless, he was so good that I finished the session by introducing the mounting block. I basically tossed it at him so it made a ton of noise and bumped his leg. He didn't care. I stomped up and down the steps. Nothing. I leaned over his back. He flicked an ear. I thumped him with the stirrups. Nada. Then I stood on one side while slapping the opposite side of his rib cage. That got his attention a little and he turned to sniff my leg. Hmmm. Figuring that I had a pretty good hold on him and that there wasn't a big chance he'd do anything, I leaned all my weight in the saddle. He cocked a foot. I praised him and repeated the process from the other side then called it a day. I think this horse will be fine when the time comes to finally throw a leg over.
Next I went back to my own barn. The pony came right over as soon as he saw me. Yesterday I put the ground poles away and schooled some more dressage. He is really starting to get the concept of the free walk and will stretch down, down, down into the contact, then pick right back up when I ask. The idea hasn't really carried over into the trot yet. Our stretchy trot needs some work. He'll lunge beautifully in a frame, but he can only give it to me for a few strides at a time with a rider up. His poll is definitely softening, but it hasn't become second nature yet. As long as he's relaxed, I'm not nitpicking though, and we did get some gorgeous sitting trot toward the end of our ride yesterday. We worked on some leg yields and lots of 20m circles, then finished off by practicing our flying changes. The pony is a natural. The changes aren't automatic yet, but I think that'll come with time and minimal effort. Good boy. Carolyn complimented him when she came up the driveway on her way home from getting her son.
I put the pony away and retrieved Ozzy. It's like he read my blog and knew I was worried. He has started grazing in earnest and has really put the weight back on. His summer coat is coming in nicely under his shag and I'm thinking his winter coat just sucked because it's the first time I've let him grow one in three years and the weather didn't really warrant it this year. I spent a boatload of time shedding him then tacked up for a short walk-trot ride in the outdoor. The more I ride him, the more I accept that he really just needs to be a beginner lesson horse and for-fun trail pony. It's what he enjoys and it's good enough for me. He's happy and has good manners and tons of personality. His body can't keep up with endurance and I don't care enough about dressage or jumping to torment him with it past the very basic level. I am happy to pamper him and teach him useless party tricks.
All in all, it was a productive day and I can't complain. I'm easing back into the horse routine and the transition should be easy as the clients pick up. Woo!
I have about an hour before I run out to a horse show, then give a tour of Cat Tail Farm to a potential boarder, then give a lesson, then ride CP, then work with Ozzy, then probably drive 20 minutes to work with a two year old.... so let me catch you up on a few things. I've been busy. Are we surprised?
On Tuesday, Tor came down for the day. I took advantage of her presence and went up to do my first session with Jen's coming two year old American Warmblood, Romeo. Jen picked him up on Craigslist. He was originally listed for $400 and a friend of hers told her to go take a look. The poor thing needed an upgrade. She told the owners that she'd have to pick up his expenses so she wasn't looking to pay for him, but she would provide him with a good home and proper training.The owners agreed and she got him for free. The poor thing was ribby, covered in rain rot, and barely handled. He didn't lead or tie and hadn't seen much of the world.
Since then, Jen has worked on all the basics with him. He ties, picks up his feet, bathes, and has been introduced to the basics of lunging. He has also worn a harness and bridle. He turns two next month. Neither Jen nor I believe in riding two year olds, but he's a big boy and we WOULD like to get him used to having someone sit astride at the walk. Jen wants to sell him in a few months, and the more he knows, the better the home he will find. In the mean time, I'll get a much-needed chiropractic adjustment for every time I work with the youngster.
You'll notice in the photos that I'm carrying a Carrot Stick. Jen uses the 7 Games with all her horses and I respect that. Long time followers may know that I went to several NH clinics a few years ago. I have seen Parelli live and have a very good understanding of how it works and the theories behind it. I have studied it enough to use the parts I like and to understand the parts I don't like enough to undo them. Personally, I'm much more in agreement with Clinton Anderson, but that's a whole different blog entry. I don't normally mention my knowledge of NH or my opinions on it (or its followers), but I will say that I've gotten my share of Parelli horses gone wrong. With that out of the way, Jen does Parelli CORRECTLY, and while it does present me with some training challenges, it's mostly a useful thing.
I arrived at Jen's and was greeted by an excited pig. Herbie remembered the pig from last time and got much braver the second time around. The two of them actually spent a good bit of time playing together.
Sunraider and Romeo had taken down the electric tape at the back of the ring and were hanging out in the woods when I arrived, but both boys came galloping right up as soon as they heard people. It was clear from the get go that Romeo was going to be very frisky that day. The first time I saw him, it took a lot of effort for Jen to keep him moving forward, but on Tuesday he was prancing around with his tail flagged.
I started off by just lunging him in a rope halter to get a feel for what he knows and how he reacts to different forms of pressure. He was definitely up, but obedient. After sending him over some ground poles and around some obstacles, I brought him into the barn. He stood calmly while the pig and Herbie tore up and down the barn aisle in a game of chase.
Romeo had never had a saddle on before, but I didn't see a reason he couldn't start then and there. He barely flicked an ear when I thumped the saddle on his back and tightened the girth. Good man. The loud endurance stirrups didn't seem to bother him and he snoozed while I retrieved his bridle.
We went back out in the ring and worked some more, mostly at the trot. I eventually introduced side reins to get him used to the pressure of the bit in his mouth. He was a pro about the whole thing. He still needs to learn the fine line between being out of my space and dragging me off my feet, but that will come with time. Over all, our fist session went very well. He even broke a sweat! I think he'll be a quick study and will make someone a very nice riding horse in another year and a half or so.
Next we went back to Cat Tail Farm where Tor groomed Ozzy while I rode CP. Mike and I had run out to Home Depot the night before to pick up some ground poles and the pony is officially starting his jump education. I hand walked him over the rails the first time, but he didn't even bat an eye so I climbed on board. I kept it short and simple... walk, trot, canter over the poles in each direction, 20m circles at each gait, and call it a day. CP definitely had his concentration ears on for the poles, but he went right over albeit in a slightly drunken manner.
Yesterday I tried to do him a favor by lunging him over the poles so he could just worry about his feet and not the weight of a rider, but he seemed to lose his confidence that way. He went over, but it took a lot more coaxing. I'll probably just keep riding him over them for a few days. I won't have jump standards until next week anyway.
Finally, Tor finished up by riding Ozzy.
I've been afraid to say anything out loud, but I still don't think he's right. In fact, his whole hind end seems to be getting worse. He's always had bad conformation and we know he's got all sorts of arthritis, and I think that's the root of it, but I can't help wondering if there's more to it than that. He's incredibly unfit. After all, he's had most of the year off. He has lost all his butt muscles and top line and really just kind of looks ratty in general. I think that's a big part of why he's fumbling around and being clumsy, but I'm not 100% sure. I'm getting him re-tested for Lyme and I'll probably have his ankles and hocks injected at the beginning of the summer, but I'm starting to wonder if he's going to fall apart in his teens. He's happy in the field and doesn't seem lame, but he's definitely not the rip roaring endurance horse he once was. Tor confirmed my fears, saying that he felt sloppier than usual. Ugh. They had a good ride, but we definitely took it easy on him.
I'm going to put him back in slow, easy, regular work in the next month and see if gaining muscle helps with his lack of coordination. I'm perfectly happy just having him as a pleasure horse, but I'm still trying to figure out which steps to take next. Shipping a sound, happy horse to the clinic for a battery of expensive tests seems silly, but I've always been about doing EVERYTHING I need to do for him, and I'll kick myself if it turns out he has something and I didn't catch it early enough. ARGH.
Ozzy DID give a lesson to my youngest student yet yesterday. V is a four year old little girl who has had the horse bug since day one. Her mom is friend's with L's mom(from a few months ago) and when she mentioned she was looking for a riding stable, L's mom recommended me. I warned them right off the bat that I have a full sized horse and that I wasn't sure how much a four year old could physically do, but welcomed them to come out for a trial lesson.
When I arrived, the horses were up by the indoor. Ozzy greeted me with an excited whinny, but then trotted away when I came up to him. I gave cookies to Art and Rue and Ozzy came back long enough to snatch one and run off. I grabbed a bucket of grain and lured Art and Rue to the indoor. Ozzy followed and I shut the door. Art knew what was up and came right up to me. I put him back out to eat and be away from the drama. Rue and Ozzy went into full fledged 'OMG you're gonna kill us' panic mode, galloping around the indoor like a pair of lunatics. I had told Herbie to get out and stay and she sat at the gate, half-barking in frustration. I prayed that my new clients wouldn't pull up the driveway into the middle of this circus. Eventually, Rue caved and came up to me. I threw him outside and Ozzy knew the game was up. He came up to me like nothing ever happened.
Of course he was sweaty and gross by the time my clients arrived. Thankfully, Ozzy was on his best behavior and I didn't have to convince them that he'd take care of their child. Sheesh!
The lesson went really well, actually. V was very gung ho about the whole thing and memorized everything I told her. I was extremely impressed when she was able to identify the girth. She was brave and chatty and didn't seem shy about meeting a new person at all.
Before long, we all went down to the outdoor and V got boosted into the saddle. I told her how to hold her hands and feet and instructed her to sit up straight and hold on tight.
"When you want the horse to walk, you go like this," I clucked. "Can you do that?"
She kissed twice, ever so softly. Ozzy flicked an ear and walked forward. A few strides later, she said, "Whoa." Ozzy stopped dead. Good lesson pony.
By the end of the lesson she was actually stopping and steering on her own. Did I mention she made up a song just for Ozzy on the spot? The smile on her face totally melted my heart. I think I'm going to have to invest in a slightly smaller kid safe horse.
After the lesson, we took a walk out to the pony pasture. CP was totally intrigued by the little girl. I told him, "If you ever learn to behave, you can have one of your own, you monster!"
Meanwhile, V was totally enamored with Lunar. He wasn't quite sure what to make of such a tiny human so he just stood stock still and let her do as she pleased. I should get a mini harness and break him to ride. The exercise would be good for him and he's the perfect size for a four year old. He's such a mellow guy...
So, yes, V was thrilled and it looks like I have a new student for the time being. I'm gonna need a smaller saddle.
