Monday Funday

Last night became very unexpectedly pony-filled very quickly.  My friend N, who rode Mollie last week, keeps her horse at a barn I boarded Mollie at for over 8 years.  She texted me as I got out of work and asked if I wanted to come ride her old man, Tebo.  He's an awesome TB gelding in his 20s who is just super cool to ride and I haven't ridden him since before N even owned him, probably 14ish years ago.

When I got to the barn the BM asked if either of us wanted to school Katee, one of the schoolies.  So N tacked up Tebo, I tacked up Katee, the BM tacked up a client's horse, and one of her students tacked up Riley.  It was a pony party!!  Unfortunately, things didn't go super smoothly for everyone.

The lesson student just didn't click with Riley and was having a hard time figuring out his buttons.  In her defense he's a very nervous Arabian stallion (ok, cryptorchid technically) who hadn't been worked in a while.  He's not nervous in a spooky way, more of a you need to assure him he's just fine and not dying every single step of the way.  We did some rearranging, I hopped on Riley and fell in love with him all over again.  I rode Riley a little bit when I boarded at this barn and always loved him then, and if I could take in another horse today he would be my pick.  He is one of the softest, most willing to please horses I have ever ridden.

And he's super handsome.  That helps.

My other rides were fun as well but unfortunately no pictures of those ponies.  Katee was a typical lesson pony who just tossed her head and pretended she didn't know how to steer whenever I asked anything of her, but it was all good.  Then I floundered around on Tebo who is the absolute opposite of Molls.  I equate him to riding a dinosaur.  He was a total wise guy and just popped into a canter at every available moment.  He never once did anything naughty, just pushed my buttons and cracked me up the whole ride.  I didn't even care that I probably looked like an idiot, he was just plain fun.

It was really nice to ride with a group again, and to see some old faces.

Eli, my best-est friend's American Warmblood

Tigger, 100 year old Hackney pony and love of my life.

VCBH: Love is, What I've Got

"Let's take a moment to appreciate the Pros of our current ponies, whether you own them or just ride them in lessons. "

 

 

A little late for this blog hop but I really love this topic and just had some bloggy catching up to do before I got around to actually writing the post.  There are so many things that I love about my silly red mare and unfortunately I don't think I talk about them enough.

 

 

1. She's super brave.  Whether it's out on the trails, cross country course, or just trailering her off property, Molls is pretty brave and sensible in new situations.  She's definitely "on alert" at times but I credit that more to lead mare mentality than anything else.  She genuinely wants to protect the herd (me) at all times.

 



Molls says oceans are no big deal.



2. She very rarely refuses a fence of any kind.  If she does it's typically because I literally stopped riding and she said ummmm no.

 

 

3. She's really ridiculously good looking.

I mean, can anyone else rock a pink fly sheet like her?



4. She trailers like an absolute champion.  Loads herself, unloads quietly, will pony other horses on, and will hang out either on or tied to a trailer all day.

 

 

 

5. She's super smart.  For example, there was a time when Mollie had to wear a grazing muzzle when she went out on grass because she was straight up obese.  Mollie spent her mornings in a sand paddock without the muzzle on because all she had to eat was hay.  When the afternoon came along the muzzle was put on, and she was brought out to her field.  Well it didn't take long before Mollie started refusing to walk from her sand to her field.  She would just stand there, plant her feet, and no amount of coaxing or encouraging would get her to move.  The little punk realized that she'd rather eat unlimited amounts of hay than have to graze through a muzzle.

 

 

 

6. She tolerates almost everything.  Even a bunch of camp kids who begin labeling her body parts and then just start "tattoo-ing" her.





7. She makes me work.  This horse has never given anything to me easily, which makes success all the better.

 

Oh, did I mention she's adorable?

 

 

Fuzzy Ears and Weather Denial

This is a Dandy.  A Dandy has ear hair.

Another jam packed pony weekend where I took very few pictures and am kicking myself for it now. Saturday I taught two lessons, and rode the energizer bunny, or Mollie afterwards.  She was all revved up from the second I got on, but was in that lovely mental state where her energy was easily channeled and I actually had the best ride on her that I've had in a while.

One of the women at the barn was watching my ride and kept complimenting me on how great Mollie looked.  I've been feeling kind of ho-hum about my riding lately so it was nice to hear.  She also insisted her muscling had changed since I moved her to this barn in October.  Again, I don't necessarily agree but since I stare at Mollie all the time and she does it, I want to believe her.

After I got off I realized the BO's new horse arrived.  He was imported from Germany, yes Germany, on Tuesday and is drop. dead. gorgeous.  There were tons of people around so I was trying not to fangirl and take photos of him, but I definitely will this upcoming week.  He's 17 hands, 4 years old, bay, and a total beefcake.  I'm so crazy excited to see what my talented BO does with him :)

First cookout of the season down by the water on Saturday night :)

Sunday I was super motivated, and went out to ride before I had lessons.  The barn was surprisingly busy for a Sunday morning and Mollie unfortunately just wasn't feeling it.  I also didn't have half an hour to BoT her before I rode, which makes me wonder if the hock boots are really making that much of a difference lately.  Either way, she got worked, wormed, and turned back outside.

Then off to lesson barn where I had two lessons, then schooled one of the lesson ponies (really wish I had some video of myself on the Unicorn horse going over cross rails), then taught one more lesson.  In between all of this one of the teens who leases a horse at the barn took a spill, and was really upset.  It's certainly not the first time she's fallen, and she's a great little rider, but her horse has been giving her an awful time the last few months and her confidence is absolutely shattered.  It brought back so many memories for me, and being terrified of a horse I loved so much, and my heart seriously broke for her.  I gave her an impromptu lesson and a hear-to-heart, and while I don't know if I helped I really hope I did.

Back to work tomorrow after a glorious 10 day vacation... I could cry.

Unplanned Unplug

I've totally slacked on posting the last week or so, and same goes for commenting on everyone else's blogs, but I think I've had a decent excuse.  Since last Friday I've been on April vacation (so much better as a teacher than it ever was as a student) and I've been so insanely busy that this week has been pretty "unplugged".  I'm the first to admit I'm mildly addicted to my phone and may or may not use lunch breaks to keep up with blogs, etc. but it's been really nice to spend the week with people, hanging out with friends, and not refreshing my Facebook page every free second.  Maybe it has something to do with the sun finally coming out and it almost feeling like spring around here?

Anyways, a quick Mollie update and photo dump because it's been too long for me to write coherent things like ride recaps, etc.

Molls doing what a Mollie does best

Because I've been on vacation I've been able to ride almost every day.  I'm thrilled about this, Mollie is not.  I've ridden in the indoor and outdoor, and since the weather has been nice going on a loop around the fields.  Molls is still kind of a weenie when out there by herself, but super brave with a friend.

Classic pommel shot.  All the things are grimy.

A friend of mine (N) who hasn't ridden Mollie since we were kids (probably a good 12 years ago) came to visit and hop on her.  I gave her a bit of a "dressage" lesson since she's ridden primarily H/J for the last 10 or so years and Mollie was a star lesson pony.  N is a very capable rider but wasn't sure how to arrange her body in my dressage saddle, or how to arrange Mollie's blocky QH body in comparison to her lanky TB.  Mollie was well behaved however and was going really cutely.  Unfortunately, no picture evidence.

Molls very interested in some geese.

The vet also came out for her second round of spring shots this week.  She complimented me on Mollie's weight and overall condition and I couldn't have been happier.  I asked her about having Mollie's teeth done again because lately she's been funky about me taking left rein contact.  I figure it could be teeth, TMJ, or bitchiness, but teeth would be the easiest to rule out.  Mollie usually gets done once a year, and was last done in September, but there's still a chance something could be funky in there.  My vet didn't have time to do them that day but basically thought that what I was thinking could be true.  Her immediate response was, "Well she's getting older, her teeth have been known to do funky things especially on the left side, and she does have a very narrow mouth so there's little room for anything to go wrong."

Once again, I'm super impressed by my vet.  She sees a bajillion horses yet somehow remembers all of those things about my horse's mouth, which she only sees once a year.

An unenthused Mollie selfie

Hopefully more posting will ensue this coming week now that I'll be back to the grind at work.  Only 39 days till summer vacation :)

VCBH: Immediate Inspiration

"Most of us take lessons, whether its a couple times a week or a couple times a month. Some of us have more then one instructor. Why do you train with your trainer? If okay or possible, share a picture of your trainer riding."

I never thought that I would be a "floater" when it came to having a trainer/taking lessons, but for the last few years that's exactly what I've been.  I've had a few trainers in my riding "career" but for the last few years all I've done was two-three lessons or clinics for the whole year.  A far cry from my weekly lesson days.  And while there are certainly times I wish I had someone I could go to anytime I needed, not having a designated trainer has definitely taught me to be a better rider. 

Over the course of all my lessons I've heard thousands of times to sit up.  Well when I'm riding by myself day in and day out I have to rely on myself to remember to sit up.  Turns out, I'm perfectly capable of making myself sit up, as long as I remain present and disciplined.  I love that about having to rely on myself to make things happen.  I like being able to assess what the problem is, decide how I need to fix it, and then applying the changes and seeing results.

Riding without a trainer has also taught me to really trust my gut.  Sometimes I'm not 100% clear on what a problem with Mollie (or any horse) may be, and I need to rely on what I know to figure things out.  I like that I hardly second guess myself when it comes to my horse.  Not to say I'm perfect or always make the right call, but I like being able to answer questions myself.  It really baffles me when people who have been riding for decades call their trainer over every single thing.  I like knowing that I know my horse better than anyone, and I have what it takes to make decisions about her health and training.

With all of that being said, there is absolute no way that I would be able to do all the abovementioned things without the trainers that have come into my life, and taught me so much.

The first "trainer" I had who really influenced me about all things dressage is Holly Mason.  You can read more about her here.  She is an absolutely wonderful instructor and I highly recommend riding with her if you ever have the chance.  She is based in New England but does clinics all over, and has presented several times at Equine Affair.

When I was riding with Holly this guy, Rinze, was her main mount.

The man that I ride with the most now ("most" being 2-3 times a year) is named Jean Luc Cornille.  You can learn more about him and his program here.  He is an amazing thinker and teacher and despite the lessons making my wallet cry, I really think they're worth every penny.  I come away learning so much from every single lesson.  He has incredible success working with horses with a myriad of medical issues from kissing spine, to navicular, to "mystery lameness".  I seriously recommend him to anyone who suspects their horse has pain related behaviors or issues.  His youtube channel can be found here.  Hopefully you can get past the heavy French accent ;)

Jean Luc at the World Eventing Championships in the 1970s

Saturday Summary

This weekend was absolutely nuts but I did get lots of horse time in, which is always nice.  It also helped that Rhode Island hit 70 degrees on Saturday and I was loving it.  Anytime I can teach lessons and work on my tan is a win :)

Also, I really liked my outfit that day.

I had lessons all day Saturday that went really well and even had time for a ride on the sassy mare of mine.  But first, lets talk about how happy my horse is that they're out on grass again... I forgot to snap a picture but Mollie has spent the last 6 days with her face planted on the ground inhaling half inch blades of grass as fast as she can.  Turns out Mollie grazes so hard, she has grass stains.  On her nose.  They won't come off.

 

 

I really wanted to get her in the outdoor for the first time all year so I tacked her up and hand walked her up there.  I hand walked her a lap around the ring where she spooked (trees are scary, and she's obviously never seen one before) but then seemed okay-ish.  I hopped on and it was apparent that we weren't going to have a productive ride.  She was super tense, her back was totally locked up, and I just really didn't feel like dealing with it that day.  I could probably write an entire post about how I used to be all "lets ride through everything!!" but lately I've realized that I'd rather just have a good ride.  So back down to the indoor we went.

 

I was really glad I decided to ride inside because our ride was better than I expected it to be.  She warmed up nicely in her best hunter pony pose and was really listening/being cooperative.  We did a little collected trot work but I didn't get too crazy because she's still not super fit (thank you polar vortex winter and sucky work for keeping me from riding more than twice a week all winter).  Got off, groomed, wished I had time for a bath, and put her away.

 

The cutest (yet most unimpressed) face



Blog Hop: Commercial Moment

From Viva Carlos: "What are you buying next? Not your "Wish I could" list but your actual practical pony shopping list. And if its a high ticket item you are saving for what is it and when do you expect to order/get it?"

Lame low-end things I need to buy:
- Fly Spray/Mask (because the second blankets come off flies come out)
- New bottle of sunscreen (because Mollie's nose burns)
- Cowboy Magic shampoo (because Mollie is a delicate flower... see above)

Higher ticket item:
- A brand-y new double bridle that actually fits.  The timeline for buying this is a joke because it will be a combination of A) when I have monies (never) and B) when I actually decide what I want to buy... weighing my options with going custom on this since I apparently have lots of stipulations.  But leather is expensive and I want it to look just right.