almost comical

After my fall last weekend, I knew I had to get back out to the trail asap, before I psyched myself out too much. My best trail riding buddy, Claire, hacked out with me yesterday and we headed to the same trail where I got dumped.

Claire walking ahead of me, heading to the trail.

I hand-walked Lucy all the way to the trail head. She was great on the road but spooky at the trail entrance. She spooked at the exact same spot gave us issues last week. I have no idea what she's seeing, but when she spooked, I made her stand there and take in the sites a bit. Once she started looking bored, we continued onto the trail head, where I got on without incident.

Making her stop and look at the gate that spooked her last week.

Overall Lucy was pretty good on the trail. She spooked at something in the first five minutes but it wasn't a bad spook. Still, I didn't trust her enough to give her any extra rein, which proved to be a good decision later in the ride, when she spooked again and I lost my balance. It wasn't even a bad spook, but she jumped to the right and I came off over her left shoulder. Here's the cool part, though: I landed on my feet, AND she did not attempt to run! I was back in the saddle within a minute, and we continued on with the ride. I don't know why all of a sudden I can't seem to sit anything, but I am sure it will pass. I am just glad today's episode was not nearly as dramatic as last week's! I am very proud of her for not bolting, and I am considering a new career as a gymnast (just kidding, I'd make a terrible gymnast!).

Another shot of Claire and her horse Boe, this time almost at the end of the trail.

The funniest part of the whole ride happened on the walk back to the barn. A couple was walking their dog on the other side, and they kept staring at me and Lucy as we approached each other. I called out a hello as we passed and the man said to me, "that horse looks an awful lot like the one that was galloping down the road last week!" I laughed and said, "yes, this is the one!" The man proceeded to tell me that he was in his kitchen and heard hoofbeats approaching, and he looked out the window as Lucy "shot past" his house at "top speed", and also how it was "the talk of the neighbourhood". Anyway, I thought that was hilarious. Lucy sure knows how to make an impression!

great ride!!!

It was 70 degrees here today(!!!!) and I really wanted to ride Lucy in the outdoor for the first time this season. In the fall, she was pretty stupid out in that ring, spooking at imaginary things and getting silly. To prevent any mishaps, I lunged her out there first and then once she was going around nicely and without theatrics, I got on.

Things were very hectic at the barn today. The barn owner had an electrician there fixing a few issues with the wiring in the barn. A couple of boarders were getting ready to go out on a trail ride, and they were riding their ponies in all the spooky scary areas of the farm where the horse eating monsters hide. Dogs were running around loose (yeah...). In addition to that, people were constantly coming and going from the barn so we had cars and trucks driving down the driveway, AND there were strong wind gusts that were blowing leaves across the ring and making tarps in the woods flutter.

Lucy took it all in stride. She looked at a few things but only spooked once, and there was no turn-n-burn action, it was just a little jump in place, and she got over it immediately when I urged her forward. At one point one of the dogs even ran across the ring. Have I mentioned that I HATE dogs running around when I'm trying to ride?? She was giving the dog a bit of the hairy eyeball and I was not eager to turn the ride sour, so I simply halted her. The dogs owner got him out of the ring after I asked her to and she happily went right back to work. I was peeved that the dog was in the ring in the first place, but I didn't let it wreck my kickass ride.

Here are some photos!

gastroscope and barn drama

I have scheduled a gastroscope for Lucy on April 1st. I had to wait til my tax return came in, since this vet bill is going to be between $400 and $2000, and I will need to pay it out of pocket and then the insurance company will reimburse me.

Speaking of insurance companies, I have got to give Great American some kudos. This is my first experience making a claim with them. I called them yesterday to get the ball rolling on the paperwork. I spoke to a claims rep who happily explained the whole process for me. They asked me a few questions about Lucy, and explained that she needed to fax a questionnaire to my vet to fill out. Once he returned the questionnaire and they receive a copy of the bill, they will cut me a cheque. It's really that easy! Later in the afternoon, the inurance adjuster who was assigned to my claim called me to go over more specifics. She was very nice, and explained that if Lucy ends up having ulcers, they will pay for 60, yes, SIXTY days of GastroGard. They will also pay to re-scope her if the vet recommends it. If he re-scopes her and finds that the ulcers haven't healed, they will cover continued treatment.

The scope by itself costs $400, and 30 days of GastroGard runs around $1000. The second 30 days are partial doses (i.e. not a full tube) so I'm expecting those to cost around $500.

Long story short: YAY FOR INSURANCE.

I'm not sure if the long winter finally went to peoples' heads, or if true colours are simply showing themselves, but the drama level lately has been ridiculous. Lots of cattiness, nasty remarks behind backs, and unnecessary digs. I am hoping that since the outdoor finally opened this week and we have had a few nice days, people can cheer up and stop attacking each other and instead, enjoy their horses.

I love my girl

She's just so cute that even with all of the craziness, how could I not love that face?

alive and well!

Thanks so much for the well-wishes! I had a few very ouchy days where I resembled a 90 year old lady more than my 25 year old self, BUT, I am feeling much better now. My road rash is almost healed, and I had a wonderful, productive, confidence-building lesson yesterday. It was the first time I had gotten on since my fall, and I felt good that I was riding under the watchful eye of my instructor. It was comforting to have him there with me.

Lucy actually was quite stellar. It was an exhausting ride for me, mainly because my body was still a bit sore, but also because Lucy is very physically demanding to ride correctly. She had Monday off, so by the time my lesson rolled around on Tuesday, she was full of energy. Some of the lesson was like a carousel ride gone bad lol, because she just hauled me around the entire time. She also thought she was finished each time we took a walk break, which meant that when I asked her to work again, she got very pissy and threw out repetitive cow-kicks, etc. My instructor talked me through it all and in the end I got a really lovely canter to the left, where I was able to muster up enough energy to put it all together and get her organized underneath me. WOW, guys...when this horse moves correctly, it is so nice. I am really starting to understand her buttons, and to break some of my nasty hunter rider habits.

So here are two videos with some clips from the ride:





Today after work I felt revitalized and empowered with what we had worked on in yesterday's lesson. At the same time, though, I was getting REALLY tired of the same old flatwork, so I decided to set up some crossrails and see how Lucy did. I warmed her up thoroughly on the flat first, and we practiced what we worked on in the lesson yesterday. She was surprisingly receptive to my aids and we had a few lovely moments. Then we popped over some crossrails and she was so cute. She was very honest and really surprised me when she got an incorrect lead coming out of one of the crossrails but threw a flying lead change on her own accord in the first stride out. What a smart horse :)

road rash sucks

And so does watching your horse gallop away from you, riderless, down the middle of a road.

On Saturday I had a bad fall off of Lucy. My friend and I had planned a trail ride. She is new to the area and wanted to know where all the trails were, so I was going to take her to my favourite place, which we have to walk 7/10ths of a mile on the road to get to.

I warmed Lucy up on the lunge line and then got on. She was going REALLY well under saddle, just so beautiful and forward and light. It was a nice sunny day, and I was looking forward to a nice hack. She was great on the road, not bothered by cars or anything. We got to the entrance of the trail and she perked up but I wasn't worried. Then she randomly spooked at a wrought iron gate we have passed at least twenty times before. I was so unprepared for it and when she spun to run away, I went right off over her shoulder. Like an idiot I held onto the reins and got dragged down the gravel driveway a bit. I finally let go of her, and looked up just in time to see her galloping back through the trail entrance toward the road. She turned up the road toward the barn and took off. She galloped the .7 miles back to the barn, down the middle of the road, past cars and people working in their yard. I almost had a meltdown, seriously...it was so scary to see her running down a road that I know people drive too fast on. Luckily there are very few curves in the road and I just prayed that she wouldn't be hit or slip and fall on the pavement. I was petrified.

I ran out to the road and flagged a car down. I was hysterical. "Can you take me to my horse?", I sobbed. The people were so kind and made sure I was ok and then off we went after my mare. En route to the barn I noticed all of the people coming out of their yards and lining the side of the street, looking concerned. They had probably seen or heard her thundering down the road. I was just relieved that we didn't come across an accident scene.

Finally we got back to the barn and there she was, standing right by the door, her reins looped through her right front leg. She looked so upset...stupid horse! If she hadn't run, she would have been happily plodding along her favourite trail! ARGH! I wanted to smack her in frustration and hug in relief her at the same time. I unbuckled the reins so that they weren't caught on her, and I checked her over quickly. I was so relieved that she seemed to be fine. I took her into the barn and untacked her and hosed her legs off briefly. I was most worried about her tendons and feet from running on the road. I took her outside and walked her up and down the driveway to cool her out (she was very hot) and waited for my friend to get back (she was hand-walking her horse back from the trail). When she got back she put her horse away and trotted Lucy out for me. Luckily she was sound.

I decided to poultice and wrap her legs and give her some bute with her dinner. I checked on her again later that night to make sure there wasn't any heat in her feet. She seemed fine and only wanted more to eat :)

Her leaser was supposed to ride her Sunday morning, but I wanted to go to the barn and check her legs and make sure she was sound before her leaser drove all the way to the barn to ride. I dragged myself out of bed and checked her over from nose to tail and she was alright, so her leaser came down to ride. They had a good ride and I was able to take some photos and video for her.

The good news is that Lucy has a new boyfriend, Boe:

And here are some photos of Cairo from walks we went on this weekend:

Cairo will be 1 year old on Wednesday!! Aww :)

I still haven't gotten back in the saddle since my fall but I have a lesson tomorrow so that will be the end of my hiatus. I am still very sore but I think I will be able to ride alright.

and then we were flying!

I was supposed to have a lesson yesterday but at the last minute it had to be rescheduled. I had been looking forward to it but I wasn't upset. I decided to ride anyway, and warmed Lucy up on the lunge line. In retrospect, I should have made her go in side reins and really asked her to work a little bit before getting on, but I didn't. She was silly on the lunge and since she never really worked out of it, she was silly under saddle. I sure learned MY lesson hehehehe.

Videos:


Action is around 2:05.


Action is at 0:20, 2:00, and 2:50.

Stills:

I was definitely staring at the ground in this photo, thinking "I'm gonna eat it!",
but I managed to sit back up and hang on.



I really like this one! She can be so lovely.

Honestly, I'm really proud of the way I rode. I hung on for dear life, kept my heels jammed down, chanted "I will not fall off! I will NOT fall off!" in my head, got her nose up from between her front knees, and pushed her on.

AND we ended on a good note and I gave her a pat.

And then I went out and had a margarita. No, seriously.

2011 RISPCA Horse Ride Design

Each year, the Rhode Island SPCA puts on a benefit Horse Ride at a local park. The event includes a raffle, a lunch, and a two hour trail ride through gorgeous trails. I took Lucy last year and we had a blast!

Every person who signs up for the ride gets a t-shirt with their entry fee, and for the past three years I have been asked to create the t-shirt design. I always have fun coming up with the design, and it is so awesome to see my work on shirts that people are wearing at the ride.

I finished this year's t-shirt design over the weekend. Here it is!

it feels like spring :D

Since our lesson on Tuesday, we have kind of been slacking. Lucy's leaser rode her on Wednesday and reported that she was an "angel" (I was like, what?! my horse?! WOW). On Thursday I lunged her in side reins and she was really very good. Last night I had a quick ride and she was so happy and relaxed! I loved it! She was moving very hunter-y, long and low and swinging through her hips. She wanted her nose slightly beyond the vertical and we had zero issues (no bucking, no kicking out, even very minimal mare ears). I was really pleased with her. It was what I'd call an "easy hack".

Today I went on a nice trail ride with some girls from the barn. It was 48 degrees and sunny and when I got to the barn, all the horses were basking in the warm rays.

Lucy was sooo happy to get out on the trails and she even behaved herself, despite some 30mph wind gusts and idiot drivers. Here are some photos:



I was not colour matching very well today...purple SMB boots, checkered breeches, peach saddle pad, green jacket. And to think I have an art degree...scary!

Meg riding Mina :)

My pretty girl. Check out her neck! It is really developing nicely!

lesson success

Lucy and I had our first lesson in forever last night. Thanks to the money I got for my birthday, I booked lessons for three Tuesdays in a row starting yesterday. Depending on how much spring shots cost, and how much hay I end up getting this month, I might be able to swing three more. That should put us in good shape for show season.

A new boarder at the barn offered to video tape for me, YAY! Here are the videos:

Lunge work:



I had already lunged her in both directions for a total of 20 minutes. She did not put a foot wrong but as soon as the camera came out she got all sorts of silly, as you can see. Oh well, there are still some nice moments of stretchyness.

I freaking love the trot she dishes out at around 2:20.

Trot work:



Ohhh the mare face was rampant last night. My instructor started laughing hysterically at one point (I don't think it's in the video) and I was like, are you laughing at her? and he said, yes, she's just relentless isn't she!

Anyway, very interesting: he does not want me to smack her on the shoulder with a crop if she's being naughty. During the lesson she kicked out at my outside leg twice but they were very minor incidents. She has been MUCH MUCH worse in the past. I am interested to see what others would do in that case: do you "ignore" the bucking/kicking out etc and push her through it, or do you whack her once on the shoulder, sit the resulting explosion, and then move on immediately?

Canter work:



The video camera filled up its memory before we got to the right lead but it was about the same.

Shockingly, I think this was the first time Lucy has ever been legitimately TIRED. She broke from the canter several times. At the end of the ride she was steaming and sweaty, even under the bridle crownpiece. This is the same horse that went for a two hour trail ride through the deep snow and came back completely cool. That being said, we focused mainly on rhythm and relaxation here, which takes more energy out of her than running around at full speed with her head in the air.

I think one of the reasons we were so productive during the lesson was that I lunged her in the side reins before hand. It put her mind in the game and that's honestly half the battle with this horse.

Anyway I was really pleased with the whole thing and I can't wait til next Tuesday :D

Here are some video stills: