ask and you shall receive

One thing Lucy "said" to me the other night was that she loves trail rides the most, especially when she can jump things out in the woods and the fields. Lauren rode today and it was an all-about-Lucy day, so they went on a long trail ride, through the woods and fields, galloping around and jumping logs. I met them out in the field and played paparazzi. There was a look of pure joy on Lucy's face that you can't deny. She had such a great time! Lauren seemed to enjoy herself, too :D

they showed up in their supercool fly mask

brave Lauren used the snaffle :)

"and then we're gonna run that way, and that way, and THAT way!"

all business

I really love this shot

cantering downhill is harder than it looks!

look at her face, she is just so happy

Lucy was executing the most perfect lead changes as they galloped around
in a figure 8 :)

and here is the "leaping over things in the field" portion of the photos

Niall Quirke clinic

Niall Quirke, a trainer for the Equestrian Federation of Ireland, comes to my barn to teach 2-3 times a year. Up until today, I've told myself that I really will be fine without a lesson from him, but my barn owner persuaded me to take the plunge and sign up for a lesson. Boy am I glad I did!

a tired and happy Lu

Lucy started out nice and floaty, then got very tense for about 15 minutes. The trails at my barn start off the back of the outdoor, and horses going to/coming from the trails have been notoriously scary for Lucy -- something about creatures coming out of the woods just doesn't sit right with her (is anyone shocked?). Today, a lady riding a horse from my barn came back from a trail ride during the first few minutes of the lesson. She called out to let us know she was coming, so I stopped Lucy and let her watch the horse come out of the woods. She stood while the horse walked up past the outdoor, but as the horse approached the point where we were standing alongside the rail, she coiled up and leaped up into the air and threw an absolute tantrum, for NO reason. The horse coming out of the woods was interesting but not worthy of any nonsense, but the horse walking past us was cause for a huge riot. After that, she was insane for another ten minutes or so. We could only handle walking up to a line of trot poles and trotting at the base of the first pole, NOT just trotting in like a normal horse/rider. Canter work produced tantrums and while I rode her through them, I was thoroughly unimpressed. Didn't she get my message from the communicator last night when I said I loved her but I really needed her to behave today?! COME ON! ;)

We moved onto some gymnastic exercises, gradually increasing difficulty and height. I had a few moments of "holy crap, I can't believe I have to jump that jump" but at that point, I was already at the base of the jump and the only logical choice was to just jump it! :) It was a great confidence-boosting lesson for both Lucy and I. The hardest jump we did was a 3'-ish vertical with a blanket draped over it for shock value, since both Lucy and the other horse in my lesson were blowing through the line at mach 5 speed and not using themselves as well over the jumps.

The blanket over the pole spooked Lucy, but we worked through it and got over the jump :) Here's a video:

this was during our "nice" warmup phase

mini tantrum

doing her best Arabian tail impression

how's that for knee action?

in mid-air!

she was jumping so well to start

the first time we jumped all three jumps, she wanted so badly to duck out
at the third jump, but didn't, so in this photo I am saying, GOOD GIRL!

evidently feeling quite confident

not sure what's going on with my release here, but I'm not catching her in
the mouth (weird)

"good girl"

This was by far the most amazing moment of the lesson. This was the other
horse in my lesson and he was VERY impressed by the third jump! Talk
about scope -- this little guy is petite but he is quite a rocket.

just a normal Saturday night, talking to my horse. no, really.

I spoke to an animal communicator tonight, and as I talked to her (on the phone), she communicated with Lucy. She started by "touching" Lucy everywhere, inside and out, and seeing if she got a pain response. Most of Lucy's complaints stemmed from having her feet done yesterday, because she felt off-balance and a little sore in her hocks because she had to adjust to the new way her feet felt.

She also said her neck was sore 5" down from her poll, and her hind end over the top of her hips. She asked for more massages. Ohhh, Lucy...

Her insides felt great, she said, and I instantly felt relieved that the ulcer treatment has lasted this long.

So then I got to ask questions. I asked what her favourite activity we do is (trail riding), why she sometimes gets fresh out in the field (she wants to gallop and I won't let her go all-out), what she thinks of Cairo ("She's an f-ing idiot" -- THAT IS A DIRECT QUOTE. I KID YOU NOT.), what she thinks of eventing ("I don't get what the point of dressage is but jumping is fun"), if she likes Lauren (yes), and if she likes Kenny (yes). I also asked the communicator to tell her thank you for being such a good girl with my little nephew on Thursday.

All in all, it was an interesting experience, and though I remain slightly skeptical about the whole thing, I am amused by some of the answers. My favourite thing Lucy said was that she is a very proud mare and she doesn't have any patience for nonsense. She said, "If you want to get into a pissing contest with me, you had better know how to piss." She dropped a few f-bombs and the communicator said most horses let her guide them through the process, but Lucy took charge and made sure it was all done her way. Yup, sounds like Lucy!!

pony rides

My little three year old nephew is here visiting this weekend with his mom (Kenny's older sister), his dad, and his baby sister. He is a huge fan of cowboys and recently went to a petting zoo where there were ponies, and decided he loves ponies. Then my sister-in-law told him that when they came to visit, he would see Lucy, and she said he was so excited. Well, today was the day they arrived and as soon as I got out of work, I drove to the barn to meet them there so that he could see Lucy.

Lucy gently lipped carrots from his tiny hands, stood stock still while he brushed her, and even gave him a pony ride (with me holding on to him of course!). I was really proud of her - she knew she had precious cargo! His mom, dad, and Kenny were all close-by in case anything went wrong, but she was extra careful and very quiet. As soon as he got off, I jumped her around a bit and she was kind of a terror, but she didn't put a foot wrong while he was aboard. What a good girl.

explaining how to steer

because I was holding onto the kid with one hand, I had to basically
neck-rein to steer...and she did GREAT! I was like, hey, where did you
learn that?!

the jumps were already set up in the ring and he said at one point,
"let's do some jumps!"

um, sorry, that may have to wait til next week ;)

also, what is going on with my stirrups?!?! one is at least 2" longer than
the other.

actually here my stirrups look ok...maybe I was just sitting way off-centre?

these photos don't accurately convey the 'tude I got from her, but at least
she jumped well!

to grain tub heaven and back!

Good work, Lucy! You killed your lunch transporter! The sturdiest, heaviest rubber feed tub the grain store had was no match for your kung fu moves out in the paddock. Problem is that I don't really feel like buying another one, so I just had to patch up the holes as best as I could and you will have to deal with it.

****

Despite destroying her indestructible grain bin, Lucy has been AWESOME this week. Here are some photos from our ride yesterday!

how do you guys like my "crop"? it's just a little stick - I can't find my
sparkly crop anywhere! so sticks will have to suffice.

This is a video from Saturday's ride, which wasn't all that great. She did not really feel like working and her solution was to buck whenever I asked her for forward. Honestly I didn't want to hear it from her because the chiro was just here to fit her saddle and do an adjustment, and she has been fine since then --- it wasn't a pain issue; she just didn't want to work! She was much, much better yesterday (Sunday).

Saturday:



Sunday:



And just for fun, here is a cute photo of Cairo and I from Friday's walk to the beach: