Que sera, sera

Whatever will be (at the show tomorrow), will be!

Preparation for Stella's and my first show together was disrupted last week when my uncle died and I made whirlwind arrangements to fly to Juneau, Alaska to join family for his graveside service (lots of photos from the trip here). I was able to ride Tuesday morning before I left and Friday when I returned, so took the zen approach that a couple days off would be good for the girl's mind and body.

Actually, I rode twice on Friday (keep in mind that all my rides are short and Stella never breaks a sweat)! The test-ride WintecLite from SmartPak arrived a day early so was here and waiting when I got home. Eager to see if it was a winner, I saddled up with it Friday morning and went for a ride. It didn't feel particularly comfortable, and the seat was too big; I had to keep hitching myself forward. When I got off, I measured it and my own two Wintecs – it was at least a half-inch longer, even though it was labeled as a 17.5"; very strange. So I decided to ride again that afternoon in Lance's saddle. I wanted to test my first impression that she objected to it, and see if I felt secure enough in it for a potentially 'dynamic' ride.

The verdict? Stella exhibited none of the little behaviors I had interpreted as objections, and when she startled at something scary in the woods I didn't feel the least bit insecure. I decided, barring any experiences to the contrary before the show, that I'd use it instead of the ancient navy saddle, and return the test-ride. I have shortened my stirrup leathers one hole, which feels just a titch short, but better that than too long, as I tend to pull up my left leg and either lose my left stirrup or get my foot too far forward in it.

To keep the focus on the saddles and Stella's reactions to them, I rode with the hackamore Friday. On Sunday, I switched to the DUO bit, since we have to show in a bit. Too bad, that; she is MUCH happier in the hackamore. So I spent Sunday's, Monday's, and today's rides trying to finesse things to reduce the amount of fussiness and distraction the bit is causing, focusing on using my body, breath, voice (will have to be careful with that in the show ring) and legs to do most of the communicating. We may not get very high marks for "acceptance of the bit" and "elastic contact", but I feel like I'm riding more effectively than I ever have.

Wet Stella; I managed to get in a ride during the one dry spell Sunday!

Stella was actually quite spooky during today's ride. The wind was blowing the trees around, and something (someone? Lance?) banged loudly in the barn. But the biggest reactions were one quick, short scoot and one giant squat; she has not once freaked out under saddle as she occasionally did during ground work. Lisa has commented that Stella likes having me on her back; maybe she does. 😊

I'm not sure what I'm going to do with her mane tomorrow. Part of it depends on when we arrive and how much time I have to prepare; I'd rather use the time we have to ease her concerns and help her relax rather than 'fix her hair.' I'm not a fan of many long-mane treatments except a really tidy running braid along the crest, but those seem to pull when a horse stretches its neck, irritating the horse and loosening the braid. I've had an idea for rolling her mane under and back along her crest and securing it somehow, so did a 'quick and dirty' experiment with that today. It started out looking okay, but had mostly disintegrated by the end of our ride.

offside just for fun

I think it could work, but the morning of our first show is probably not the time to perfect it. So I've reviewed some online tutorials and will do a running braid at the showgrounds if I have time before our first class.

Now if you will excuse me, I need to give the girl her first shampoo and finish loading the trailer.

Oh, my friend Kate is going with me tomorrow. You know you have a good friend when she's willing to show up at your house at 4:30 a.m. to be your horse show support!

Hold onto your hats helmets...

...it's going to be a wild ride just documenting the last week, not to mention what's coming!

So after I wrote my last post, I got to thinking (thinking; always thinking). There is no rule against showing in an ancient, battered saddle; people who see us before we go into the ring would surely raise their eyebrows but the judge will likely have her attention on other things while we're in the ring. Check one showing obstacle off the list to address before the entry deadline of June 1st(!).

A second obstacle was Stella's teeth. When I sent Suzan a photo of the damaged Nathe bit weeks ago, she stated that Stella is teething and to switch to a bitless bridle for most of her rides in order to avoid causing 'issues.' Rick did a quick manual check and confirmed she needed a dental – sometime ("the cobbler's children have no shoes"). I didn't want to ride her in a bit as I would need to in a show without that dental, so I finally asked him Monday if he could do it. Bless his heart, he did – even though it was HOT and he and I had moved over four tons of hay that day.

She has big wolf teeth, but he didn't want to give her the additional anesthesia needed to remove them. So he did the necessary floating and said we'd wait and see if the wolf teeth give her any trouble.

While the anesthesia was wearing off, I decided to take advantage of modern pharmacology and clip her bridle path and fetlocks for the very first time. Then I sprayed Show Sheen in her tail, trimmed the end and brushed it out. That felt like removing a couple obstacles. (Lance got some spa treatment, too.)

Tidy fetlocks!

But the big question/obstacle remained. Not "Are we ready?" I have no illusions about Stella being ready to show; she's not. She's still a hot, reactive mare that's greener-than-Intro Level-grass. No, my concern is that the whole experience could overface her rather than give her positive exposure, and I didn't want to risk that. So on my way to work Tuesday (June 1st), I called the person who knows her best second to me: Lisa.

Lisa had already expressed enthusiasm for my entering the show when we rode at the fairgrounds, and she reiterated how impressed she was with how well Stella did there. She thought I should go for it, with the caveat that I would know if she wasn't ready, and could scratch.

Ha; Lisa apparently doesn't know me as well as she knows Stella! I know people do that, but the thought of paying all the (non-refundable) fees, going through all the prep work, and getting up at o'dark thirty to get to the grounds in time to tack up, lead Stella around for a lengthy looky-loo, and warm up before entering the ring shortly after 8:00 a.m. only to decide "Nope; not a good idea!" was anathema. BUT. If my main purpose for entering this show is to give Stella more life experience, why not go? Even if I end up scratching our Intro tests, she would get new experiences in spades. Besides, it is fun to go hang out with other breed enthusiasts. At a regular dressage show she would be something of an oddity; at a Morgan show, she would be enthused over.

So I scrambled after work on Tuesday in order to get our entry form filled out and postmarked in time. We're going to the Oregon Morgan Classic two weeks from today!

But wait; there's more!

Since I would be slightly self-conscious showing up at OMC with the old navy Wintec, I have been investigating saddle options online. Having another grippy synthetic saddle has a lot of appeal when you're an 'old lady' riding a fresh filly, so I looked at newer used and brand new Wintec saddles. SmartPak has test ride saddles with free shipping both ways, and this morning I realized that if I ordered one today, I would have the saddle in time to try it before the show – and could show in it if Stella and I like it! So I ordered this.

Then I went to the barn to ride. I swapped out the damaged Nathe for the double-jointed snaffle; she has worn it while being ponied but I don't think I've ridden with it. Better see how she goes in it, right?

The only positive to this is that she got foamy – on one side.

Ugh. Stella was NOT happy. Lots of mouthing and gaping and tongue contortions; she was so busy fussing with the bit that she couldn't really listen to me. Remembering how well she went in the Nathe at the fairgrounds, I promptly ordered another when I got back to the house (actually, I ordered this, which Suzan says is identical).

So in for a penny, in for a pound whole pile of cash. 😆 Now if I can just find someone willing to come along as a groom of sorts, since I will be showing out of my trailer....

Month two; that's a wrap!

Thanks to Leap Year, today is Stella's and my two-month anniversary.

On her one-month anniversary I was somewhat discouraged by the lack of progress in our relationship; after another month, things are looking up, if not looking a lot different.


After lunging her a time or two more with saddle and stirrups and seeing no lessening of her panic when the stirrups surprised her, I took two steps backwards and lunged her with just a halter a couple times, and then added the saddle again with no stirrups.

Sometimes the way forward means going backwards!

Yesterday I turned her out after the farrier came and went; later in the day while the puppy slept I rode Lance, then groomed and saddled Stella. Deciding to expose her to something new, I led her outside and up to the mounting block. At first when I stepped up, she swung her body away to stand facing me, but stayed calm. I just stroked her face and told her how pretty and good she was, and took advantage of my vantage point to photograph her star, which has lost some of its 'shine' from shedding out.

We walked up to the mounting block on her left and her right, and I also moved the mounting block to her both on her left and her right. Soon she was staying broadside to the mounting block while I stepped up, stroking her and shifting the saddle a bit on her back. As wary as she is, I expected her to be concerned when I got 'higher,' but she wasn't. The photo below isn't beautiful, but it does show a good girl. 😍

A day late but always timely

This was in my inbox yesterday. Wow; ten years ago. It doesn't seem that long since Courney King-Dye's accident, and I don't remember hearing about Sue Blinks' break-out win, but good for her. Thankfully, a lot of people have taken heed and now wear a helmet Every Time Every Ride. Sadly, every year there are still people who die or suffer traumatic brain injury just because they choose not to wear a helmet....

On Sunday I lunged Stella with saddle and stirrups again. Or rather, I hung on for dear life while she careened frantically around me, terrified of what was bumping along with her. There was no rating her speed; I tried reeling her in and almost lost my right thumb when the lunge line wrapped around it and tightened down as she sped away. Fortunately I was wearing my latex-dipped winter chore gloves and the glove finally pulled off and left my thumb attached.

Eventually, after she was completely winded and wet with sweat, I got her to walk and took a photo. See those terrifying, horse-eating stirrups???

So yesterday while the puppy napped we did it again. I did change out the girth to the Shoulder Relief girth, the saddle pad, and put the bridle on over her halter. The girth kept the saddle in place better than the straight one I had been using, and she handled the stirrups better, too.

I followed up that much more satisfactory schooling session with a very pleasant ride down the road on Lance. It was a good horse day!

Today I turned Stella loose to exercise herself, then brought her in and turned the boys out. While they played, I tied her up in her paddock where she could watch them while I curried and brushed her. Then I saddled her up again and moved the stirrups all around on both sides to help her see they were harmless. Eventually we just stood and watched the boys and breathed together until she finally relaxed and even seemed to enjoy my company a bit. TTT; Things Take Time.

Catching up and moving on

What with the weather last week and the puppy this week, the horses haven't gotten as much attention lately. After a turnout or two (boys and girl separately), yesterday I finally worked Stella and today I finally rode Lance.

Well, Lance did get quite a bit of veterinary attention one day. He's still eating his alfalfa pellets with daily dewormer and vitamins unusually slowly, like his mouth is bothering him, and he's been coughing more. One morning I heard him coughing as I approached the barn and I found a huge loogie in the barn aisle; nasty! So Rick took time to draw blood for a CBC to see if he was fighting inflection or inflammation (nope; totally normal) and looked in his mouth. Under his tongue was back to normal, but he had some of those tiny red spots again that are so sore, and a firm, round something the size of a marble inside his lip/cheek. Rick tried to aspirate some or what was inside it, but the clear, sticky content was too thick for the needle. Weird. He swabbed it, some of the red spots, and the inside of Lance's nose to check for viruses, and drew more blood for that as well. So when I rode him today, all we did was walk on a loose rein in the arena while Stella played so as to cause minimal discomfort.

Stella, Stella, Stella. Slacking off on the daily baby steps makes for big steps backwards. I am finding it easier to catch her both in her stall/paddock and in the arena with the new approach/mindset. Coddling her insecurities doesn't seem to  mollify them; I don't know that being more matter-of-fact does, either, but at least it gets results.

Fact: I bought her to be my riding horse. Fact: to be a riding horse, she'll have to accept things moving against her sides. So last night I put stirrups on the old Wintec I lunge her in, run up to the highest hole so they didn't hang down much below the saddle flap (sorry, it was dark; the photos didn't turn out). Walking out to the arena was fine, but as soon as she moved a little and realized something was there, I had to be quick on my feet to stay out of her way, then get her moving out on the end of the lunge line. Eventually she figured out that she couldn't run away from "it," and then didn't want to go faster than a walk (I think because going faster made "it" move). At the end I lifted each stirrup in turn out a bit from her side and then let it go to gently bump back in place, praising her profusely when she finally kept all four feet planted. It's a good next step; good thing I'm not trying to meet any deadlines!

The majority of what Stella has been shedding seems to be an extra-long "yak coat;" now she is down to what looks like a normal winter coat. I think she's gained a little weight, but the saddle girth fits the same so I'm not sure. Fitness has improved some, too. I need to work on getting some more photos for comparison.

One-month anniversary

I realized this morning while exercising Stella that it was a month ago today that I brought her home. Thirty days; some horses make a lot of progress in 30 days' training. Stella? Not so much. She is still wary and flighty, not much more trusting than when she arrived. She is smart, but oh, so sensitive. I like those qualities and her energy; she is going to make an AWESOME dancing partner . . . some day . . . I think.

A lot of trainers would take a "desensitizing" approach with Stella; doing things like sacking her out. But I've come to believe that such treatment doesn't desensitize a horse, it overwhelms their senses until they shut out and shut down – or completely freak out and hurt themselves. I don't want a 'shut down' horse and I certainly don't want an injured basket case; I want a relationship in which she can trust that I am her 'safe place.' Then we can make progress, instead of just working on the same basics of catching, haltering, grooming, tacking, and lunging, all with the same reactivity she came with. Reactivity that would make more sense in an abused horse, not an unhandled one.... Hmmm; makes me think I should go spend some time with the owners of Lance's sire. They regularly gentle and train mustangs rounded up by the BLM; I'm sure I could learn some things.

Anyway, this week I'm managing to exercise ONE horse a day, shooting for the driest period in which to do it – and by 'driest' I mean when it's sprinkling instead of pouring. 😕 Yesterday was Lance's turn and yes, we got wet again.

He is still eating slowly and acting more compromised than usual. I'm wondering if he has ongoing internal problems from the hay that irritated his mouth so. Rick said he's seen four other horses suffering from hay like this, and one of them had ulcers in his throat....

Back to Stella; she is shedding furiously:

I can hardly wait to see her 'naked' so I can keep a better eye on her condition and development; if I devoted myself to grooming several hours a day I could probably have her down to her 'summer undies' by the end of the week! This is definitely the time of year to avoid wearing lip balm to the barn....

Here is a video of her walking on the lunge line this morning, nice and relaxed, with good overstride:

"On the first day of the new year...

...my new love took from me – one horse treat from my hand!" (to the tune of "The Twelve Days of Christmas" 😁)

Sunday afternoon after her arrival I left Stella alone to settle into her new quarters.

But every day since, we've taken baby steps together. A friend asked me on Facebook, "Is she friendly towards you? Or is she skittish?" My reply was, "Neither. I would say she is 'tentative.'" Other descriptors would be cautious, careful; therefore, I want to proceed slowly to build trust and confidence.

On Monday I haltered Stella (that in itself has to be approached slowly) and led her around the arena and lower pasture. The ewes in the middle pasture and the cavaletti in the arena were both new to her, but after channeling her inner meerkat and 'assuming the position' of a show Morgan (What's with that? She's never been taught to 'park'!),

she took things in careful stride, enjoying a dainty graze and walking over the cavaletti. Then I got an idea. Turning her loose in the arena, I went and tacked up Lance.

Little Miss from Lance's paddock, obviously not scared of the cavaletti now!

Back in the arena with Lance, I proceeded to exercise him while Stella was free to move around. During our walking warm-up, she followed us around and around the arena; when we started circling at the trot, she moved out of the way and watched, then had a good roll. Perfect; this is going to be a great way for both to get exercised without doubling my horse time! (My husband is not-so-secretly worried about that.)

On Tuesday we walked up the driveway (chickens!) to the upper pasture, where we could see and hear the backhoe working in the neighboring lot. Then Lance and Ollie hollered for her and she got anxious about being away from her new herdmates. In her agitated state she reared up a little – then she did it again. The second time I gave her a good yank with the lead rope; when she responded by immediately settling down and focusing on me, I rewarded her by leading back towards the barn. Again I turned her loose in the arena while I exercised Lance; this time she didn't feel the need to follow us around but did her own thing, including playing some. Twice she broke out in a BIG, fancy trot, warming the cockles of my dressage-loving heart!

Back in her stall, I picked up each front foot; she moved off when I asked for a back foot. I didn't want to tie her up to work with her, having never seen her tied; I waited until yesterday when Brian was around and had him hold her. She let me pick up and clean out all four feet then, so I feel much better about the farrier coming a week from today to trim everyone.

She hadn't been interested in any treats, so yesterday's acceptance of one inspired my opening song. 😁 So far it's been a one-off, but that's okay. As with my sheep, I'd much rather she come to me for a scratch than for food; Lance is too much of a Cookie Monster!

Speaking of Monster Lance, yesterday during our arena time (got in my New Year's Day ride!), Stella got downright playful. Lance responded by getting amped up. After 'riding the whirlwind' for a bit, I decided the better part of valor would be to get off and lunge him. Not having a lunge line handy, I just started moving him around me at the end of the reins. BIG mistake; he got snotty and turned his butt towards me (something he also does occasionally on the lunge line) which was uncomfortably close with just the reins to hang onto. At that point I'm not sure if he pulled away or I let go, but he tore off. At first I was just worried about the reins (they were destroyed), until I realized that he was laser-focused on ATTACKING STELLA! As he charged after her with ears pinned and teeth bared, I tried to run interference, shouting at him and threatening him with my dressage whip. He grabbed her with his teeth several times, but I was able to thwart him from cornering and kicking her. After several heart-stopping minutes, I got him separated at one end of the arena, and he was winded enough to recall when I asked.

What provoked his uncharacteristic behavior? A blogpal suggested jealousy; that could be, but he's getting just as much attention as ever. I wonder if her playfulness was taken as a challenge, or insubordination, as that's when he started getting 'on the muscle.' At any rate, I'm not sure I'm going to continue joint arena time for now!

Stella in pale winter sunlight; New Year's Day 2020

Besides handling her feet, Stella's other 'baby steps' yesterday were over the discarded dryer felt laying in the driveway. She walked on it and over it several times with me, no big deal. Good girl!

I also gently curried her all over after she dried off from rolling in the wet arena. Seeing her with her hair plastered down highlighted how thin she is; I think she may have lost more weight since coming here. Not surprising, since relocation is a major stressor, and she doesn't seem thrilled with our hay. I'm headed to work now; afterwards I'll stop at the farm store for some additional supplementation. Then home again for today's baby steps forward!

Doing what we can

I've looked over Second Level Test 2 and like I said, everything is within our current skill set. Whether or not we can do it all, one thing after another, without taking breaks to stretch or cough or catch our breath, remains to be seen, but we'll give it our best shot.

I KNOW you can do it, Lance!

In the meantime, I'm working towards making Lance look the part. I shaved his bridle path and the tufts of hair that stuck out of his ears, then I spent some time on his mane. The rubbed off lower section has finally grown back but is thin and unruly, probably from being under his high-necked turnout sheet. The upper section was long and thick and I've left it that way to give his neck more coverage against mosquitoes. Time to make him look more like a dressage mount than a neglected nag!

I'm not done yet, but it's definitely looking better. I also need to wash and trim his tail and legs/fetlocks. But that can wait for one of the rainy days forecast this week; today is for riding!

And a little (too much) off the bottom

Today when I went down for Lance's and my 30-minute walk, I noticed that his tail was dragging on the ground. I fetched my scissors to trim it – and took off more than I intended! It does make his tail look thicker, though – and it will grow back. 😉

A little off the top

Between shedding winter hair and unkempt mane and tail, Lance is looking rather ratty. Of course, I always think he's handsome, and there are no shows in our foreseeable future for which to spiff. Still, a freshly clipped bridle path, some sunshine and a breeze don't hurt the view!

Another day, another date

Since Tuesday, Wednesday and Sunday are generally my most flexible days, I headed up to visit Bentley again today. His paddock gate was the only one of the three open to the pasture, but he came in and stood at the stall door, watching me put down my helmet, gather up the grooming supplies, and  come in to see him. No hint of avoidance; I was pleased.

I groomed him and put the saddle on, but when I produced the bridle he wasn't thrilled to see it. So I led him around the arena with halter and lead rope for a bit; when I presented the bridle again he was fine with it. I mounted and rode at the walk for 30 minutes, asking him questions about bend, moving laterally off either leg, halting, stretching. Mostly I'm interested in being able to get and maintain a conversation through the reins; going faster than a walk before that becomes more reliable seems ill-advised, IMO.

Walking around the arena will soon get boring, though, and won't do much to improve his fitness. I took a photo today to document the fat deposits on either side of his tail so I can look back and hopefully see progress.

On Sunday when I have more time, I'm going to try lunging him, both to increase activity and to get some idea of this guy's gaits.

After we were done and Bentley was turned back out, I took some photos of him in the sunshine. He came my direction to get a drink, so I stepped through the gate and asked him to come to me one last time. He did!

In Lance "news," my mustang man got a good grooming this morning, and this evening Rick built and installed a new timer system for the hay steamer. Until now, I've had to set a timer on my iPhone when I started the steamer, then go down an hour later to unplug the steamer, then wait at least 20 minutes for the hay to cool so I could feed. Since there isn't enough time in the morning for that process, I have to do it twice in the afternoon/evening; once for their supper hay, and again for their next morning's breakfast hay. Not only is that a lot of running back and forth to the barn (hey, I feed my FitBit!), it also limits our afternoon/evening freedom.

With this new timer set-up, the steamer shuts itself off. Woot!

Under cover

After several weeks of struggling to get our rides in, it got a bit easier last week and this. This week I also got Lance covered again. When SmartPak couldn't replace his ruined Ultimate Turnout Sheet because his size was out of stock, they offered to send us a Deluxe Turnout to use until the Ultimates are restocked. I'm happy to preserve Lance's mane and tail while minimizing necessary grooming; thanks for the great service, SmartPak!

Quitting crutches

I've ditched the crutches (with approval), and am now waiting for Rick to recheck Lance's leg. Crossing fingers and toes that we're both removed from the injured list this week! (Okay, my knee is not 100%, but it won't stop me if I can help it.)

Yesterday (my first day without crutches) I hand-walked Lance around our arena. He was SO full of himself, but minded his manners and was very good. Today I pulled his sheet off and gave him a good grooming with the stiff rubber fingers followed by the brush; took care of some itches and got some winter hair off. It's so nice to be able to spend some time with my horse again!

Head Neck and shoulders, knees and toes

Wednesday night Lance got a shockwave treatment (see HERE for a good explanation of this technology, which my husband has used with great success). I keep bugging him to try it on my frozen shoulder, to no avail. He did use it on my tennis elbow some time ago and got that quieted down.

Next up: Lance needs a haircut. Actually, he needs his mane evened out. The section he rubbed out last year is just about the right length now (it's darker, therefore hard to distinguish from his neck). The section caudal to that is thin and long, so just needs to be shortened. The larger section cranial to the rubbed area is thick as well as long, so I'll probably have to thin that. Ugh; I hate pulling mane. I doubt Lance will mind, though – especially if I do it while he's eating. ;-)

I'm so used to trying to manage my days so that I can shoehorn in a ride somewhere that I'm a little lost when the possibility of riding is removed. Oh, I have plenty to do, so it's not like I get bored or anything. Lance, on the other hand, IS bored. I can hand-walk him, but will do so carefully. My shoulder problems started the last time his activity was limited to hand-walking….

Taxes can wait...

…at least until the afternoon!

I got in a 20-minute ride Wednesday just before the skies opened up

Friday morning

I thought it was supposed to be sunny and beautiful all weekend, but it's clouding up and Weather.com tells me it may rain this afternoon. Guess I'd better get out there before I lose my "weather window"!

Before I rode on Friday I turned Lance loose to run and roll. He was crusty and smelly from laying in his pee spot, and I thought rolling in the sand might help. Wrong. The downpour on Wednesday floated all the organic matter to the top of the arena footing and Lance ended up plastered with sandy muck. The only thing to do was hose it off of him, and wait a couple hours while he (somewhat) dried.

A somewhat cleaner pony post-shower

The opening date for our first show of the year is this week, so I need to get my entry ready to mail on opening day!