Butterflies

No, not about the show. I just got off the phone with a lady who is interested in Larry. She has been training and showing horses and clients on the Arabian and Half-Arabian circuit for years, and is looking for the right horse for several different clients. Larry sounds like he could be just what she is looking for. She's coming to see him here Sunday morning before traveling on to Salem to look at a couple more horses. Guess it's a good thing I haven't entered any more shows yet!

Making hay while the sun shines

We are on the tail end of an early summer-in-spring cycle, and farmers have been dropping hay all over the area. I'm hoping this means hay will be in plentiful supply this year, making it more reasonable. If so, I'd love to stuff our barn as full as possible while we can. Unfortunately there is still some old hay in the way; we ran out of horse hay and had to buy some more in early spring, there's some certified weed-free hay from last year we've saved for horse-camping trips where it is required, and there is still some third-cutting orchard grass for the sheep.

I've been able to take full advantage of the good weather in schooling Larry, too. We've made notable progress in the last week, especially in counter canter and transitions within gaits, which indicates he's getting stronger. He's also not testing me like he was; I'm thinking he's figured out that I've got his number, and none of his spooking, bucking behaviors work with me.

Or maybe it's because with all this warm weather, the horses are finally getting out on pasture for a few hours every day! Photo taken from my bedroom window.

Our next show is this coming Sunday, at a new-to-me venue. Unless the weather is "very inclement," the show will be held in an outdoor arena. Hopefully this will be less scary to Larry than the covered arena at our first show. Speaking of our first show, my new laptop is able to communicate with my husband's memory card, so below are some photos he took there.

 Blurry, but I like Larry's outline.

 Cropped, but I like my shoulder-hip-heel alignment.

Candid conversation shot during warm-up.

Unexpected company

Whee; I managed to school Larry three days in a row this week, starting with Sunday! (Spent yesterday in the hospital with my son; hope to get back on today.)

As I led Larry into the arena on Tuesday, I saw a small dark spot in the sand – then it moved. I walked closer (this is why my camera is almost always slung around my neck), and saw it was a mole.

It didn't act well. I got a manure fork from the barn and gently moved it into the grassy strip between arena and barn, where it promptly headed into the leaf litter – then it stopped. It was still there at the end of my ride, motionless in death.

Slim pickin's

Photo during one of our tests courtesy of a friend.

After showing last Sunday, I was only able to ride twice this week – Tuesday and Friday. The other days were either too wet or too crammed full of other commitments. But I have yet to go more than two days in a row without working Larry; not a bad track record (IMO) for the 12 weeks I've had him.

Both times I rode this week, Larry had some buck in him. Just a wee bit on Tuesday; much more yesterday. Riding him through these "yeehaws," and through the spooking at the show, is re-building my confidence exponentially. I say RE-building, because historically I've been a pretty fearless rider. But the combination of becoming a mom, having dependable Russell for so long, and getting older eroded a little of that. Either that, or I'm getting a little wiser with age. :-)

Last Sunday I finally obtained a basic timeline on Larry's recent history from his owner. The last time he was shown was in 2009. In 2010 he was ridden in some clinics; in 2011 he was used for some lessons. Based on my brief history with him, that last point surprised me. Larry isn't what I'd call an "easy ride," although I've ridden tougher. At any rate, learning what I did made me feel even better about our progress so far. Onward and forward!

A couple of photos from the show

Rick, Brian and several friends came to watch Larry and I show last Sunday, including Wanda. Wanda and I met through fiber (her husband makes the most wonderful Turkish spindles), and then we learned we also have many other things in common, including a love of horses. (She and I shared a special beach ride together last September.) I was tickled that she was able (and desired) to come; it was great to have her support and be able to catch up a bit between my two classes.

Wanda took some photos during our warm-up (thank-you, Wanda!). The designated warm-up arena was in another building cheek-to-jowl with the Oregon Ag Fest, a beehive of activity and noise from various farm animals, a crackling loudspeaker and lots of families with kids and strollers. Because of that, most competitors chose to warm up in an open area outside the two competition arenas, even though the footing wasn't ideal.

This photo shows the end result of my braiding job.

As requested, I will do a photo tutorial on how I braid sometime this month.

Several of my friends commented on how much they loved Larry's ears during our warm-up. They were telegraphing how relaxed and attentive he was. (Later, in the tests, they telegraphed how terrified he was of the end of the arena where the judge's stand was; ha!)

There may be more photos yet to come. Rick shot some during our tests, but we haven't been able to download them to my computer yet.