St. Augustine Schooling HT -- Recap

Full disclosure: I probably had lofty goals for how things would go (ie, don't fall off, don't get eliminated and have a great time). We accomplished two of the three goals, but what I realized after the show was that we did as well as we could have given where we are with our training. That said, I am always impressed with my fellow blog friends (ahem, Sarah Rune) that are willing to share the good, bad and the ugly with their young horses, after all... we have to start somewhere, right?

All bathed and ready to make his debut

St. Augustine Pony Club is a lovely facility. Everything is set up in a way to be very horse friendly, especially for young horses and/or green riders. It was clear that this was the first event for most people in our area (not surprising after our down right horrible winter) because when we arrived, every single horse was screaming it's head off. Tension was pretty high in the air, but we arrived with lots of time to let our horses settle. We were also really fortunate to have ride times that were far enough apart so that Emily could help me warm up for each division without worrying about her own times.

First XC school -- Carousel Park

Sorry for the radio silence over the weekend. I've been busy and my computer is being the absolute worst so I had to wait to today to officially update. Those of you who are friends with me on Instagram or Facebook already got a sneak peek.

I'll admit, I was nervous, especially after Riley's shenanigans at the paper chase, but we were as ready as we were going to be. Carousel has a wonderful XC course. I think it only goes up to training, but there's everything from tiny, baby stuff on up. They had moved a lot of the jumps around, so we spent a little time trying to figure out where things were, and a HUGE group having a lesson arrived with us, but luckily the course is set in a series of different fields, so we had plenty of space to ourselves. I had Riley wear his Cavallos until we got past the bluestone (there's tons of it there), pulled them off and shoved them under a jump, along with his spurs (didn't need those). The first thing we decided to play around with was a ditch. A TINY ditch riveted on both sides and flagged. The first time Riley walked into the ditch and over. The second time he said, "Oh Hell No" and freaked out for awhile. I started to lose a bit of confidence, but Emily and Prima gave us a lead over a few times and then he was happy enough to pop over it from a walk 2 more times by himself. We decided to let that settle in and then we headed to the next field with the small water complex.

lucky bracelet

Emily had us follow her and Prima in the later and out at a walk and trot, then we followed them up and down the tiny little banks, and finally she had us drop off the bank and go up it at a walk and trot. She had lots of good advice of what NOT to do when dropping it and bouncing up backs, and I think I felt pretty confident in the end. Riley was game for all of it when it was our turn to do everything alone.

I'm not sure why, but the video came out all double-vision looking, so this is the best I could do for evidence!

Weeeeee! Into the water like a boss. I need to lean back more, but not too shabby.

Good boy Riley up the bank out of the water.

I think the hardest part of the day was Riley realizing that even though Prima was there to give us a lead, it also meant he had to leave her and go do things on his own, which we had a few disagreements about.

We moved on to the start of the baby course and basically schooled every single jump. There was a coop, a few vertical post and rail type fences, a ramp, a green set of steps (kind of like a bench that I was terrified of jumping and Riley jumped the best!), a jump that looked like a stone bridge with semi-circle cut outs underneath, and we trotted and really jumped the ditch when we came back around to it!

Riley's first XC jump, I'd say he's game.

Aw good boy, and I'm actually not staring at the ground! Woot!

All in all, it was a pretty perfect day. He was so game to everything and even jumped the ditch like a boss when we came back to it. We signed up for our first HT on Sunday, so we'll see how everything works out! It's simple test (though, Riley's never been in a dressage arena) and everything is super small, I want a good positive first outing for him and I!

ps. I love him, he's the best.

Treats for the good pony.

To insure or not?

My insurance is coming up on renewal and I wanted to get some feedback about whether or not TO insure, and/or who you like for insurance purposes.

Riley's insurance, for roughly $350 a year (paid all at once) covered a myriad of things. Mostly, full mortality and major medical. I am debating on whether or not to renew it this year. I'm sure, just uttering those words means he's going to hurt himself or get sick, but I'm not sure what's better at this stage. I have a Care Credit account which covers me at New Bolton (down the road) and I have a good relationship with my vet who doesn't require payment up front and will accept payment plans.

In the last year, he's been luckily very good. Outside of his hoof issues we haven't had any trouble. His x-rays etc were not covered.

What do you guys think?

Edit:
FYI: he was covered for full mortality at his purchase price ($3500) and $5000 for Major Medical.

Is there such a thing as the terrible 5's????

Riley being adorable/trying to eat the banana bread in my lap

Saturday was the Cheshire Pony Club Spring Paper Chase. It's always a lovely ride, and last year it was the 2nd paper chase I took Riley (and only my 3rd ride on him ever) where I was convinced I simply HAD to have him. He was brave, solid, and best of all completely rateable. Blame it on the lack of fitness last year, or the fact that he's in a medium workload load and feeling full of himself but I had a completely different horse on my hands this time around! The best part about this paper chase is that it is literally around the corner from our barn. I drove over in my car with bridles and goodies and Emily rode Prima over and ponied Riley who was mostly tacked up. When I was signing us in Emily was almost to the trailer parking area, which I am sure looked odd to everyone else who was there with a trailer. Ah well. We got our pinneys and start times and settled in at the car. We brought chairs and beers and hung out in the sun to relax. It was a gorgeous day, though I didn't plan ahead and forgot to wear sunscreen so now I already have a sweet farmers tan. Nice. Riley was calm and happy to just graze while we stood around, but Prima is in heat and wouldn't leave him alone. I'm sort of convinced that Riley is asexual because he was not keen to her advances.

Whispering sweet nothings to Riley.

After awhile it seemed she was getting through to him, but he was still more interested in ALL THE GRASS. We got on and headed out around 12:30 and they were both happy to trot down to the first patch of woods. I'm not that keen on this particular route because it starts very jump-heavy when you've barely even trotted for 5 minutes, but Prima was more than game to hop over things (of course being completely adorable about everything). Last year I bravely took Riley over the first large coop with a massive puddle on the other side which no other horses would go anywhere near. This year I waited a little while before popping him over a solid 2 foot log where he over jumped it by several feet and landed with a hump in his back, completely unseating me (I guess he remembered how to jump from last Wednesday)! I had a terrible Oh Shit! moment where I was sure I was going to fall off, run into Emily and/or hit a tree, but I got him back. Whew! What the heck! I decided that rather than take any chances in falling off over fences we'd skip most of the for the day so he's have a positive first outing for the year. He was totally fine going around everything while Emily popped over jumps. He got in some serious looooong trots and canters (many uphill) and gave them plenty of walk breaks as it was the hottest day of the year so far. They were both terrific leading or following through streams, up and down banks etc. Hunter paces are such great learning experiences especially for babies. We got to a really nice flat section along a fence line and decided to let them go for a little gallop. Emily had me ride ahead so I could set the pace and I tucked a few fingers under my neck strap so I could give him soft contact while I was out of the saddle. he felt amazing. Ripping along with the wind in my hair and the sun on my face, and then... I felt him curl his neck and round his back... I know what's coming next... I stood up in my stirrups and pulled my shoulders back to ask him to slow up and he bolted! Poor Emily was about 4 lengths behind me when she saw what was starting to happen and she was yelling out all sorts of instructions (I couldn't hear her). All I knew if that we were on 100s of acres with so end in sight. When he didn't listen to the subtle cues, I sat deep, and one rein-stopped him, which was more of a crazy circle, but it worked. It didn't help that I had spurs on (which I usually need) and I kept jabbing him while I was trying to turn/stop him. I realize it wasn't pretty but it got the job done. That's when I realized I didn't really have brakes. Whoops. While he loves the Happy Mouth Mullen for flat work, I'm going to need a little something extra in wide open spaces, specifically, something that I can pop his head up and get him to listen. Emily and I were both is complete shock that he ran off with me! She even offered to swap horses for the rest of the ride, but I really wanted to use the adventure as a learning tool for us both so I stuck with him. Plus, I'm pretty sure he was showing off for his new lady-friend. We mostly trotted for the rest of the ride, which was great to get his brain back, do some solid contact work, and make him work HARD. We tried a few more little bits of cantering but he lost his marbles and thought that curling his head and cantering sideways would be a better option and rather than lose control of him again in a wide open space, I just made him trot, and trot and TROT. Emily said I handled the situated well, and that while she was worried, once she saw my reaction she knew we'd be okay. I think she was more concerned that I would be emotionally frazzled by him running off and while it was a little terrifying for a minute or two, I need to be able to handle whatever comes along. The ride was 7.5 miles long with lots of hills and both ponies were tired and sweaty at the end. They are certainly in better shape that a lot of the horses we saw (and ours are clipped) but it's always nice to see how they do on their first outing of the year. He got a well deserved Vetroline bath and time to relax in a breezy stall while he dried off.

Tired pony... look at that lip!

Sunday I thought a nice quiet hack would be good for Riley to stretch his legs and give me a chance to try another bit on him. I put him in a full cheek snaffle which definitely helps with steering, but he doesn't seem to like to hold the contact in, he sort of bobs his head as though it's fussy in his mouth... I think he likes the stability of the straight bar of the Mullen and he's also gone well in a Nathe. Me and two other ladies headed out for a nice road hack (short, under 3-4 miles) mostly walking at some trotting since it was one of the horse's 2nd ride post-track.

Riley led for most of the way! Good boy! We have miles and miles of land around us like this and most of the grass perimeters we have permission to ride on too!

He was a little stiff and definitely slightly foot sore from our paper chase, so I opted to trot on grass as much as possible. He did trot pretty well on the smooth asphalt, but he'll be getting shoes at the end of the month so we don't end up with bruises. All three babies were terrific save for a moment when a huge hawk was sitting on a fence line and decided to fly away as we went past! Lots of trotting on the way back up a nice gradual hill on the grass you can see on the right of the photo above, such a good work out for him!

Finally! Spring. Look at the grass! ps. Riley thinks standing still is the dumbest.

After our short hack he got hosed off and turned out where he proceeded to canter off up the big hill in his field... faker, he wasn't tired at all. Then I remembered that I had him in the jump chute Wednesday and I flatted/jumped him the same day, paper chase Saturday and hack Sunday. Maybe he was a little tired:)

This week he's going to get a training ride from Emily where he can test his rate-ability and brakes out in the open, I might do something with him Wednesday if I have time (I have a dentist appt and I have to feed that night) and Friday he goes for his first XC with me clinging to his back like a monkey. Fingers crossed I remember to keep my heels down and shoulders back this time.

A pretty terrific weekend, even if my 5 year old is truly showing off his baby side these days!

Also, perfection. I love that you can see his blaze faintly.

Ps. Any bit suggestions would be greatly appreciated! I think my next step might be a double jointed bit of some sort.

Springing in Spring complete with a shameless photo dump.

Apologies in advance for the one million photos. I rarely get any photos of me riding and Emily and I took turns in the jump school and riding in the ring so we could shoot each other. Side note: It was a good test for both babies to trailer together go stand in a stall and then play musical horses for the next few hours. Neither of them minded being away from the other which is great since some get VERY attached on even the shortest trailer rides.

Oh, and my horse self loads and unloads now:)

om nom nom nom

Tomorrow, tomorrow.

Riley in November of 2013, first time through a jump chute.

Tomorrow, Emily and I are taking our lads down to a friend's farm to put them through the jump chute to get some great photos and then ride in her lovely ring (complete with jumps)!! It's going to be gorgeous tomorrow and I need very little reason to take a half day to go ride my pony. I'm excited to see how his jumping form has improved and more so, I'm excited to jump him myself! I feel a little lesson coming on. I'll be there with video/camera in hand so hopefully there's proof!

SPRING SALE!!!! My biggest and best sale EVER!!!!

Waking up to chirping birds and my dogwood tree blooming in front of my bedroom window has put me in a terrific mood. It feels like my winter blues are over and I finally finished another paper cut that I had trouble completing (it's hard for me to work when I'm not feeling inspired).

Here's the most recently finished piece:

PALOMINOS ARE REALLY TOUGH!

If you remember a few months ago I participated in a giveaway... this piece if for Amanda and Simba over at Chasing The Sun.

Last year, around this time I offered an incredible sale on my Etsy shop, but this year I've taken it up a notch!

Boo-yah!

Now's your chance to get a one-of-a-kind piece of artwork of your four-legged friend! Just enter coupon code SPRINGSALE50 at check out for 50% your entire order! This offer is only good Through May 31st, so don't wait!

You can find my shop here!

https://www.etsy.com/shop/TraceALine

EDIT: I added a ton of new listings (I forgot they expire and people went to my shop only to see that everything was sold out!)

Horse-eating monsters... they lurk everywhere!

Several horses on the farm were flat out terrified of this rolled up fencing. Horses!?!

Quick post

I've been working like mad lately. Freelance work is picking up for me (which is great) but I am wiped out all the time. Wednesday, I decided to take a personal day from work knowing that I'd be working a 13 hour day Thursday, regular work Friday, the farm Saturday and more freelance on Sunday. I needed a day to reset. Plus, the forecast was gorgeous! Sunny skies and temps in the 60's!

Emily and I decided to take Riley and her new horse Brody for some fitness work and a hack. They are very similar in some ways (ahem, slow pokes) and they both enjoy having a buddy for hacks. Their field as I have mentioned previously, is 20 acres with a gradual hill. The footing is really nice, especially around the perimeter and it's perfect for fitness work. the only real challenge is explaining to Riley that YES, we do have to work in YOUR field. We started off with some trots on the hill (about a 1/3 of a mile) then we did some sweeping figure eights and the top where the terrain flattens out. Riley was great, forward and in front of my leg and I got some nice contact work out of him at the same time. He was still stiff to the right, but since we had such a huge space to work in I didn't have to nag him as much to bend. I would really like to get him off my right inside leg more, but baby steps. We tooled around at the trot for awhile then we checked the rest of the perimeter for ground hog holes. While we were doing this we saw one go into their shed! We only found one hole in the field, phew... but we're going to have to figure out a way to flag them for us while we're riding and for the owners when they go out there to mow. We got back to the gate and decided to do one big circuit at the canter and both boys were very well behaved. I got into two-point and just let Riley move out in front of my leg. Neither of them got silly at all at and we finished up our fitness work with a long trot at the top of the hill. We took them for a little hack around the property so Brody could practice stream crossing (we are so lucky to have an actual stream to practice with!), but to get there we had to pass a patch of woods where there were about a dozen deer bouncing around. Again, both boys kept a lid on it and Riley led the way down to the stream. Brody was a total champ, though he was more interested in drinking all the water! We walked the boys up to the sheep and rams to say hello, schooled the crossing a few more times and headed back to the barn. Poor Riley was exhausted, he's had to work so hard lately (sarcasm).

Tired pony hacking back to the barn. Riding in a t-shirt!!!!!!

The weather was scheduled to be really nice overnight, so I stuck Riley's sheet on and stuck him out in the pasture that shares a fence line with the cows! Mean Mommy! But he's going to have to get over them at some point. He and Henry high-tailed it as far away as possible. Hopefully, he's feeling less worried about them in general?

Later, another co-op member showed up and she wanted to bring her show horse in to get him ready for Devon in May. He's been living out for the the last 6 months so it was time to get him less feral:) His field is wayyy up past Riley's and it's a good 1/2 mile walk back to the barn, so we schemed up a little plan to drive up there, feed the others, change them into sheets and pony him back. Of course hilarity ensued... it always does with us.

First, we called the boys for dinner. Two came running immediately (the same two that came galloping up while we were hacking past their field and the scary deer (thanks, boys)... but the other was no one to be found. A few minutes later a slightly panicked horse comes bursting through the field with his medium blanket flailing around like a cape. Uh oh. He was understandably panicked and we tried to calm him as he galloped across the field. As he past the shed he must have stepped on the blanket and was going so fast that the entire thing ripped off leaving a small piece around his neck, he jumped a pile of sticks like a seasoned eventer and came up for his dinner. As soon as we realized he was fine and not going to tumble or kill himself we all burst out laughing. I went to retrieve the remainder of the blanket from the field and pull the piece off from around his neck. The blanket is dead, but no one was hurt in the process! Ahhh, horses! It was clear once I spread the blanket on the ground that he had gotten the back caught in a tree probably from itching against something, he got caught and then panicked. Luckily the straps all broke the way they should.

What was left of his blanket. This was hanging around his neck. Very high-fashion, no?

We grabbed her show pony and she sat in the back of my car while we ponied he from there. He's apparently an old pro at this and walked and trotted along with us. What a good boy!

NBD. The same wild 6 year old that cooled himself out last week in the indoor!

That's all for now. I'm hoping to get some riding/lunging in tomorrow and maybe I can get Emily to put a training ride on Riley on Sunday since I'll be working.

Ps. All this talk about working has got me thinking about a post regarding affording our horses, board, co-ops and the like. I wonder if that would be interesting for everyone???

On the horizon

I'm feeling quite confident about Riley's progress so far. We've had some ups and downs but that is to be expected of a green horse (I mean, he essentially had all of last year off). We're looking ahead at some little things to go to and so far we have:

*Brooklawn Paper Chase on April 5th (hopefully the footing is okay by then).
*Cheshire Pony Club Paper Chase on April 12th (this is one of my favorite paper chases and we can hack there from the farm, it's only 1.2 miles away!)
*I would love to get a xc schooling in before I go to an event, but if I can go to both paper chases, that should cover us on jumping little, solid things)
*Emily and I are debating between the Old Hope Schooling Trial (13th) and The Bucks County Horse Park Schooling Trial (18th) as our first proper outing of the year. I think we are leaning toward the Bucks event as it is in the afternoon on a Friday and will be logistically a little easier on both of us.
*Possibly the CT at Boyd's on the 26th

So, do I enter in the introductory or starter division at Bucks? Both have really simple dressage tests (walk-trot), neither xc is timed and is meant to be extremely inviting, stadium is either 14"-18" or 18"-2'. I guess I'll see how he is over the next two paper chases and make a decision. I haven't jumped in forever, but he also isn't the kind of horse that jumps you out of the tack, so I am not too worried about him being overly exuberant. I am slightly concerned he may have trouble leaving his buddies, but if we can go schooling before then I can probably test that out a little.

Feeling nervous, but very excited!!!!!