Is that you, #childsatan?

BM wimped out from the cold Wednesday so we ended up back at the park. (It took me a long time to figure out what day that was even though it's only Saturday. Time is irrelevant at this point.) It was still a fun ride with lots of good gallops, even if I did lead us up a goat trail and Momo nearly led BM right off the side of the cliff.

honkers everywhere

including baby honkers!

Opie got Thursday off, and then I dragged out ten million poles and standards for some grid work on Friday. I needn't have bothered going through all the effort because I ended up dismantling half my work by the end.

I had a line of three big bounces along one long side (which is the only thing he did do really well), and a vertical one stride to oxer one stride to vertical across the diagonal. By the time we were done, I had the three bounces as half Xes, a crossrail on the diagonal, and another half X on the other long side.

The problem right off the bat was that I switched out his slow twist dee jumping bit for a french link eggbutt. He was tossing his head a few strides away the last time we jumped, and I do like to keep a feel of his mouth when jumping, so I thought it was me and I'd do him a solid by switching to something gentler.

Instead I think that's just him, and he took advantage by completely blowing through the bit unless I somehow managed to rip his head to the side and circle him in the middle of a bolt to the fence. Because if I didn't pull him right off of it, he had no problem crashing through the fence with his head pointed at the ceiling in a flat out run.

He's also apparently denoted the green striped poles his bugaboo and once again slammed on the brakes and refused to go near them until I made them an X.

I knocked everything down to idiot level pretty much immediately when I realized I had no brakes. I'm not particularly brave with stadium jumps on a good day, so I certainly wasn't going to mess around schooling my drama llama out of control horse over them in this weird world we're living in.

Even so, we spent a solid twenty minutes cantering over essentially elevated ground poles until I got it into his demonic brain that we do not bolt, rear, dirty stop, or go crashy crashies.

tbh i think the only reason we were able to end on a good note
was that it was 80* and he was exhausted. at least he got a good
bath out of the whole thing.

Needless to say, the slow twist is going back on. He also gets his teeth done Thursday, but in the end I think we're just going to have to repeat this exercise a few more times before jumping becomes blase again. This is only the second time he's jumped since quarantine went into effect so it's still VERY EXCITING.

The good news is, our barn has implemented a soft opening as of TODAY! Still tons and tons of rules and stipulations, but the big news is boarders no longer have to schedule times to come to the barn. We're still limited to number of riders in the ring at once, but not having to schedule personal horse time makes me feel so much less anxious.

he's so fit and strong (and clean) right now. hopefully he
goes back to using his powers for good.

BM and I head out to Oatka this afternoon where we might actually get to trail ride in warmth for once!

Basics

Last week's trail ride at the park was much needed. Both because it reminded Dopie that standing tied to the trailer is a thing--something he conveniently likes to forget when he hasn't been anywhere for awhile which causes him to set back, but my knotted halter showed him Truth--and because the boys were so happy to be out and about again. There was lots of soaking in the pond and enough gallops to satisfy everyone.

ground tied, ready to go home after almost breaking my ramp latch.
#childsatan 

We've had a couple of super easy, basic flat rides since then. It's been nice to be able to work solely on myself in the sitting trot. Opie has been forward and soft, so I pretty much just put him on autopilot while I try to correct bad habits.

• He's super in tune to my seat and as I've written before, I think this is where quite a bit of his back tightness comes from in the sitting trot. Definitely tension plays into it, but I've been getting him cruising in the posting trot and then quietly slipping into sitting while focusing on keeping my butt like jelly, my shoulders back and down, and tightening my core instead. A novel idea, I know.
• His canter is back to being loose and jumpy and wonderful. I don't know why he vacillates between that and gross four beated nonsense with nothing in between, but I'm going to ride the floaty train while it's around.
• He is understanding the medium trot. He. Is. Getting. It. It still needs to be bigger and bouncier always, but the concept has finally clicked in his giant head.

powered by candy

Tomorrow we head out to explore a new trail since going to the park can get boring in a hurry. Hopefully we don't get lost!

trail bros 

Quick catch up

Despite the amount of time between posts, I actually haven't had that many rides. I've been keeping to only one extra day outside of my three that I'm there to feed except for last week where I pulled in at six in the morning to ride in solitude.

up early for dressage shenanigans 

We ended up putting shoes back on Dopie after...three weeks? He was chewing up his feet too much and, while sound on bute, I wasn't going to make him mince around miserably for no reason. He's had two rides since then including a jump school and he feels so much happier with his sneaks back on.

getting them jumps with that uphill canter

We did a simple flat ride in the Micklem this morning where we schooled the trot half pass--it's getting there. The canter was good, the rest of good enough although he's really starting to get the medium trot. Finally.

On Friday I had him in the double again. We finished up with the basics quickly so I wanted to get a little more done. I decided we'd work on the changes. It was a rodeo. I mean, kind of a sort of fun rodeo, but a rodeo nonetheless. He tried his very hardest to yank me over his head with all his tiny might, but I just kept sitting in the saddle and kicking over and over and over until voila! Clean, crisp, sane changes both ways.

Yesterday I set up a short and simple jump course. We haven't had a real jump school in forever and a day so I didn't set anything above 2'6". With his shoes back on, he was feeling himself and launching over everything--once we got our canter sorted out.

There were several awkward AF distances, and I felt looser in the saddle than I usually do. I should have put my stirrups up a hole, but it's been so long since I've even sat in a jump saddle that I was just rolling with whatever I could get.

I did, however, rock that auto release every time we got into an awkward spot. Yay for not hitting him in the mouth!

no mouth yankies!

He took great offense to the green ascending oxer and slammed on the brakes twice in a row before I dropped one side of the back rail.

"no."

"i said fuck no."

"ok fine."

Tomorrow BM and I are getting brave and taking the boys to the park. Hopefully the cooler weather and the weekday morning keeps most of the populous away.

First of all...

...it's amazing how easy and clean this horse's changes are when he's doing something he considers fun: i.e. not dressage.

That clean change can also be seen during jumping courses, performed either automatically or with the barest shifting of weight.

In a big open arena, coming across the diagonal, trying to hit a general area? No, siree.

too bad you're so good at the fancy prancing, you sneaky shit.

I was hoping for some impressive media of Dopie turning barrels like a boss on Sunday, but instead he came out in complete game night rage monster mode. I could barely control his psycho ass, and ended the ride by getting off, hitting the deck gasping for air, and with a sore back today.

regrets nothing very very little

The problems started with tack: I was in Hubby's too small, horrifically hard western saddle that instantly makes my seat bones bruise while it constricts all the blood in my lower extremities. I was also driving my loaner vehicle while my car is getting fixed so I didn't have the key to my locked trailer where my western bridle lives which meant I borrowed BM's horrible, horrible too long and too soft reins.

But really the root of it was that Opie just wanted to go fast.

The arena was only about 85% dry so he'd snatch the reins and then slip behind occasionally and nearly fall over. He was also blowing out through his shoulder so when we came off the barrel, his head was turned in, but his shoulder was galloping in the opposite/wrong direction.

I thought he would be easier to train on barrels than Bobby because he's smaller and cattier, but it's working to my disadvantage. He's like Gumby. You wrangle one part and another one goes shooting off in a different direction. Also he is very fast.

I made him do some trotting of the pattern and figure eights between the two side by side barrels to try to cool his jets, but every time he set down to run, he literally set down and launched which fucking destroyed my back.

He'll get there with time--and a bigger bit, his tie down, and a new saddle for me. I've trained all my OTTBs I've owned in the past to barrels, and since show season is going to end up as who knows what, we've got pleeentyyy of time to fuck around with all the things!

Intro to Barrels

Good news, Opie's heel pain was nothing more than a tiny abscess that resolved overnight with hoof packing.

v small

Despite being due, Farrier didn't trim him when she pulled his shoes to leave enough foot for him to chip off as he pleased during the transition. He hind feet, however, have always been bare and they really needed to be done. The abscess was in a bit of overgrown flare so I rasped that down once it came out. His front feet are chunking off where his clips were so he doesn't need a trim right now--at least not one that I can't do by myself.

I pulled off a pus-filled diaper the morning after treating it, threw him outside with his friends for the day, and then came back in the afternoon to soak it and repack and rewrap it. The next morning he was sound as a dime (on his naked fronts, too!) so we took to the outdoor to finally play with our newly acquired barrels.

We started off walking and trotting the pattern L-R-R. I figured since his L-R lead change is better, this would be easier for him. When we moved on to the canter, he wasn't interested in the lead change at all so I just brought him back to the trot to change the lead.

The first few times, he went through the motions until I let him loose after the last barrel. Then I turned him loose into the first barrel and his little gaming pony brain LIT UP. "Fuck yeah, do the things fast! My favorite!"

He kept swapping over to the left lead coming off the last barrel to run home, so I finally reversed the pattern to R-L-L. He was much happier with this and even started throwing in a front lead change. I only did that twice so we could be done because I didn't want to do too much with his feets.

Hopefully I'll be able to bring Hubby out to the barn this weekend for video. The evil neighbor reported the barn to the cops for running a lesson program. Nevermind that there hasn't been a lesson here in a month. BM is conflicted on how she wants to regulate moving forward. What a miserable asshole. (The neighbor obviously, not BM).

All the recognized dressage shows in the area have been cancelled through the end of the year, so we've got no pressure for this year now. Good thing I never paid my USEF and USDF memeberships!

The most Meh of rides

This morning I had plans to make up for a pretty meh ride on Sunday with the acquisition of two more plastic fifty gallon drums from Hubby that would give us enough barrels to do real fake barrel racing with.

Spoiler alert: Dopie was off in the LH so he got to frolic in the indoor with his friends for an hour before getting his foot wrapped for what I suspect/hope is a brewing abscess, and then being locked in his stall with a giant hay net. BM said he was running the fence line like a fool yesterday afternoon while she was riding Mo though, so hopefully he didn't so something super stupid like pull a butt muscle or blow out a tendon.

that booty has work to do

In better news, he got his shoes pulled last Tuesday and seems to be adjusting as well as expected. Farrier said he has pretty flat feet, but aside from being a titch tender it hasn't seem to have effected him much.

Sunday was my first real ride on him since he went barefoot. The outdoor was finally dry enough that Hubby gave it a quick drag while I gave Dopie some breakfast and got him tacked up. He actually didn't feel sore in his feet during the ride, but he did feel wonky to the left the whole time. Not lame, but...just wonky. That was before his naughtiness in the pasture, so I'm hoping that lends more credence to an abscess starting to show its head. He's never had one since I've owned him so I don't know what that looks like in him yet.

casual warm up struttin'

He warmed up well at the posting trot, and while I feel like my posture is improving while posting it's still not where it should be. Ugh, better cave and start back in on the sit up routine. The worst.

His back wasn't there in the sitting trot. I also promptly got fixated on reeling his head and neck in instead of focusing on a longer neck that brings the poll up naturally. Apparently four days off was all it took for that goal to get lost. Once the horse is sound again, I'll remind myself again.

I didn't realize it at the time, but watching back on video I was overbending his head on the circles. I tried a couple of half passes, and those were leading with the haunches. Bleh. The whole ride was just bleh.

trying to wake him up in the canter. unsuccessfully.

Hopefully whatever issue he's got going on in the LH resolves quickly. While I'm eager to work (forever) more on the sitting trot, and play some more with the double, I really want to introduce some barrel work. #dopiedoesgaming is going to be the cutest thing yet.

Hello Otto

otto ain't nothing but a thing

I scheduled another Saturday ride to get some more media before Hubby officially gets swallowed alive by the spring season. I wanted some dressage media, but honestly the thought of yet another basic w/t/c in the indoor made me want die.

That's doubtlessly selfish since a lot of people aren't even allowed to go out and see their horse right now, but even with essentially cutting my riding days in half, I'm struggling so much with motivation. I knew I was going to have to shorten my show season way up anyway--both because Poor and because my truck only has so many lives left--but I still had something to plan towards. My first show was going to be in June, but who knows when the world will reopen at this point. It's left me in a bit of a flail-ful mindset.

opie says, same. 

Anyway, I decided I would pull the double out again and ride in the outdoor. Sort of a change up at least. Only the outdoor was still under water. Fucking New York.

I warmed Opie up on a long rein while Hubby talked with BM (from the other side of the ring #socialdistancing), and then he went to get the camera so I picked up the curb rein for the first time for real. Opie worked the bits a little bit every now and then, but he never chomped or gaped his mouth. He's totally okay with the two bits, seemingly more so than his simple single snaffle. Whatevs, homie.

He got Sunday off, and then I rode in it again this morning. Aside from the lack of chomping the double brings, he's also light and round right off the bat. While chipping away at our sitting trot--coming along nicely!--I've recently added to my list to make sure that his neck stays long. He likes to curl it in or up, either works for him. Both are gross.

We didn't do much on Saturday since it was his first time being asked to do actual work with Otto, but I was able to hit some SI:

And the dreaded medium trot:

That was really the only time we ran into bit trouble. He'd start to get fast and heavy, and then fall on to his forehand and basically fall onto the bits which upset him. He'd throw his head, but that was the extent of it. We finished with a couple of good-for-him attempts, and then wrapped up with some stretchy trot.

go go dopie go!

We also touched on the flying changes in the middle of the ride, but the canter was never there because I was rushing it so none of them were clean or good. Not even a little bit.

This morning he had a good warm up before we moved on to 2-2. He was good for that as well. He was actually too responsive to my seat for the canter to walk transitions and was too abrupt into them, and he wanted to get a little spastic (as always) in the second counter canter movement, but other than that no complaints.

He gets vaccinated tomorrow and we're going to try to pull his shoes to see if he can be a barefoot horse. If he can't, no problem, we'll just put them back on. But if he can, yay, checkbook!