2012: Equine goals for the dressage arena

As I map out my goals and plans for 2012, I'm thinking about what to do about my equine plans, hopes and dreams.

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Ultimately in 2012 I'd like to compete - either on Kadey or a different pony. The only downside to a different pony is having to get rid of Kade. But my partner said we have room for two this afternoon, as long as I can afford it. I think he may go back on that if push comes to shove but it was something I hadn;t even considered - what about keeping Kadey, leasing or purchasing a schoolmaster for 18 months and keep Kadey in work with my trainer. Then at the end of the time period, sell or return the schoolmaster and compete with Kadey.

My secondary goal would then be to work with Kadey until he calms the %&*$ down and can be ridden sensibly. 

It could work, I like it :)

Reinpony Kadey is unimpressed

Poor Kadington, I made him into a reinpony for Christmas :)

What to do...

Pretty much everyone, aside from my trainer, is saying SELL KADEY. My family, my partner, even the saddle fit guy. I think yes, no, yes.... no. I watched a video a local lady made today about why we do dressage and it hit me - with Kade, it will take me a LONG time to compete properly; mainly because I have to spend so much time not only educating him but even getting him to calm down enough to enter an arena calmly at A! But then... it's still hard. I love him, he's my oversized furbaby who diligently ignores me unless I have food and I'm used to that now.

Then I see things like this:

Showjumper / Dressage SCHOOLMASTER

“Centro Robba”- dark bay, 16yr old 16.2hh Thoroughbred with great confirmation is sadly offered for sale.
Robba is a schoolmaster type in the disciplines of Dressage and Showjumping. Robba’s a D grade show jumper who happily jumps 1m - 1.10, and has attained a dressage level of elementary. He has been lightly competed in 2010 & 2011 in combined training days, local shows and the Fraser Coast Interschool Equestrian. At the 2010 interschool, he won his dressage and jumping classes. He is a complete gentleman, who is extremely well mannered. Robba’s quiet demeanor and extensive experience would make him an ideal mount for an up and coming young rider to progress on. Robba loves trail rides by himself or with company, is great with traffic, trucks, tractors, dog’s bikes and no spook/shy in him.
Robba is absolutely vice free. Very easy to catch (waits at the gate for us), wash, worm, shoe, rug, clip etc…. Paddocks well by himself or with others, self- loads on the float, ties up all day long at events. Robba never hot’s up even after a spell. Robba is definitely a confidence builder for any rider most patient and willing to teach them the ropes………
Robba is reluctantly offered for sale as his current rider has now gained the confidence to move onto a new mount. He will be sold with his summer and winter rugs & a work bridle and bit.
We would like to see Robba continue with his outings and competitions, so he will only be sold to the best of horsey homes.

$2,500

Ph: 41268382 or 0429018939

 
I'm going to call them in March and if he's still available, I'll go have a look. It'll help me decide either way. 

Broken pelvis, broken dreams.

In less than optimum news, I'm now stuck on crutches with a broken pelvis and can't ride for 3 months. THREE. WHOLE. MONTHS. Meaning I'll miss being able to use my Christmas holidays to ride, I'll lose out on all the hard work Kadey and I have been doing AND I'm going to miss most of the next show season as I can't ride til March, then will need a few months to get my seat back in order as it'll be a bit different.

My family all want me to sell Kadey and I guess I have some big thinking ahead. It's so hard, we've done so much work and I love him to tears. But he's always going to be a bit flighty. But he's so lovely. But, but, but....

Back to basics

Out of practice much?




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We ride as we are

I'm currently working with a feldenkrais practitioner to sort out my stiff hip (which is interfering with my seat in the saddle) and general life balancing.

Looking through books on the link between horses and energy, I found the quote "we ride as we are".

It's logic - if I go out cranky, I'm going to get a bad ride. But I'm going to write it out and leave it somewhere near my saddle so i see it before I saddle up and really consider not just my mood, but my link to Kadey.

Happy horse

After a tense, confusing and upsetting few weeks (with the sorrow of my grandmother passing away and career uncertainty added to the mix), I'm happy to have my lovable but still a bit hardass/manly Kadey back.

I added Konkhe's Mag-E (Vit E, Vit B12, Magnesium, 1tbsp in night feed) and Slippery Elm Bark (1tbsp morning and night) to his feed. There was a major issue 3 days in (another post) but after a week I have w whole new horse.

His windsucking and mareish, grumpy behaviour had gotten worse and worse and it really felt like he hated me.

I added Slippery Elm Bark to treat a potential ulcer, based on his windsucking and grumpiness about having his side or belly touched at all. He's now 98% fine to be touched, I think he's windsucking less and he's so much more cheerful.

I added the Mag-E as he's not getting enough in his diet and was getting a bit crazy, flighty and a tad unpredictable (quiet, quiet, BANANAS CRAZY).

With the two supps he's quieter, calmer and definitely so much happier. He's back to being affectionate self, in his own 'I'm manly, I don't do your girly cuddles woman' way. I'm happy that he's more comfortable and happy that he likes me again!


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Perhaps I should keep my day job...

Second go at trimming Kadey's mane. From this it's clear I don't have a future in equine hairdressing.

To be fair the main reason it looks so bad is because it needs to be thinned, but I hate pulling (so mean!) and don't see value in going through the drama (or the patchy regrowth of thinning shears) when we're not competing ATM.

Poor Kadey, as if my giving him cuddles in front of the other geldings isn't embarrassing enough... Now this!




In other exciting news, when the saddle fitter came back out and measured his back it showed muscle growth. Yay! We're building a topline, one workout at a time :)




Does my butt look big in my sprung coat?






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Chillin' like a villain

Unlike pretty much every other horse I've ever met or worked with, Kadey enjoys chilling in his stable.

When I came home in the middle of the day I couldn't see him. I parked and looked in the rearview to see him next to the stable. By the time I walked down, he'd gone back in and was chilling out.

He walked out as soon as I got there - I think he feels a bit cornered with the narrow door. The stable is two smaller stalls so I'll take the divider down to give him a jumbo stall and two doors.

Still... He's odd!


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Hungry pony is hungry...

I had to walk Kadey to his old agistment place this morning as the neighbours are bringing a crane into his paddock to access their yard (super). Must have been a funny sight - pouring rain, girl carrying 2 massive and heavy buckets of horse feed and an umbrella in one hand and a hungry thoroughbred in the other....

Kadey: Can I have some now?
Me: No.
Kadey: Can I have some now?
Me: No.
Kadey: Can I have some now?
Me: No.
Kadey: Can I have some now?
Me: No.
Kadey: Can I have some now?
Me: No.
.......

Organising the tackroom + lesson progress :D

Yesterday I put some time into reorganising and tidying up the tackroom, which felt great. While I still need to put up my saddle rack and purchase and place bridle racks, I have things tidily in place for the moment.

The feed store will be delivering 2 drums for the lucerne and oaten chaff tomorrow - the pelleted mix is already in a clean steel trash can. I'm excited as it's one step closer to being finished :)

I've had a few lessons now - each is better and better.

In the first we worked on my leg position which fortunately has mostly stayed where it should since then. She also gave me some stretches to do to relax my wonky hip.

After that we worked on bend and getting him to stop leaning on the bit and dropping into the circle. It's been great, I feel much more confident with him and we're able to work through things that would have sent either of us off in the past (birds whooping past, a car zooming down the gravely driveway past the arena etc) and have given me a better understanding os his acting out (he does a weird 'lollopy' jump/pigroot/buck movement when he's had enough in the arena. I don't feel overhorsed! I do need to work on our bravery outside the arena but given our progress in it I feel we're in a better position to move forward :D

Kadey moves to our new home :)

Tonight is Kadey's second night in the new property - we moved in on Saturday and thanks to a Herculean effort from my Dad, we had the fences up by Tuesday afternoon.

As I walked him up the drive way for the first time he was a bit nervous and his ongoing weirdness around other horses kicked in when he saw the two neighbouring horses. However after a few sniffs he bored of them (no squeals, thank goodness). In the paddock he was super excited about the thick lush grass, which made me worry about colic. We created a large yard around the stables and I locked him in there for the night - partly to restrict his access to the greenery, partly for security. The yard is lit by the driveway lights, which we left on until he understood where the fence was.

He was reasonably calm until half way through dinner kept walking towards the fence and staring into the darkness. I eventually worked out that he could hear Dad tightening the wire fence. Tonight he was fine until the neighbouring horses disappeared from the fenceline - I think they are kept on the other side of the property at night. Cue panic, as Kadey spent the next while cantering about his yard panicking about being alone. Keeping him alone isn't optimal, but I'm hoping once he settle in he'll be happy to have the horses next door and those across the road and be happy to be on his own at night. If we move later on I'll get a second horse to keep him company.

But for now he's in his yard, not thrilled and a little upset but he was at least dry and standing still when I checked on him an hour ago. Looking forward to when he settles in :)

First lesson on Kadey!

Today was my first lesson with K, a girl who also agists at the property Kadey is currently agisted on.

It was - great. Mixed.

Kadey leaned like a train and ran - but it was good to have a second pair of eyes to say 'sit here, do that' as he responded well and really my pushing him to work correct was the reason for his poor behaviour as he tried to evade contact and actually having to use his muscles.

At one point he ran into canter - while it wasn't what I was asking, it was beautiful to sit his flowing, rocking horse canter which I haven't ridden since I trialled him in April.

He opened his mouth to evade the bit and ran, so after the lesson we fitted his new bridle with a crank/hanovarian/flash noseband. Hopefully that will help next time I'm on him.

It was great to feel a bit of direction, rather than feeling a bit lost and alone and unsure what to do or how to resolve certain things. K and another agistee also offered to take me out on a trailride so hopefully I can get Kadey accustomed to being outside and not freaking out :)

I finished the day with a full bath, including his grotty, greasy mane and tail. Kadey was quickly bored and started playing with his leadrope and pawing at the concrete/water. He also let me know in no uncertain terms that bafftime is not his favourite thing in the world, particularly if I want to wash his face!

Lesson points to remember

1. Three hip stretches
a/ point toes in towards each other
b/ flex foot and put leg out sideways with knee locked straight. Rest on highest point i can manage and push to go higher over time.
c/ bend knee and pull ankle high over thigh of other leg.

2. Tilt pelvis forward and don't hollow back

3. Keep shoulders down and relaxed

No foot, no horse

An update - my agistment place made it clear they weren't a fan of my farrier. Until recently, he'd done an ok job. He used controversial methods but as a barefoot specialist I figured that was just the new way of doing things. However I'd noticed a few things like uneven trimming and different shaped hooves in the last two trims. Then my farrier did another agistee's horse who pulled up lame the next day. Those things combined were enough for the property to ban him from returning. I'm still at a loss as to if it's how barefoot is meant to be or is my farrier a yahoo who incorrectly trimmed my horse. As the other agistee said though, its not worth the drama in the tight knit community who agist there. And on a personal note, I want to know what's best for my horse.

I'm keen to see how a conventional farrier approaches things and, more importantly, how Kadey pulls up. He was bucking a bit when worked on grass this morning but was ok in the soft arena sand so I'll work him there for a few weeks until his hooves grow out and the other farrier can have a look.

Hmm.

Poor Kadey, u hope my lack of knowledge hasn't hurt him :(


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First fall

Today I had my first fall from Kadey.

I took him out for our virgin ride on the side of the road, outside the safe confines of the agistment property. I'm still riding him bareback as bareback > saddle that hurts him, even if it means I'm less secure.

He was a bit jumpy but eventually calmed down... until we turned to walk back to the property. Then he became quite silly. This wasn't helped by a strange rattling sound of a truck pulling a rattley trailer over bumpy ground behind a bush somewhere. So when that truck and rattley trailer eventually whizzed past us on the road (at full speed.... past an obviously freaked out horse.... who does that?) he freaked out and tossed me off. Luckily it was one of those slow motion falls where I had time to make a choice as to how I came down so was able to land on my feet - though I then fell back on my butt.... but at least my feet took the brunt of the force and not my head.

I wanted to jump back on (uhh... kinda) but he was too silly and wouldn't step into a ditch so I could jump on (he's too tall for me to jump on unassisted). Instead I walked him back to the property (mercifully not too far) then remounted using the mounting block. I rode around the property for another 10 minutes just to ensure neighter of us was too shaken or left things on a bad memory. Obviously it'll take some work but at least we had a sensible finish.

So... my lessons for how to avoid falls in future:

1. Having a saddle rather than riding bareback would assist with grip when he's spinning about like a loon. Fortunately his saddle fitting is in 2 weeks so nearly there...

2. Perhaps lunge him before our next ride out. If possible, ride out with another horse.

3. Don't finish rides by walking straight back to the saddle up spot. Instead ride him back and forth past the property (or if doing arena work, back and forth past the saddle up area) so he doesn't think pointing towards that spot = end of ride = reason to be silly.

4. AVOID RIDING HIM AT FEEDING TIME. This factor didn't help and we had to walk past the feed truck on our way out, which he wasn't pleased by. Not helpful. A girl who used to agist there said the only time her horse ever threw her off was when she rode him at feed time. Lesson learned. Tough one as often that's when I'm there but I'll have to work with that.

5. Having Kadey in a roadside paddock in the new place (if it proceeds) may assist with getting him used to scary trucks and things zooming past him.

6. Remember to wave my arm for speeding cars and trucks to slow down. If I don't ask and if they're not pony people, they may not realise. The truck slowed down when he saw me on the ground, but sped off when he saw I was on my feet. What an idiot!!!

In all, at least it was a gentle fall (though my foot REALLY hurts now!) and we were able to ride a bit more before putting Kadey to bed.

Hoof issues: Wet periople/white heel bulbs = scaley hoof regrowth

I called my farrier in a panic following observing the following on Kadey's hoof regrowth:





Can't quite see? Here's a close up of his creepy, scaley growth. Eeew.






It looks about the length that I've had him, which suggests a few things:

1. It's related to the feed I've moved him too from what he was on with the previous owner
2. It's related to the wet weather
3. It's related to the agistment place where he lives now.

The farrier said it was most likely number 2 and went on to describe the frog's relationship with the perioplium/periople. Which reminded me of the following pictures I took during the wet weeks we had when I first got Kadey:

The bulbs and periople were white, soggy and outright WEIRD. I think this is related and will take a print out when the farrier comes this weekend.

Hmm!

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Klaus Ferdinand Hempfling

Came across this guy, Klaus Ferdinand Hempfling -  http://www.youtube.com/user/KFHInt, while trying to explain Pelvis Tucks to my boyfriend.

Though this guy seems to work primarily with Iberian breeds I'm interested in reading more and working with Kadey using some of his principles.




There's an Australian website so I'm going to look him up.

Mystery solved: Hay waster in action!

Following on from an earlier post, I foind out why there is always hay on the ground in Kadey's shelter and in front of his feedbin...

 

Shiny pony is shiny

...even with his wooly winter coat!

Massage and stretches to build your horse's flexibility

Exercises the masseuse recommended:

1. Run hands down sides of rump back the back to get him to tuck his butt under and arch his back.
   
2. Take treats from between front legs to stretch topline and from shoulders to extend flexibility
   
3. Massage along back with raking motion both sides.

Messy eater

I couldn't understand why Kadey always had dust & hay in his mane, forelock and all over his face; or why there was so much hay in front of his feedbin and in his shelter (where he is fed).

Tonight I discovered the answer. I'll post one pic now and the full story and movie when I get home...




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Achievement!

Feeling remarkably productive - my to do list was as follows:

1. Book a saddle fitting session with Graham Aitken, master saddler. I'll have to buy a new saddle so I'm hoping he does a 'pay as you ride' scheme.

Booked a session for next Friday, I said I preferred a leather saddle but I might call back and say throw in a few Thorowgood synthetics just in case a cheapie ($1000, cheapie, hah!) fits.


2. Try on the third saddle I have, the A/P that came with Kadey. The dressage that came with him is busted and my Precieux doesn't fit so I'm hoping the A/P fits well enough to use until I get a new saddle.


I tried, it doesn't fit. It's also a jumping saddle not an A/P, so that nixes that idea. My next hope is that either they let me take a new saddle on a 'pay as you ride' system or that we identify a means of using the existing three saddles until I can afford a new one. The fact I'm on a short term (2 month) contract and will potentially be unemployed shortly is not going to help my case.

3. Book bodywork sessions pronto.

I booked both a massage session and a Bowen treatment. Lucky pony! Hopefully this will undo some of the racing damage and alleviate the discomfort he appears to be feeling. For example when I go to brush his flank I get an angry glare that goes up to ear flattened dislike when I go near his loin. He's not a happy chappy!

Just realized now might be the time to apply for more jobs so I can be sure to keep my pony in the life to which he has become accustomed!!


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Trading places

I would like to be my horse about now. I just booked him a 1.5 hour full body massage to resolve tightness and pain from his racing days.

Do I get a 1.5 hour full body massage? Noooo.

Hmph. Hope he loves it, I'm jealous!


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My kingdom for a horse...

My kingdom for an equine bodywork/equissage practitioner in Brisbane. Argh!!


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Saddle Fit clinic: Best money I've spent on my horse so far

Today I attended a full day saddle fitting clinic with Jane Clothier, a bodywork specialist who started studying saddle fitting after seeing so many horses suffering from ill-fitting gear.

It was a really enjoyable day - partly due to the fact it was 8 horse mad ladies in one space swapping stories and being distracted by commenting on passing equines; but mostly because saddle fitting is so insanely important and I so desperately want to learn as much as I can about everything to ensure Kadey is comfortable and happy.

I knew my saddle, a Bates Precieux, didn't fit him; but I had no idea just how much! It's too narrow at the back, the panels are too thin and it sits down on his shoulder due to muscle atrophy over his back (6 months spell + 7 years racing...). Add to that he's very tight and sore (oh hai again, seven years on the race track...) and needs a lot of work.

Strangely, I'm happy about all of this. I know what's up with my horse and can now work on a list of treatments to resolve the problems.

So, from here:

1. Book a saddle fitting session with Graham Aitken, master saddler. I'll have to buy a new saddle so I'm hoping he does a 'pay as you ride' scheme.

2. Try on the third saddle I have, the A/P that came with Kadey. The dressage that came with him is busted and my Precieux doesn't fit so I'm hoping the A/P fits well enough to use until I get a new saddle.

3. Book bodywork sessions pronto.

In the meantime, if the A/P saddle doesn't fit I might ride bareback or try to find some other alternative.

The saddle fitter said something interesting today - just because the horse is initially happy (or at least not markedly unhappy) in a new saddle doesn't mean that saddle fits, they may just be relieved that the old saddle is gone. Which is consistent with Kadey - his old saddle meant that he'd rear and grunt as soon as he was led out of the saddle up area and initially my old saddle didn't. But now that he's had a few rides in my old saddle he's less than thrilled about it and is letting me know. So I'm looking forward to getting a new saddle ASAP!

The farrier also visited today - he got me to buy a small hoof knife to take on minor trimming of Kadey's heels. It's a bit nerve wracking as I don't want to hurt Kadey, but at the same time I'm keen to learn more about horse management and to gradually take on tasks like this. Kadey's hooves were really good (unlike the last visit) and fingers crossed he's not too sore tomorrow when I go out to see him.

Inspiration: Heather Blitz + Paragon

BEAUTIFUL video - Heather Blitz training Paragon. Just gorgeous. Going to refer back to this for inspiration. YouTube is being weird so I'll just do a screen cap and a link. Bummer!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0S8nNGHOWwI&feature=player_embedded#at=308

Also another of Heather and Paragon, this time with 'Ride with your mind' author Mary Wanless. I haven't read Mary's book but loved Tanja Mitton's, which I think is quite similar. I follow Tanja's blog, in the sidebar to the right.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2PuAQKwWOSA&feature=related

Riding solo :)

This morning was our first solo, unassisted ride.

It's exciting because...

1. I rode Kadey and in no way did he attempt to kill me :)
2. I rode before work, proving that my master plan to train, work, succeed is actually possible :)
3. I rode Kadey without my trainer holding my hand (or his hoof) :)

My trainer gave me a riser pad she isn't using the bring the saddle up - it wasn't secure on his back and the seat was tilting down, which caused me to lean back. With the riser in place he's moving forward happily and isn't having the bucking/rearing fits that marked our earlier sessions.

I'll have to remember to take my camera tomorrow to document the process for posterity :)

Lots of smiley faces - Sunday's lesson was great and the better-fitting saddle has opened things up to me again where I can train, ride and be happy :)

My trainer asked me to work on suppling him by asking him to bend his neck and flex his head to the inside of the circle without coming off the track. One side is MUCH easier but I'll work on it until our next lesson.

Now I can start doing training plans and looking to ride out in the open to improve his fitness, rather than riding him in the arena on sand which isn't a great start to bringing him into work. This morning his fetlocks were a bit warm post-ride so I'll have to check it out tomorrow. So far we've only ridden in the round yard aside from a small ride in the full arena; but I'm thinking tomorrow I might start in the round yard then take him over to the arena or for a walk around the property.

Yay for progress!

Verkade previously known as Very Canny

I'm WAY behind on posting and have progressed to two successful rides and a sound horse now :)

In the meantime, I'm FASCINATED by following up Kadey's racing history. His racing name was Very Canny, he's out of Canny Lad and a NZ mare Hedgehog out of Sir Tristram. So.... he has some pretty cool lines!

He had 29 starts, 9 wins and 5 places (and 2 shows... not sure what that means?). I'm loving the amount of info i'm finding - for example he was raced in blinkers and a norton bit. That bit apparently helps for horses who pull, which is interesting given he's so heavy in the hand now.

Actually (just did a little Google-Fu), it's stated as one of the most severe bits going.... poor Kadey :( I just found a photo of it... HOLY BEJEEBUS! No wonder they were riding him in a rubber gag when I got him, after that horrid bit it was probably the only thing he could handle as part of his retraining!

The torture device bit in question:

In fun news, Kadey seems to be related to many of the big winners in Australia - Black Opal, Makybe Diva, Grosvenor, Sir Tristram (grandsire on dam's side), Canny Lad (sire) and a number of others including many Melbourne Cup winners. He looks A LOT like his Dad Canny Lad but I can see a bit of Sir Tristram in his foxy ears - it makes him look a little feminine and with a name like Kadey has been mistaken for a mare (sorry boy!). The middle pic below looks a loy like him in the face.

Other fun facts: Sir Tristram was a tad clumsy and his progeny are sometimes the same. Kadey always trips over his hooves, particularly in the fore so maybe that's where he got it from!

Kadey is 95% sound!!!

Kadey is 95% sound!!!

I visited him on Saturday morning - he met my boyfriend, they got along well :) - and he seemed a lot less tender when I led him down to the washbay to treat his hooves.

So today (Sunday) I gave him a light lunge to see how he went. He limped a teeny bit at the start of his trot work but was SO MUCH better! Last week he was visibly limping at the walk and clearly uncomfortable; this time he was fine and just limped a touch initially which disappeared after a minute or two. I even asked him for a canter in both directions and he had enough in him to do his usual 'lunge canter = bucking spree' moves.

I concentrated on a lot of transitions - walk/halt; walk/trot and just one trot/canter in either direction - to both give him some light work but also to get him used to listening to me and obeying commands. The 'stop' command is great now and we also seem to be speaking the same language now when it comes to the lunge aids for transitions.

Yay!

Going to spend much of this week lunging him and will try to book an evening or weekend session with my trainer for later this week as I think he's going to be a bit of a rocket under saddle! So much time off and full feed but no work = excitable horse!

But yay! I'm almost a bit shocked and scared - I've gotten used to just lunging and handling him; actually riding him, particularly given how silly he was last time, is a bit scary but I'm working on my mindset to change that. I'll blog later about a great motivational book I'm reading that has an interesting perspective on managing your fears and getting a better outcome and relationship with your horse when riding :)

Kadey was also really affectionate tonight. When I saw him on Saturday I hadn't seen him for two days and he was a bit standoffish. But tonight he was lovely, very affectionate and playful :D

Easiboots to the rescue?

The agistment owner suggested easiboots to help Kadey. And woo hoo! I found a pair of easiboots on eBay! Now to cross fingers that they're the right size. I'll measure Kadey when I see him on Friday :)

Yayyyyy!!


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Bit behind, will post pics of 'interesting' soggy white heels I took on Friday morning tomorrow.

Just wanted to post that yay, today Kadey got to try out his new winter turnout night rug. It's a Weatherbeata Orican Freestyle in medium weight - after breaking his Axiom rug after one wear I was looking for durability!

I don't have any photos as I didn't take my camera and it was pitch black, aside from the lights off the tackroom/office. I know when I see him tomorrow it'll be dirty and muddy as he'll invariably roll in it, but I'll take a pic anyway for posterity.

Another agistee suggested copper deficiency for his hoof and windsucking issues, so I'm going to look into it. I also need to return the call of the lady from County Herbs, so hopefully she can give me some pointers.

The agistment owner said the farrier took too much off the hoof and also made it so he's walking on his sole, which isn't cool. So I'm going to get another farrier out for a second opinion. I don't want to get into the second guessing game - as they say, opinions are like..... and everyone has one; but in this instance I've only had info from one person (my trainer goes to that farrier so she was just saying what he said) and Kadey is STILL lame and the agistment owner said it doesn't look like seedy toe. Argh, I just want a sound horse.

At the same time I'm trying not to focus on competing as I'll go insane; so instead I'm thinking about enjoying building a relationship with Kadey and having fun with him :)

Never assume that who you are is who you have to be; or that where you are is where you must stay. This assumption can be right or wrong, it's up to you to choose which it will be.

~3DE champion Denny Emerson


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Farrier update: Wait it out, sunshine

The long awaited farrier visit happened yesterday morning. His message was essentially - it's normal for this region and weather, suck it up and realise you're not going to get to ride a lot until it dries out'.

He was brilliant, he gave me a great lesson on the anatomy of the hoof and how to treat his issue, which is essentially a fungus problem.

He explained that the fungus existing in Kadey's hoof actually should exist in the hoof, just not where it is which is why he cut it out. He gave me an antimicrobial treatment to put on the affected areas once every 2 days and the rest of the hoof once a month or so for maintenance.

He cut off the broken and chipped parts from Kadey’s hooves and cut out the black areas of fungus, which he called ‘Fungus poo’ (his words, not mine). He said Kadey’s hoof shape was actually pretty good so whoever had been doing them had done a good job. I’ll book him again for 4 weeks time and until then hope for the best.

As per our phone call, he suggested walking/riding on hard and rough surfaces, with loose rocks the best and bitumen the next after that.

So… hopefully Kadey is a bit sound this weekend and I can ride him a little. I’ll take along all three saddles and show my trainer, who I’m hoping can come out at some point, so we can work out which fits him best. Knowing my luck it’ll be the jumping saddle!

It was hilarious all through the farrier’s visit as while he was giving me a very serious lesson in hoof care, Kadey was growing progressively bored and so getting up to mischief, including pulling the guys hat off, nudging his shoulder, picking up the (plastic) hoof stand and throwing it about and when facing into the wash bay, stole a few people’s items (brushes, sponges etc) and throwing them about in addition to pulling on the ceiling mounted washbay hose.

So very cute but SO VERY DISTRACTING!

The farrier also has some interesting rules – he trains in natural horsemanship and so works off body language; during the session Kadey wears a rope halter and is the farrier’s horse; I’m not allowed to interact with him in any way. Instead, my job is to be a post to give the horse a sense of security but still allowing him to feel that he (Kadey) is holding himself rather than being tied up. When moving around the horse I had to keep an open body and to make him step back use hip motions. I might look to do some natural horsemanship with Kadey some time soon as he’s a nice horse and I want to develop a better feel for him and a great relationship and bond  :)

The weather is messing with me!

It's raining. But in annoying little bursts of super heavy rain. So just as I think 'it's over, drive over to see Kadey..' BAM. Rain.

My boyfriend said 'look honey, it's only spitting' (it was pouring at the time).... moments later it turned torrential.

I told him he made this happen ;)

Looks like my last day of holiday will be decidedly ponytime-less :(

Boo-urns.

Going to clean my dressage saddle instead. Sigh.

Bonding time: Mum meets Kadey

Today was such a good day!!

I took my Mum out to meet Kadey - we used to ride together a lot when I was younger; and my lovely patient Mum schlepped me to every show, competition and riding lesson I ever went to.

She likes him and he was a perfect gentleman :)

It's so great - every day he opens up a little more of his personality to me as he becomes more comfortable and we build more of a relationship. The thing with his mouth where I thought he was going to bite me was actually him just sort of 'mouthing' my fingers - he grabs your hand and sort of 'gums' your hand gently with his lips and teeth. At first I thought he was getting snatchy for a snack or treat but it looks like it's just his thing, he's mouthy and likes to play. We even had a cute game of tug'o'war with his lead rope as I offered it to him as an alternative to chewing on the wood of the hitching rail and potentially wind sucking.

We groomed him for a bit and then I lunged him. He was really well behaved, we're understanding each other a lot better now :)

We also had fun playing the 'got your nose' game - I still can't work out does he really hate it (which he probably should?) or if he enjoys the game and the attention. As Mum pointed out, he is attuned to me now and follows me with his head whenever I walk away.

I've also found his weakness - liquorice! He'll happily guzzle piece after piece. I'm happy that he trusts me enough to take treats and also that I've found what he likes. That said, I'm going to try giving him an apple again in case it was just that he didn't trust me before.

In all, it was great - we all bonded and Kadey was on his best behaviour. Every day brings new and exciting things, and even though I was down yesterday about his lameness I'm hopeful and looking forward to being able to ride and also enjoying our increased bond.

Yay!

Natural supplements

Interesting.... just read that windsucking is less about boredom and more to do with high acidity in the gut leading to ulcers - apparently the air helps the horse to manage the discomfort.

I've ordered some rose hips and brewer yeast to add to Kadey's feed. Let's see how it goes :)

Lame pony is STILL lame and I'm emo

I'm pretty emo right now - Kadey is definitely out now. He was a little stiff when I walked him in hand but I went to ride him as per the farrier's suggestion. But as soon as he was led under saddle he started to rear and grunt. He calmed down so I got on but as soon as I did he bunched up and started to kick out. He was so jumpy, he ran off a little when i got off.

I'm putting it all down to him being sore; that he's just princessy about having a sore hoof and doesn't want to walk under saddle as it hurts, which is fair enough.

It also sucked because he was windsucking a bit and so rather than building a bond with him I had to keep repremanding him, pretty much undoing all of the bonding we've done over the last week.

So I'm pretty disappointed at the moment and worried about the following:

What if...
1. He is lame and will always be lame OR highly prone to being lame. Ergo, expensive lawn ornament.
2. This is going to cost $$$$ in farriers, vets, equissage and who knows what else to sort out.
3. What if he's always going to rear and buck when I try to work him?

I'm trying to view things in a businesslike manner - ie at worst if he's lame for life I sell him/give him away and save up for the next horse. Not ideal but just means I need to save dollars. Doesn't mean my riding career is doomed, just delayed.

I also don't want to be scared to ride my horse.

This is all just. not. optimal. :(

Lame pony is lame :( BUT he likes me!

The good news:

Kadey has calmed down and is turning into a marshmallow - easy to handle and enjoys hiding his head in the crook of my arm. Awwwww!

The bad news:

He's lame. The limping I noticed when I free lunged him this week is because his off side for hoof wall is separating. I had my trainer out there and she had a look and recommended a really knowledgable guy who specialises in barefoot tirmming, who I've booked for Wednesday morning after the Easter holiday. Dammit, was hoping he'd come out while I'm on holiday!! Will have to beg the boss to let me start late that day :(

The guy said the best thing is lots of movement and as he's able to walk freely I'm going to start taking him for trail rides this week just to get some saddle time and to stop both Kadey and I going ca-ray-zee. I'm hoping by trail riding it'll keep us out of the boggy arena and into some hopefully harder ground that'll firm his hoof up.

My trainer advised that the trimmer may make some suggestions that'd be great in an ideal world but in reality would be hard, particularly given how strict my agistment place is. For example putting down rocks so they have something hard to stand on.

Apparently due to all the floods plus the acidic soil in the area where Kadey is agisted has led to a number of horses having fungal issues lately. I just want him to be ok and for this to not turn into a million dollar experience. Eeek!! His comfort and safety comes first, I just need some time to save up so I have a buffer again to cover me for any emergency expenses like this.

Progress!

HE LICKED MY HAND, THEN TOOK A PIECE OF SUGAR!!!

Ok so he spat the sugar out a minute later, but whatever. He took a treat from my hand.

YAY!

END: So, it looks like perhaps he's more of a salty horse than a sweet treats one? I'll add a salt block to his paddock (picking one up tonight) and will also try a few savourvy treats with him in future.

But really, I'm just so happy that he now trusts me enough to interact with me in that way. Having him lick my hand was one of the nicest things to happen to me all week :)

Weather update

It's not rainng! Ok it's overcast and gloomy but whatever, there are no rain drops! Fongers crossed that it holds off until AFTER I ride tonight AND that my horse is less crazy than he was on Sunday. Eep, I don't want to be afraid of my horse!

EDIT: I spoke too soon, it's raining now. I think I brought it on myself! 

Mitavite Xtra Cool

While I'm sure I'm driving my agistment place nuts with CONSTANT changes, I've finally decided to give Kadey Mitavite Xtra Cool (particularly given his behaviour the other day!) with a mix of oaten and lucerne chaff.

Fortunately he's still eating his way through the feed he came with so my indecisiveness hasn't affected him in any way :)

Rain, rain, go away...

Today was rainy and horrible and by the time I got out to Kadey they'd already rugged him (in his winter rug already!) and fed him. So even though I took out some sugar cubes, I wasn't interesting to him at all as he was mid chew on Weight lifter. It was interesting - my current theory is that he hasn't learnt to take treats from someone's hand so no matter what he won't take what I give. OR he just doesn't trust me yet.

I'm pretty emo about the fact that he isn't falling over himself to be nice to me - but I'm thinking that he's one of those horses who it's really hard to build a relationship with but once you do, they're loyal.

Progress Photo: Day 2

Photo Update - Day 2 of owning Verkade. I plan to make update photo posts each month to track his progress physically - and possibly even with videos of him under saddle once i have a trainer sorted.

This last one is just for fun - after his first bath :)

First ride... needs work!

 

Today was my first ride on KD as ‘my horse’. It…. Wasn’t the best. I luged him first as he was just too jumpy on the ground. I didn’t want to lunge straight after a spell but he’s just too much of a nutbar not to. 

I started out with a grooming session – he was super sore on a spot near his wither, I think perhaps his rug is rubbing? He doesn’t have a bridle path or his withers trimmed at all so I’ll take scissors over and do that tomorrow and see if that helps. Otherwise I’ll move him to a different rug.

I lunged him first – I haven’t figured out what his command for ‘stop’ is but by the end of the session we’d established slowing down between paces. I’m pretty sure he knows how and what, he just has different commands that I’m obviously not using. The way I’ve done it in the past is to move forward so I block the horse’s line of vision – either with my body or an arm. But with KD, moving in front of him just makes him rush, then panic and buck and/or take off. So I’ll do some research to look into it. He also goes into canter with a buck/pigroot in my general direction so I need to work that out – he’s always weird with his canter transitions so I want to get to the bottom of it.

After that I rode him – I wimped out and rode him in the roundyard where I’d lunged him. As I led him down there, he went really weird like he was in pain or being bitten somewhere on or near his offside hindquarters. It was weird and he kind of grunted a bit and ran a circle around me. He did it twice, then once more once I got on him. I think maybe the saddle was too far back which would also have contributed to issues under saddle.

above: the saddle moved back during the ride :(

We walked for a bit then I asked for trot but he started to raise his back up and pigroot a little. I thought I’d leave it at walk for today, I just focused on walk/halt transitions and finished with a really basic turn on the forehand, which went really well. Yay!

From here I think I’ll try him in the arena tomorrow – pending how crazy he is. It’ll be after work so I won’t have a lot of daylight. I might try him in the arena at a walk and see if he calms into it? I’m also going to try to rebook Susan Marshall for another confidence-boosting lesson. I know she can’t do much with me given he’s coming back from a spell but I think I’m just after someone to hold my hand. I’m comforted by the fact that one of my best horses in the past was impossible when I got her, but we grew together and by the time I sold her she was an angel and we wont everything we entered. So I know a difficult horse isn’t the end of the world – KD is just edgy about being in a new place with a new rider. In time we’ll be fine, so I’m working to not get discouraged or frightened by this enormous scary animal that is completely unpredictable. 

After the ride I washed him - I'm not a fan of overwashing a horse, but he was so greasy and gross that it had to be done. I'm sure he'll be a fluffmoster when I get there tomorrow. 

Fun facts

1. Kadey has an even shorter attention span than I do – two seconds of being tied up and he’s pawing at the ground, untying his leadrope and generally getting into trouble then panicking – ie he somehow looped the lead rope around the hitching rail and then panicked. Luckily he didn’t hit his head and calmed down enough for me to untie him. But yes – getting into mischief = Kadey’s favourite hobby. 

2. My horse doesn't love me. Yet. He also doesn't like any of the treats I have for him. I'm going to try sugarcubes, carrotes and bread with jam tomorrow to see how I go. I'm struggling with not being able to feed him, it's making the bonding process VERY slow. I know it's only day 2 but it was weird, after I took him back to his paddock he wanted nothing to do with me once he realised I had no food for him and even walked away when I walked towards him. 

I'm worried I've taught him to disrespect me - he was naughty at the trot so we just walked and now this. I need to build a relationship and assert our roles (ie - I'm lead horse!) ASAP!

Welcome Verkade!

I have a horse! I'm a bit shocked by the whole thing - I gave him a hug goodbye tonight and had to think 'this is actually my horse!'.

He's filthy (and OMG the tack he came with...) and a bit edgy about being in a new place with new people. I also forgot that like any relationship, it needs to be built over time. My memories of my past horses are all of them once we had built that bond and loved each other. So it was weird to be with 'my' horse but have him be a bit off and nervous with me. So we certainly need to build that relationship - and to be fair he was a bit freaked out by being put in a new place after living at the same one for that last 2 years.

He came with an extensive wardrobe as the previous owner moved overseas. But OMG, it took me 2 hours to work through it and it'll take me another 4 - 5 hours to clean it all! The leather is either mouldy or just outright FILTHY, with grime, sweat, hair and dirt caked on everything. To be honest I'm looking forward to doing it, it's just a matter of finding time. I might clean the stuff I'll be riding in first then start working my way through the rest. It was such a weird collection - parts of at least 5 bridles, including a weymouth and some random pony bits. And 5 packs of lintex dressing. And various bottles with labels so faded I just tossed it out. And everything is purple. His float boots, rugs, saddlecloths, work boots, random towels.... everything. I'm not really a purple person, but for the next few weeks/months I'll be rocking the purple look. Thankfully I have some of my own stuff in storage so I'll bring it out to break up the purple parade.

I had a bit of drama collecting him but we eventually got on the road at about 1.30 and he was at the agistment place by 2.30pm. He floated really well, stable and calm. He was a bit bored at the start, pawing at the floor; but settled and travelled really well. Once they got him there (I was another 10 minutes behind thanks to a GPS issue) he sat in the roundyard while I unpacked and filled out the paperwork. His paddock is in a STUNNING location and his nearest friend is across a laneway. The fence is electric - when I went up to say goodbye after unpacking he was a bit wary of the fence so I think he got a zap while I was going through his gear.

I'm looking forward to tomorrow - riding him as 'my horse' for the first time. I'll also spend a good amount of time grooming him and probably will give him a solid bath just to get that greasy, dirty coat under control. Hopefully he's settled in and our ride goes well :)

Came home with the intention of cleaning the house so I could spend a guilt-free weekend with KD.... but instead got sucked into obsessively comparing horse feeds in XLFeed.com.

The site is amazing and totally worth the $15 monthly fee but OMG, where did the last 2 hours go?!

KD is currently on Weight Lifter (Calm I think), Maxisoy pellets and lucerne. I'm thinking I'll move him to just the Calm, wheaten chaff and grassy hay; plus a salt and mineral lick for the paddock.

Developing KD's dressage training schedule

Oh yes, look at me go. I'm so into my horse's new name that I'm even calling him by his stable name already. Wooh!

I realised last night that since I've such a long lead up to picking up my new pony, I've been putting off a number of tasks for various reasons, such as 'don't bother buying extra tack til you know your new horse's colour/size'. One other thing was a training schedule for the first week back. But... well.. I'm picking him up on Saturday morning. And it's thursday afternoon. And I'm working for the next 2 days and have things planned for both nights.... oops.

So I spent my lunch break today frantically googling training schedules. I had spoken to a few pony people about it recently but hadn't taken it much further. I found a great resource today by Michael Hillman and plan to use it when drawing up my plan for the next wek. But it also includes  a number of other useful tips to consider for the long term, such as:

• spend time building goodwill with your horse - for example spend a lot of time grooming. Who doesn't love a good massage?!
• Have a plan but be ready tp adjust it for conditions, your headspace or your horse's mood
• Using hacking out as a good time to practice dressage movements as generally horses love hacking out and so are moving forward and relaxed.
• Remembering to take a step back and change things up if it's not working. Hillman points out the old axiom: 'Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting something different. If its not working, change something'. This is something I need to remember as too often I get bogged down in trying to do something rather than taking a breath and trying a new approach.

There are some points that conflict with other things I've heard, such as Hillman recommending bringing in new content at the end of a session whereas others recommend doing so after a warm up at the start. I think I'll take the middle ground, as Hillman was still right - start the session doing things the horse knows and is comfortable doing; but then I'll move into doing a new movement early while KD is still fresh enough to take in new material. Another point Hillman raises conflicts with a great book I'm reading at the moment by Denny Emerson. Emerson argues that no matter what, good riders ride every day no matter how they feel. Hillman argues the opposite - he says if it's raining, you don't want to go out and neither does your horse so build some good will and groom or do something else instead. I think Emerson is more focused on pushing the lazy or unmotivated rider while Hillman is approaching things from building a lasting relationship with the horse (though he does point out that a few wet sessions will do the horse good in preparing them for wet weather competitions). So again, I'll take a middle ground - I wont let myself squib out if I'm not feeling well/lazy/having an 'ugh' day; but at the same time I won't ride just to prove a point if the weather is beyond foul!

Hillman's article is available from - I'll be keeping an eye out for more from this writer/rider!
http://www.emmitsburg.net/archive_list/articles/horses/training_schedule.htm

Q&A: how much contact when coming back into work?

A few posts back I mentioned finding a great blog that covered, among other things, how to bring a horse back into work. I asked the blogger a question and they kindly answered - see below:

Stride for Perfection said...
Thanks, this is brilliant. I have a quick question though - assuming you don't ask for collection during these first weeks back, what should I be asking for in these first few weeks? Everything on a loose rein or a little contact?
April 09, 2011


Grey Horse Matters said...
Hi Stride for Perfection,
That's a great question. We tend to reserve loose rein riding for relax time or as a brief reward after more intensive work. The rest of the time the horses are generally ridden on a light contact, usually in a long, relaxed frame during these first weeks back. that gives them a good foundation for later as we gradually add more collection.

Good to know - thanks Grey Horse Matters!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

And the winning name is....... *i think*

I think... drumroll..... I'm going to call him Verkade!

Kade or Kadey (said as in K.D.) for his stable name.

I'm say 90% sure.

I need to work on this!

Verkade, Verkade, Verkade!

Fail: My horse is a bay, not brown. Whoops!

Uhh.... whoops. For some reason, I thought my new horse was brown, when in fact he's mahogany bay. It just hit me when I looked at a photo from my first visit.

I think the confusion came about because on my first visit to see him it was pouring so I only saw him dry for a moment then he became a soaking wet seal brown, almost black.

Anyhoo, ha ha whoops. Owner fail. Here's a better pic of his colouring:

versus the colour I had in my head:

 

EDIT: But wait, there's more. In these pics he almost looks black. Ugh! Can't win!

Focused: First dressage t competition 12th June

image source: Homegrown

I know it all depends on how we go together, but in order to keep me focused on training and moving ahead (rather than, as someone I read recently put it, riding a few circles, getting bored and going for a trail ride instead) I've identified a dressage day in June that I'm going to enter.

I'm only going to ride prelim (hey, gotta start somewhere) but I'm really looking forward to getting back into the swing of competing (and OMG braiding my horse up, his mane is so thick right now!!).

So 12th June is now a big day in my calendar! There is also a hacking day on the 26th, while Dressage is my thing I'm probably going to enter that one too for the experience, as long as I have my gear in order for the day!

Both days require a hacking/dressage jacket, so I need to get on top of that ASAP!!

 

image source: http://www.cashbackatebay.com/menu/birthday-cake-ideas.html

Also need to get onto making pony cupcakes. You know, essential to success in the dressage ring, right? 

Maybe just for bribing judges, sigh. 

Bringing a horse back into work

I've been looking for tips to bring my new, as yet unnamed, OTTB horse back into work. He's had 2, nearly 3 months off and I have no idea how much work he was in prior to that.

There are so many tips and schedules out there! I'm going to take the bits I like from each, including not lunging on a circle or working in sand for the first few weeks until the horse is a little fitter and his muscles and tendons are stronger.

I posted a query on a horse forum I follow and someone recommended following the BHS guide - I'm assuming they mean the Complete Manual of Horse and Stable Management book. I put my googlefu to the test and found a blog that covered the steps mentioned in the book (in plain font), with their own interpretation on top (italics). All text taken from the Grey Horse Matters blog:

1^st WEEK

Walking exercise on the level. Half an hour on the first day, increasing to one hour by the end of the first week.

Translation:

10-15 minutes total walking on the longe line in a level ring, increasing to 30 minutes total by the end of the week.

2^nd WEEK

Increase walking up to 1 hour by the end of the week.

Translation:

2o-30 minutes total walking interspersed with limited trotting.

3^rd WEEK

Slow trotting, starting on the level, together with walking up and down hills.

Translation:

Increase gradually to ½ hour total walking and trotting alternately. This is also generally when we begin to add the tack to get them used to saddles and bridles again, though at this time we do not use any training devices attached to the bit.

4^th WEEK

As third week.

Translation:

We agree and do the same. At this time, we also begin to get on the horses and walk them under tack on alternate days as described in “1^st Week” above, increasing the walking up to an hour by the end of the week.

5^th WEEK

1 ½ hours exercise a day, to include some trotting up hills and short, slow cantering on good, level ground.

Translation:

We’re not big fans of longeing a horse for more than ½ an hour because of the stress continual circling can place on the legs, so we work 15 minutes in each direction of walking, trotting and slow cantering, alternating every other day with light ridden work (walk and easy trot) as in “3^rd Week” above up to 1 hour. When working on the longe, now would be the appropriate time to add training aids such as a loosely fitted chambon (we don’t ever recommend side reins or balancing reins like the Pessoa system...) while longeing; however, they should only be used at walk and trot.

6th-8^th WEEKS

1 ½ hours exercise a day, to include trotting up hills and longer cantering periods. School work may include jumping and canter circles.

Translation:

Basically as above; 1 hour+ a day - or every other day if continuing on the longe - to include the usual walk, trot, canter with some mild hill-work, ground poles and/or cavalletti added in. Toward the end of the last week we may begin jumping or adding more collected work for those horses who are able. Don’t forget: if you are careful and have good control of your horse, you may longe over cavalletti and jumps as well! It is also not a bad idea to follow a day of more intensive work with an easy day to give the horse a chance to recover and keep him from getting sour.

I'll keep looking for tips and thinking about how to go. 

I pick him up next weekend, until then I'll just obsessively think about it look forward to being able to visit him once I own him!


EDIT: Oh this one is great too! Found on Yahoo Answer by Ang:
I'll probably skip the bit about lunging though, as mentioned above:


When I'm starting back on a horse like this, I like to spend 2-3 days just lunging them first. It helps to not only build up their strength, but gets them used to working and having to listen to you again. If the horse is ornery on the lunge line, I'll spend extra time on lungeing until the horse settles and respects me before I start riding.

When you start riding, start out slow. Don't ask for anything too complicated, but expect obedience. Start out at the walk, but don't just accept any old walk. Ask him to walk nice and forward, stretching into a long contact on your reins. Make him keep a consistent rhythm, taking long regular strides. Ponies like to take short & quick strides, so you want him to relax over his topline and start to take longer but slower strides. Use your legs to drive him forward to take longer strides, and use you seat and reins (minimal on the reins) to slow the rhythm. Don't let him get bored with the walk- practice circles, turns, patterns, bending, halting, walking over poles, etc.

Once he is relaxed and obedient in the walk, then ask for trot. You need to be just as picky about the trot as you were the walk. Wait for a good moment in the walk when he is relaxed and obedient, then just close your legs and he should lift right into trot. Don't make a big deal about it and he won't get so excited. Again, ride circles and patterns to work on bending, suppling, and obedience. Also practice a lot of transitions- from halt to walk, walk to trot, trot to walk, etc.

I love using trotting poles to help a horse with rhythm and cadence. Used correctly, they will do a lot of the work for you as far as developing your horse's strength and balance. You can get creative with the poles too. I like to put 4 of them on a 20m circle at 12:00, 3:00, 6:00, & 9:00. You can practice shortening and lengthening your horse's strides by going over the middle of the poles, the inside of the poles (has to shorten stride) or the outside edge of the poles (lengthen stride).