Appreciating the Little Things

Yesterday I got to ride, and I remembered to take some pictures! Excuse the quality, I do have a nice camera but I couldn't find the battery's so I had to use my phone.

Poor miss Tilly hurt her paw pad (up by the dewclaw, but not the dewclaw pad, I NEVER can remember the name of it!) playing fetch on Sunday, so she has to keep it vet-wrapped while we're at the barn.

My very stylish barn wear. Right before I took this picture the cutest thing happened! I had just walked into the barn, and Reily didn't notice as he was playing with his bud Bo. Normally Reily comes straight up as soon as he see's me, so I called him. He looked around, found me and cantered straight up to his stall door! That's the first time he's done that in his run, though he used to do it in the pasture all the time.

Here's the dirty beast himself. I actually lunged him before I rode because he's been packing on the pounds as you can tell by that little belly on the mister, hehe.

I rode in a snaffle bit for the first time in TOO long! I get lazy, but it is really fundamental that he is rideable in a snaffle. This is the 'Before' when I first hoped on him. You can kinda tell, but his neck was an upside down V, very stiff, not yielding or flexible, and up it went when I applied pressure. Since Reily wasn't having any of this 'long and low' stuff and he was feeling the need for speed (in his own little pokey way), I decided we could work on imaginary poles and key hole for a while and push him into the bit while allowing him to be more uppity so to say.

This is a terrible photo by me, but after his poll became more level with his withers, and he was all over more flexible and happy. I was able to jog on a long rein, and when I needed to, pick up the reins and push him into the bit when he got lazy or nosed out. I was also able to get a SLOW canter with a lowered head, which is his weak spot. Made me very happy.

After he was being such a champ in the snaffle, I decided to go au-natural (without a bridle or halter or anything!) I normally do this at a walk in my cool-downs, but normally I also have spurs which I didn't today. (Spurs to me are NOT to make a horse go faster, but they help refine my communication on moving body parts with a horse. With spurs I'm able to make him stop, back if I have a rope around his neck, side-pass, pivot, etc. with little hesitation or miscomunication.) He was dashing at the walk, turning when I wanted   doing circles the right size. SO I decided to do another thing I don't normally do, and added the jog. At first he just wanted to TROT. But I stopped him every time he tried (I had to make sure he had a 100% stop from my seat and voice before I'd go without headgear) and asked again until he got it right.

Within five minutes he was jogging nicely and moving where I told him! Do I stop there like a sane person? NO!!! I add the canter! It wasn't terrible, he did circles when I asked, stopped when I asked, etc. but I think I'll perfect the trot before going to the canter again. But the feeling of hand galloping a horse without anything on (the horse NOT me!!!) and just TRUSTING..... it's incredible. Nothing in the world could replace that feel. It's addictive too.

Tilly was a very tired puppy. which makes me a very happy puppy owner!

I've also been making little gifts to give to everybody at the barn for Christmas! I think I've mentioned this before, but it's something I've been wanting to do for years and finally have the chance! Like the handmade tag?

On a side note, today made realize why it's important to appreciate the little things. Once in a blue moon, we'll have a terrible ride. Absolutely terrible, where neither of us are happy. Most of them start the way my ride did today, with a horse who was having an off day and wasn't behaving near 'perfect' or responding the way I want. The difference is on those terrible days, I don't try to make the best out of the small things he does right. I get frustrated because the whole big picture isn't how I wanted it to be. On days like Monday, I started slow and appreciated he wanted to go fast and accommodated. 

 I went from there and started appreciating the little things he was doing right. I wasn't wearing spurs, but dang he's responding well to my leg! When I hold and push him into the bit, he really has a nice headset! We may not have the best flying lead changes today, but we're nailing the simple! His gates may be faster than I like, but he's getting that stop down! Etc. Etc. Etc.

By the end, since I wasn't getting frustrated and in turn frustrating Reily, I had more to be positive about and ended on a really nice note.

Yay for good rides on horses to turn your week around! I'll probably be MIA until after Christmas now, so have a Merry Christmas!

County Fair Remembered

I kept forgetting I promised pictures. County fair seems so far away, I can't believe how fast time goes sometimes.

In case I didn't mention it earlier, this last county fair was my LAST county fair. Forever and ever and ever and ever, unless I want to do breed shows but those are expensive!

Reily did AMAZING. I couldn't have asked for a better fair. We entered everything and anything, and got majority Purples (the best), a few blues (good) and 1 red (meh.. it was in Western Riding, where you have to do literally 10 flying lead changes, I opted and did simple which got me a DQed to a red, even though we had a nice pattern). AND..... NO whites (the worst)!! Even with us being in the hardest age division (seniors, and the ones who have enough money to buy some nice horses, the type of horses I wouldn't touch with a 10 foot poll so I wouldn't get them dirty/smudge their fur) we got Grand Champion English Equitation.

Ok, but onto pictures.

I know this is from an old show, but I did a LOT of this! And managed to not get kicked in the head this time :) hehe.

The gang and I dressed up as Rainbow Brite to decorate the stall fronts. It was fun :) I wish we had more dress up days! (oh yeah... that's halloween)

(awkward hand because I was holding treats) It was the one year anniversary of me buying Tilly! I was so happy she got to be at the fair with me and Reily!

Reily and I also got to help do flags before the Dressage show!! He actually thought it was scary at first, but he got over it super quickly. That's another reason I love my horse, he has a brain ♥ We even got to trot and canter towards the end!

Grand Champions!!

And to end this post, here's me and my babys!

(On another note, I am remembering to post more! yay!)

Some days I love my horse

Ok, ok, I might love him every day.

But ESPECIALLY when he's a good boy like he was yesterday! First, he had a lesson with a little boy (probably 4' or under) and he was a trooper! The boy lead Reily around, and Reily dropped his head so it would be level with the boy. He was able to move Reily around with out any hesitation. When the boy got on to  ride, his feet reached probably about half way on Reily's belly.

Ridding around, the boy would flap his legs and cluck and Reily would respond by trotting, and he took very good care of his little rider. Reily is one of those horses who knows the level of the rider on them, and will test accordingly. With this little boy, he didn't test him as much as he does older people who ride him. When I get on, Reilys gotten used to me thwarting his plans, and gives in a little but when I first started riding him I remember all the stuff he put me through.

After riding with the little boy for an hour, I was able to get on Reily for the first time in a week. He wanted to go a little faster, so I pushed him into the bridle at a working (kinda... more semi-working) trot around the arena. He was feeling great, so I decided to do some lead changes with him again. Circle to the left, WOAH, settle, Circle to the right, WOAH, settle, ect. It was nice to see he was beginning to stop off of my seat from the canter, and I barely had to use the reins.

Next I started doing lead changes from the trot. I'm still thinking of a word to use for the trot lead transition, but since on the lungeline my downward transition is TROT long and low I've just been using that.

Then got to the exciting part! I know I've been doing flying lead changes for a year now, but I still think they are just so much fun. They have helped Reilys canter, balance and even topline. We did I couple lead changes at the canter and I was ECSTATIC with how amazing he was being! His bad habit with the flying lead changes is that he will 'anticipate' them and do a flying lead change in our circle where I normally ask for them (but I haven't asked for it), and have to do another one when I tell him "No, we're still circling". But we didn't have that problem at all yesterday! He would circle and wait for ME to tell him when to change. We did a few flying lead changes down the middle as well, and he did smashing.

The feeling of how he lifts, and becomes more up and down then rushed and strung out is incredible. It will never become old!

Enough of my rambling for today though, I better head off to the barn! Today and tomorrow, Reily is mine :) I'll be sure to bring the camera out!

Is it winter?

So.... I've complained about the snow... so now it's time to complain about the lack of snow. Basically one week until Christmas and the ground is bare with GREEN grass!! What is this? I want snow for this week only and then it can all go away and we can return to summer.

-sigh-

I finished finals yesterday! Which means more time with the pony, starting today. I ordered a bunch of my horsey-related gifts for Christmas this last week, I got Reily a treat ball for his stall, a new 'show' underpad and some hoof moisturizer. Along with some gifts for my horsey friends! I plan on making little goody bags for all of the horses in my barn. I've wanted to do this ever since I got Reily, but I'm ALWAYS moving barns around Christmas! Not this year, thank goodness.

Hay prices are sky-rocketing, which makes me sad. I remember paying a little under $3 a bale a year ago. Now my hay guy says the rest of the hay he has is for $6+ a bale.

Can the snow go away now?

Seriously. I am done with winter already. I miss warm
 :[ going out and not freezing to death shoveling frozen poo out from a mound of snow, or picking it out of some ice.

It may be pretty... but the prettyness is deceiving. Everytime it snows, while it may be beautiful and fluffy at first, you know in a few weeks/months it shall turn into brown mush/mud. The wetness is what I really can't stand. If you're outside and get snow in your shoe, the snow melts and you're left with a freezing foot. No fun.
OR an example from the other day... I went trailriding and at the beginning of the trail we had to duck under a tree full of snow. OF COURSE my horse has to be the only one to hold onto a branch to slingshot it back at me. I was showered in snow, and the rest of the trailride I was cold and wet.

The other part is after it melts, and freezes again, and then snows ON TOP of the ice... makes driving my little Jetta scary.

That's my rant for the day. I'll probably want to rant about the weather again after helping unload 100 hay bales tomorrow.

Since this is Reilys blog though- I'll share his opinion of the snow. It is fun to stand outside when it's snowing and get soaking wet. It's also yummy to eat. He doesn't like sliding around on trail rides when we go down the road.

FINALS WEEK STARTS MONDAY! Oorah!

P.S. 4th day in a row for updating! This is a new record!

Progress

Today is a reflective post... I was just thinking how far Reily and I have come since I bought Reily almost four years ago. I can barely remember what it was like with the unbalanced, refusing to canter to the left, buck me off when I was getting on, little turd. And boy I am NEVER going back! He is SO much more collected and muscled now! I have a picture of the first day I saw him, I loved him but... he was a little chunky. By little I mean probably the horse version of morbidly obese (I'm only slightly kidding). After a year of getting the pounds down, We started building muscle, and then finally this year we got a topline! I'm still working on it, but he is a MUCH more balanced and muscled horse.


Unfortunately, he is a VERY easy keeper, and with the little grain I have him on he is getting the chunkys yet again. But hey, don't we want a little 'protective padding' going into the winter months anyway? I suppose I should be thankful he's an easy keeper, and not the other way around, but BOY he can get fat on air!


I am thankful for how much I have grown with what he's shown me. Things I used to know textbook style, I now know what it feels like, how to properly achieve a good ride. How to be an effective rider and get the horse to move his best, and when necessary getting out of the horses way and letting him show his stuff! Flying lead changes had a HUGE impact on me, and Reily. I now understand every little piece of HOW a horse performs a lead change, and the best way (from experience with Reily) to TEACH them to do a flying. I used to get so frustrated when Reily would do perfect SIMPLE lead changes, with one trot step, when I was asking for a flying. Just this last week, Reily and I did a set of flying lead changes going straight down the middle of the arena. The feeling of him collecting and rounding, and becoming so light is an AMAZING feeling. By no stretch of the imagination does he have it perfected though- every now and again he'll give an excited buck as he changes.


But BOY the things this last year have brought... I can't wait for next year!


P.S. I sure posted a lot sooner than I thought I would :] not having work and little homework makes a person bored during the day.

twinkie cakes and winter.

SNOW

I have some mixed emotions about this fluffy substance. On one hand, trail riding in the snow is AMAZING (less ouch if you fall off). On the other... it's cold, wet, and makes my dog go crazy. 

Like CRAZY crazy. The other day we went on a trail ride through a field, and she took off in what I call her stupid run. She just runs as fast as she can in giant circles around everyone, BUT she gets so into the running she forgets important stuff like... steering. She ran SMACK into a tree and went bottom up. Before her pride could have been really hurt, she got back up and started running like it was a part of the plan. I really wish I got it on camera, it had everyone cracking up.

It also makes my horse go a little crazy, but since he's normally lazy it's kind of fun! On said trail ride mentioned above, Reily was (not so literally) chomping on the bit to run. It brought me back to his wild days,  and the 'fun' we would have running in cornfields or playing marco-polo, and tag.

But whether I like it or not, snow has come and will be here until it all melts and makes a muddy mess in the spring. I want to move someplace warm.

Reily got a new winter blanket! 

Reily's sexy winter wear. (AKA I just found out how to caption)

Miss Tilly too!

Tilly only got one because it was on sale. It will wait until it is below freezing before I'd really use it. Reily's blanket from last year (while a MUCH cuter turquoise) was NOT waterproof, and therefore left him wet and cold after it snowed. This one has been MUCH better, as it's already snowed once and he was warm and dry! On a slightly, but not really, related note. . .

I'm a freaking genius!

Is that NOT the most delicious, yummy looking ANYTHING you've EVER seen?!?! It tasted super yummy too. SUPER yummy. The recipe is secret. Don't ask. 

Until next time that I remember I have a blog and come and ramble for ten minutes. . .