Marehaven Farm
Longmont, CO
Belle gets lonely (and Hearts and Horses benefit ride)
April 29 / 2008 05:33 PM Filed in: Belle
Poor Belle. Every time I
go to get Kelton out to ride, which has been nearly
ever day recently, Belle comes to the pasture gate and
looks eager to get out and do something too. The friend
who had been trail riding her with me has been busy
doing other things, so poor Belle has been neglected. I
haven't had the opportunity to take her trail riding
myself, and I don't want to do much with her in the
arena until after she's had some dressage training. But
I'll be getting her out soon, on the Hearts and Horses
benefit ride on May 3rd. If you'd like to make a
donation to Hearts and Horses to "sponsor" my ride,
please go to this page. Thanks!
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Thank goodness she got her brain from the Percheron side!
April 28 / 2008 07:03 PM Filed in: Kelton
Kelton's level-headed
nature continues to amaze me. When I first
started leading her from the trailer to the warm up
arena at the show last weekend, a train went by the
south end of facility and that sent her head straight
up and made her go tight with tension. So we
stood there for a bit and watched it pass, and then I
asked to her walk with me to the arena. She
settled right down and I felt fine getting on her, and
she was fine in the arena even though we were alone.
She continued to be fine even as people led
horses past and riders came in and out of the arena.
And she was completely relaxed in the indoor
arena, which we'd never been in before. It's easy
to take those sorts of things for granted until I see
other horses being goofy or remember spooky or buddy
sour horses I've known in the past.
I certainly wouldn't say that Kelton is "bomb proof," nor that she's a "dead head," not by any means, but I really like how sensible her reactions are. I've learned that if I just let her look at things and sort them out on her own, without trying to "make" her doing something, she gets over them quickly and will in fact usually go closer to investigate (after having given the questionable item a good, long Thoroughbred stare). I'm sure it helps that because I've become familiar with her reaction process, I tend to stay pretty calm in the saddle (which is not how I react on a horse whose "fear response" I don't know anything about, even though I know that my getting tense will just make things worse!)
The other day I wanted to ride Kelton in the afternoon by there was a tractor digging a ditch for a water line right along the driveway, and one long side of my arena is right next to the driveway. I took her out there anyway and figured if she was antsy, I would either ride only on one side or leave the arena and ride in the pasture or something. She gave the tractor a good look, but when I asked her to march on by on a long rein, she did, and never gave it another thought throughout our workout. What a good girl! Have I mentioned how much I love this horse?! ;-)
I certainly wouldn't say that Kelton is "bomb proof," nor that she's a "dead head," not by any means, but I really like how sensible her reactions are. I've learned that if I just let her look at things and sort them out on her own, without trying to "make" her doing something, she gets over them quickly and will in fact usually go closer to investigate (after having given the questionable item a good, long Thoroughbred stare). I'm sure it helps that because I've become familiar with her reaction process, I tend to stay pretty calm in the saddle (which is not how I react on a horse whose "fear response" I don't know anything about, even though I know that my getting tense will just make things worse!)
The other day I wanted to ride Kelton in the afternoon by there was a tractor digging a ditch for a water line right along the driveway, and one long side of my arena is right next to the driveway. I took her out there anyway and figured if she was antsy, I would either ride only on one side or leave the arena and ride in the pasture or something. She gave the tractor a good look, but when I asked her to march on by on a long rein, she did, and never gave it another thought throughout our workout. What a good girl! Have I mentioned how much I love this horse?! ;-)
Kelton goes to another schooling show
I took Kelton to a "ride
a test" schooling show on Saturday and we did pretty
well, especially considering (1) we were scheduled to ride at
8:30am and 9:15am and I am NOT a morning person; and
(2) we did Training Level Test 4 for the first time
ever. I managed to remember it, despite having
learned it just a week or so earlier, but I was
confused about what was wanted on one of the movements.
Because this was a "ride a test," each rider got
15 minutes with the judge to discuss the test and
re-ride portions as needed, although the re-rides
didn't factor into the scores.
For the first ride we did Training Level Test 2 and earned a score of 66.87%, with the main weakness being Kelton's canter. She's still a little stiff and short strided at the canter, but everyone who has seen her canter agrees that she doesn't look like she's in pain but rather that she needs more conditioning and encouragement to change her habits. I can relate to that! I've given her bute to see if that makes a difference and it doesn't, which is further evidence that it's not about pain. I need to start riding her more regularly and work on exercises to encourage her to reach under herself with her hind legs.
We earned only a 60.8% on Test 4 but that was due to several mistakes, including my misunderstanding of the loops and my not adequately preparing Kelton for the left lead canter, so she picked up the right lead. After I rode the test the judge explained the loops to me and had me ride them again, and that time she said "perfect." Oh well, now I know!
Unfortunately I have no video of this ride because I was there by myself :-(
For the first ride we did Training Level Test 2 and earned a score of 66.87%, with the main weakness being Kelton's canter. She's still a little stiff and short strided at the canter, but everyone who has seen her canter agrees that she doesn't look like she's in pain but rather that she needs more conditioning and encouragement to change her habits. I can relate to that! I've given her bute to see if that makes a difference and it doesn't, which is further evidence that it's not about pain. I need to start riding her more regularly and work on exercises to encourage her to reach under herself with her hind legs.
We earned only a 60.8% on Test 4 but that was due to several mistakes, including my misunderstanding of the loops and my not adequately preparing Kelton for the left lead canter, so she picked up the right lead. After I rode the test the judge explained the loops to me and had me ride them again, and that time she said "perfect." Oh well, now I know!
Unfortunately I have no video of this ride because I was there by myself :-(
Our first dressage show of 2008
April 05 / 2008 05:36 PM Filed in: Dressage
I took Kelton to the
schooling show at Triple Creek Ranch today to ride
Training Level Test 1 and Test 2. She was kind of wound
up in the warm up arena (it was windy and horses out on
pasture were running around and being silly), and I
think she used up all her energy there. She was very
well behaved and responsive as we rode the tests, but I
could feel that she was a little tired. Nevertheless,
we had fun! Follow this link for a
video of
our ride.
Nice rides and good lessons
March 26 / 2008 06:51 PM Filed in: Dressage
| Trail
Riding
Jane and I have been
going on some nice trail rides with Belle and Kelton,
both of whom are doing great. They love getting out and
seeing the sights. We've been sticking to fairly easy,
flat trails, but I look forward to getting up in the
mountains with the Fjords later this Spring.
I've been taking Kelton to dressage lessons and we're doing pretty well, although I worry about how much of that sort of work is good for Kelton's old injury. So far, so good, but I know I should be working her more regularly in between lessons to help develop her fitness level.
I go back and forth over what degree of work is best considering that I don't want her to come up unsound again. I can see the benefit of having her work correctly, so that she uses her hind legs evenly on both sides and goes straight, rather than falling over the left shoulder, but I also know that it's hard work for her. As much as I'd love to be able to progress in dressage and go to some shows, I don't want to sacrifice Kelton's soundness to get there! And I really enjoy trail riding her. I guess I'll just continue to see how it goes. I'll have more time for regular riding this summer.
I've been taking Kelton to dressage lessons and we're doing pretty well, although I worry about how much of that sort of work is good for Kelton's old injury. So far, so good, but I know I should be working her more regularly in between lessons to help develop her fitness level.
I go back and forth over what degree of work is best considering that I don't want her to come up unsound again. I can see the benefit of having her work correctly, so that she uses her hind legs evenly on both sides and goes straight, rather than falling over the left shoulder, but I also know that it's hard work for her. As much as I'd love to be able to progress in dressage and go to some shows, I don't want to sacrifice Kelton's soundness to get there! And I really enjoy trail riding her. I guess I'll just continue to see how it goes. I'll have more time for regular riding this summer.
Who knew there were alligators in Colorado?
February 16 / 2008 06:20 PM Filed in: Kelton
I took Kelton over to
Pella this afternoon for our first solo ride of 2008.
It's been a while since she's been out on her
own, and when we arrived there were some other horses
being tacked up, so I moved quickly so that we could be
the first to head out. I wasn't sure how she'd
react to either being left by the other horses or
leaving them behind, and I figured leaving them behind
was the better bet. So I got on and she motored
right on out in her super fast walk and didn't look
back once at the other horses. But she walked so
fast that we did a figure-eight around both ponds on
the east side in about 20 minutes!
Read More...
Read More...
Muddy ride
February 10 / 2008 06:13 PM Filed in: Trail
Riding
More good lessons
February 08 / 2008 04:34 PM Filed in: Dressage
I've now had two lessons
on Kelton with the dressage instructor and what a
difference that has made. We've obviously been doing
reasonably well on our own, but there are so many
little things I didn't realize I was doing that was
affecting how Kelton moves, so I'm very glad to be
working on that again. I guess some of them are not so
little. For example, I apparently tend to ride with my
right shoulder further back than the left, so even
though my hands are on the same place on the reins, I'm
putting more pressure on the right rein. I have in the
past felt that Belle and Ivy were hanging on my right
rein, and I bet that was actually my fault. Kelton
doesn't exactly hang on the right rein, but she does
tend to fall out over the left shoulder, and that could
be because she's bending too much in response to my
right rein. Oops.
I also apparently tip forward in my pelvis during downward transitions in a way I wasn't aware of. I'm very conscious of keeping most of my upper body solid and centered and upright, but I had missed the pelvis part. My pelvis is poorly behaved in other ways as well! Ah, the trials and tribulations of riding with a crooked pelvis and spine... Kelton is incredibly tolerant and forgiving of my physical flaws, but I'm glad I'm now taking lessons so I can make things easier on her by improving my position.
I also apparently tip forward in my pelvis during downward transitions in a way I wasn't aware of. I'm very conscious of keeping most of my upper body solid and centered and upright, but I had missed the pelvis part. My pelvis is poorly behaved in other ways as well! Ah, the trials and tribulations of riding with a crooked pelvis and spine... Kelton is incredibly tolerant and forgiving of my physical flaws, but I'm glad I'm now taking lessons so I can make things easier on her by improving my position.
Ready to ride the range in search of lost calves
February 06 / 2008 05:23 PM Filed in: Trail
Riding
A friend and I rode at
Boulder Valley Ranch today, despite the serious wind. I
guess we were both in bad need of a trail riding fix
because the weather was rather less than ideal! At
times the wind howled so loud we couldn't even hear
each other speak, and at times we walked through a mist
of blowing white snow that nearly obliterated the
trail. But we persisted! And the horses were awesome
despite the conditions.
We were riding in weather only a cowboy would normally ride in, so we figured that since we survived that, we're pretty much ready to ride the range and look for lost cattle. Kelton and Belle beg to differ.
We were riding in weather only a cowboy would normally ride in, so we figured that since we survived that, we're pretty much ready to ride the range and look for lost cattle. Kelton and Belle beg to differ.
Flying on the Princess
January 26 / 2008 04:39 PM Filed in: Kelton
I rode Kelton last
Sunday, and at first, she was kind of stiff and slow. I
had to stop a few times to let her catch her breath
after some trot work. But after about half an hour of
suppling work, she started to feel more forward and
lively. I could tell she wanted to canter, so I let her
go for a lap or two in each direction, with a break in
between for her to catch her breath.
She lives in a pasture that's about an acre and a half, but she rarely moves out on her own. She and her two buddies tend to stand by the fence line, cock a hind leg, and take a nap. So I bet it felt good to her to actually stretch her legs in the arena. She wasn't ready to quit cantering each time, but I didn't want her to over do it. It was so fun to fly along on such a happy forward horse!
We did the same thing today. Last Sunday it was a little cool and overcast, but today it was about 50 degrees, sunny, and just perfect. I can't wait for spring!!
She lives in a pasture that's about an acre and a half, but she rarely moves out on her own. She and her two buddies tend to stand by the fence line, cock a hind leg, and take a nap. So I bet it felt good to her to actually stretch her legs in the arena. She wasn't ready to quit cantering each time, but I didn't want her to over do it. It was so fun to fly along on such a happy forward horse!
We did the same thing today. Last Sunday it was a little cool and overcast, but today it was about 50 degrees, sunny, and just perfect. I can't wait for spring!!
First trail ride of 2008
January 14 / 2008 07:21 PM Filed in: Trail
Riding
We got out on the trails
today, at last! I met Jane at the trail head for Pella
Crossing and she rode Ivy while I rode Kelton. The
weather was perfect -- sunny and comfortably cool --
and the trails were mostly clear, with some snow left
in the shady spots. Kelton was a little high-headed but
overall very well behaved considering she hasn't been
out on a trail in about two months. Ivy was a star, as
usual!
I can't wait to get out again, the next time the weather cooperates.
I can't wait to get out again, the next time the weather cooperates.
Heated indoor arena
My friend Jane and I took
the Fjords to the indoor arena at the fairgrounds this
morning to ride during their "open riding" session. Ah,
how nice to get out and ride again! The weather has not
been very cooperative. We were both dressed for frigid
temps because we didn't realize that the indoor would
be heated. It was rather toasty in there.
Neither Belle nor Ivy had been ridden since I took lessons on them in early December, but they were both very well behaved, especially considering they'd never been there before. There were several other riders there, all on Quarter Horses, and one of the QHs was a little freaked out by the Fjords. He kept staring at them as if he couldn't quite make out what the heck those little mohawk ponies were! Pretty funny. But it reminded me that whenever I take the Fjords somewhere, they're going to end up being "ambassadors" for the breed just because the breed is so rare. So they better continue being well behaved!
The county just opened up this morning "open riding" session, and we plan to make good use of it in the future!
Neither Belle nor Ivy had been ridden since I took lessons on them in early December, but they were both very well behaved, especially considering they'd never been there before. There were several other riders there, all on Quarter Horses, and one of the QHs was a little freaked out by the Fjords. He kept staring at them as if he couldn't quite make out what the heck those little mohawk ponies were! Pretty funny. But it reminded me that whenever I take the Fjords somewhere, they're going to end up being "ambassadors" for the breed just because the breed is so rare. So they better continue being well behaved!
The county just opened up this morning "open riding" session, and we plan to make good use of it in the future!
Jigsaw is doing remarkably well
December 20 / 2007 03:55 PM Filed in: Jigsaw
Over the summer I had
been preparing myself for the likelihood that Jigsaw
would not be able to make it through the winter, but
she's been doing surprisingly well, despite the snow
and cold temperatures. I've started giving her 2g of
bute every night along with some Legacy and Red Cell,
and that seems to have made a big difference in how
much she limps and how she feels. I also keep one or
two blankets on her if it's cold at all.
When the other horses get the wind up their tails and prance around, she does her own special Jigsaw-version, which involves leaping in the air and twisting around while only using three legs. It's pretty impressive! She's also worked out how to lie down without using her left front leg: she sits down like a dog and then flops over on her right side. She can still roll all the way over and back over again, and when she's ready to get up, she sits up like a dog again and then stands without even putting weight on the left front leg.
When she walks, she has a noticeable limp, but the fact that she still likes to jump around and be silly on occasion tells me that she still enjoys life, despite the pain. And of course she still LOVES her cookies! So I think she might actually make it through the winter to enjoy another summer pasture. She'll be 21 in April. I know that's not that old for a sound horse, but it's pretty good for a horse with "end stage arthritis" in her knee. She begs to differ about the "end stage" part!
When the other horses get the wind up their tails and prance around, she does her own special Jigsaw-version, which involves leaping in the air and twisting around while only using three legs. It's pretty impressive! She's also worked out how to lie down without using her left front leg: she sits down like a dog and then flops over on her right side. She can still roll all the way over and back over again, and when she's ready to get up, she sits up like a dog again and then stands without even putting weight on the left front leg.
When she walks, she has a noticeable limp, but the fact that she still likes to jump around and be silly on occasion tells me that she still enjoys life, despite the pain. And of course she still LOVES her cookies! So I think she might actually make it through the winter to enjoy another summer pasture. She'll be 21 in April. I know that's not that old for a sound horse, but it's pretty good for a horse with "end stage arthritis" in her knee. She begs to differ about the "end stage" part!
Good lessons
December 10 / 2007 11:40 AM Filed in: Dressage
I took Ivy for a lesson
with a local Fjord breeder who has a natural
horsemanship and classical dressage background, and she
really helped us along. Ivy is pretty green when it
comes to arena basics, like bending to the inside and
leg yielding, and the instructor helped me simplify
what I was asking for so that Ivy could more easily
comply. Ivy was completely at ease in the new location
and remained her lively, friendly self. She didn't even
mind when another horse left the indoor arena just as
she was arriving; she just went to work. What a good
girl!
I also took Belle for a lesson with the same instructor to get some help with encouraging Belle to relax. Ivy is just green, but Belle is confused, and I'm not sure why. I had some success working through her confusion by riding her regularly when I first got her, but then I gave her a year off to have and raise her filly and didn't start riding her again until this past summer. And then I mostly took her on trails. She's super on the trails but gets tense and worried in the arena, as though she thinks I'm going to ask her to do something like run barrels or chase cows -- and I've never done any such thing! She will start trotting and then go faster and faster, even if I use smaller circles to slow her down, so then I sometimes end up using a fairly abrupt one-rein stop. I don't like doing that, and it's not helping her relax, but I can't seem to stop her otherwise!
So the instructor helped me break down what was probably going on for Belle and showed me what to do when she started to get nervous or tense. Belle is emotionally complicated for a Fjord, but that also means she has the potential to be pretty light and responsive (if we can work through the confusion).
We worked in a large circle the whole time and kept things very simple, working on concepts at the walk and trot, and by the end I was amazed by the improvement in Belle. Not only was she more relaxed, she was moving much better than I thought she could, with longer strides, a round frame, and softness in her neck. I was so delighted! Belle is by far the most comfortable horse I've ever ridden, but I would say that the quality of her movement is just "OK." However, if I can get her to move like I did in the lesson, then I'd say we would probably do well at Training Level -- provided she's relaxed and on the aids and all those other things!
I look forward to taking more lessons after the holiday break.
I also took Belle for a lesson with the same instructor to get some help with encouraging Belle to relax. Ivy is just green, but Belle is confused, and I'm not sure why. I had some success working through her confusion by riding her regularly when I first got her, but then I gave her a year off to have and raise her filly and didn't start riding her again until this past summer. And then I mostly took her on trails. She's super on the trails but gets tense and worried in the arena, as though she thinks I'm going to ask her to do something like run barrels or chase cows -- and I've never done any such thing! She will start trotting and then go faster and faster, even if I use smaller circles to slow her down, so then I sometimes end up using a fairly abrupt one-rein stop. I don't like doing that, and it's not helping her relax, but I can't seem to stop her otherwise!
So the instructor helped me break down what was probably going on for Belle and showed me what to do when she started to get nervous or tense. Belle is emotionally complicated for a Fjord, but that also means she has the potential to be pretty light and responsive (if we can work through the confusion).
We worked in a large circle the whole time and kept things very simple, working on concepts at the walk and trot, and by the end I was amazed by the improvement in Belle. Not only was she more relaxed, she was moving much better than I thought she could, with longer strides, a round frame, and softness in her neck. I was so delighted! Belle is by far the most comfortable horse I've ever ridden, but I would say that the quality of her movement is just "OK." However, if I can get her to move like I did in the lesson, then I'd say we would probably do well at Training Level -- provided she's relaxed and on the aids and all those other things!
I look forward to taking more lessons after the holiday break.
Winter trail ride
November 26 / 2007 08:36 PM Filed in: Trail
Riding
The weather was finally
nice enough today for us to hit the trails, even though
they were still a bit muddy and snowy in spots. Jane
and I met Fran at the trail head for the Left Hand
Valley trail, which is quite close to me but I'd never
been to before. I didn't even know it was there! The
trail goes south into Boulder Valley Ranch, which of
course I've ridden many times.
I rode Kelton, Jane rode Ivy, and Fran rode her trusty mare while ponying her chubby gelding for some exercise. The trail has lots of gates to open, so Jane and I had some fun trying to get Ivy and Kelton to figure out how to do it, but they will clearly need some lessons. When we couldn't get the job done, Fran stepped up to do it with the gelding in tow -- pretty impressive!
It's nice that this trail is so close, but I think I like riding out from the Eagle trail head better because then you can do a loop rather than an out and back. But it was nice to be out on a ride, regardless!
I rode Kelton, Jane rode Ivy, and Fran rode her trusty mare while ponying her chubby gelding for some exercise. The trail has lots of gates to open, so Jane and I had some fun trying to get Ivy and Kelton to figure out how to do it, but they will clearly need some lessons. When we couldn't get the job done, Fran stepped up to do it with the gelding in tow -- pretty impressive!
It's nice that this trail is so close, but I think I like riding out from the Eagle trail head better because then you can do a loop rather than an out and back. But it was nice to be out on a ride, regardless!