Spots Plays With Ropes

Tonight, Annie put Spots through his gaits, working on neck-reining more.  Then I gave her a rope and she started rubbing Spots with it.  He didn't care at all, so she starting spinning it in the air and then throwing it in front of them.  It makes a little *zing* sound when you throw it out.  He would put his ears forward, but that's it.  Then she started throwing it and asking him to back.  He did that too, no issues.  Then she walked him around, neck-reining from the snaffle and spun the rope in the air.  He acted like it was no big deal.  Quite a nice evening I say!  Here is VIDEO!

First Ride In Outdoor at WW Fairgrounds

Last night we threw Spots and Annie's own two boys in the trailer and hauled to the Fairgrounds.  Des sat in his stroller with Annie watching him and she videoed me working Spots.  Myself.  I lunged him both ways, he was great.  He looked around and eyed things, but didn't spook or shy.  I had to remind him to give me an ear a few times, that was all.  As we finished up, a huge 6-horse trailer pulled up and parked right next to the arena.  They unloaded several horses and Spots whinnied a couple times, but was still behaving.  I was super nervous since he'd never been ridden in there before and I was doing it all myself, no putting Annie on first or anything.



I climbed up and we worked on his jog because that is his comfort gait.  He did the slowest jog I've never ridden.  He was listening, halting and going when asked.  Turning off my leg.  We jogged around and around, with me reminding him to listen and not focus on the commotion getting larger around us.  Then I asked him to trot out and we got a good trot going.  We walked, trotted, walked trotted.  I almost chickened out and didn't canter, but then I decided I should trust him and just do it.  We got some awesome canter.  We did several transitions and they got better each time.  On his "hard" side he took the wrong lead, but flying changed when I bumped him with my outside leg.  He did that a couple times, then changed on his own a couple times, then took the correct lead right off.  This is SO exciting because with Dazzle it was such a long, hard battle.  We worked over a year to get her correct lead on her hard side.  His "easy" side he was great, correct lead and went right into the gait.



He is taking the canter when asked much faster now.  He is keeping the gait until I ask him to trot almost every time.  We can do several circles without him breaking gait.  Our transitions are getting better and better.He listens really well and lets me steer even at the canter.  He will move off my legs and listen to my weight cues.  I think he's picked it all up easier than Dazzle.  It seemed like a lot of this took a lot longer and caused me more frustration with her.  He is light on aids and has a better work ethic.  He loves to be there doing something with me.



I rode about 15 minutes, then hopped down and Annie took him back to the trailer and let him stand while she rode one of her horses and I took pictures.  Des watched for a few minutes, but then got bored and started fussing.  I decided not to push it with him because he'd been good for so long while I rode.  We packed up and headed back to the trailer so Annie could get her 2nd horse ready to ride.  I untacked Spots and brushed him and he stood calmly at the trailer.  Des watched.  Then the rest of the group Annie was meeting showed up and Des enjoyed meeting their horses and getting pushed in his new umbrella stroller.  I took him back to the car to get in and he he wouldn't let me pick him up out of the stroller; he pointed at the horses and asked to go back and see them more.  I pushed him back towards the horses and they all headed in to the indoor, so he got a personal parade.  He loved it.  Finally, he let me pack him up and take him home.  When Annie got home, she said Spots has stood calmly at the trailer during the ride and was not sweaty or upset about being left at the trailer at all.  Hopefully that means he is going to be not herd bound.  I hate herd-bound horses.  Such a pain.

Video of us!

Spots has been to the fairgrounds twice before; once last fall at Fair, and he was down in the 4H arena, never went into the covered, and then once earlier this spring at a little show and he was only lunged in it, not ridden.  He was really nervous that day and didn't go in many classes.  He was lunged and walked around a lot.  So this was his first time riding in there, second time being there.  I was thrilled and excited and proud of myself for not chickening out and proud of Spots for being so good and proving his sense once again.

Spots Goes Double

Thursday night, the kids were over practicing on Marigold for the Jr Show Saturday.  Annie warmed up Spots and I hopped on when I got home.  He was being good, we practicing our halt and he was stopping completely off my seat often and on barely any rein most the time.  He's really getting there.  The kids were tearing around bareback on Marigold having a great time.

We were just hanging out chatting and Spots was falling asleep when Annie came over and said "Hold on" and preceded to haul up behind in onto Spots.  He gave her a look like she was crazy and held still.  We then walked around in circles while I told stories about riding double as a teenager with my cousin, galloping around in the orchards being crazy.  Spots was great!  We'd never ridden him double before and it didn't phase him at all.

At the Jr show, the kids did great with Marigold.  Zach for Overall Reserve Champion for his division and Ash placed many times.  They're going to be tough competition by the end of the summer!

Great Ride With A New Tool

Tuesday evening I got home from town and Annie had just tacked Spots up. She hopped on him and he was paying more attention to the fact that the kids got there and got out Marigold then to her, so she threw the lunge line on him and lunged him a bit. He quickly settled down into his job and I ran and got my rings (running martingale). He has never worn them before and Annie wasn't sure she wanted to try them yet, but I felt like he was ready. I put them on and she lunged him in them. He's used to side-reins, so he was not concerned with the rings at all while lunging.

She hopped on and he was listening to her great this time. He tried popping his head up and diving his nose; the two things we've been working on squelching from his habits. He found to his annoyance, that neither thing is pleasant with rings. They walked in circle and stopped and turned and he tried to fight the rings a few minutes but the beauty of rings if the horse disciplines themselves so you don't have to be getting on their face. He finally stretched his neck way down and we cheered and Annie patted him. It had clicked, and he started dropping his head when he felt the rings.

I asked her to try trotting and she said, "Okay, but I'm not cantering in these". Within about 10 minutes they were cantering in them, getting some of the best transitions and uphill gaits he's ever had. He only took the wrong lead a couple times. Finally she said I had to feel thing and got down and handed me my horse. She went to go get her own.

By this time the kids had Marigold out and were loping her around the arena bareback. Spots was handling that great. I mounted up and started walking circles and moving him with my legs. I was able to just feather a finger on the reins and he'd give to the bit instead of challenging it. At the walk, he stretched down and relaxed. At the trot, his head was much, much more consistent, staying about level, sometimes dropping low. I gave him lots of praise for that. We got the nicest WP jog we've ever gotten. Half the speed of his walk, lead low, so nice. Then we cantered. We went into it easier, and I was able to just squeeze my outside rein and he gave to it and didn't lose his gait or pop a shoulder. We got the correct lead both ways, only got the wrong lead once and he flying changed to the correct one when I bumped him with my outside leg. I was ecstatic. I was squealing and cheering for him and I think the mother of the 4H kids though I was crazy. He took to the rings so quickly and receptively, I'm guessing he'll only be in them a few rides and he'll be able to maintain the consistency of his collection and head position without them. They really encouraged him to stretch and give, and at the canter to be more uphill and decisive in his movements. I had him backing beautifully, head low, weight back. So exciting. Annie was thrilled with the progress and I of course had to remind her she had not been sure about trying them.

Annie brought her horse in and he usually has to be lunged before riding, so she took him to the "B"-"E" circle and lunged him at the canter both directions.  Meanwhile, Marigold and her 4Hers were loping and trotting bareback all over the arena.  I wasn't sure how Spots would handle is all as he's not used to having all that commotion going on, he's usually the only horse in the arena.  He gave them some attention and I said, "Pay attention to me", and feathered my inside rein.  I had to remind him about 3 times and then he didn't forget anymore and we were able to continue trotting and cantering and he didn't get worried about Beau cantering.  I was really proud of him.

Firsts! Lunge-lesson and CANTER!

Yesterday we had a very horsey day. First, I arrived home from town to see a 12 yr old riding SPOTS in a lunge-line lesson. They were jogging around and around in a circle and Spots was completely at ease with this beginner on his back, bouncing and holding onto the horn once in a while. By the end of their lesson, he was balancing much better, his seat was better, he wasn't holding onto the horn. He had a great time on Spots and Spots seemed relaxed and not at all nervous with his new rider. Next, I got on him with my plain-jane curb-bit for a session on neck-reining. We working on turning, stopping, backing, then weaving a line of barrels to put it all together. He still isn't neck-reining 100%, but it's starting to make sense to him. Especially with my leg aids, he usually turns with the neck-reining, sometimes he still gets stuck and I have to direct rein him a moment and then he's on track again. He was in a curb-bit for the first time a couple weeks ago and we just walked and trotted, didn't really work on turning yet. So, really this was his first training session on it. I was really happy with the progress we made. I didn't want to drill him on it, so we did about 10 or 15 minutes and then I switched him back to the snaffle bridle to do something else. After out curb-bit session I worked on cantering. We have only started working on it in last few weeks, so this was the longest cantering session we've ever done. He was able to hold canter for about 4 circles, which is awesome for him. He was cantering closer to when I asked him and staying in it better. We worked on getting the correct lead and I figured out when I quit paying attention to HIM and paid more attention to my body position he was able to get the correct lead. After I figured that out, he started getting the correct lead pretty much every time I asked and if he did take the wrong lead,I could bump him with my outside leg and he would change leads.

I am SOOO sore. Apparently cantering works some different muscles than trotting. I haven't cantered much since having Desmond, and it shows! I hurt all over. But it was SOO much fun. He has such a smooth canter. After we finished riding and let him chill while Annie gave rides to kiddos, I worked on loading in Annie's 2-horse straight load. They had tried to load him in it once last fall, but hadn't really gotten anywhere with it. This time, I did it myself and it was evident how much he has matured since last year. He was calm, and thoughtful, continued to make attempts to step in and we had him loading and unloading easily within 10 minutes. I kept asking him in and backing him out and by the time we finished I could stay outside the trailer, throw the rope over his back, and say "Load up", and he'd load himself. I'm so proud of him! One more skill to add to his growing list!

To Get Caught Up

After my mother-in-law died, I didn't update my blog for several months. We did ride in that time, but I didn't feel like blogging it. So, I will fill you in on what happened between September and when I started blogging again. SEPTEMBER: My birthday happened to be the day of my mom-in-law's accident, but we celebrated the weekend before. Annie did a fantasy photo-shoot with me and Spots the next day, and the accident happened before I did anything with the photos. So here they are:

I have lost more weight since these, so maybe I will get to do another shoot before he sells. I never even cropped them, everything was so crazy. Put that on my to-do list. Next, we went on a around-the-block ride for my Birthday and it was my first time out on Spots. That was the best birthday present. My brother rode my mare and Annie rode Justin, her Morgan gelding.

OCTOBER: In October,Spots attended a Jim Briggs clinic at Red Barn farm with Annie aboard. He did really well considering he'd never been there for before and November was busy and he wasn't getting ridden as much as before. I lunged him out really well and then Annie took him in the arena for their group lesson. He tried hard, behaved well, and everybody was very impressed with my "baby".

Spots First Trail Ride!

I was not sure how it would go on Spots first trail ride. He is young and other than going around the block he's never been out of an arena. He was great around the block, but sometimes woodsy nature is different. For some reason I let Annie talk me into doing this first ride myself instead of riding Marigold and putting her on Spots. I have done many first rides with young horses but not recently. It's probably been 4 years since I did one. I decided maybe this was what I needed to help deal with being stuck in a mom-rut and off we went. First we stopped at Red Barn and Annie had a lesson on her QH gelding, Beau, who is a few weeks older than Spots. Spots spent the lesson tied to the trailer. He was very well behaved. Then we loaded everybody back up and continued on to the lake. I was really nervous, but tried not to let it show. We tacked up and headed off down the trail. I walked him a little ways, more for me than him really. I made sure he was listening to me and not the voices of invisible people we could hear through the trees. He was alert, but listening and paying attention to me. I put him around me in small circles to make sure I had his attention. He was very responsive so I decided to get on. He stood quietly for me to mount. I looked back up the trail and I had only walked him about 20 feet.

We walked along, he wanted to jog a lot and I told him as long as he kept his head level and stayed in an actual jog, he could jog. He liked to be near Beau, but Beau was relaxed and walking out as he's been to the lake a lot. Spots jogs so slow he was getting further behind. If he walked out he would pass him, but jogging he kept falling farther behind. I told him this, but he did not believe me. So we jogged along and Annie just had to stop and wait a few times. I did get him to walk and when he walked out he had a nice ground-covering walk. We came to the reservoir crossing, which today had no water in it, at the same time two teens on bikes joined the scene from another trail. We let the horses watch as they approached and went on and Spots didn't do anything. I asked him to start down the bank to the concrete crossing and he hesitated. Annie brought Beau past us and Spots followed right along without a thought. He sniffed the concrete but walked right across. Up the other bank we went and chose a long winding trail that goes around the outer edge of the public property. I wanted to choose a trail with the least amount of people for the main part of the ride.

We went up and down hills, through the trees, next to fields, by trees full of bumble bees. Some of the trail is very rutted and Spots had to really think about where his feet were going. He got the hang of it pretty well and soon we were jogging along very nicely. On the down hills we worked on shifting his weight back and not rushing. I promised him I knew what I was talking about. It was starting to click by the end of the day. Up hills we worked on not trotting, which he was pretty sure was a silly idea. The outer trail joins up with a busy trail intersection and we met two more bikers and they stopped to talk so we let the horses watch them awhile, then passed them and went on a trail that went through denser trees. Spots was not bothered by that at all. He did not want to walk in mud we found in the trail, but was good about finding a safe way around it. I told him as long as he was heading where I pointed him I didn't care how he got there. We came to a long section of trail that was mud and puddles. I let him think about it. He watched Beau slog through it. I asked him what his plan was. He looked back up the trail we'd come from. He looked at the bushes. He looked at the mud. I said, "Okay buddy, pick your route, we need to get to Beau," and I bumped him and gave him loose rein. I expected him to run me into bushes or at least lunge through the mud. He carefully picked his way along the side of the trail where there was a 4 inch wide non-muddy ledge. He didn't rush at all. It was a little anticlimactic really.

That trail looped back to the busy spot and we took a gravel trail down to a trail that goes near the lake and in some trees. We walked over logs and through branches. By then he was getting pretty good about figuring out where to put his feet and he liked that pretty well. Then we decided to see if he would drink from the lake. There is a nice shore where you can get the horses to the water. Mr. Beau sloshed right into the water and started pawing happily and splashing Annie. Spots watched. I urged him forward. He would get close, but not go in. I urged and let him go to the side, then urged, let him move for a few minutes. It was clear he wasn't going to go in this way, so I hopped down and tossed Annie the lead-rope from his halter. I picked a long thistle and waved it behind Spots. He kept going back and forth, but started inching closer to the water. Finally he put in a foot and we cheered for him and I petted him and he sniffed the water. We let him stand a while, then I asked him to back out the water. Then asked him to go in again. He went back and forth a little, then stepped in. I backed him up again. Asked him in again. We did this about 4 times until he went in pretty easy and had all four feet in. Then I stretched my foot out and just reached the stirrup. He let me be crawl on from the bank. I asked him deeper into the water and he walked in a few feet until he was in up to his belly. We took lots of silly photos of whatever part of the horse we could. The horses watched the boats out in the water. Spots splashed with his nose and pawed and relaxed. We sat there for a long time.

Finally, we realized it must be getting late and climbed back onto land. The last leg of the trail is on a wide ledge trail with rocked on either side and bridge you can't go around. Beau went over the bridge, Spots took a deep breath and followed him over, jogging. I cheered and told him he was very good. We walked through the parking lot patting them and telling them what good boys they are. As we neared the trailer, I asked him to lope and we loped a few strides through the gravel to the trailer. He passed it and was headed back to the trail! I turned him around and we trotted towards the trailer and he passed it again. I decided he must not have had a bad ride or he wouldn't be so willing to head back out there, he would be glued to the trailer.

We brushed them down and took photos of the their cute faces and loaded up and brought them home. They ride very nicely in the trailer together. He and Beau seem to be nice buddies. I was so impressed with Spots, I expected him to startle at something, but he took took everything in stride like it wasn't his first time out. He just believed me when I said he was fine and not to worry. I can't wait to go back, I just need to find another sitter!