Pants on Fire?

Red was channelling his inner racehorse today, apparently.  I walked out to get him this afternoon, and every other horse in the herd walked up to me; Red, however, took one look and galloped off.  Oh, boy.  It's one of those days, is it?  He conveniently galloped himself into the adjoining, and currently unoccupied, pasture, so I closed the gate on him and watched him gallop & whinny & snort & fart his way around me in huge loops until I could see his sides heaving & his nostrils flared as big as they go.  At that point, he slowed to an extended trot and continued for another while.  He sure was pretty running around like his pants were on fire, and I did kind of enjoy watching him.  I wasn't in a hurry and didn't have an agenda, so I just waited until he'd had enough.  Finally, he quit putting on a show, and walked calmly into the barn with me for saddling.  What a weirdo.  He wasn't worked up, or hyper at all.  It was almost like I was just an excuse to run around & show off or something.

Red looking as cool & calm as a cucumber despite his earlier period of insanity

We set off on a nice short road ride, and stopped by to pick up a few extra companions on the way home.  The first official Meadowbrook trail ride of the season was a hit!  Leah rode Rhio (who was a perfect gentleman), Christine rode Tomas, Kristi rode Winston, and Red lead the way.  It was a gorgeous evening with enough breeze to keep the mosquitoes mostly at bay, and we had a grand time.

Kelso supervising while Leah & Rhio got to know each other.

Looks like this pair is a hit! 

Setting off

A grand mini-adventure

Experiment

My first ride of the new year was January 5.  Our great winter riding conditions have been severely damaged by a day of freezing rain New Year's Eve.  Our deep snow now has a crunchy layer on top, which Kelso can mostly skim across but the horses definitely break through.  It makes riding in the snow even more difficult and a little bit dangerous, too.  The crust does not give fast enough sometimes, and Rhio really struggles to get those front legs up & out of the entrapping snow.  We had a few dramatic stumbles, but luckily he is agile enough to catch & right himself, and I was lucky enough to stay on (this time anyway).  No more trotting & cantering through the deep powder, which was so fun!  We are now stuck at a slow, lurching walk.

In anticipation of the risk of abrasion from the ice crust, I decided to try riding in polo wraps for protection. This resulted in utter failure, basically!  We lost both front wraps somewhere out there, and one hind wrap was bunched around his pastern & hoof when we got back.  Oops.  Guess I won't do that again!  Hopefully I'll be able to find the missing polos when I head out there on my snowshoes later.  Thankfully they are bright red, so they should be fairly visible - I hope.  He did acquire one tiny little scrape on a front cannon bone from the crust, but nothing significant.

Our companions for this experimental ride were Kristi & Winston.

On alert! We'd hand walked up to the house to fetch Killian so he could come along with us.  This required us to "run the gauntlet" between the goat/alpaca pen and the cow pasture. SCARY! 

The steer is actually much more afraid of Winston than Winston is of him, only Winston doesn't know it. 

The friendly white one

Letting Winston break trail and leave tail swish marks on the snow!

Halloween!

The helmet & the green bridle kind of ruin the look, but it seemed best to use both those pieces of equipment!

I really do love to dress up - it must be my inner child shining through.  This year, instead of a regular old Halloween costume party, I planned a barn party and tried to induce my fellow boarders to get creative with their horses.  We had fun, but only one other person really got her horse into it.  

Christine on Tomas, me, Carter on Cricket, Becca on Kaos, Kristi on Cody, and Leah on Centarus (the skeleton horse)

I dressed as a sorceress, and Rhio went as my "renaissance pony."  Originally, he was going to be a unicorn (a "white" Arabian - what could be more cliche than turning him into a unicorn?), but we had some technical difficulties with the horn, so abandoned it.  Rhio was a pretty good sport about it flopping all over his face, but I didn't think it wise to ride him that way.  I was surprised at his "goosey-ness" when I mounted and got my long skirt and cloak all draped over him.  He is used to wearing a rump rug, so I assumed the cloak would be no problem, but he was a little concerned about it to begin.  Also, I was carrying a "wand" (a.k.a. riding crop covered in silver ribbon) and he couldn't take his eyes off it, so I had to abandon that as well.  

I was amazed at how warm it actually was under the cloak - Rhio's body heat really kept me warm.  I also realized why ladies used to require assistance to mount, dismount, etc - it is difficult to manage all those miles of cloth! 

Post-party, I decided to ride down the road to Red's barn, and go trick-or-treating!  I suppose I'm technically too old to trick-or-treat, but I've never done it horseback before, and I figured I might as well get a little more mileage out of my costume.  

Not your traditional trick-or-treaters :) 

What fun!  Rhio & Cody scored apples, and we got sweet treats, too.  Thanks to everyone who came, helped, took pics, etc - but I want to see you all in costume next year!!!!!  

Jump!

The ladies in pink enjoying our day with our boys

Yet another lovely warm October day, so Cody & Kristi and Rhio & I decided to play around a little in the arena.  Amid the many distractions of the day (the driveway is being dug up to lay new electrical wiring to the indoor arena), we worked on some trot poles, then decided to try our hand at a little jumping.  I did some jumping in lessons as a kid, but it's been many years and it was always with a horse that already knew what it was doing.  As far as I know, Rhio has never been pointed at a jump in his life!

We started with a very low cross rail and he was able to pretty much just trot right over it.

Our first attempt - just taking it in stride. 

We raised it a few notches total, in increments, and he had to actually jump it by the end.  He seemed willing enough and I thought it was fun, so I'm excited to try it again next week.  I'm sure my jumping form was awful, and I didn't shorten my stirrups so couldn't really do a true 2-point, but we got our feet wet, so to speak, and hopefully will add some small jumps to our repertoire for cross-training.  

I love how balanced he is in this picture.

Ok, yes, he knocked the rails and they're falling down here, but, look - we're jumping! 

The Thrills

happy riders return!

Friday morning I brought Red over to be Kristi's mount and we set off on the long loop.  This would be Kristi's first time on the long loop, and her first time riding Red.  I was thrilled that she was interested in taking one of my horses out - makes my job of getting/keeping two horses in shape a lot easier if they both get ridden together!  I'm not sure what she expected from a conditioning ride with me - but I think she found it both fun and challenging.

Both horses were booted on all four feet, sporting four different types of boots.  The road has yet again been recently graded so the footing is rather poor (sharp loose gravel scattered on the surface) and boots are definitely the way to go.  I think even a horse shod in steel shoes may have trouble with this road surface in its current state.

Rhio was fairly unmotivated and wanted to proceed at his slow (uncomfortable to ride) trot, but was happy to lead and didn't really want Red to pass him.  Red moved out well for Kristi and was totally relaxed.  We headed down our road, up the minimum maintenance road, and then continued west along the wide shoulder & rideable ditch along Normanna Road with no issues.  The UPS truck passed us back and forth a couple of times, but the driver was very considerate and slowed way down.  Neither horse even batted any eyelash at the truck, but we appreciated his care nonetheless.  Once across Rice Lake Road, we admired a pair of adorable and harmlessly ferocious bulldogs and continue on to the snowmobile trail.  At this point, Rhio really perked up and we took the back trail to loop around to the snowmobile trail mostly at a canter / hand gallop.  I'm pretty sure my comment, "This is my favorite part!" before zooming off didn't do much to settle any butterflies in Kristi's stomach, but I was thrilled to know she was on Red, whom I can trust to not misbehave and keep up with us without any trouble.  It's always fun to take other people out and give them a taste of how and where I love to ride, but when I am not sure about their horses' mental or physical abilities to cope with the trail and the speed, I have to hold back a little (safety first!).  This ride was a no-holds-barred romp in the woods without the slightest worry about what was going on behind me.  I knew Kristi was a great rider and Red would just do his job, so we could fly! The 10 or so miles of road riding are completely worth it just to do the 2 - 3 miles on these trails.  What a blast!

Kristi & Red - Look! No Hands!

We all-too-soon exited the woods and headed home along the road, with a quick water stop for the horses and a new-found spring in Rhio's step.  We were going home!  I had one big spook to the side from Rhio when he suddenly caught sight of some white spray paint on the pavement, but otherwise the boys know their jobs and away we go. Red got into his big trot and Kristi went flying past us with a grin on her face.  Not to be outdone, but also not as fast a trotter, Rhio & I cantered to keep up with (and then pass!) Kristi & Red.  Our overall time for the 12 mile loop was a little slower than I typically like to do it, but we all had a great time.  It was great to watch Red move and see him be such a good boy for Kristi.

I rode Red the last mile home (so he did about 14 miles total) and got a couple of spooks, including one major one that nearly unseated me when a turtle splashed into the pond as we trotted past.  I tell him that they are more afraid of him than he is of them, but I don't think he believes me!
 

Canter!

He is so stinkin' cute in Cricket's western bridle!!! 

Thursdays are supposed to be our day for doing in-hand work, but Kristi & I decided we really wanted to ride today.  So, we picked a few exercises from the Equine Fitness book and I decided to ride with a bit instead of the hackamore.  Rhio has been unhappy in snaffle bits in the past, so I tried Cricket's bit, which is a low-port solid curb with short shanks.  I couldn't believe how great he looked in Cricket's bridle!  And he was quiet & content with the bit immediately, so I hoped for success under saddle.  

My little western pony! 

We warmed up walking over some poles to loosen their backs, then trotted around the arena both directions, doing large circles at either end.  Rhio & I definitely need to work on our bending!  He was quite distracted and didn't enjoy being required to stay within the confines of the outdoor arena.  Kristi & Cody then did the warm-up at a canter, and I attempted to get Rhio to canter in the arena.  We have never succeeded before, and I initially got a really fast trot but eventually he did start to canter for me.  Kristi tells me that we did a very nice circuit of the arena in a counter-canter - who knew we could do that?!  Too bad it wasn't intentional, or organized, or controlled in any fashion...  We cantered a few more times, and only zoomed out of the arena once. 

The second exercise we did was a series of serpentines down the center of the arena, using poles to guide our figures.  Kristi & Cody were pros!  Rhio and I had a pretty dismal performance, but he was relaxed with the bit and never got tense or frustrated as he has in the past with a snaffle bit.

The outdoor arena with the poles laid out for our serpentine work.

We wouldn't have scored very high on execution marks today, but I was thrilled to have achieved two things: cantering in the arena and a happy, relaxed horse working with a bit not just a hackamore.  Go Rhio! 

Core Training

I have been reading and thinking about doing some cross-training, or alternate fitness building methods, with Rhio.  I worry about putting excessive miles on that don't really increase our fitness much, and the wear and tear those miles may cause to his joints and tissues.  Also, I have mostly hard-packed gravel roads to train on, which I fear cause excessive concussion forces over time, so I'd like to reduce the amount of time & miles we do on the road.  And, Rhio gets bored quickly and I want to keep our training fun and interesting for us both.  I know when I point him down the road and he balks, that we've been doing too much of that and it's time to change it up.

To that end, I bought a book called Equine Fitness by Jec Aristotle Ballou, which is filled with all sorts of exercises & stretches to increase your horse's fitness, strength, and flexibility.  I feel that many of the maneuvers in her book are a bit advanced for my & Rhio's level of dressage skill (a hair above nothing) but I aspire to be able to execute them.  I also recently read a short article on the Easy Care website (http://easycarenews.com/05-28-2010/articles/posture-and-performance-by-duncan-mclaughlin/) by Duncan McLaughlin entitled "Posture and Performance."  This article presents several simple in-hand exercises to strengthen your horse's core muscles and thereby strengthen his back & his ability to carry his rider, which is so important to our endurance horses which carry us for long distances.

Rhio is still "resting" (read: running, bucking, & playing in his pasture with his tail flying) from his 50 mile ride last Saturday, but I wanted to do something with him today that was useful, fun, and not mounted.  Kristi and I devised a short program with exercises from both sources, and got to "play" with our boys while hopefully deriving some physical & mental benefit as well.

We began with a hand walk on the road to a slight hill (about 5 minutes); at the hill, we asked our horses to lower their heads (engage their hindquarters & backs) and back about 4 steps, staying straight.  This is a deceptively difficult exercise and Cody struggled with the concept, but both horses accomplished several repetitions of this backing-up-a-hill exercise.  We then came into the outdoor arena and set up 2 obstacles: a "fan" and a series of cavaletti/ground poles.

Killian showing off the "fan"

Kristi & Cody walking the ground poles & cavaletti with several set up to higher levels - the horses had to look & step over according to height.  These cavaletti are quite close together to promote lifting those legs nice & high, engaging the core muscles to do so.

Kristi & Cody executing a spiral around the "fan" - we all knocked a lot of poles down doing this one!

Our final & most difficult exercise - these cavaletti are all set at the highest point yet still very close together, requiring the horses to step high to get over them - this exercise is called the "climb through."

Yes, I have short legs!  It's not the easiest exercise for us humans either!

It seemed like a worthwhile way to spend some quality time with our horses, as well as challenge them both physically and mentally.  Also, the weather was threatening rain, so we were nice & close to home in case of sudden downpours!  

Moonshadow

10:30 pm tacking up (yes, the lights were on in the barn, but it's still too dark for good photos so it looks like we were tacking up in the dark)

It was a gorgeous night.  My roommate Kristi and I decided we just HAD to go for a ride.  So we fetched our boys from their evening grazing and tacked them up at 10:30 pm by the light of an almost-full moon.  I think the horses were a little confused, but they didn't complain.  Off we went down the road, listening to how loud our horses' hooves seemed on the gravel road and to the symphony of frogs serenading us.  

Both horses & humans wore some reflective gear and our road is extremely quiet, so we met no vehicles. This was the first night ride for Kristi & Cody, and for Rhio.  It was great - the horses were quiet & willing and we didn't feel much need for conversation, just drinking in the beauty of it all.   

Boot Trial: Rhio #3 and Hill Intervals

Kristi & I decided to do some hill intervals today, so tacked up in the 70+ degree afternoon sunshine and headed off.  I put Rhio in 4 boots, but switched to the Gloves on the fronts and the Bares on the hinds, to see what (if any) difference that may make in his gait.  April 20 and we were both in tank tops!  The boys were feeling the effects of the warmth, too - both were very lazy and we barely managed a 6 mph trot on the 2 mile route to the "sheep hill." 

Our plan was to do 6 sets up & down the hill, for a total of 1 1/2 miles of hill work.  We walked up, walked down, trotted up, walked down, cantered up, walked down, then repeated in reverse so the canter sets were back-to-back.  Both horses had heart rate monitors on and were working well and recovering well.  It actually seemed to be less work for them than I had anticipated.

The last trip up Kristi & I decided we'd jog, too.  It may not have been all that much work for the horses, but just 1 trip up the hill was plenty for me! 

We trotted home the 2 miles, and Rhio had recovered to 58 bpm by the time we walked down the driveway.  I was pleased that he seemed to move better with this arrangement of boots - I wasn't aware of much forging, although I did note a pretty big interference mark on the inside of his left hind fetlock and there are noticeable scuffs on the back of the Glove gaiters, especially the left front - so he was clearly still having some issues.  

Kristi & I were freezing at the end of our ride!  The wind switched to come off the lake and it was definitely an April wind.  I started the ride pleased that I'd remembered to put on sunscreen, since my shoulders were bare for the first time this year, and ended it covered in goosebumps and wishing I'd brought a jacket to the barn!

Go Ponies!

Watching Kristi & Cody down by the water & wondering why we had to climb the hill 4x today but they only did it 3x!

I'm not sure Kristi really knew what she was getting into when we scheduled a ride for today!  I still don't have boots (waiting impatiently!), so we are stuck with the local trails & gravel pit.  I can get a decent (7 1/2 mile) ride out of it if we go around a few times.  We walked the little bit of gravel road down to the shoulder of the paved road, then set off at a nice, smart 8 mph trot.  We turned in at the old gravel pit just north of the county gravel pit, and wound our way around the 4-wheeler trail between the ponds and up across the ridge, then popped out into the county pit to continue down to our little mound / training hill.  There was only 1 bald eagle in residence today, and he left in a bit of a hurry when we showed up.  We went up & down our little training hill a few times, then headed off into the woods south of the pit along someone's deer hunting trails.  This is a good spot to canter, so away we went!  Kristi & Cody had no trouble staying right on our tail, and Rhio thought that meant we needed to go faster, so we argued a little bit about that.  The trail ends at a dead end with a very tall deer stand just back in the woods, so we turn around and head back the way we came.  We have to slow down for two sections - one that is a bit muddy and one that is full of holes - but otherwise I typically move out pretty well on these trails.  Cody was breathing pretty hard when we got back to the gravel pit access road, so he & Kristi worked on some active recovery while Rhio & I did the hill one more time.

Kristi & Cody surveying the landscape

We headed back into the trails for round two, then headed across the road to Dave & Carol's place, setting the horses there on fire and having a nice chat with Dave & Jack (the Border Collie) while Rhio & Cody munched on their greening lawn.  We headed out back to the trails that connect to our barn's trails, passing between the pasture containing the bulls/steers (2400# "Big Rig" who loves to have his head scratched stands out from all the rest) and the one containing the cows & new calves (so cute!).  We had a lot of fuzzy black faces staring at us as we passed!  Once onto the trails, we did a little looping up & down the hills and then headed home.  Once we got close to our home field, we could hear shooting (or something that sounded an awful lot like shooting) but didn't see or identify the source.  There weren't any bullets whizzing past, so I guess we were ok.  Cody was full of energy still on the homeward trip, although once returned to his pasture, he took a big snooze standing in the sun.

Kristi & Cody back in the woods - dressage horse, you say?  Not if you're riding with me!

I was happy to note that Rhio's sweat pattern was perfectly symmetrical and complete - no dry spots by the withers.  This was the second ride where I used thicker foam inserts in his Skito pad (3/4" instead of 1/2") and I think it's working.  Also, his foot is holding up great, although it's starting to look pretty ugly.  

Ok, kinda gross because the sweat brings all the dirt & grunge in his coat to the surface - but the point is that this is a beautiful sweat pattern!  

It's quite the crack/defect that's developing as Rhio's hoof grows out.  It looks wet because I just cleaned it & applied a sealant (in an attempt to make sure nothing gets down in under his healthy hoof horn & sets up an infection/abscess.) 

Look Mom!  Green grass!