Becoming an Educated Owner and Rider

Ok, it's been awhile.
I am learning how to be a horse owner. Being here in Florida, on my own with my two horses has really made me see how uninvolved I have been in their care. Not only am I the decision maker now, but, Stryker (being the princess and the pea) has given me the opportunity to see that as a horse owner, I cannot blindly trust anyone really. I'm learning that I need to educate myself and be able to make decisions for myself according to what I think is best for my horses.
Stryker has been having all sorts of problems, at first I thought it was attitude, but it kept getting worse and I realized that he was in pain. I had the vet look at him at first and do a flexion test. He tested positive on his hind legs and the vet immediately wanted to give him injections and put shoes on his front feet. Of course, I wanted to do what she said, but wasn't sure if it was the right thing so I reached out to some people I trust and made my decision based on that. I decided to have someone come out for a second opinion, a chiropractor who was recommended to me by a woman here in Florida. I am so glad I had her look at him, she worked on him for a full hour and by the end Stryker was not showing any pain in his back and showed so much more relaxation and comfort just in the way he was standing. The difference I saw in him after he was worked on was unbelievable! He has had 2 days off and will go back to work tomorrow. I am not expecting him to have let go of his attitude, because I believe that he's become defensive and until he realizes he can work without pain, his attitude will still be a defense mechanism.
Galaxy, on the other hand, has been getting worked primarily in the last week while Stryker has been in recovery mode. He was definitely worn out yesterday, in time for our day off. He's doing really good work, on the lunge and under saddle. Mrs. P thought it looked like I was fighting my saddle, as in my saddle was hindering my ability to balance and give aids. So, she put me in an old Spirig saddle, and wow, I absolutely hate to say it, but I will need a new saddle at some point. In the Spirig I was able to really feel his back and was lighter and more secure in the seat, not to mention how much more quiet my legs became. So, I'll put it on the future project list to keep my eye out for a used saddle that will fit both me and Galaxy. I had never realized before that a saddle has to fit the rider too, I mean more then just be big or small enough for the seat. It has to be shaped correctly for the rider and enhance the seat rather then just be something that you sit on.
I will hopefully get to put up an update after Stryker gets back into work again. I was so happy after I saw the change in his body after being worked on, but riding will be the real test. Wish me luck!

Ulcers and Draw Reins and the Beach, Oh My!

Sorry about the title, I'm from Kansas so I can use the "oh my" thing. Random collection, but that's pretty much what's been filling up my days.

Stryker is on Ulcer medication (very, very expensive medication) but it will be worth it in the long run and I'll know when to treat him for prevention now instead of waiting until it gets this bad. He has been working hard, but I'm seeing results in every lesson. Yesterday we worked on his canter and I learned a new exercise which will help his impulsion and help to strengthen his hind and back which he desperately needs. Lately I've become much more attentive to his subtle evasions of stretching over his back and building those essential muscles. All of his evasions are connected too, it seems. When I want to take him forward, he drops his back and inverts (thus, he doesn't have to stretch his muscles in the transition and it makes it "easier"). When I want to go sideways he sometimes does the same thing, and in turn he doesn't have to use whatever inside hind leg I'm asking him to use. However, I have been riding him much deeper in the neck which (because of his anatomy) makes it so that his back stretches smoothly from his hind end through his back and into his neck. When I want to make a transition up or down, I make him deeper in the connection and take him sideways, even if only for a step, and then as he is floating sideways I ask for the transition. It's that easy! I have been told that he is a horse that wants to compromise. In other words he is willing to go forward if he can be inverted. Or he will trot around the ring in a pretty frame but won't go sideways or forward when asked. This is where building his back muscles will really help. Soon, this kind of work will be easy for him and he and I will both learn that compromising one thing for another is never going to get us anywhere.
Anyway, this exercise I was doing in the canter goes like this: in the canter on the true lead make 10 meter circles all around the arena at almost every letter. The goal of the circles are to use your inside leg and half halts on the outside rein to encourage collection in the canter. Once you feel a steady, collected and controlled canter make a transition to the walk on the last quarter of the circle as you're headed towards the wall. Next, pick up the counter canter and try and keep the collection you just created. Counter canter around the short end and then cross the diagonal and do the same exercise on that lead. When I did this with Stryker his tendency was to just stop. He was having trouble staying in the canter, instead of collecting he though he should make a downward transition. Not a big deal, but he was never allowed to run in any of this work. Because now that we have established the forward we have to teach him how to keep balanced for collection. So, when he would trot I would slow the trot and pick the canter back up to continue the exercise. Once he figured out I wasn't asking for the trot I did occasionally feel a few really good steps of collection. Usually in the last half of the circle I could feel him lift his shoulders and get more airtime in the canter. Then, I could make a walk transition and pick up the other lead. I could tell this was really tiring for him and I was really proud he kept at it for as long as he did.

I forgot to mention, Mrs. P had me put draw reins on Stryker. I know... Somewhere in the world Sue just cringed. I promise, Sue, they are completely loose the whole time!! The only time they come into effect is when he tries to invert and completely back off the connection. Basically they aren't there to effect the bit unless he pulls them tight. I was really not interested in using them at first, but I am glad that I'm learning how to ride with them and how they can be used in different situations. 

Galaxy is as wonderful as ever. He had lost some weight on his trip over here so he has been getting extra hay. I think this horse is full for the first time in his life. I actually saw him not eating while there was still hay in his stall... That's unheard of.  He has been getting about 8 flakes of hay over the course of the day and I think he may think he's in heaven. But, he has gained weight so eventually he won't be getting so much. Lucky for him though they like the horses to be a little meatier here, I think it helps to build muscle, which makes sense. 

Another working student and I took her horse and Galaxy on  a trail ride on Saturday, in the rain. We were feeling adventurous and decided to go see what kind of trails were around the farm. Turns out there's quite a bit of land to explore so I'm excited about that. I will probably start taking them out on the weekends instead of working them, or at least after working them. I think giving the horses a day off or riding them out in the woods is just as (or even more) beneficial as working them.
All in all I would say the boys are happy and healthy. Other then Stryker having to be turned out in the monster paddock every morning (seriously, it's scary... It's next to the highway but not where you can see it so you just hear the traffic, and to top it off the dumpster is right next to it so the garbage truck comes to attack him once a week... Poor guy) other then that though they are happy horses :)
Today, I had an unexpected day off so I went to the beach!!! The beach is only 35 minutes or so from me and I hadn't gone yet before today, so I decided to treat myself to a laid back beach day. I sat out and read my book and listened to music for about three hours right on the shore. I got some much needed vitamin D. Tomorrow I get back to real life and then in two weeks I get to have my mom for a whole day!!! Not to mention I get to take a hotel shower. I never thought this would be the case, but I miss my bathroom from home SO much! The water here smells funny and the shower is all small and it's just not home... Or a fancy hotel. So I'm going to drive to Orlando after work and greet my mom all smelly and covered in hay and then plan to take the longest, hottest shower! Ooh, I hope the shower head has those different settings so you get a little back massage.... Can you tell I'm excited? Sorry about that weird tangent into my home life. Anyway, Netflix is calling me so I must go find a chick flick and get into bed.

A Quick Update

     I am thrilled to say that I've been able to ride both of my horses every day. We have a group working student lesson, which I typically ride Stryker for (except for last week which I'll explain) and then for an hour or so after that I have had time to ride Galaxy as well. 

     So here's an update on Stryker since his last lesson with his kicking and bucking. I wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt and have him checked out by an Equine Therapist before insisting that he behave in case he was in any pain. Turns out his hips were about an inch out of line, if I remember correctly his right hip was an inch behind his left. He also had an issue with his stifle that I still don't completely understand, I'll have to get a better grasp on that during my next session. What the Equine Therapist basically did was run her hands over him so she could feel where he needed to be worked on and then put wires on certain spots and sent electricity into his muscles causing them to spasm and contract and so forth. The whole point being that it essentially sets the reset button and we can begin building the muscles in the correct alignment (I think!) this was my first time working with an Equine Therapist. 

     She also checked him for gastric ulcers and guess what? We think he has some. It didn't surprise me whatsoever, he has been so stressed and everything here is completely different from what he's used too so I've put him on medication and he's on the road to recovery.  

I gave him a few days off from work to settle a bit more into his new routine and to let the medicine kick in. I got him out to work on Saturday, I started him out on the lunge line and he was a perfect gentleman, went forward from my aids and stretched over his back. I got on and walked him which was fine, then I started with some turn on the forehand to see if he would be uncomfortable with pressure from my leg, no problems there. I asked him to trot and head up, ears back and a buck. At first I stopped him, but the second time I was prepared and grabbed onto my bucking strap and smacked him one with the whip and off he goes into the rein and forward. After that he tried it once when I asked for each canter lead for the first time. I did the same thing and he responded the same, forward and into the reins. By the end he was giving me beautiful, smooth transitions and staying forward. 

     I gave both boys Sunday off and then on Monday I got to go on a surprise field trip to see some equine acupuncture, so the boys and I had 2 days off. 

Today I got Stryker out and he gave me the same attitude until I changed his mind, and we ended with some good transition work. I think he has been testing me, like he did when I first bought him and I just need to ride through it and not make a big deal of it, just handle it and get back to the point. 

     Galaxy has been working so well. He never ceases to amaze me with his willingness to work and his consistent improvement all the time. He is such a great horse. I have really been loving the way I have been told to warm him up, forward rising trot until he is stretching and tracking up. I keep the reins relatively long and am always asking for stretch on circles, and serpentines and in transitions. He gets so loose and free in his body. After his warm up I have been dropping my stirrups and working a lot in the sitting trot doing lateral work. A new exercise I've learned (and love) is to go down the long side at the trot in a leg yield head to the wall and work on improving the impulsion by interrupting the leg yield with a forward canter circle. The canter circle makes the horse pick up his shoulders and revives the impulsion in the trot. After the canter circle I make a smooth transition back to the trot and back into the leg yield. I do the same thing with all of my trot work, once he starts to feel flat and heavy I canter him for a moment and then come back down to the trot and continue what I was doing. This has helped both his trot and canter a lot and I'm really loving it. I can tell this will really help his strength in the trot which he desperately needs. 

     I think that's all I have to report for now, things are going super, and I have a good feel for everything in the barn. I know the grain chart pretty well and finally have grasped the turnout schedule. This is the beginning of week 5, so I am 5 weeks from being halfway to the end of May. It's already bittersweet thinking about leaving!!! The time is flying by and the training I'm getting is so priceless, I am very grateful for this opportunity and proud that I decided to take it! 

Old Habits Die Hard

     Well, it's been 3 weeks, it's about time Stryker threw a fit. He was... very challenging today. His old habit of fighting my forward aids reared its ugly head today. My warmup trot went fine, it was when I asked him to canter that he planted his front feet and kicked both legs out behind him. I took him forward and asked for the canter again and he did the same thing, only multiple times. Mrs. P had me get off and put him on the lunge because we thought (because this kind of behavior is really out of the ordinary for him) that he was in pain. However, he trotted and cantered beautifully on the lunge. Ugh, I was so angry when he stretched out and went forward on the lunge line, I knew that meant I was going to have to get on and he was going to do the same thing and I was going to have to work through it. There were two times I lost my balance and thought I was coming off, but I didn't. When I got back on after lunging, he immediately did the same thing, planted his front feet and kicked out behind. After this happened a few times I shut down, got intimidated and just didn't want to challenge him (which of course is the complete opposite of what you should do). Mrs. P came out into the arena and put him on a lunge line with me on him. Stryker, being a smart horse, trotted nicely, challenging a few times only to be chased out by Mrs. P.
     Being on the lunge line gave us an opportunity to work on my seat and position a bit. I was being corrected on my legs rolling back and forth and my hands wanting to float up, as well as me wanting to curl my right wrist and flatten my hand. I've been working on keeping my legs up against the knee rolls and my calves draped around the horse and quiet. When I can get my legs put into that position, its painful but I sit SO much better! Anyway,  the one time he really objected on the lunge line was when we asked for the left canter. He sort of tossed out a rolling buck and ran forward.
      I finally ended up being able to trot in both directions without the lunge line and with him accepting my forward aids. I still want to get him looked at by the chiropractor. I'm sure he needs an adjustment, after the trailer ride and him being ridden more then at home. I also think that some of his challenging is due to my seat. In the trot-canter transitions I think that I put my outside leg too far back, and I either fall forward or backwards and then I lift my hands and in exchange he drops his back and inverts.
     Either way I am facing this again tomorrow and no doubt he will challenge the same way he did today. Wish me luck!

Week 3(ish)

     Here comes week three! I feel like last week was a hump-day week, I felt like I had been here for months and it had only been 10 days. However, now that the third week has started I am feeling much more comfortable in the work and time is starting to speed up. Homesickness is really no joke though... The good news is that the days are going by quickly and I lose track of time because there's always something I need to be doing.

     My horses arrived last Tuesday and are starting to settle in. I have been able to get them into turnout at 12pm until about 5:30 or 6:00pm. The farrier came on Sunday and they have freshly filed feet, and are looking very dapper for the other horses. Galaxy is more comfortable being alone in the stall when I take Stryker away, he isn't screaming every 5 minutes for him. Today following my lesson on Stryker we put him next to a different horse on the other side of the barn and I was able to (finally!) get Galaxy out to ride without any distress.

                     

     Stryker has been really good during all my rides so far. Today, he started to feel like he usually does on the 3rd or 4th day of work, lazy and cranky. He wanted to start out behind the leg, but Mrs. P had me take him forward in the trot (keeping my hands low and together) around the arena for about 5 minutes and he got much more willing and energetic. We've been working a lot on transitions because Stryker has the tendency to come above the bit and invert in pretty much any transition. I have been taking him sideways and (to the right) allowing him to bend right and really yield to my right leg while making the transition. Going to the left I almost need to counter-flex him because he wants to  over-flex to the left and pop his right shoulder out. The transitions get better and better using this technique. Mrs. P finally pointed out my floppy legs... She reminded me throughout my lesson to keep my legs long, knees bent and calves draped around the horse, I have always had a problem keeping my calves draped around the horse, especially in the sitting trot where I have the most trouble with my seat. However, as we did transitions and Stryker got more through and round, the sitting trot became easier and I was able to concentrate on improving my seat.
     Galaxy got a mini-workout today, being it is his first time being ridden in about 3 weeks I didn't want to overdo anything. Mrs. P got a little look at him and thinks he might be good to do a lunge lesson on. I really hope we do a lunge lesson because I always need improvement with my seat and being relaxed throughout my body while keeping all of my body parts independent of each other.

     In other news, I had been riding an upper level horse while my boys were getting settled in. Last Monday I worked on tempi changes. I have only ever done 3 and 4 tempis and that was only once. Seems to me, much to my surprise, that one tempi's are actually easier in some ways then 2 tempi's. When I would try the 2-tempi's I was having trouble getting the timing right and the horse would get into his own rhythm and would get stuck in the 1-tempi's. Mrs. Poulin talked me through it and by the end I could get about two 3-tempi's at the beginning of the diagonal and then two or three 2-tempi's by the end of the diagonal.

      I also got to try canter pirouettes for the first time! It was fun :) I was having trouble keeping the horse light and able to pick himself up in order to move around in the pirouette. Mrs. Poulin explained to me that the rhythm in a pirouette should be ONE, two, three. The emphasis should be on the first beat, when the horse is picking his shoulders up. Instead, today I started out not keeping his forehand light and the rhythm was more like one, two, THREE, with the emphasis on the final beat, causing the horse to fall even more onto his forehand. Thinking about the rhythm immediately helped me to improve my riding and keep the horse up off his shoulders.

     Anyway, now that I am riding my own horses and have a little piece of home with me in them, I am much happier and am not feeling so homesick. Although, I'm never going to feel perfectly at home without my Chewie.

       

Things I Don't Understand About Horse Care, Explained

Ok, so I haven't had much experience at "big barns," and by "big barns" I mean somewhere like where I am now. Somewhere with multiple trainers, a staff, and over 15 horses or so. I started out at a good sized barn, but I was quite young and not involved much in the care or management of the barn. Then I moved to Rockhaven Farm, which I think is the perfect size. The horses are low maintenance and since there aren't usually more then 16 horses, there is room in the pastures to distribute them comfortably. Work generally takes me about 2-4 hours at home and most horses eat the same grain and hay. Also at home the turnout is simple and horses are out either all day, or all night, making it so that whoever is working only has to worry about 1 cycle of turnout.
Now, the whole point of this post is to list the things that I don't understand about how some barns function and hopefully find a reason and decide for myself whether or not I would practice these methods in my own hypothetical "big barn."

The List

1. What is the purpose of wet hay?

2. What is the purpose of feeding Bran?

3. Why feed horses more then twice a day?

4. Why provide limited turnout for horses?

5. Why wrap horses legs overnight?

Wet Hay

I found a lot of information on wet hay, most interesting of which is that it can spontaneously burst into flames! No, but really, wet hay is something that, at first, I thought was silly. But after reading into it I do see its benefits, especially in older horses and horses with allergies. 

Wet hay is more similar in some ways to fresh cut grass. Grass is 80% water, while hay is dried up, making it harder to chew, harder to digest, and more susceptible to containing mold and dust. Horses who don't drink enough water also benefit from wet hay, being that they take in so much water by eating it and for some reason can't get enough of dirty, smelly, hay water. So, in the end I find wet hay a perfectly acceptable practice for the horses who need it, as long as you don't let it sit around and catch itself on fire.

Bran

Before coming to Florida I'd never dealt with Bran at all. It seems like most feed it on alternating nights or when horses have not been drinking enough water. From what I have read, most suggest using Bran for mineral imbalances. It is suggested to only feed a Bran mash occasionally, because feeding it too often can strip the horse of certain nutrients such as Calcium. On this website it gives a few myths about Bran that I found interesting. I do like Bran as a supplemental water intake meal, and so does Galaxy. When my horses don't drink as much water as I'd like them to during the day I have been feeding them a small scoop of Bran with a large scoop of water. It makes me feel better about their water intake and Galaxy is so happy when he gets a random snack! :)

 http://www.horsechannel.com/horse-health/feeding-bran-3151.aspx

Frequent Feeding

I have always been at barns where horses were fed twice a day, once in the morning and once in the evening. This always proved to be more then enough, however I do see advantages in feeding 3 or maybe even 4 small meals a day. On one hand, horses are natural grazers. Their digestive system is set up to digest a little bit all throughout the day. Now, in the wild, horses are constantly eating. But, our horses at home, can't generally be sustained on just a pasture diet. The way I see it, the most efficient way to feed a horse would be, individually in a stall for their personal rations such as grain and supplements and then in a small group setting for their grass and hay rations. This way, the horse can be in a natural, group setting and won't develop bad habits out of restlessness and boredom (such as gnawing on the walls and pawing at doors). I do like the schedule here of frequent feeding. My horses are pleasantly surprised when I bring them their lunch and occasionally a late night, and I know it's ideal for their digestive systems to be eating multiple times a day. 

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=3&ved=0CEAQFjAC&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.uky.edu%2FAg%2FAnimalSciences%2Fpubs%2Fasc143.pdf&ei=WwjSUu_IIaessQSWh4HwDA&usg=AFQjCNHu31rm1VvXFds_45HGM7oHJzIrUw&sig2=vijzILppR1zkoMoj8kOSiA&bvm=bv.59026428,d.cWc

Wrapping Legs Overnight

From what I have read, wrapping a horses legs overnight is a good way to keep a horses legs from swelling and becoming stocked up. I would say that at a horse show when my horses will be standing most likely on concrete for a few nights in a row, then wrapping is a good way to relieve the puffiness. Something else you can do for your horse is hydrotherapy, which is rinsing each leg for about 5-10 minutes in cool water. At a competition I can see these being helpful tools, however, at home I would hope that my horse would be mobile enough that he would not require that kind of special attention frequently. 

 https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=6177286277700313537#editor/target=post;postID=5308138408324631456

I find that a small barn with the number of horses limited is ideal. That way there will be room for turnout on pasture or dry lot and the work load wouldn't be exhausting for only a few workers. I am learning a lot about (I don't want to say high maintenance but more persistent and detailed) horse care. Every barn is unique and I'm glad I am experiencing how to care for high caliber horses (especially high caliber client horses) because that's one of the areas I am lacking a lot of knowledge. 

Until next time!

Caitlin

Week 1

Okay, I thought I'd have a post up by my first day of work. I was wrong...

I started work on Monday and since about Monday evening my entire body has ached in places that haven't ever ached. My day starts at 6:30 am, with feeding, water and stalls. So far we've gotten only about 30 minutes to an hour for lunch as I think they are short staffed in the barn. My horses haven't gotten here yet, so I have been fortunate enough to ride some of the Poulin's horses. I have ridden an older upper level horse. He is one stiff old man, but I got to ride some piaffe, half pass, flying changes and collected canter, so I'm not complaining.
I am SO ready for my boys to get here! I love the experience on other horses but I miss them so much! I'm so happy that they can both come.
Anyway, below are some photos of my weekend with my Grandmother and Step-Grandfather, they are only an hour from De Leon Springs, so we decided to come up two days early and spend some much needed time with them. I'm really glad I'll have some family nearby while I'm here, hopefully it will help cure some of this chronic homesickness I've been experiencing.

I promise, my posts will get more exciting once I have my boys here and I am riding more and have more to talk about other then the feeding schedule for a barn full of horses!

Until then,

Caitlin

Angelo, Mom, Grandma and I