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

Cold Weather, Clipping and Riding!

     Stryker has been bundled up to his nose, he is now the hairless pumpkin. It may be a typically indecisive Kansas winter here in the midwest, but it looks like its been sunny, warm and humid in Florida so I clipped last week. I decided to wait on clipping his legs and face because last week it was a whopping 16 degrees out (not including wind chill). This week is much better for him, in the 60's and sunny. When I first finished clipping I stood back and could have slapped myself I thought he looked so horrible. After taking off his blanket on Saturday, however, the clipper tracks all seem to have smoothed out and it turns out that I did a damn good job!

Before: At his fluffiest

After

     I still haven't heard about whether or not Galaxy is coming with me to Florida. It depends on two things, can my parents afford to ship two horses to Florida and back, and can the Poulin's spare another stall for him.

     As far as riding has gone, OMG breakthroughs! It's like we've hit the reset button on my boys. The way I'm approaching picking up the reins and putting contact on the bit is completely different. With Stryker I have a horrible habit of falling into his traps and succumbing to fighting with him. He gets me forgetting about his hind end and then 10 minutes later I'm staring at his head with a backward hand and tight shoulders. What I've been doing recently (with Stryker) is picking the reins up so that there is no contact, but the reins aren't completely loose. From there on out, it is the horses responsibility to seek out the contact on the rein. I only make sure that the hind end keeps moving and that the front end isn't out running it. Now don't get me wrong, this is some tedious work. I have been working on this for the past three weeks, and I am still spending about 10-15 minutes at the beginning of my ride simply reestablishing my point. What do they say, it takes 6 weeks of consistent work to make it a habit for a horse? I don't know, maybe I'm making that up. However, it's yielding great results, Stryker is giving me this cadence in the trot unlike anything I've ever ridden, and his self carriage looks and feels effortless.
     With Galaxy I have a slightly different approach, I have to keep him on a much shorter rein and do need to take the contact sometimes (primarily on the outside rein) and he is much more apprehensive about really lifting his shoulders and working his hind end, but he is responding and he will get stronger so that it's easier. Galaxy is older and him and I have a much stronger history, which is beneficial most days. However, we also have much older habits and trust me when I say, this horse would rather walk around with his neck inverted and back dropped like some kind of llama then use his hind end. He doesn't give in as easily as Stryker and that's because of our history, we have learned to work with each other in a way where we have compromised things and have negotiated what I will let him get away with and what he will let me get away with. Now, he is a wonderful horse, often described as a "worker bee," but he is also smaller and not built as well as these Warmbloods you see born climbing an imaginary ladder, so dressage is hard for him. With this new approach though, he is accepting this new level of harder work since I am giving him more freedom in the front but also applying more pressure on his hind end.
     It's amazing how quickly horses will respond when they understand the question, and when it is a fair request. I think that may be the most important thing to think about when riding a horse. You must know what you want from the horse, otherwise there is no hope for the horse to understand what you want. There will be no progress made and in most cases I feel that I fall backwards in my progression when I don't have a clear and focused idea of what I want to be doing and achieving in a ride. One of the most important things I've learned while riding Dressage is that if you are having a bad day and you feel rushed and flustered and you're frustrated and anxious before even getting on your horse, then don't. Either go on a trail ride or just bring your horses into the barn and groom them and give them some treats then put them back out, quality over quantity. I find it very important to always  remind myself that I am the thinking part of the relationship, so it's up to me to make decisions based on the health and happiness of both me and the horse.
That's all for now.

xoxo,
Caitlin

November

Happy belated Thanksgiving!
     I was fortunate enough to spend my Holiday in lovely Denver, Colorado. My beautiful sister Erica moved to Denver for graduate school in the summer of 2011. My family is a mountain people! We visit Estes Park (practically my second home) every summer and spend 10 days hiking, shopping, eating, laughing and sitting by the Big Thompson River.
     This Thanksgiving was so wonderfully laid back, we watched Football all day and let my mom and Karen do the cooking (thanks guys!). The next day, we all drove up to Leadville, Colorado which is about 2 hours from Denver, through Breckenridge. Such a gorgeous city, not to mention its mountains. First time hiking in the snow was a success and so much fun! Whenever I can get a chance to check out of the dullness of an everyday routine I take it. I love myself some quality adventures, especially when it involves my amazing family. Among the usual Denver festivities, we managed to make a trip to Estes Park (for Laura's Fudge of course), Erica took me mountain biking which is unbelievably fun and must become a new hobby. All in all, it was a wonderful holiday and I'm trying not to face the fact that tomorrow I go back to work and class and all of these unfortunate responsibilities.

Mountains at Twin Lakes

Erica, Helo and I taking advantage of some great lighting

     My horses have had quite the break as well! They definitely need to get back to work. Galaxy has probably turned into the chub monster which happens when he isn't ridden for a certain period of time. Hopefully Stryker remembers our last ride which was wonderful! He's developing cadence in the trot and is starting to really carry himself, I find myself grinning throughout my entire ride! This horse is so much fun. I also need to get these boys clipped. I'll put up some before and after pictures just for fun :).

Until next time!
xoxo,
Caitlin