Another fabulous photo by High Time Photography, Winston-Salem, NC (http://www.hightimephotos.com/Site-Customization/Home-Page/15032012_qCG7Y) Might as well use their quality work over my amateur photography skills 🙂

Sigh, so it was my first day back at the barn after vacation and the rain from yesterday decides to stick around.  Really?  It wasn’t a downpour, but if you were out in it long enough, you were going to get wet.  Mr. Wussy was already back in his stall because of the rain.  I really think he was happy to see me.  If I would turn my back on him to talk to Mr. D, Ike would try to nudge me or paw the ground or nuzzle me with his horse lips – “Mom, pay attention to me!!”  Since it was raining, I spent some time playing beauty school with Ike’s mane and tail.  While the upcoming show is just a schooling show, my pride will not allow us to show up with a wild man mane and a tangled tail.  Heck, I might as well admit that I will probably braid his mane for the schooling show…my anal retentive tendencies just won’t be squelched.

After beauty school, the rain let up enough that I decided to tack up and try to ride.  I always feel a bit awkward after a week out of the saddle.  But, just like riding a bike, you get back into the rhythm quickly.  Ike did try to test me as we were doing some simple walk-halt transitions.  He’s four, so why not see what you can get away with.  Will she correct me?  Or will this be the day I am triumphant?  Well, this was not Ike’s day.  No time for games – we have only 7 days to prepare for our two Training Level tests, one of which I’m still trying to remember.  After Ike gave up on the games, we had some solid work.  Tried to get a decent bend on our trot circles – I have a tendency to overbend Ike’s neck – don’t realize I’m doing it until Ms. C points it out or I see a photo of us on the circle.  Canter transitions, balance, and rhythm were Training Level quality.  Now the next step is obtaining it at a show.  After only 30 minutes the rain returned and I figured out why jockeys wear multiple pairs of goggles.  My glasses were so wet that it was difficult to see; I needed rain goggles with wipers if I wanted to continue.  Oh well, 30 minutes is always better than no minutes in the saddle.

Photo taken by High Time Photography, Winston-Salem, NC

So it is back to reality today after a week at the beach with the family.  Going away is a blast, but I sometimes think that I need a vacation after my vacation to get things settled and back to the normal routine.  Today was the drive home, unpacking the truck, then unpacking the bags, laundry, sorting mail, tidying the house from all the vacation detritus, and, I have to admit, a cat nap in the afternoon.  It rained most of the way home, but better that it rain while driving than while you are sitting by the pool sipping a cocktail.

It is also nice to know that when I am out of town that Ike and Cigar are in the best of hands.  Ms. C and Mr. D take care of them like they are part of their family.  I’m almost certain that Cigar did not care that I was gone for a week.  He had his regular food rations and turnout, so it is okay that I’m not there.  Much like my puppy who boards at his daycare facility, Cigar’s motto is “I miss you sometimes.”

Ike on the other hand is still young and likes the daily attention from “Mom.”  Ms. C said that she is certain that he missed me.  This is the longest that he has not seen me since he joined the family.  Ms. C rode him twice for me while I was gone.  She had not been on him in over a month, so it is a good check on our progress for her to hop aboard and feel how Ike is moving.  Luckily, she is pleased with Ike’s progress and where he is at this point in his training.  For me, that is such a relief.  I am a novice with training green horses and my biggest fear is that I will cause problems that will come back to haunt me in the future.  So far, so good.

I’ll be back in the saddle tomorrow – our next schooling show is July 29th.  Guess I’d better start to memorize that Training Level Test 2.

So everyone likes down time right?  Ike is enjoying some time off this week while I am out of town.  Ms. C sent me this photo of Ike from yesterday.  It is nice to know that things are status quo even when I’m not there.  The photo was taken in the middle of the day when the boy decided that he couldn’t stand the heat and bugs anymore.

Right before I left, Ike and a horsefly rumbled.  I would say that the horsefly won.  It left a huge welt on Ike’s right wither and he tried to buck and run to get it off of him.  I think horseflies have superglue that oozes from their legs.  They stick to the horse through all Ike’s calisthenics and running.  Ike has started a petititon to have his paddock screened and a roof put up to protect him from the bugs and elements.  Anyone who would like to contribute can contact Ike directly.  I think he has a feed bag set aside for all his contributions.

Ms. C is going to give Ike a workout or two this week but some time off hopefully won’t have any ill effect on our progress – I know I’m always happier after a vacation.

Still hoping for at least 60% for our tests at the next show.  Keeping all fingers, toes, and hooves crossed.

The wretched heat wave is over at least for the time being.  The car thermometer registered 82 degrees as I arrived at the barn on Monday – 20 degrees less than Sunday.  It was also cloudy for most of the day as well.  Amazing what 24 hours can do for the weather around here.   You would think that the horses would rejoice and want to spend all day outdoors.  Sure there was still humidity, but the cooler temperature appeared to keep the bugs at bay…or was it the new sweatproof fly spray?  Anyway, most of the other horses were quite content and then there was Ike.  Weenie still only made it outdoors for a couple of hours on Monday and then acted the fool until Ms. C came to rescue him.  My big, handsome man is a homebody.

Today was a gorgeous day for my dressage lesson. We are continuing to school the Training Level canter transitions.  Thankfully, the horse and rider are better all the way around and the correct lead happens 9.5 times out of 10.  We still occasionally get disunited, so we get partial credit.  The down transitions are also improving.  Six months ago, Ike’s legs would flail about and I’d have the reins too loose to be of any help to him.  Now, I am more help and it is much less “herky-jerky.”  Really hoping that we can see some better scores for the canter movements.  Just clearing the 60% margin would be thrilling.  Ms. C tells me that my reins are still too long in my canter-to-trot transitions…aarrrgghhh.  Can I blame sweaty reins?  Yeah, I know, I need to do better.  Here here is another photo of Ike’s right lead canter:

We also spent time working on getting Ike to come up into the bridle.  Lots of half halts to get him to lift up and out of those withers and really push from behind.  When he does – wow – that is that feeling of connection that you read so much about but can be so very elusive.  Ike doesn’t have the strength to maintain it for long, but we know it is in there.  Here is our attempt:

We have a long way to go, but I can’t wait to see where this ride takes us!

Hi everyone!  It’s Ike again.  I’ve taken over the blog for the day.  It is hard to believe that I’ve been in Virginia for almost a year now.  Mom says that our one year anniversary will be on August 10th.  I’m not sure how we will celebrate, but I have told her that I would like an air conditioner for my stall as an anniversary gift.  It was hot in Florida before I moved here, but this Virginia heat is brutal.  How can anyone be expected to do anything outside when the temperature is over 100 degrees day after day?

I have learned to recognize the sound of Mom’s car.  It makes me very happy when she comes to see me.  She waved when she got out of the car.  I made sure that she knew I wanted her attention as soon as she arrived at the barn.  I ran to the gate to wait for her.  Do you know that she had the nerve to stop and visit with my brother BEFORE she came to get me?  I started pacing and running faster and faster – that made her get a move on and rescue me from the sun.

I was grateful that Mom hosed me down before we went into the barn.  The cold well water feels really nice.  I was hoping that we’d just visit today, but when I saw the grooming stuff come out, I knew that she was going to put me to work.  Shucks, I really just wanted to eat that nice timothy hay in the corner of my stall.  Luckily Mom was kind and only made me work for 20 minutes.  I think she is a bit of a wimp in this heat.  She kept complaining about the sweat in her eyes and on her glasses.  I was a trooper and didn’t even put up a fuss today.  I knew that the more cooperative I was, the sooner we’d be done.  I nailed my canter transitions today and worked hard to keep my balance on the circles and in the down transitions.  Mom is doing a better job with her aids and helping me stay balanced.  They tell me that my topline is getting more developed and that will help my work.  Since I don’t know what a topline is, I will guess that it is a good thing.

Mom took my saddle off right outside the barn and hosed me down right after we finished.  I really just wanted to get back into the barn so I was a bit fidgety.  I guess I was standing too close to that mean chestnut mare because she squealed really loudly and pinned her ears at me.  Mom yelled at her to be nice, but she just gave Mom a mean look.  Man, she is a moody girl.  I still don’t understand why she doesn’t like me.

Mom took this photo right after she rode…That was some serious heat and it was only 11:00 in the morning.  Glad that she left me in my stall with the fan running.  Now I can enjoy that hay that’s calling my name.  Stay cool everyone!

Conditions at 6:30 this morning:  75 degrees, 94% humidity, dew point 73, no wind.  I was fully expecting sauna like conditions for my lesson today.  By 9:00, it was already in the mid-80’s, but a slight breeze showed up which made the air somewhat “breathable.”  My dear friend Ms. CS came along with me today so that she could meet the big boy in person.  Ike was immediately smitten with her…the Peppermint Plops probably sealed that friendship.

Ike was heavy in my hands this morning and was a bit flat to start.  Maybe the heat and humidity were getting to him as well.  My arms are sore this afternoon from all the half halts I did to try and pick him up.  Ms. C ended up having me bring him back to the walk and had me think of piaffe to try and generate some energy and join the front and hind ends.  (I always need to remind myself that I needs me in that middle section to help connect the front and back over his back.)  It was amazing to see how well that exercise worked.  He came up out of his withers, into his bridle, and the trot transition was seamless.  I could actually sit that rudimentary attempt at a collected trot; I’d then start my rising trot and have much better connection and throughness.  We’d never be able to progress without Ms. C’s watchful eye and insights.

Canter was okay today.  We tried centerline, short diagonal, to canter transition at the rail.  The rider had Ike’s weight in the wrong place for the right lead transition, but bless his heart, he shuffled for a stride or two, and still picked up the correct lead.  Sometimes he is smarter than his rider…we are starting to introduce shoulder fore at the canter.  Ike is ready for it.  he can maintain it for a few strides – it is a start.  Left lead was spot on today.

Had to take numerous water breaks today.  Ike had a hose break and let Ms. C spray the water into his mouth.  He then tried to eat the end of the hose.  That’s my four year old.

Ugh and double ugh.  This mid-Atlantic heat wave continues and the thermometer hit 99 degrees even before you factored in the humidity.  Since the earliest I could get to the barn today was lunchtime, Ms. C and I opted to wait until tomorrow to have my lesson rather than have Ike and I turn into puddles of salty water…and then I look at the forecast for tomorrow.  Excessive heat warning.  Code Red Air Quality.  Very little breeze.  105 degrees.  What the??  Are they serious?  It will be a challenging lesson tomorrow even in the morning.

Ike, Cigar, and the other horses were all having their mid-day barn break when I arrived today.  Lots of bucket banging, whinnying, and nickers when I arrived.  I guess I was a welcome distraction.  Ha!  Who am I kidding?  Sadly, the truth is that the horses probably think  I’m a giant, walking Kong that they can nudge and have treats fall out.  Even more sad, I am always happy to oblige and provide a special treat for each of the horses along with a pat on the neck.  Perhaps I can be a Kong for Halloween this year.

Ike had obviously been in the barn longer than the other horses.  His coat was dry, and he looked like a salt-crusted beef tenderloin.  Everyone else was still damp from the recent cold hosing.  Such a Weenie boy.  Too Hot!  Too many bugs!  I love the sanctuary of my stall!  Most horses hate being in the barn alone.  Aren’t they supposed to be herd animals and seek out the company of other horses?  Ike is an enigma, but what can I say, I love my neurotic boy.  One could say that all my animals belong on the Island of Misfit Pets, but that is okay with me.

Happy Fourth of July!  Hope everyone has a great holiday.  Please be careful if you have the heat and humidity that we have here in Virginia.  It doesn’t take much to become overheated in this weather.  Ike and I celebrated with an early morning ride to avoid the mid-day sun.  I opted not to ride yesterday and gave Ike and Cigar cold sponge baths to remove the crusty salt layer from their coats.  One odd note from the sponge baths…Ike decided to drink the salty water in my bucket.  Silly pony.  He does love his salt block, so maybe he figured he was replacing the lost electrolytes.

There were no residual issues from the temper tantrum the other day.  Ike’s work today was solid.  I started with walk-halt transitions since that is where we had issues on Monday.  Today – perfect, so I tried some turn on the haunches.  Turns to the left are better than those to the right.  It is still a new concept for Ike, but he is trying to comprehend what I want.  Trot work was also good today.  We are getting better with our connection (read – the rider is getting better at maintaining the connection and throughness.)  I can tell when we are not completely connected – Ike’s head waggles from side to side.  It stops as soon as I reconnect.  He makes me ride rather than cruise.  I’m still focusing on our rhythm on our circles and not losing the forward as we ride the arc of the circle.  Ike has definitely improved his balance and the hind end drifts less frequently on the arc.

Our canter work today was brief, but why overschool when the work offered is solid.  Ike nailed all the transitions and our circles actually resembled circles rather than eggs.  Progress!  I do like that the canter transitions in Training Level Test 2 are in the corners rather than on a circle.  We are less likely to lose the hind end and pick up the wrong lead or be disunited.  I can use the corner to help set up Ike for success.  Now I just need to learn and memorize the rest of the test.  I’ve got 25 days – piece of cake.

p.s. Please remember to keep your animals safe tonight when the fireworks start.  They don’t realize that it is a celebration.