We've Got Wood-Also, Miles Loves Miles

So sorry for the bad pun. I'm a perverted juvenile at heart.

First thing's first-I have an Etsy shop! Well, my husband and I do, since I'm about as creative as a rock. Thankfully, the husband is handy, and has made some beautiful stall signs for myself and some of my barn peeps. I thought why not share with the masses? Check out our store, and if you would like a gorgeous wood plaque for your horse's home (or your own), want to support our struggling household, and keep Miles in all the sugar cubes to which he is accustomed, consider putting in an order. MichiganWood is the name of our store-here's some of the signs we made for Miles and his best mate-I think they turned out splendidly, though we're still working on the wood burning.

End hard sell.

In other news, Miles Loves Miles. Is anyone surprised by this? Two of at least a dozen mirrors went up in the indoor arena this weekend. Miles gawked and snorted and sniffed at Mr. Tall, Dark and Handsome in front of him. He proceeded to check himself out every. single. time he passed his reflection...I don't know if he was flirting with his doppelganger or just puffing up to make himself look even more gorgeous, but he was a world-class show off for sure.

As we would approach the mirrors, his step would get quicker and quicker until his reflection came into view, where he would then immediately slow down and pick up his feet a little higher, with ears and tail at full attention.

Seriously, how can you not laugh at such ridiculousness?

I love my goofball. He's still feeling his spring oats, for sure, but he's brave and bold and forward and feeling great, which I can hardly complain about.

The bitless bridle has been a fascinating experiment. The first day we really rode in it, at all three gaits, Miles was more forward than I've felt him in a loooong time. It was great, for sure; I think the hackamore was/is more nose pressure than he needs, and he may have been a little worried about really pushing forward in it (or it could just be Spring, the jury is still out). Still, his little engine was working overtime, not to mention his out of shape rider. It was kind of fun, though, I'm not going to lie, when he would break into a canter on a circle because he was chugging along so well. Probably not a great thing to let him do all the time, but when he's that forward I want to encourage it, even if it's a fluke. The downside to the ride? He was very stiff, and we struggled a bit in our corners and I ended up doing a whole lot of circles and leg-yielding to get the little Engine That Could listening to my aids.

The second ride with the bitless was the day the mirrors were installed, so that was fun all on it's own:) Still, after a bit of lunging, I felt confident enough to mount up. He was spectacular. His motor was considerably diminished, probably due to the fact that he wanted to check himself out for as long as possible, but he was listening to my aids so much better.

I've found he's a bit heavy in my hands for the very first time in the bitless as well-I literally haven't had a horse lean on my hands since my first mare Chamie. Well, he's not really leaning on me (at least not a lot), but there's definitely some weight that has never been there before. Interesting.

The Clinic is coming up on the 26th. I'm both super geeked to get some actual instruction for the very first time since I adopted Miles, and terrified that she will order me off my horse before I screw him up for good. Hey, my anxiety these days is rarely rational.

Were you hoping for pictures of Miles checking himself out? Yes, me too. Oh well...I have a feeling he will not be tired of himself the next time we venture to the indoor, no worries there.

Spring is coming...Miles is going to be nekkid for the first time in a loooong time this week as temps are supposed to be in the 50's and up. Whew, it couldn't have come a moment to soon. What a Winter. I hope you all have similar warm days with your ponies to look forward to!

Brief Update-Trust And Other Things

Tonight I found out a couple things:

1) Miles hearts Dr. Cook's Bitless Bridle. Rode with it briefly today, and we both love it. More details and pics to come.

2) Miles also hearts mares, and spring, and occasionally acting like the stereotypical OTTB. He was a feisty thing tonight! Our adventure started with 2 lovely mares in the barn, who had his full attention, wink wink nudge nudge.

I then took him to the arena, where the ice continues to sliiiiide off the roof intermittently and CRASH to the ground. I lunged Mr. Fresh and Horny in scary corners and over little verticals, where he continues to improve his skills at the trot and canter (argh, pictures, video, I know!).

I'm kinda proud of myself at how I handled Mr. Happy Go Lucky tonight. I don't know if it was his previous handling (I think, and I hope so), or if it was me, but every time he spooked or got a little fresh on the lunge, he proceeded to throw his head up reflexively, as if expecting a good yank. I've noticed this behavior on the lead line as well at times. Tonight, the lunge was soft between us, and I felt him start to relax more and more as he realized he was allowed to freak out, within reason, as long as he respected me and stayed on the circle. He did so well, on both counts.

I haven't lunged him in anything but his halter with a sheepskin noseband for months now, and I've NEVER disciplined him for spooking (which honestly, I can count on one hand the number of times he's spooked on the lunge). Still, in the beginning, I did lunge him in a rope halter, which is a bit more severe. He's so, so, SO much better at lunging now that there is rarely a time when the line is taught between us, but it wasn't always so. Regardless of the reason for his head tossing, we really worked together tonight, and he saw that I wasn't going to punish him for silliness. By the time I got on him (really, just to walk and cool him out at that point) he was a bit tired, yes, but his eye was soft and I just *felt* something passing between the two of us.

It was nice:) So nice I totally forgot about the camera in my pocket I brought along in order to update the blog with some long overdue pictures GrumbleGrumbleGrumble.

Ah, well, you can't have everything I guess. Still, I'll take what we had tonight every single time.

My Sweet Free Lunging Phenom

Miles demonstrates his flawless free lunge "Whoa".

What a good boy I have.

I went out to the barn today, just wanting to fart around and maybe have some fun in the snow. I know I'm a big baby (access to an indoor arena will do that to you), but I haven't really ridden in the snow in years. Still, it's so inviting, all sparkly and white and undisturbed.

No, I didn't ride today (again, baby). I did, however, lunge the Best Thoroughbred In The World (trademarked) in the indoor over ground poles. He was so awesome I took his cute butt outside to the pristine, snow-covered outdoor ring and let him loose.

I really thought he would just walk around so I could make sure he was on solid footing (it felt good to me but I'm not a barefoot horse), maybe roll and we'd be done with it.

He was fantastic, as you can probably guess by now. He walked, trotted, even threw in a few canter strides, all while keeping a nice circle around me. I even got him to halt on the circle. Who taught him this?? No me! Such a good boy. Next time, I'm riding him out there. And you all will hopefully tell me how brave we are and not roll your eyes in boredom. At least where I can see you.

Oh, forgot to mention-I did get a snippet on video:) MAD SKILLS, I tell you. The horse, not me-I can't believe he did all this with no lunge line and no whip.

Miles, for his part, doesn't know what the big deal is. He's always known what a good boy he is. I think I annoyed him with all the fuss I was making.

Phhhhffffffttttt.

An Even Wee-er Update

...Just to say that Miles cantered his first jumps today-both directions, on the lunge, a tiny vertical and a cross rail, in fine fashion I might add. I just love this horse.

Maybe our last "crash boom bah" session was actually a good thing, because he never touched the rails this time, and was careful yet totally confident. The first time I pointed him at the jump while he was cantering, I admit I held my breath, yet he took everything in stride with his ears up-a very happy boy. That first jump was maybe 12"-pretty sure he cleared it by at least 2 feet:) Yay for lunging first!

Ever wanting to conserve his preshus energy, however, the next 3 canter jumps (I alternated trot/canter to avoid any silliness) were gorgeous and cleared by totally reasonable heights.

How did I get so lucky? What a good boy. I rode as well, and he was equally wonderful. I'm going to stay at a trot under saddle for a little while while he figures out the obstacles in front of him and focus on straightness and rhythm (we're also still working on that frigging right lead canter, ha ha). I'm a proud mama tonight-I'll try for pictures/video this weekend:)

A Wee Update

Miles has been moving better than ever after my last post. What a relief...I think he was just having an off day when I posted last, for whatever reason. He does have sizable "racing jewelry" on his ankles, so it's to be expected I suppose. I may start looking at giving him more support via nutritional supplements (SmartPak Senior or TLC, anyone?), at least during the winter months.

I did indeed get a lot of riding/lunging in this past weekend, and lo, it was awesome. Yesterday, after 3 days of riding, we played with more ground poles and tackling our first (very small) vertical on the lunge. Poor boy-the first couple times he gave it a big look and picked up his feet accordingly (keep in mind, the jump was maybe a couple inches higher than the tiny cross rails he was so comfortable with). Then I placed a pole in front of it-Crash Boom Bah! Poles were flying, standards fell over, it was a disaster; OK, in truth I laughed my butt off. He was such a good boy though-he didn't bolt away, spook or anything. He was just very...confused. Unfortunately, he was less than confident on our next go-around after I re-set everything. He hesitated right before the jump, sort of stopping in mid-air, and then LAUNCHING his big butt over the jump.

I praised him big time for going over, but also realized that he probably doesn't need to face something new every session we have, no matter how competent he is at what we're currently doing. It's quite alright to keep doing cross rails for now, and ground poles all by themselves, or ground poles leading up to a teeny tiny cross rail. It's too easy to take advantage of his enthusiastic, game nature, and that's the last thing I want. I don't want him worried ever at this stage if I can help it, and it's way too easy to push for more than he's ready for, particularly on the lunge. Good lesson for me.

In short, Miles is still sorting out what his body needs to do when presented with obstacles in front of him, and I need to respect that and give him time. He's figuring out striding, take off spots, straightness, how high to lift each foot, all that good stuff. Although nothing we've done is over 18", it's still very, very new.

If we do this right, we should be here in no time~

Oh, I kid, I kid. Honestly:)

Whirlwind

That's what the last 2 weeks have been. There has been limited available brain space for blogging pursuits, unfortunately, and I'm behind on reading my favorites. Hey? How is everyone?

I hope everyone had a wonderful Holiday. We took a trip up to Michigan's Upper Peninsula for a few days to visit Kyle's family, and as soon as we came back down-state it was back to work. Fortunately, I have one more day and then I'm off again for 3 glorious days, in which we have no plans and I'm keeping it that way, so help me God. Just me and my husband and our little furry family, with lots and lots of pony time. Bliss.

Was Santa good to you and your ponies? He was very good to Miles and me. One of my favorite gifts was a balance ball chair, with the theory being that I can strengthen my core (abs and back) during some of those 8 hours I spend on my tush at work. I can't wait to try it!

Miles also got himself this Myler bit, which I hope he will like. Plenty of room for that fleshy tongue of his, and it's gotten good reviews from folks with OTTBs and other horses who have bitting issues. I'm not going to try it right away, but I'm super interested to see how he likes it, especially after we've gone for months in a hackamore. Worst case scenario is that he hates it and we sell it-everyone wants Myler bits on Ebay, thank goodness.

Finally, Miles got these:

WhooHooo! I'm quite geeked. OK, it's just one set (2 blocks) but it's a start. Yesterday, for the first time, I lunged him over a cross rail. He was a superstar, and once going forward he had no problem making the effort to actually jump and canter away. I think he surprised himself the first time-he shook his head and practically sashayed away from the jump. Most importantly, he was happy and forward and brave, never wanting to look, stop or swerve. He's just so game. Finally, he even left all the poles up, suddenly turning into Mr. Careful.

I really wanted to ride, but I had so much to do yesterday (including mucking out a very neglected-by me-outdoor shed, blech) and Miles had many days off while we were gone. Still, it beat the hell out of a normal lunge or groundwork session, that's for sure. I can't wait to pop over a few obstacles in the saddle this weekend, hopefully *crosses fingers*.

I'm very horrible in my No-Horsey-Holiday-Picture-Taking-Let-Alone-Posting; another thing I hope to remedy this weekend as we look forward to 2011. 2010 kinda sucked the big one, in a myriad of ways I don't mind saying. Still, it was a real breakthrough year for my Super Steed and me. I think we built a great foundation for our partnership, and I can't wait to see where we go from here.

Walk Like a Spaniard

Yesterday I was farting around in the barn with my horse...it was FREEZING outside, but tolerable inside with all the doors were closed, and I was so not making the trip outside and up the hill to the indoor arena. Instead, I had Miles do some flexies and backed him up. I did some desensitization with the giant plastic Standlee alfalfa cube bags which he is so not a fan of, though he let me do anything I wanted with it yesterday, including laying it on his back while making crinkly noises. On one of our flexies to the left, he lifted his left front leg. Hmmmm......

I grabbed my crop and did some tap tap taps on his knee while saying "foot"...and he lifted his foot.

The right side was less successful:) Still, I hope that means no one has taught him this before...I want to take all the credit when he finally gets that Spanish Walk!

Today? His TB light bulb totally went off, and he picked up each foot when I asked him to. Once he got it, he GOT IT, and each foot came up every time. My brilliant boy. From everything I've read, we need to stay at this stage for awhile, and then instead of rewarding him for just lifting the leg (though I already have him lifting and holding it up, he he), eventually he only gets rewarded when he lifts higher and higher. Then I start asking him to take a step forward with his leg in the air. We both had a blast doing something new, and he gets so cocky and adorable when he gets to do new things and he knows he's doing well.

I used to be obsessed with Spanish horses, really all Iberians, and I still think they're beautiful and amazing animals. I may not have my dream Andalusian, but I don't really care anymore. I have my dream horse. And we can do any damn thing we put our minds to;)

You Betta Think....

Could it be I'm actually learning lessons and retaining information as I work with Miles? I would never call myself a horse trainer in a million years, but I might just be competent enough to train one horse in particular.

*Note to Universe-the previous statements and all statements to follow should in no way imply that I know what I'm doing at all; in fact I still need your good karma on my side. Still very humble, just so we're clear. Thanks a bunch.*

So, today was a really nice fall day-sunny, about 55 degrees, with some wind. Now, this "wind" is nothing at all like we've had this past week, but it certainly was enough to make Miles a bit fresh and me a bit wary. I especially loved it when the air was very quiet and then a 40 mile an hour gust came rushing up out of nowhere, usually when we were in the skeeery side of the outdoor arena. But I digress.

I was determined to ride outside no matter what today, so of course that meant out came the lunge line. There was a little fun show at our barn last Saturday, and naturally to make things more interesting a bunch of poles, jump standards and barrels were stacked in one corner of the skeeery side of the arena. No matter, I figured, we shall lunge past it until he realizes this is no big whoop (his eyes were just glued to that corner as soon as we walked into the arena, which was my tip off he was going to have issues).

I started off lunging him in the "safe" side of the arena, which also has SO much better footing-I have no idea why, but the other side is very deep, like we're going to be having reining competitions down there or something. Anyway, Miles starts off fine, but of course as we move closer and closer to the other end of the arena and the Jumping Equipment of Death, he gets more and more agitated. He starts dropping his inside shoulder as he gets near the equipment and doing his infamous bolt and buck-not every time he passed it, but enough.

Fine, I say. Miles, I shall walk you up to the corner of doom my own self, like you're a wee baby. He snorted a bit, but he sniffed everything and stood placidly after he realized these inanimate objects were not, in fact, going to attack him. Super, I think, let's do a couple small lunge circles in each direction down here and we will be good to go.

Sigh...at this point I think Miles was just enjoying his "drop-shoulder -run-away" hot move when he got to that corner, so that's exactly what he did, again.

Can I just say how happy I am that I have other tools in my arsenal for times like these? I learned the "sending exercise" from Clinton Anderson....basically I point with one hand, indicating Miles to move in a certain direction, and urge him on with my other hand holding the whip. After he has been "sent" past the corner, I say "whoa", yield his hindquarters, and repeat in the other direction.

I know, it sounds simple, right? Maybe I'm just slow, but before I learned this exercise, I would have NEVER thought to do something like this. I might have either continued the fruitless lunging (and Miles is naturally lazy for the most part, so that might have worked eventually), or I might have led him back and forth past the corner myself multiple times. The problem with that is I'm right there with him; I can lead that horse pretty much anywhere and he will follow me. It's when he has to go somewhere on his own that things can get sticky.

Anyway, he immediately relaxed after the first couple "sends". And what do you know, after that I certainly could lunge him past the corner with no shoulder dropping or rushing at all. I don't know exactly what it is about that exercise (maybe the yielding the hindquarters bit?), but it was just what we needed. I also backed him up quite a bit prior to starting the exercise, which I think helps all horses when they're feeling silly.

The best part was this was all done at the walk, and there wasn't a drop of sweat on Miles...his behavior change was not due to fatigue. I also didn't feel irritated or frustrated with him once, even before we started the sending exercise.

What do you know? Brains win! We went on to have a great ride, and a great day. Say what you want about Clinton Anderson or some Natural Horsemanship, but after riding for 20 plus years under many different instructors, I never was taught anything like this to get a horse past something he's scared of. That's not a knock against any of my instructors, just some praise for CA, and the fact that as riders we CAN work things out on our own...as long as we stop and think.

Sweet Miles, teaching me not to be so dumb for over a year now.

Room With A View

Hey! Hello! How is everyone? This is certainly the longest I've gone without posting since I've started Miles on Miles. Kyle and I went to Buffalo for a few days, but really I just haven't had a ton to say lately. Things are good. Old dogs and grandmas are doing amazingly well. So is Miles. Speaking of....

This is the view from one of the windows in the "lounge" area of my barn...it's really just the upper level of the main barn, which is really nicely done with a bathroom, pool table, lots of heads of dead things on the wall (ok, not my favorite part, admittedly). Anyway, I usually throw my boots and chaps on in this room, and then strip them off here after a ride. I don't know why, but one of my favorite things to do is to go over to this window, which overlooks Miles' and Lashore's (and sweet Wayne's, too) pastures, and watch Miles graze before our ride or eat big mouthfuls of hay I throw him after we're done. I took this picture today after our ride. I know it's not much, but it makes me happy. I always, always am in the best mood after our rides. This afternoon was no different.

Today was no picnic either. It was an absolutely gorgeous day, ridiculously warm and sunny. I figured I'd have a lazy Thoroughbred on my hands and almost didn't lunge him, even though our ride last Wednesday was our first ride in almost a week. At the last minute though, I grabbed the lunge line and whip and out to the arena we went.

There is no shade in the outdoor ring. It was hot. I planned on lunging 2 to 3 minutes each way and then getting on. Naturally...well, best laid plans and all that. There was a group of boarders out on a trail ride, which he must have heard before I could because he was giraffe-neck-OTTB for the first 5 minutes of our lunge. I was lunging him in the "comfortable" end of the arena (near the barn and his pasture), but he was fixated on looking at the other end. I figured what's the point of lunging if we're playing in his safe zone and he's still tense (though at this point he wasn't doing anything wrong; he was just rigid and looky-loo), so I walked him to the other end and had him start walking a circle around me. Hoo-Whee, the fireworks that ensued!! The trail riders finally emerged (naturally from the trail head on our side of the arena-the skarreee side!), and he was legs akimbo, trotting, cantering, trying to gallop, bucking, farting, you name it. Of course, lots of blowing and pulling on the lunge...poor boy just wanted OUT of that area, back to his safe space.

Did I forget to mention his pasture-mate LaShore and Judy were also working in the arena? Pshaw, it didn't matter. Those horses and riders might as well have been sent from Mordor (Lord of the Rings reference!!). So, they rode up the trail head, almost got to the arena, then turned around and rode back into the woods. Awesome (not awesome). Poor Miles continued his giraffe neck, wide-eyed trot/canter/trot, with the occasional walk thrown in. Keep in mind the whole time I'm talking to him, cooing at him, telling him he's a good boy, la la la. Then, he would do his ridiculous bolt and buck, and I can't have that. I would send him forward for a couple laps and then ask him to come back to me. FINALLY, the trail riders came back for good, Miles got a good look at them and realized they weren't demons from the underworld, and he dropped his head, took a big breath and relaxed.

I know this sounds like a long time, but it was maybe about 20 minutes of actual lunging. Poor boy, he just worked himself up so much...I know he doesn't actually like being scared and tense. I let him walk walk walk, threw his hackamore on and got up. We rode almost exclusively in the scary side of the arena, and he was just fine. Sweet Miles...I suppose he has to have those brain-less moments every once and awhile. I will say he was a perfect gentleman under saddle, though I mostly walked and did a few trot transitions. He had already worked way harder than I wanted him to in the heat anyway.

I think he may be getting a bit full of himself-2 people at the barn, at different times today, told me how beautiful he's been looking in the pasture, with his cobalt coat shining in the sun. I fully intended to take pictures today of him in his gear, sporting his MSU saddle pad (he he, what a game that was today:), but the lunging took it out of both of us today. You know what was cool though? I was laughing at him-every time he would spook or buck or fart, I couldn't help it! I thought he was hilarious. Now, if this was a regular occurrence, I'm sure I would not have been guffawing quite so much. Still, it's not a reaction I would expect from myself in this kind of situation with my horse. Annoyance? Irritation? Maybe a little fear? Sure, been there. Gotta say, though, a sense of humor with OTTB antics is waaay more fun...for both of us.

Anyway, after we were finished, instead of taking all kinds of fun (for who?) pictures, I stripped his tack off, turned the hose on him, and put him out in the pasture to roll like a fool, which is what he loves and is exactly what he did. Hence, these are the only pictures I got for the day...hey, you can't plan everything.

Rowlee Powlee

And...Shake it off!

Miles' One Year (And Change) Anniversary

I'm a bad, bad horse mother. Actually, I'm just bad, bad with dates-birthdays, anniversaries, you name it (that Kyle's a lucky guy;). So when Miles' one year anniversary of coming to Michigan that marked the beginning of this long, strange, wonderful journey came and went on September 1st, I totally missed the boat.

Sorry Bubs. Here, have a meandering blog post filled with Odes to Miles.

Looking back to one year ago, of course, it wasn't all sunshine and roses. Who knows if I should have even thought about adopting another horse so soon after Ebony passed, let alone an OTTB? I questioned the wisdom of what I had done a lot in that first month, and of course I still missed Eb terribly. I tried not to compare Miles to her in those first days, but it was really hard not to as he was rearing up in the arena, screaming for other horses and looking anywhere but at me. Obviously, we worked through those issues, thank goodness!

It really wasn't just A horse I was looking for though, honestly. It was him. After seeing him on New Vocations website, I couldn't get him out of my head, and I never looked at other horses. Fate? I don't know about all that, but adopting him was certainly was the right thing to do, and in hindsight the only thing to do. I can't imagine having any other horse, or him ending up with any other owner. I'm still so, so grateful.

I couldn't be more pleased with where we are at this stage, a year later. I feel like we finally know each other, really, really well, and we trust each other (more or less-I haven't pushed those boundaries too far, admittedly. No trail ride yet, in other words. I'll get there!). Trust is pretty important when you're dealing with a 16.2 beast. It's funny, I always forget how tall he is now (again, I'm just used to him), until there's a new person at the barn, or someone asks, "How tall is he??" This is amusing to me because I'm used to being the person with the little quarter horse, and also because he would be about average in a barn full of hunter/jumpers or dressage horses. Surrounded by mostly stock horses and Arabians though, not so much. So yes, trust is a very, very good thing.

I love how respectful he is on the ground, and I'm proud of that-I've worked really hard with him to ensure his manners are what they should be, particularly because he gets led in and out of the barn a couple times a day by other folks. He's great about respecting my space, though he's still a little mouthy. He's never bitten, and it's all in "good fun" (I know, I know, not the ideal type of fun, particularly for humans). He just likes to mouth the lead line, or my jacket, or whatever is closest. I admit I think it's cute, but he will stop when I ask.

This brings me to the next thing I really adore about him-I don't think Miles has a malicious, mean or manipulative bone in his body. Of course he's not perfect, but in all instances whether on the ground or under saddle, he tries, and usually tries hard (that first week or two notwithstanding. And hey, I'm going to give him a break on that). I hate writing stuff like this because I'm superstitious, but he's never offered so much as a cow hop under saddle, let alone a real buck or rear. The one time I came off him we were outside the arena, he spooked, and simply wanted to get OUT of that area, and I was left behind. Hey, you can't have everything:) Still, I'll take that over a horse that wants me OFF their back. Miles can be lazy, but that's it. I am a FAR from perfect rider, but he puts up with me and lets me go at my own pace. He stands like a statue for mounting, isn't girthy and never avoids the bridle. Cripes, I don't think he even swishes his tail when he's annoyed. He's just a good-natured boy, who gives me the benefit of the doubt and likes working and hanging out with me in equal parts it seems.

Most of all, he is my sweet, sweet pony. He loves to (gently) push his head into me and just stand there while I rub his face. He's always looking to me for reassurance or just to see what I'm up to. I've never had a horse that actually looks back at me while I'm riding him, but he does, occasionally, just to check in I think. He's perfectly happy to leave his buddies to come with me, and he doesn't mind when his buddies leave him as long as I'm still there. These things didn't happen all at once, or all at the same time, but now it's all routine. It's a nice feeling.

Is he a "10" mover? No. Is he clumsy? Yep. Does he have OTTB moments? No doubt. Is he a ridiculously hard keeper? HELL Yes. Still...

I'll never get tired of his adorable face and those sweet nickers when I walk up to his pasture from the car. It's what keeps me making that loooong drive to the barn every day I can, even if it's not to ride. How could I let this face down?

Happy Anniversary Bubs. Thanks for an amazing year.

PS-I won't make this mistake twice. Your birthday is in October, and will include party hats!

Beefcake, Avec Video!

Hoo, boy, hope I have enough skillz to actually get a video up here!

Windy Windy Windy-crazy winds the last two days here in Mid-Michigan. This, along with very cool temps, makes even the most laid-back thoroughbred feel real nice and lose his mind a bit. Fortunately for me, his mind took leave for only about 20 minutes yesterday (when I free lunged him in the outdoor arena-yeah, lemme say I won't be doing that again when he's feeling his oats. I was seriously concerned he was going to jump the damn fence!). He was 100% awesome today, however, and I managed to get some pictures and video lunging before my Droid camera decided to die on me (not cool). So, as promised and without further ado, feast your eyes on my feasting beefcake.

I made him look up from his hay, hence the less than pleased expression. Still, lookit that butt! That topline! Swoon...

Alas, work he must. I apologize in advance for the pictures and video-'tis very hard to operate tiny technology while a large beast is on the other end of a line and you are trying to be both a good leader and lunger and the next Martin Scorsese.

Ick, with the high-headed trot. Still at least he is semi-centered. You have no idea how many pictures I took with just a butt or a head in the frame.

Better...

Yay for the stretchy trot! Could be more forward, but I'll take it.

Next of course, is canter work, though I admit I often warm him up in the beginning with lots of canter work thrown in. It's his favorite gait. I think he looks pretty good in these pictures and certainly he's happiest at the canter most days.

I really like this one.

My uphill boy!

Feelin' good!

How'd I do, ma?

Good bubs. You did very, very good.

Here's the video. Please ignore my ridiculous voice and forgive my confusing cues-I really do know how to lunge a horse, but I was sans whip and looking at my teeny tiny Droid screen to capture the experience. Mostly, until the end, I just wanted him to go forward, no matter the gait. Hence the constant clucking and kissing. Still, I think it could have turned out worse...enjoy! Have a wonderful Labor Day weekend everyone~

Happy Bastille Day!

Tonight was my first ride on Miles since last Monday, over a week ago. The heat was unbearable last week (well, for me; we've established I'm a wuss, yes?). Then, Miles became Studly Do-Right over the weekend, as a new (very active, very small, very cute) Paso Fino arrived at the barn, and a new mare was introduced to the pasture next to him. Boy oh boy, did we have some fun times! I can't tell you how much I love that screaming whinny in my ear...like music, I tell you. In addition, the bugs have been bad, and I think that's been contributing to his "heightened" state, if you will. He wasn't horrible to work with, just distracto-man, so I did lots of ground work and lunging. It was actually good, and needed. I haven't done much lately and it really is fun to see his attitude change, his brain relax and his attention turn to me. Thanks Clinton Anderson:)

Today was still fairly warm, in the mid-80's, but I suppose we are in mid-July. Miles and LaShore have been switched back to their old pasture, which is great because it gets him away from the mares, and he was 100% amazing. Relaxed in the barn, and honestly the best I've EVER felt him under saddle. He was forward, happy to work, straight, relaxed, submissive, attentive, with no tension in his neck or back-I'm really not exaggerating, he was my lil' superstar. I don't think I'll be switching to the bit anytime soon, as I could bend him and do circles and serpentines, stops and rein-backs with no issues whatsoever. There was no teeth grinding and chewing or twisting of his neck (his favorite move when he's anxious and I'm asking him to stay on the rail, particularly to the right). We only worked about 20 minutes, because it had been so long since our last ride, and we were both hot. It was certainly long enough to make me grin ear to ear though, and bestow upon him many pettings and treaties.

What a good boy I have. I don't know what I did to deserve it, and I really am sorry if I sound, I don't know, like I'm bragging? Look, I know we have so much to work on, and if anyone saw us today I'm sure they wouldn't see what all the fuss was about. I just could FEEL such a difference today, and it was lovely. An excellent Bastille Day ride!

As for the weight issue, it turns out Miles hates soaked alfalfa cubes, siiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiigh. He doesn't mind them dry, but will stop eating them after about half a scoop. So, we're going to do a scoop of soaked beet pulp mixed with his SafeChoice grain (which is now up to a scoop and a half) every day. This is in addition to the FatCat supplement and a little oil, plus upping his hay a bit; I feel really good about this strategy. If there's no difference in a month, there WILL be reinforcements in the form of vets and dentists marched in. Honestly though, especially after his attitude today and our amazing ride, I can't believe there's anything wrong with him, other than a lack of calories. Oh Miles, if I could give you the fat off my ass I would:)

Anyway, that's where we are now. It feels pretty good, I don't mind saying. Thanks for the ride, Bubs.

Happy 4th of July-It's HAWT

Miles is getting the day off today. It's approaching 90 degrees outside, and since I'm pretty sure there's going to be firework action we will be able to hear and smell at the barn, I'd just as soon stay home.

He's been getting worked quite regularly this last week. I decided to experiment and shortened my stirrups a hole (let's face it, while I really WANT to ride dressage, I'm in an all purpose/close contact saddle! It's a Custom Saddlery Revolution that I got for a song since the line is now discontinued), and WOW did that feel good. My base of support is so much more stable. I wish I was strong enough to have slightly longer stirrups, but whatever, right now I need to work with what I've got, and that one hole makes a big difference. Great thing to discover right before the show!

Yesterday I was short on time so I thought, "Hey, we haven't had a lunge session in quite awhile, let's do that. Let's make it super-fun and do it in the scary area of the farm where Miles pulled his Michael Jackson (thanks for that phrase Kristen!) Hot Move (MJHM) when I bit the dust and see if we can't get that TB brain of his to sloooooow down and think, as it does so well in the arena."

So, we're out there in the grass and he's walking-head up and looking around but walking, in a very nice circle around me. I ask for a trot. He takes about ten lovely strides, and then pulls the MJHM. This would not have been a big deal if the damn cheap sonofab*&#h lunge line had not then snapped at the latch under pressure (and it wasn't even that much pressure!), and away he galloped, back to the barn, tail in the air, super duper pleased with himself.

This is now twice he has pulled the MJHM and gotten to run back to the barn. Not good. SOOOOO not good.

Sigh, I collect the TB (who is now snorty and prancy and quite cute, actually, though I couldn't let him know I thought so!), grab new lunge line, and head back to the scene of the crime.

This is his "safe and sane as a lesson pony" face. It is not to be trusted.

I would have seriously questioned my boy's intelligence had he not tried the same thing again. Of course, though, he did, a few times naturally. What was supposed to be a short session turned into something much longer, but actually I felt great when we were done. We're not going to solve this issue in one session, but by the end he was doing walk trot transitions with his head down and licking and chewing. Good good good boy. I wanted him to actually relax enough when we were done to graze a little in that spot, but he preferred to stand and look around, and honestly I didn't have the time to stand with him and wait.

Anyway, I'll be riding tomorrow and Tuesday of course (no matter how hot it is, ugh), and then Wednesday is our Big Day! Hope everyone has a wonderful Fourth of July, and that your animals get through it sane, safe and sound. Lebowski hates hates HATES fireworks, but luckily they make drugs for that:)

Babushka Bean hate loud boom boom noise. Feel safe wrapped in towel along with many pettings.

Did I ever tell you my horse is adorable?

So I lunged Miles tonight, working a LOT on trot to canter transitions, particularly to the right. He got his lead every time, which is GREAT, but tells me obviously I'm doing something to make him crooked under saddle since we have somewhat of an issue getting that lead. ANYWAY, he's a good boy, I suck, no big news there.

After lunging (which I did in his leather halter instead of a bridle or his rope halter, just to see if he's gotten any lighter-he has! Again, good boy:), I worked on flexing him (getting him to give to pressure by turning his head and softening). NOT the thing to do in a nice, wide, comfy leather halter, I realize.

I stood at his left side, behind his shoulder. I set my right hand on his rump and brought my left hand up just past his withers, where I would ask him to flex if I were on his back. Miles turned his head, looked at me, leaned on the halter, and shut his eyes. You guys, it was the cutest thing. He was all, "I'm tired after all those transitions, mom. Thanks for holding me up." It was so precious. I felt really, really bad when I had to bump on him and make him give and soften before I let him relax. Training is training, sigh.

It's just amazing to me how far my boy has come. From not being able to leave the barn and screaming for other horses, to being so relaxed by himself with me in the ring that he can fall asleep. Love love love. Love my boy.

Mini flex! Also that lovely, soft expression I see more and more of these days.