Sometimes things have to fall apart...

... before they can be put back together again. :-)

So my life for the last few months has been seriously messed up. Unemployed, unemployment insurance ran out, still unemployed, The Boy is being an asshole, I have 4 horses to feed, blah blah blah.

In the last two weeks, the following wonderful things have happened:

1.) I have someone interested in the pony. :-) She already came out to meet her, but there was a Christmas party happening in the arena, so she couldn't ride. She's coming out tomorrow to take her for a test spin. I really like this person, and I hope she taking the Drama Llama! One less equid for me to pay for...

2.) I have an interview tomorrow for a full-time job. Granted, it's Loss Prevention, which I DO NOT want to do again, but I need a job. That pays. Money. This one will, and it comes complete with benefits, too. I could do it in my sleep, and there is no contract saying that I have to stay there if the perfect surgical tech position comes along. It's a great job for my "in the meantime."

3.) Speaking of which, I also had an interview at Good Samaritan for a part-time surg. tech position (well, an OB tech position, but a foot in the door!). Just 2 overnight shifts a week, which I could easily do in conjunction with the LP job (LP agents are notorious for writing their own schedules). They even called back and told me they were very interested and asked me to re-apply after they had some union issues with the job posting and had to re-post the position. So that's a good sign. REALLY crossing fingers on that one!

4.) The Boy is still locked in his own little world at the moment (okay, that's not a GOOD thing, but hey, we can't win them all). I did, however, manage to royally piss off his borderline-psychotic soon-to-be-ex-wife, so that made my whole week better. But that is another blog for another day... bwahahaha.

5.) I had a great ride today on Stretch. We worked on really prompt walk/trot transitions with some whoas thrown in for funsies. He did great. He also let me know that he is not terribly comfortable being ridden away from the wall. I acknowledged that, and asked him to try anyway. He was a good sport about it, even if he was worried. We took it slow and got a few rein changes across the diagonal. To the asshole trainer who rode him in Texas: you're a moron. This horse plainly tells you when he doesn't like something. Just listen to him. He is not a dangerous horse. He's a baby. When he hesitates and then starts tossing his head, it means he's worried. I figured that out in, oh, about 2 seconds and you, Mr. Amazing Trainer, couldn't figure it out before he launched your stupid ass? You deserved it.

So here's hoping that everything works out the way I would like them to... It has certainly been a promising start!

PS- It's 1:30 in the AM and I am NOT proofreading this, so I apologize in advance for all grammatical errors that surely occur when one is sleep-deprived.

Red Light, Green Light

I had my second ride on Stretch tonight. I got brave (or stupid) and decided to ride solo with no ground assistance. Actually, it was past 9pm and there was no one at the barn at all. Probably stupid. But honestly, I prefer to ride with no one around. No distractions. I can control the horse's entire world. Plus I love the quiet and peace of nighttime at the barn.

After mounting, my suspicions that the ground person that Stretch is so used to always having is more like a crutch were solidified. He seemed completely lost and did not want to move away from the mounting block. After nagging him with my legs and getting a few steps here and there, more nagging, and a few more steps, he finally seemed to get it.

We got a good forward walk going and after a lap around the arena, I decided that we needed to work on teh "go" cue. So I began whoa/walk/whoa transitions. Lots of them. He picked up the idea fairly quickly, and after maybe 5 minutes, it was old hat. I could get a walk with just a small bump pf the heel.

Interestingly, for the first half of our ride, the walk cue was met with lots of head tossing before he would take a step. By the second half of the ride, he was still very interested in the bit, but he was seeking it, playing with it, "testing" it. I sensed that he felt way more comfortable and confident when he knew where my hands were and what they were doing. Towards the end of the ride, he was very heavy in the bridle and seemed to like it. Silly horse. Note to self: Stretch likes lots of contact. For now.

Memo to Stretch: "Go" Isn't An Option

This is Stretch. The gigantic (I'm guessing he'll finish at 17h) Dutch WB x Arabian that I traded Biff for.

Now that I've gotten him back up to a really nice weight after his Texas debacle and then a stint at a less-than-stellar "full care" boarding barn I had him at while finishing clinicals, it's time to start working him.

Don't get me wrong, I had hopped on him a couple of times at the barn in Turner in the round pen. He did okay. Nothing spectacular. I had The Boy help me by leading Stretch around for a bit until I was confident I wouldn't die, then back off so we could go solo. Problem is, Stretch almost requires someone leading him around. Without ground support, this horse is convinced that "forward" is impossible.

Since moving back up to the barn in Estacada, our focus has been getting weight on, building a topline, and finding a saddle that fits his crazy shark-fin withers. I finally figured out that my dressage saddle fits if accompanied by my nice fleece correction pad.

So this weekend I had Katie out at the barn and jumped on the chance to have a knowledgeable horseperson assist me with Mr. I-Can't-Go-Forward. She knew the ways to get him "jumps started" from behind and has the timing on when to back off that my sweet but non-horsey boyfriend just doesn't possess.

Stretch was.... just okay. Still is hesitant to move forward. When I start to really nag him, I can feel him tense up. Given his history of bucking off the last trainer who tried to establish forward with his dressage whip, I wanted to avoid that route. 17h is a loooong way down! I do have to admit that on horses that I am more confident with, I will get very aggressive about establishing forward. To me, it's vitally important that when I say "go," it means "GO NOW."

I just don't think I can get that aggressive with this horse. Yet.

So in the meantime, I suppose that my tactics will be to either annoy him until he moves forward then praise feverishly, or, when that starts to annoy me start pulling/kicking him in circles to show him that balking is highly unpleasant and I still expect his feet to move. Not sure we're even at that point yet.

I will, as usual, sit and ponder this obsessively, and likely try a few different approaches to see if I can figure out what gets this horse to click and what he responds to. I do know that I want him to learn how to go solo. No more ground helpers around as a crutch. Sorry, Stretch, you have to listen to ME.

Great Expectations

I have written about Biff here before. Cute, fun, but not really that good at anything that I like to do. Yes, he is a rockstar trail horse, but I'm just not a trail rider. I have higher ambitions for my riding career than trail riding (don't get me wrong- I love trails and I think they are a valuable training tool for EVERY horse. I just don't want to do it exclusively).

When I posted a photo of Biff with my 7-year-old niece on my Facebook page, I had no idea that my friend Chelsea would ask if I would ever consider parting with him, as she was looking for a solid, safe trail horse. I love Biff enough that I wouldn't mind keeping him forever if I had to, but Chelsea is such an amazing home that I wish I was a horse and could live with her. Who was I to deny Biff the chance to live the good life as Chelsea's trail horse?

Rewind to a few years ago. Chelsea was searching for an Arabian to show and came home with an Arabian/Dutch Warmblood cross. I had always wanted a WB/arab cross after meting a few at my local dressage shows, and the several arabs and arab crosses that my dressage trainer's other clients rode. I was also partial to Arabs since my very first lesson horse (who my parents ended up letting me lease) was also an Arabian. Plus, it didn't hurt that I learned to ride dressage and hunters on a Dutch WB mare (who I regretfully sold later so I could be a "responsible adult" and go to college). When Chelsea found an Arab/DWB (later named Stretch because he will not stop growing), I was in love with the idea of that particular cross, and have secretly coveted Stretch ever since.

Back to present times. When Chelsea asked how much I wanted for Biff, I told her that I would just give him to her, because it was the best home I could ever find for him. Plus, he was a $230 auction rescue who couldn't canter. Realistically, with today's horse market, he's not worth that much to begin with. Then she asked if I wanted Stretch in exchange. I almost fell out of my chair. I was sure that Chelsea had lost her mind. I mean, who trades a VERY nice Warmblood with loads of potential for a $230 auction rescue trail horse? I tried to remind her that it was NOT an equal trade, and that I couldn't afford to pay her the difference. Her response was the same "he's going to a great home" line that I gave her about Biff. (That's the weird thing about us horse folk. We'll willingly lose money on a horse just to rest assured that they are taken care of and loved.)

Chelsea is bringing Stretch down next Friday, and picking up Biff. When someone offers to trade you a Ferarri for a Volvo (as Fuglyhorseoftheday author Cathy put it in a not-so-subtle test message), you DON'T say no. I am thrilled and can't WAIT to see him in my pasture.

I am also a little freaked out. With Biff, there was no expectation. He was never going to be the dressage superstar of my dreams, so there was never pressure when I rode him. He was the horse I could ride when I didn't feel like schooling anything and I could putz around on him without worrying about ruining anything special, but he has an endless list of dressage-y things to work on, so he kept me occupied and amused.

Now, I will have a young horse with potential for upper-level dressage. I was worried that I wouldn't "do him justice." I can usually bring a horse up to 1st level dressage by myself, but as soon as we start getting into the greater collection and lateral work of 2nd level, I prefer to have eyes on the ground. Preferably the eyes of a trainer. I am also at a disadvantage because I cannot afford to keep a horse in full-time training with a dressage pro. I can afford lessons, but I also know that the learning curve for "lessons-only" training is much slower than the learning curve for "pro rides 5 days a week and the occasional owner lesson" training. It was stressing me out.

Key word: "was."

Then I had to be logical and reasonable:

1.) Stretch doesn't care if he makes Grand Prix. Stretch doesn't even know what Grand Prix means. He probably only cares about eating, pooping, and getting the occasional scritch. Stretch will not be disappointed if he never makes it to the FEI levels, or if he is "only" at 2d level by the time he's 15. It's silly for me to think I am somehow letting him down by not being able to progress as quickly as I'd like.

2.) The whole point of me wanting a horse with upper-level potential is for ME to learn how to bring a horse along up through the levels. If I hand off every talented horse I get to a professional trainer because I'm afraid I wont be able to get them to their highest level of performance, I will never learn how to do it myself. This is as much for me as it is for him. Oh, who am I kidding? This is MORE for me than it is for him (see point #1, above). It has been insanely frustrating to ride under gifted trainers and instructors on a less-than-suitable horse. Trying to advance my riding skills was like trying to wade through molasses; painfully slow.

So who cares if Stretch is only doing 2nd level 10 years from now? If that's where we're at in 10 years, that's where we're at. It's more about the journey, anyway. I just like having high goals. What's that saying about shooting for the moon and landing in the stars? That's generally what I go for...

When Stretch arrives on Friday, he is getting turned out in my 5-acre pasture with my small herd. He gets time to just be a horse while I finish my last 3 months of school. He earned it. Plus, Chelsea thinks he's *still* growing...