May Wrap Up

May was a lovely and productive month for us. We did a LOT of gymnastics type exercises in our lessons with PW this month: bounces, a true gymnastic line, and the way we started the month, cantering the same three canter poles and oxer repeatedly. 

	Butterball
Training rides	0
Lessons	4- 3 Gymnastics type, 1 course work
Hacks	4- 1 off property, 2 with equiband and hackamore
Ground work, lunge, long line	0
Flat rides	12
Conditioning rides	0
XC school	2- Majestic Oaks and Sweet Dixie
Shows	1- Area 3 Champs at FHP

I also discovered that he has THE BEST TIME EVER when I let him hack in his hackamore with the equibands. Our last two dedicated hacks of the month were hackamore and equibands. We did a tiny bit of trot, and some porpoising, while out on the hack and then finished both of those rides with some trot and canter on the buckle around the field at home. 

All geared up to go hack! 

This month has been a bit of my awakening to how tense he can get with dressage. He'll still feel relatively pleasant, but will chomp incessantly on the bit. I've been practicing picking up light contact on our 15-30 minute walk hack we do at the start of every ride. I don't drop the contact again until he softens AND stops chomping. He's pretty clever, so I think he'll get this soon, but I don't know how well it will translate to not chomping in the ring. 

The other half of this is that he is part pony and can easily sucker me into just nagging him forward. So for the past several months I've had one ride every two weeks or so where THE ONLY thing I do is focus on each leg aid getting an appropriate response. If a light brush doesn't get a response, then a soft squeeze, then a boot, then tickle with the whip. As a non-pro, I have to just let this be my ONLY focus the whole ride so that I notice every single response he gives AND then stop asking. But also notice if there is a non-response and then respond with the next larger aid.

I did take some check in photos of feet and overall condition this month.

I finally have his weight at the right point and his muscling is getting there too! 

Condition? I'm in a cookie deficient condition! 

Front feet are looking pretty excellent

Excuse the terrible angles, these are shot on the road we hack down so I was hesitant to let go of him for too long. But the hind feet bruising from my barefoot experiment is finally growing out. And when the farrier did him two days ago he declared he had finally grown some hind foot! Yay! 

And we ended the month with a successful outing at Ocala Summer I/Area III Champs with two beautiful jumping phases to follow a not as great dressage test. Pictures by Victoria DeMore Photography.

The dressage test did have some nice moments though 

Lookit him go! 

He's just so dang good over every fence 

June is going to bring a check in with the saddle fitter, which is great. He's been kind of argumentative about the contact and softening over his back during warm ups in the jump saddle. It was brand new in February and is wool flocked so will definitely need to be reflocked. Plus his muscling has changed a lot since then. Just before the saddle fitting appointment, we're moving (back?) to the GY's. Butterball has not boarded there before, but between Yoshi, Ben, and Goggles, I was with them on and off for 3 years. His current barn owner is lovely but I miss having someone to ride with (I'm the only person who rides at the farm...) and I miss the groomed arena. The pocket gophers and I have had a war this winter/spring that I believe I've lost. 

This arena..

Towards the middle-end of the month there is some news that will be exciting for BB in another 3+ years. But it is exciting for me now, so I'll share it anyways if it all comes together. I'm also looking at showing at WEC in the AIR CONDITIONING in July, which means continuing weekly lessons with PW to get us ready for that. We'd just do the 0.9m so I'll have to see exactly how much a whole new set of registration stuff would cost... Oye... 

I also want to check out a spring fed lake about an hour away where we could take the horses swimming. But I'm a little concerned we will be murdered by yellow flies while doing so... But anyways, lots of adventures to come in June, and Ms. GY will be joining on a lot of them which is exciting, I've missed riding with her!