Borrowing Motivation

Call it horse show hangover or work related, but the past week, I just could not find any scrap of motivation. Fortunately there's a team around us to help. My goal is not to give pony random weeks off in April, we'll wait till the brutal heat of summer for a true break. That's two-fold. Presumably my motivation and desire that wandered off somewhere at the start of the week will wander back in, and it isn't fair to expect the pony to be a lot of fun if he has no fitness. And, while he is metabolically healthy, he is the upper end of where I like to see his weight right now, and he needs to keep his booty moving to stay that way. 

Monday he had his day off after the show. Tuesday we did a stretchy hack around the pasture that lasted all of 15 minutes. Wednesday he got his feet done, so I had a legit excuse for not actually working. His trimmer asked how he'd been doing after trims and since he hasn't had any soreness, she got a bit more aggressive about standing up his hind feet. He kinda looked like he was wanting to develop quarter cracks behind and he had some flaring, so she addressed both those things. I'm very glad he's on a four week schedule right now, it feels like he needs it as he grows quickly in the spring. 

Sneak preview of the left hind, the rest will follow in our monthly wrap up post. 

Compared to what we had back at the end of January just a couple of weeks after pulling his shoes. 

The next day, PW came up to the farm to teach me and Ms. GY and one other friend. 

This was Butterball's response to the first lesson going on in the ring right by his field. 
"No thank you, I'm busy now, can't." Perhaps he's also feeling the lack of motivation this week. 

Given the above feelings and a general tiredness (work is kicking my butt this week), I asked PW to get on him. I did warn him that he had gotten his feet done a bit more aggressively than in the past, so if there was any hind end funkiness we could call it and try again in a week or two. But he said he felt like his normal self. 

One of the things I very much appreciate about PW is that he took our discussion back in February seriously and has not put jumps one speck over 90 since then. We got a compliment in the warm up at the LCT show the weekend prior - another trainer had seen our disastrous warm up and then PW's challenging trip with him in December. She commented that he looked happy and confident now and we were doing a great job. 

So on Thursday, he handed me the measuring tape, essentially to make sure things stayed under that 90 cm mark we discussed back in February. Except after a discussion of exactly when we would want to increase the height, we both decided these were the exact circumstances where it might be a good idea: 

- Butterball feels HAPPY to do his job and take whatever distance is there, including in the show ring, and including when I loosen the reins at him at an oxer. 

- PW is riding

- It is in a grid

So we gradually built the three oxers up from 80 to 90 to a smidge over a meter with about a meter in width. And Butterball looked HAPPY to do his job through the grid. He also just looked freaking amazing over the fences. His style got better and better too, you can see it in the change from the first trip to the second trip in the video below, especially over the first fence in the grid. 

Oh to have that soft, following hand

Wheee

Unfortunately my phone chose the last fence to go out of focus, but y'know, you can still see him blurry and all jumping the snot out of that oxer. 

I sent the video to his trimmer and said "I think his feet feel fine!" She agreed. I was delighted by the whole thing. It's so much fun watching BB bounce merrily over fences, he's just a fun horse to ride and to watch. 

Today I fought my lack of motivation by pulling up an exercise from the 101 dressage exercises book. It was under straightness and was three trot-halt-trot transitions on a 15m circle. I haven't done a lot of sitting trot on BB, so it was interesting to play with that during the exercise. I am much more aware of my crookedness while sitting, I think. We did a few circles without transitions as I worked on even weight in my seat bones and turning my whole body to turn him. Then we added in the transitions. Initially he was a bit anxious and hot about things and offered a few different gaits and not gaits, but we smoothed them out some. I never did quite get keeping the curve of the circle through his body as we halted, but we got closer. Then we worked a little bit on walk-canter-walk and slowing the canter down without me having to hold him every stride. He was quite good for that and we got one truly quality canter-walk. 

It wasn't a long ride, but it was productive. And it stuck to JV's direction of only going for as long as I could keep my focus and therefore help him keep his focus. 

And that concludes the week. Wish me luck digging up my motivation and energy sometime this weekend! 

Local Champions Tour

All around us is burning, that feeling of dread I was having last week was warranted. No rain in the forecast either, this is scary. 

But as before, back to your regularly scheduled pony programming... 

Butterball and I took on the full three days of the Local Champions Tour this past weekend. As I have gotten into the world of rated HJ, I appreciate what these folks do even more. True courses with decorations and the formality of show clothing on Saturday and Sunday at a much more palatable price. Butterball and I had been once before and done an 80 and a 90 round. Re-reading that post, we mostly got by on his generosity in the 90. This go round we were much better prepared. 

PW did a round first on Friday and commented that pony pants was LIT. I processed slowly, and it wasn't until the DH reminded me that I realized that ALLL of our recent trips to Sweet Dixie have been to gallop and/or school XC. Granted he shows very little enthusiasm for the galloping, but regardless, that's what we've done. So he probably expected to be put in his fun hackamore for a merry gallop around. PW went in and jumped a clear round with him, but he said he felt kind of green - there was a decent amount of bucking and dragging down instead of lifting up through his shoulders when asked during the turns. 

I warmed up, being careful NOT to change my pace the last few strides "same canter, something will show up". 

He felt good to me, so we headed in. And overall I was thrilled with the round. We did a good job keeping momentum going through a pretty tight left-hand roll back to a two stride line. There were no oxers involved in the line, but still, that put together two of our very tricky things: tight left hand turns and combinations. 

My biggest mistake came in the line I thought was a nine stride from fence 8 to 9. We'd had TWO six stride lines to test out our stride length, and we'd gotten down them a little too quick, making the last stride short. And then he jumped big over fence 8 and rather than riding off my eye as instructed, I was counting strides and about stride seven realized there was a problem. Instead of closing my leg and supporting I kinda sat there and prayed. Which lead to eight, a big 'ole chip, and then a launch. But he went and didn't hold a grudge as we finished up the course. Fence 11 was a liverpool and then 12 and 13 were cross country fences, brought in to prep for the Derby course on Sunday. He merrily popped on over those although did feel a tiny bit surprised to see them, I think. 

We came back the next day for the same course, although 11 had been changed to a hunter style fence and the last two XC fences were no longer options. I was also informed that our problem line was in fact an on stride eight strides. So I guess on Friday I had NOT ridden forward for four strides and then waited for four because he had motored down the six stride lines so well. So we ended up a bit short of a true eight strides. Oops. 

Butterball was much more chill Saturday morning. Our warm up verticals went very smoothly, but I kept pushing past the distance to the oxers. I was at least gluing my eye to the same spot on the fence, so I knew to support with leg at the base if I messed up the distance. PW and I had discussed taking the inside turns this time: from 1 to 2 and from 3 to 4. 

I sliced the first vertical and easily did that inside turn, but we landed from the oxer at 3 and I thought "there's no freaking way" so didn't fight for the inside turn. He took a slightly deep spot to 8, which was the start of our 8.33 stride line the day before. But after the deep spot in, I sat up, kept my leg on, and patiently waited for the nine strides. It rode much better this time. PW and I were both super pleased with him, so I scratched the second round to save him for Sunday and the DERBY course. 

In spite of our clean round, we were 9th out of 13 in that class with a time of 82.65 seconds. The winning time? 67.76 seconds. Ouch. 

Sunday morning I got to walk with my two friends who were also showing. The course was set for the 2'6" derby that preceded our 3' derby. Jumps 1-7 were XC/hunter style (1, 2, and 5 were XC fences - the coop in both directions and the bench; 3, 4, 6, and 7 were hunter fences with flowers and panels) then jumps 8-13 were regular jumper style rails/planks. It was set up like a power and speed with a very generous optimum time for the first half. The announcer told us all to ride our nicest hunter round for those fences. Then you were supposed to kick it in high gear for 8-13. 

For whatever reason I felt kind of off kilter/focus this morning. I almost asked PW to ride him for me when they changed the oxer at fence 11 into a swedish. I don't think I've ever jumped a swedish with Butterball, and the thing looked giant. I reminded myself we have jumped 1.10m, but then the nasty little voice came up and reminded me we've also stopped plenty at 90. Butterball also felt a bit tired, which is when I can get in trouble with getting him flat and still behind the leg but quick vs. actually powerfully forward. Warm up went pretty well though, and at the end PW set up a steep and large ascending oxer that pony pants tackled no problem. 

We headed on in and were okay but kinda quiet over the XC fences. We moved out a bit better down the flower box lines though and I was quite happy with how those rode... (see we do need to try out hunters still). 

Then after fence 7 I kinda blanked out and quit riding for a few seconds. I didn't even bother to get him straight to 8, let alone remember that I was going to try to take the inside turn to 9. Our lack of straightness and the fact that 8 was a square oxer, not ascending, meant he had the rail down with a hind. After I located fence 9 I did re-engage my brain a bit. The rest of the course went pretty well, the two stride right hand roll back to the imposing swedish was actually fine. Although as I created the gif of that bit, I saw the last two strides before the oxer I did soften the reins at him a bit. The problem with this move is that it lets him lengthen the last few strides and eat up the distance too quick, putting us deep and leading to a sliding stop into the fence. It's my "Butterball take the wheel" move as we call it. But y'know what? He did take the wheel. He absolutely did, and I'm so proud of him and proud of the work we've done building his confidence and my riding. This is two fold, these moments are less common, but when they do happen he is happy to help me out.  

The last oxer at fence 13 also looked quite large. But by that point in the course my brain was about out of energy for panicking, so I registered it as we cantered down to it, but I think kept ahold of the contact a bit better. Our rail kept us out of the money, but there were only four clear rounds out of thirteen, we weren't alone in taking down a rail at fence eight. Our time wasn't too far off of the faster ones this go round either, maybe we'll make it into the ribbons some day. But as I said above, I'm absolutely thrilled with both of us. I *mostly* rode and thought about what was happening and what I should be doing. And he stepped on up and took care of me over some imposing fences. 

Full six minutes of courses thanks to friends and husband! 

The Undoing of the Pony

It is ominously dry and hot here. I'm not looking forward to the next five months. I need to speed up my snowbird plan a bit it seems. Everyone is to be moving to central Florida, drilling wells into the aquifer to water their lawns, Ginnie Springs is selling huge volumes of water directly to Nestle the rivers are drying up. The wildlife is paying the price. Seems like only the crows are thriving actually.  

Anyways. Returning to the regularly scheduled horse programming from the doom and gloom. Monday Ms. GY and I set out to have a nice neighborhood hack. We line this up about once a week and both of us go out another one or two times solo. Well. It was not in fact a nice neighborhood hack. 

The neighbor at the corner has leased out their fields to someone who is farming. Who brought out some agricultural scale waterer aka horse murdering device. We wisely approached on foot, but eventually had to call it and not make the usual loop. 

We back tracked a bit, and I hopped back on the pony. He did strike out and almost rear right after I got back on, emotions were still very high. Ms. GY had one false start getting on her much taller horse and then managed it. We tried to take a different way around the loop. Except there was a new flatbed with crap on it in the neighbor's yard. And her horse tried to turn around and straight up bolt home. He politely acquiesced to her request that he NOT, but we were done. They led the way home as Butterball cantered in place behind them. We had loads of collection but zero relaxation. Once we made it back to the home base, Butterball and I galloped for probably ten minutes before his brain cells came back to roost. This is my usual method of dealing with his feelings when they are a bit out of control: go forward until you're tired then go forward a bit longer. It just took a very long time this go round. Fitness work for the week done. 

I was going to go back out the next day, but my husband and I painted the house. It so desperately needed to be done and this stretch with no rain seemed like the perfect time. We did the back and one side ALL DAY Tuesday and the front Wednesday. Which led to a 1 PM ride time on Wednesday, and it was about 87 degrees. The perfect time to head back out to reassure Butterball that the world off the farm was not going to kill him. I set out in bareback pad plus silicone grip breeches with a pocket full of treats. 

GOLDEN PAT OF BUTTER

Still looks kinda green but is very crunchy. Unrelated, but his frosting in his mane is growing back in too 

Turned AWAY from the sprinkler field to start so we would end up approaching from the side

Beautiful blue sky, dry sand and grass

I tried to get a pic as he turned for a treat, but this was the closest I could get

More sand, so much sand, it's becoming a dessert

Through the woods we go

Sprinkler fields to the right 

Some snax to be had

Closer still to where the beast was living

Alert and slightly confused, where is it? 

If his thoughts were captions, this would've definitely read "??????" 

Oookay I guess I can have snacks if it isn't here...

Headed on home

The absolute best view

The ride did a lot towards securing his marbles again. I feel bad he ended up so unsettled on Monday, but I really didn't think he would be that bothered. So then my expectations had to catch up to the reality of how he was feeling. 

Mr. Fancy Pants

Butterball and I had a fun extended weekend. We unintentionally put together two of three phases of an event but in a new order. There is zero media from any kind of action, but I did take many, many pictures of the golden pat of butter hanging out. 

We went to Majestic Oaks on Friday with Ms. GY and her guy. Butterbal was, once again, just a delight. Even with his nemesis, the tires. He's found this jump just incredibly spooky, stopping 20-30 feet out to stare before finally jumping it every other time we've been. This time we jumped it on the first go, not pretty, but still an improvement. One of my favorite things about this horse is that once he has learned something won't eat him, he seems to remember (in direct contrast to darling Ben who thought a specific jump panel at JT's was going to kill him every single time). 

We looped around doing 4-5 jumps at a go before taking a break and moving somewhere else on course. We played with a few training fences as well once things were going swimmingly. And he was great, tackling the training roll top to water to novice corner like the wonderful boy he is. Happily, all our changes were there too. 

Palisade, the ground drops away from the backside in a more impressive way in person. He was so good and clever to this, waiting to the base. 

Mane taming in prep for the dressage show the next day

We didn't do a ton since we were headed to a dressage show the next morning. But it was enough for me to feel comfortable planning** to send in my entry for the May event there. 

So GOLDEN

I used to do the North Florida Dressage Association (NFDA) schooling shows all.the.time as a teenager, but hadn't been since then. I thought it would be fun to return and essentially wanted to practice some dressage tests and hear how perfect my pony is for a relatively low cost. Plus my sister in law was showing and it's always nice to have friends at shows. 

So Saturday morning I bathed the poor pony at 7:30 with a pocket full of treats. He doesn't like getting hosed at the best of times and 55 degrees and no pre heating workout didn't help. The other issue is that our hosing spot is a tie up high in a tree over grass and dirt. Normally this is fine, but when you're trying to get a moving pony's stockings white, it matters. Jokes on me though, for some reason he had loose poops that morning, so the hind stockings were spattered brown/green by the time we arrived at the equestrian center. 

The show was at the Jacksonville Equestrian Center, which was another appealing point for going. The Equestrian Center is a little over an hour from us, the same distance as the Florida Horse Park where the Ocala dressage association (STRIDE) holds their shows. It was an easy drive over after his bath. When we arrived, I left him in the trailer, moseyed by the show rings and found the office with no difficulty. Fortunately our number was in the "nice" pile meaning we'd sent in all our documents and payment correctly, so I picked it up and went back to the trailer to get pony out for a bit of a hand walk. 

Most handsome, but spot the poop splatters on the right hind

The grass IS always greener on the other side of the fence

He seemed relatively settled, so I found my sister in law while we were walking. We chatted for a few, and then BB and I went back to the trailer to get tacked up. 

11 usually IS his nap time 

Something caught his attention. Ermagerd he's cute.

Beautiful details on the saddle literally highlighted by the sun/shadow contrast here

I got on about 25 minutes before my first class, training 2. He warmed up like the professional he is, then I had 15 minutes to my class. When will I learn. He's honestly easier at shows than at home. So we took a walk around the barn and then started back up again when the rider before us went into the ring. He had a few moments of sticky I don't wanna and then went back to work. Good boy. Our test was accurate and pleasant, but lacking sparkle. I guess the judge felt like pleasant and consistent was good enough since we ended up with a 72% which put us in first in the class. 

As usual, the canter was the weakest part of the test. We did get a 7 on our left lead T-C transition and a 7.5 on the C-T transition both directions, but got 6's for the canter circles. And 6's for both centerlines. The final halt we were left of centerline which is easily fixable, but he was against my hand in both. The entry was abrupt because I was staring at the letters from the nearby small arena and almost missed the mark at E-B to halt. This led to him almost rein backing as we stepped off into the trot again, but I barely stopped that, leading to the crookedness as we departed. 

He got sponged off afterwards, then got a chance to pee before getting back on the trailer for some more hay under his fan. 

Classic picture

Noms

I watched some short stirrup divisions at the HJ show that was going on and ate some food before heading back to get him tacked up for the second test.  

His little face melts my heart. Especially when accompanied by the nicker he did as I walked back towards him

I wised up and gave us just 10 minutes to get ready for the second test. We did do quite a few canter transitions in that time though, focusing on me moving my back but not driving with my seat through the transitions and the canter itself. 

Then we headed in. The judge stopped me as we were giving them our number and said "It's Mr. Fancy Pants again!" She asked about his breeding and shared that she had bred her hanoverian mare to a welsh stallion and adored the cross as well. The test was again pleasant and consistent overall. The canter work had helped some and we got 6.5s for both our circles this time. Our centerlines also improved. 

Good enough for a 73% for first in the class and high point amateur for the day. 

Thinks ribbon pics are stupid

Hiding his face and refusing to show off the ribbon

Back home a couple of hours later and staring at the other horses while posing

Everyone decided the bareback hack to the barn was the perfect time to gallop up the field as well. Worth his weight in gold, he kept all his marbles while they did that. 

Bestest boy

While I did get told by several people in warm up and the judge how perfect he was, which was most of my stated goal, we should've done first level. I was worried about doing lengthenings and leg yields on cue, but the large arena gives adequate time for preparation, and we both would've been a bit more entertained with those additions. Honestly, the training level tests were a bit the antithesis of what JV has been telling me - always be doing something. And changing tempo is pretty frowned upon in the test, so the diagonals, circles, etc. there was a lot of time for both of us to kinda zone out. But overall it was a fun day with my best bud. 

**Planning to send in my entry meant I got as far as the payment screen then gawked at $330. I texted a few people then made a plan to volunteer at the event and then school the cross country the next day. What I've been discovering this winter and spring is that shows are the most fun when done with friends. So that's what I've been prioritizing. Butters doesn't need the show ring experience at this point. And I'm not trying to qualify for anything this year. Which means we go for fun, and I've slowly been figuring out what makes things the most fun: positive experiences that challenge us a bit done with friends.