June 2023 Wrap Up

This is the first month where both boys have been doing things. Hooray! I'm playing with a new format for monthly wrap ups to concisely capture two horses. 

	Ben	Goggles
Training rides	6	0
Lessons	0	Cowboy- ground work
Hacks	4	3
Ground work or lunge	0	10
Flat rides	3	5
Aquatred	1	0
Total	14	19

Ben: Ben has spent, and will continue to spend, a lot of time with JT. We're trying to get his body back into shape and also trying to correct some bad habits that have developed. He is not allowed to be anything other than butter soft and light. She's told him what for a few times over spooking as well. He can stare and worry, but bolting is unacceptable and results in HARD work with a very soft, moving body. He's done a lot of baby half pass towards scary objects. He can stiffen and hold a lot easier in the leg yields, so baby half pass it is. This has made him much more pleasant to hack as well. 

What's next? Continuing 4-5 days on 1 day off, rinse and repeat. His days on include training rides, lessons, walk hacks, and aquatred. Continuing monthly chiro adjustments to check in and maintain his alignment. 

Rocking the dad bod and a few hives

His favorite past time is visiting the babies and squealing at them. They are the only horses who take his squeal seriously. He would LOOOOOOVEE to go out with them.

Goggles: Looking back at the calendar, Goggles spent the entire first half of the month (truly, the first time I got back on him was the 14th) doing ground work and lunging. I think it was hugely beneficial because we have had pretty solidly wonderful rides since then. Funny the way that works. He did some of his first real (2'3") jumps under saddle this month and hopped a few cross rails in the ring. He is not at all fussed about the jumping. Our biggest challenge emotionally is still working away from the herd, which I think is part of his trailering anxiety as well. He has come SO FAR on the GY's property and now can and will work anywhere no matter where the other horses are. But confidence and calmness on hacks off the property is still a work in progress. He was VERY BRAVE and good when we went out with Ms. GY and her guy, but by himself has a tether to the home base/other horses and gets anxious once we get a certain distance away. I'm working on slowly increasing that distance. I want him to LOVE trail riding and since he is naturally much more confident than Ben, I think if I move forward properly, he will. 

What's next? Solidifying the right lead canter, continuing to develop confidence off property, continuing to work on loading and travelling well. Maybe a few field trips to XC spots.

Wondering why the heck he was moved from NY to FL

"You can't sit with us" (if you're not a bay TB gelding)

Slow is Smooth

Goggles has taken many steps forward and a few steps backward. After our cowboy lesson we had some of the best, most settled lunging he has ever done. He was tuned in and relaxed. I could see him playing with how to use his body to make the 20m circle work for him. He generally was coming up with the right answers. Slightly slower, more uphill balance, softening through his body and neck. And then we back slid. I stood with Mr. GY that day, lamenting the unintended canter circles and holes dug in their ring from a few bucks. He suggested more ground work before lunging. "But we DID that" I whined. He glanced at me "Are you still DOING that?" 

So I gave the baby horse a break and went home and settled myself. Then went back out to the farm at lunch time and stood at the gate. Goggles is well trained (he's trained us well?) and comes trotting or cantering up when someone stands at the gate around that time of day. I let him eat lunch, then put on gloves, his rope halter, and the 22' line, and went and stood in the shade in the ring. He walked circles for a solid 5 minutes, much longer than it took him to settle and connect in the past. Hrm. Then he did. Then we practiced the other blocks of moving his shoulders and haunches and having him stay in line with me, responding to my body language. Good boy. 

Our next lunge session I started with more ground work. We then went back to the barn and popped on his bridle and surcingle and headed back to the ring. I honestly was not sure how the two types of training sessions were going to connect; the "gear" is different and the goal is different. The cowboy ground work is more mirroring and in line work whereas lunging is sending him out around me. But he was markedly better. More settled, more balanced, more in tune. 

In other areas we seem to be figuring our shared goals out much more smoothly. We took a hack with Ms. GY on her guy and had a grand time. He (re)learned that he likes puddles and enjoyed splashing in them the whole ride. He led most of the way, including around some areas we had never been before. When we got back we trotted a few circles in the field and then I pointed him at a few of the log stacks he's jumped in hand. He popped right over the first, cantering softly away. The second I took for granted, and he elected the swerve around route. I chastised myself and pointed him back at it. He hopped it much bigger, but again cantered softly away. We did that one twice more to solidify it and then called it a day. Definitely a successful first few jumps! 

We also made it back down to JT's for a lesson and she confirmed what I'd been feeling: he's come a really long way with his balance and steering. It was really, really nice to hear her positive feedback. He is my first restart project since early college, so I am living in perpetual fear of screwing him up while I'm muddling around unsupervised.

Last week was a trailer intensive week. The GY's went out of town so I took the liberty of housing my trailer in the arena for the week and putting Goggles on it multiple times each day. I wasn't going for closing the butt bar, I just wanted him calmly going on and then staying on until I asked him to back off. 

Florida summer chic (aka my treat pouch got moldy and I haven't yet cleaned it)

I went back to straight ole bribery, sans target. Just holding a carrot in one spot until he stepped forward to grab it. Repeat with another carrot two feet further in. The first time we made it all the way in he did realize he'd crossed his fear line and went backwards more quickly than I would have liked. The second time I took smaller steps coming in. And then he ate several carrots while all the way in before I asked him to back out. 

When we went to JT's I did use ace for the trip down. He was much more peaceful while driving. I didn't repeat it for the return trip home, 4 hours later, but he was still SO much quieter back there. Hopefully the chemical aid helped his brain relax and have a positive experience that will continue forward. 

So that's the baby horse update. I'm still just over the moon thrilled with (almost) everything he does. He's just sweet, sensible, and really wants to learn how to do the right thing. (He did break his stall door the other day, I wasn't over the moon with that, but he's a large baby horse and things happen. Although none of us know exactly what did happen, he didn't have a mark. Everyone was in under the fans, and he's not spooky so I don't think it was an accident. So hopefully he doesn't make this a pattern!)

Welcome back Ben

Ben is finally right again. It only took a change in shoeing, stifle injections, and SI injections. I hope that it was all triggered by his unhappy feet that we have now remedied. I would like to not have a repeat of pouring this much money into my horse's joints. Retrospectively he might not have needed the stifle injections because they didn't change much in his way of going. But, regardless, now he is back to work. This is the second summer in a row where he has come back to work RIGHT at the hottest time of the year. By 10 AM my weather app says "unfavorable - conditions are not ideal, consider modifying activities to limit outdoor exposure". Oof. But since he's been mostly off since March/April, he gets to go back to work. 

Our plan is JT riding him for the first two weeks post-SI injection to keep him really freaking straight through his pelvis. I'm taking him for walk hacks in between his training rides with her. The second week of July, I'll get back in the saddle for more than walking and start doing some dressage rides and more heavy duty conditioning. The last part of July, we'll put him back over fences. 

As part of his conditioning, he is aqua tredding. I am delighted by this. He is not and my wallet is not, but I think it is really, really good for him. Plus it isn't 5 million degrees on the underwater treadmill, so that's a perk too. 

Why tho??? 

WW: Goggles goes for a lunge

The day I set up my pivo last week was definitely a two steps back kinda day after a week of steps forward. 

Really wanted to fight the side reins tracking right

And couldn't find a level balance in them 

Much better without them

Balance aided by some walk-trot transitions

Weeeeee leaning in on that inside shoulder like WOAH 

Afterwards we hung out in block one in the arena. Given his shenanigans while lunging I thought he'd be more up, but he actually settled right down. 

Dogs were barking in the distance 

He wanted to keep hanging out after I turned him out

If you've made it this far... what are your thoughts on lunging green horses? Side reins? Pessoa? Nothing? 

I think we might have reached a point where the side reins have stopped being helpful for the time being. He is much more willing to accept contact now and be consistent in it, but he's starting to hang on that contact quite a bit. Looking at the 30 minute video I took, I think the side reins might now be encouraging him to lean into them too much. His balance was better without them for the most part. 

(Not so) WW: Trickster Pony

Shiny boy enjoying lunch

Sunday I went to visit my dad. I stopped by the barn about 11 and Googles GALLOPED from the back of the pasture to see me. Then he got lunch, fly spray, and kicked back out.

I shared his cute greeting with Ms. GY on Monday and she said "Wait, you fed him lunch Sunday? Around 1 I was out there and he trotted up to me so I fed him lunch." 

Well played sir, well played. 

Where I found him on Monday. He's got all this gorgeous grass to eat and instead he's snooping around the trailer

Thinking in millimeters

Another tidbit from our cowboy session was that horses think in millimeters and humans think in meters (well, he said feet, but I have a distaste for the imperial system and mixing imperial and metric in one sentence). I applied that to my ride with Goggles on Wednesday, and WOW! That idea made it SO much easier to reward the tiniest movement off his inside shoulder. I also managed to quit before we had done too much. So we did 25 minutes of walk and trot and it was GREAT! I felt like I managed to leave him at the end feeling like he was brilliant, which I should do every ride, but I am human and fail and push too much sometimes. The goal is not to have him bending through his barrel and up off his inside shoulder. The goal is to have him ever-so-slightly closer to that position than the stride before. 

He came back from JT's very undeweight. Not her fault at all, but I think he arrived and stressed and travelled to and from while stressing. And in the 17 hand TB way immediately dropped any of the weight we had finally gotten onto him. 

I shot these pictures post-ride Wednesday, trying to get the least flattering angle I could to make sure we were going in the right direction. He is in the middle of his lunch of two scoops of TC and one scoop of soaked alfalfa cubes. Remind me why I have two thoroughbreds? 

We did some work on block one (aka relax somewhere not at the end of the rope and not in my space) outside the trailer on Tuesday. He was very good and checked it out some on his own. I didn't ask anything, he could be way outside of it if he wanted (22 foot rope). I just wanted him to be confident near the trailer. 

I was confused by this one. He came in on his own and then immediately looked stressed. But he backed out slowly, so I was still pleased. 

In other news, it is now that time of year in Florida where you walk out the door and get slammed in the face by a wall of heat and humidity. Delights. Please take me back to the chilly evenings and mornings of NC when I was there in May. Not going to get back up until August, but my brother and I are going to NY in July, which is not as reliably chilly, but is at least always cooler than Florida. 

These blackberries should be ripe berries in August

And a little recommendation for JVN hair products... as a curly haired person in FL, I struggle with massive amounts of frizz. My hair also likes to eat product. So I can have gelled looking curls, which I don't love, or frizz. I almost always resort to just wadding it up in a bun on my head. But I've been using the JVN shampoo, conditioner, and complete air dry cream for a week now and I loooooove it. 

Cowboy time

Goggles and I had a lesson with the cowboy JT uses for ground work. It was great! I learned a ton and had a ton of fun watching the cute baby horse learn things too. His actual techniques are not supposed to be shared online for free, so I'll share some general take aways: 

• MANY horses are used to only finding relaxation in movement. We want them to be able to find relaxation in stillness as well. Finding that will help with square halts too. Why do we focus so much on a square halt? It shows relaxation and stillness. 
• If you push past the fear line, they will often go with you. But then when they realize they're past it, they will panic. This came up because we were discussing trailer loading. I certainly pushed Goggles past that line and then did see the panic that occurred. This also makes sense with his original trailer loading behavior - flying in and out. He was responding to the ask, then realizing he was actually scared, and then reversing at warp speed. I certainly saw the parallel to horses that rush jumps. When you actually break it down, they're doing this because they're terrified not because they are eager. 
• Horses can learn in several ways: finding the answer on their own, being helped to find the answer, being told the answer, and being forced into the answer. We don't do enough of letting them find the answer on their own. 
• Horses think in millimeters, we think in inches and feet. This applies to being in your space, loading on the trailer, etc etc 
• We're pretty bad at charades most of the time. If we ask consistently (consistently to them, not just us), they give us the right answer almost all the time. 
• You want the four C's in everything you do: calm, confident, communicating, and connected
• The posture and relaxation they learn to adopt the majority of the day will do more for their topline than an hour of riding each day

I'm excited to keep playing with these things, especially while we try to get the weight onto him and it is bloody hot. 

Our lunging session the next day was the most relaxed and confident he's ever been. **Coincidence? I doubt it. 

**(just re-read after writing this post by swyping on my phone and realized I had confidence in here... which is the exact opposite of what I wanted to question)

Hanging out, relaxed, post hosing 

May 2023 Wrap Up

Ben: 

Ben has been through the ringer a bit since the start of March. We FINALLY have his feet happy. He's not shifting his weight back and forth on hard ground, and he is off of the Equioxx. He is jogging sound on the hard, uneven driveway. He got his neck and withers shockwaved a week ago and got his stifles injected yesterday. When we jogged him before the stifles yesterday morning he was sound and flexed sound, but we went ahead with the injections because he was resistant to half-halts under saddles and wanting to go wide behind. In a few days we get to start rebuilding fitness. He has been in low level work this month when he's been sound, a few flat sessions and hacks (4 hacks, 1 dressage lesson, 3 training rides). And he's still been turned out the whole time, so we are not starting from ground zero at least. But again, we get to spend the hottest part of the summer rebuilding rather than taking some time off since he had the pleasant spring weather off. 

Throwing it back to when we were doing things

He's just gorgeous and the magic hour light is quite nice too 

Goggles: 

• 6 lunging sessions - 3 at home with me, 3 at JT's in the pessoa
• 10 rides including 
• His FIRST cross country schooling! He was a super good boy and so brave!! 
• 2 lessons - his first under saddle canter and hundreds of walk-trot transitions
• 1 ride at home where NEW horses were in his field 
• 3 short ventures off property 
• 5 groundwork sessions - 2 trailer loading, 2 emotional regulating off property, and 1 in hand trotting over some jumps with me, he's so cute with that 
• Scope and his first chiro session - we're almost done with his month of 1/2 tubes of gastrogard and then it will be time to schedule his recheck scope 

Overall it was a very interesting month for him and me. We upped the ante in a few ways of expectations and activities, and while he stepped up to meet the challenge in a lot of areas, I think I pushed a bit too far too fast with the trailering. He was more anxious on the drive to and from Majestic than he had been; going without a friend was too much for him at this point. Noted. He's a smart, sweet baby though, and we continue to learn together. 

We're still learning on the weight front too. I bought him his own alfalfa to have in the stall instead of the coastal or orchard. He's still somewhat disinterested and does a lot more spreading it around than eating it. Thanks buddy, that stuff is super cheap. He's on TC complete - 2 scoops AM and PM and 1.5 scoops with a full scoop of soaked alfalfa cubes for lunch. He is an ACTIVE baby though. The field at the GY's is 7-8 acres and he bops around that pretty much constantly. Not that he doesn't settle and eat some, but he loves to go harass the other horses. At least the pasture is really good quality right now given his lack of interest in hay. But I really would love if he gained enough weight to have a shot at building a topline. 

Cutie pie