Messing up the routine!

This week was a little backwards from how me normally do things.

Monday we hacked out in the fields for a while just meandering.

Tuesday he had off.

Wednesday I went out at about 7:00 that evening (most unheard of for us) and plodded around for about an hour. W/T/C he was pretty good a tad resistant though.

Thursday he had off.

Today I got out fairly early and decided to try out a new bit. Which is not a success. I was super surprised at just how much he protested it. So tomorrow we're going back to our regular bit until I can come up with another one to try. However he still w/t/c fairly politely each direction and we rode with 2 other people. AND he wasn't a jerk. We finished up taking a lap around one of the fields which actually amped him up instead, oh well! Then he had to get hosed off. Poor man was s-w-e-a-t-y I felt pretty bad for him. Of course he thought the wash stall was torture but he behaved.

Fingers crossed tomorrow he's happier switching back to his old bit.

It's like magic!

I believe we have a winning saddle! Thank goodness, the process is so, so, so unbelievably stressful with an extra wide pony!

Today I was planning on hacking out. However when I got to the barn all the horses were out. I guess since it was SUCH a nice day the barn decided to let them enjoy it - YAY! So I had to scrap that plan. I guess that's why I try to never make specific plans for riding. Back to the point though, the saddle. I never said yesterday but it's a courbette alpina - I found it 43% off at my local tack store in an extra wide (it's a 17 inch I need a 16.5 but I'm not complaining!). What are the chances of that happening!!!!!! Yesterday I manage a quick ride in the saddle but didn't really push anything just trying to acclimate myself.

I definitely upped the ante today! We did lots of trotting and the most cantering we've done in a long time (on both leads). I can sit much better in this saddle I'm not constantly fighting to stay in the saddle. Poncho is moving much looser through his back. He was even stretching down into the contact at the canter - which he normally fights to do. Needless to say I'm super pleased with how our luck turned out after such a horrible demise to my last saddle. I really wanted to try and pop over a couple jumps but no one was there so I decided to be a smart person and not (just incase Poncho decided to kill me ;)! )

I even hopped on Mindite for a little today. We have a lot of work to do! She really doesn't want to accept the contact. Everytime I touch her mouth she flips her head. I guess that's what 10 years of no real work or contact will do to you. We'll get there though!

The short version.

Wednesday: After our ride Poncho killed my saddle. Went to tack store got new saddle, fingers crossed it's wide enough!!!!!!!!

Thursday: it rains - no barn - slowly dying inside from anticipation!!!

Friday: Windy as all get out, Poncho was freaking out soooo I just tried saddle on him in the stall (he went bonkers in the cross ties). Looks like it's a good fit, huge sigh of relief.

Saturday: Somehow managed to get off of work at 12!!!!! Go to barn and test ride in new saddle. Seat is flat and hard as a rock, I'm in love! (hopefully I feel that way after a couple more rides, I have 3 more days to officially decide!)

Riding with other and JUMPING again!

Wow, what  whirlwind these last two days have been!

Yesterday when I got to the barn there were two other boarders there. Which meant that would be the first time Poncho has been ridden with other horses (except for Midnite) in nearly 9 months. I had no clue what to expect...

He totally surprised me though - he was a super star. Got straight down to business and strutted his stuff for the others. (Of course we need to look good for a lady horse!) We did mostly w/t. When we tried a little canter he got a bit to show offy, and we lacked some control. So we decided to save that for another day. Instead he had a blast splashing through all the puddles in the ring and watching everyone do their thing.

Today however Poncho was beyond amazing. We did w/t/c. His canter was getting so adjustable today and even on his "bad" lead he was super willing and compliant (not normal). However when we went to canter through a puddle that was a little too much for him (water even hit me in the face - WOOPS!). His trot work was to die for at times. Once we canter around a little his trot work just goes to a new level. I really need to just canter him a lap each way before trotting one day. He immediately accepts the contact and really steps under himself! I love it!!!!!!! Also we jumped today. Nothing big or scary. Just a 2ft cross rail. But he was so excited to do it. You would have though it was atleast 3ft. Goober.

Then after riding I took him back to the wash stall to show him it still isn't going to eat him. He needed a lot of convincing but finally did it - and lived!!!!!

Trying something new.

Today I went out to the barn with a simple plan of hacking out in the fields. When I got there the two fields I used last week had the pasture horse occupying them. SO that left us with a pasture with lots of hills and tractors surrounding it (scary stuff for Poncho). I wasn't too worried though the worst that could happen is I fall - been there done that with him too many times to be surprised.

Onwards we went.

After several minutes of me convincing him that we could in fact walk past the two tractors and their attachments into the field it was smooth sailing. Although he was not a big fan of the hills. They are a lot steeper than I remembered once we were out there. I only did that for about 15 minutes, we'll have to work up to more. Then we went to the ring to do some stretchy trot work. Where he kept tripping over his rubber bell boots (he has a pair specifically for riding that he's fine with I just didn't want to get them all muddy) so we never attempted cantering. He also forgot that he knows what puddles are. Goober. He splished and splashed around in them for a little before he decided that he could trot through it. Then it was a game to see how much water you could splash up!

Pretty simple day all in all. I just wanted him to have a nice refreshing day where he didn't have to really think. So then he got pampered on a bit. Which led to his new job as official rag holder!

Clearly he takes his new job VERY seriously!

Then I just hung out with him in his stall until he was bored with me and went back to eating his hay.

Getting down to business, maybe.

I've been on a roll so far this week! Monday, Tuesday, and today pony has worked his butt off!

Monday was a simple just get out and loosen up kind of ride. After three days in a row off I just wanted to get him forward and free moving. SUCCESS. Also we had tried not soaking his hay for a few days to see how he'd been. Not too good. He was coughing quite a bit. We're back to soaking it.

Tuesday we ramped things up a little bit.  I wanted him to canter more, he's still in the mindset that we only canter a lap or two and then we're done. Not so much though. He was a bit perturbed at first but got over it and really got into the cantering. His trot work got iffy. For a few laps we'd be great then fall apart for a few then get it back. Oh well something to work on.

Today I was planning on jumping for the first time in nearly a year!!!!! However when I got to the barn there were 3 tractors out and about. Then there was the saw and nail gun. ALL surrounding the entire ring. Needless to say I didn't really have his full attention. We managed to have a successful w/t/c ride though. I was really, really proud of him. I remember a time when he would have tossed me and left me in the dust with all that going on. Not anymore though! His trot was much improved today. We mainly worked on getting long and low during it to hopefully get him a little more relaxed. His canter was a little back and forth due to him getting looky. Very forward and the suck back then push forward then suck back. But we finally got it.

I'm soo proud of my baby. I swear even after 7 1/2 years I'm more in love with him now than ever before. No honeymoon phase over with us. Everyday when I get to the barn I still can't believe how lucky I am to have him. He's just absolutely amazing to me!

WE FOUND IT!

On Thursday I decided I was just going to hack out in the fields for a nice change. I also had the hidden agenda of hopefully finding the bell boot he lost on Sunday (?) evening.

He was super duper pleased with getting out of the ring. He just marched on and on and on. For awhile I just let him meander where he wanted to go, it was quite comical to see how he wanted to serve this away and that away. Eventually he had to listen to me though.

After checking out one field we moved to the next one (where he has been turned out here lately). Boy was he ready to P-A-R-T-Y when we walked in there. I did find the bell boot whilst attempting to convince him that we really should just walk around. So I hopped off to grab it, then hopped back on. The second I started to swing over I could just feel him start to coil up to bolt. Luckily I stopped that before it happened, but I have no doubt that he would have done it if given the proper opportunity. Goober.

Today it reached 90 degrees! So even though I really, really wanted to ride I gave him the day. I just didn't think it would be fair to him to ask for real work with an almost 20 degree temperature jump in a 24 hour period. Hanging out it was for the day. I'm sure he was just fine with all the grooming and scratching he got.

Two more rides under our belt!

I've managed two more rides since my last post. With rain and lots of stuff going on I made peace with he'd have to have 2 days in a row off! OH MY!

Sunday I managed a slightly more productive ride than Saturday. He was a bit more settled with the way things are in the ring. I was super duper happy with his canter work. So open and free feeling, someone definitely loves the GIGANTIC ring we have now!!!!!!

Monday he had off because the barn had a vet there and we didn't want to get in the way.
Tuesday he had off because I didn't even go out there, it was so rainy and gross.

Today is still pretty much a repeat of yesterday weather wise. However I wasn't going to miss another day. Plus I finally decided to try out my fleeceworks shaped saddle pad that I've had sitting in my room for years now out. Of course the second I got him tacked up it started to rain. I waited a minute or two for it to steady out a little and out we headed. Of course it got heavier for a while then stopped. Poncho was a bit unsure of riding in it but he handled it well. We didn't do much productive because along with the rain the tractor was right beside the ring with someone clearing out fallen trees. SO that was a little distracting. However we still did w/t/c. The canter was lackluster but I wasn't asking for anything spectacular. I think I'm happy with the saddle pad, may need a few more rides to really get a feel for it.

Hopefully in the next day or two we can hack out in the field (If it dries up enough).

PART 3 - Settling in.

On Thursday I went out just to hang out and give him an official "tour" of the place. He was happily standing in his stall with plenty of hay still left, thank goodness! We explored for awhile checked out all the jumps in the ring where the cross ties are all around the barn. He was totally enthralled - such a goober. Then I just hung out with him in the stall and groomed him.

battle wound 1 - probably scratched it on a tree limb

battle wound 2 - definitely invaded someone's personal space!

 Friday I wanted to take a little ride around the ring. I didn't have my riding pants and I didn't want to work him hard because of his leg, just in case. So we walked around for awhile just meandering with no real purpose. He still had plenty of hay left in his stall. Apparently his method is anytime he hears something he has to go and look out one of his windows to see what's up. Again I hung out with him for awhile just enjoying being able to!

Today we had a slightly more involved ride with a bit more trotting and adding in some lateral work. He was a tad unfocused but there was stuff going on around him so I cut him a little bit of slack. Overall he was still super duper in my opinion. I'm just soooooo happy about how close he is and the fact that he seems to be settling in so incredibly well!!!!!

PART 2 - The move!

Wednesday day morning started out a tad gloomy but as we arrived at the barn the sun was starting to peak out. We got there about an hour early because I wanted to make sure I had EVERYTHING done in time and that Poncho was semi-clean. The new BO ended up getting there about 10 minutes early so thank goodness I had a head start.

Now I will mention in the past Poncho has had off and on trailer issues. However the last 4 or 5 times we've trailered he's been a total pro! Well apparently our luck ran out this morning. After the first 15 minutes or so we decided we'd just put Midnite on so that she wouldn't think there was some horrible monster up there and so that Poncho could hopefully be a little more motivated? Not so...Ultimately it took about an hour give or take a couple minutes to get him on there. There were several almost, and by almost I mean he was literally on the trailer but then someone came racing down the drive way 2 different times. So every time after that when he was basically on at the last minute he'd run off again. GAHHH. And the worst part is during the second drive by I was already scooting under the bar up front and got some rope burn (plus several impressive blisters) from not being quite fast enough. :(

ouch!

So after all that we finally get to the new barn! Poncho had worked himself up quite a bit on the ride over he was covered in foam all up and down his chest. Poor guy, he knows better. So we got them into their stalls so we could coordinate who they would go out with and where. Because the plan was to turn them out with a buddy for a couple hours and then bring them in so once they went out at night there would be slightly less drama. Poncho of course got wayyyy to close and personal with his buddy. But ultimately spent his time running around like a dork. Midnite didn't even pay attention to her buddy. Go figure. Then we got all our stuff set-up and planned on coming back out later to see them get turned out. (I love being only 10 minutes away!)

Poncho went out first and was quite interested in all his new buddies and thankfully there were no immediate scuffles between anyone. Midnite on the other hand was a tad confused about going to a different field and took off to find Poncho (almost running into a shed on the way DORK). Then once she found him decided he wasn't cool anymore and ran off with the other mares. SO that left Poncho devastated. The remainder of the time we were there he was running laps, jumping over logs, just carrying on squeaking (he can't whinny and run or basically whinny at all.) Needless to say I left with my fingers crossed he'd calm down soon and just enjoy his new friends.

PART 1 - The hole...

So the week before our big move to the new barn I was heading down the ring for a ride. We were literally 15 feet from the gate when all of the sudden Poncho goes completely down! I somehow managed to stay calm, get him up, and into the ring. Looked back at where we just came from and damn it a hole ate his leg up! It was about 1 1/2 foot deep. WOWZERS. I figured since I was already down at the ring I might as well just tack walk him, since it couldn't hurt too much?

The next day he had some heat up and down his leg :(...SO after copious amounts of panicking (because I was on the verge of a mental breakdown with work and planning the move - this was the last straw) I got my but in gear and doctored him up.

Lots of cold hosing, which by the way after about 5 minutes I get a big F*** YOU! DMSO and furazone. Bute. And 5 days. Luckily he was completely back to normal crisis averted. Looking back I see how absolutely ridiculous I was in my over-reaction. BUT I was stressed!
 

Due for a major update

I'm a tad bit behind in my posts here lately. But I've had a ton going on. So I owe several posts that I'm just not going to be able to get to right this second. Until then...