In the Arena #98 - A very good place to start... (happy birthday thoroughbreds!!)

We finished off 2011 with two rides, and began 2012 in the saddle as well. Couldn't ask for more - perfect weather conditions and happy horse + rider...

Unless it would be a freshly renovated tack room...

or a brand new manure composting space.

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I made a few changes to our regular ride routine. Hoping to pique Val's interest in our work, I set up a course of cones and ground rails. I also lowered my stirrups and left Val's boots in the tack room. The contact and energy came and went, although they improved in each successive ride. This indicated a lack of steady focus on my aiding I suspect. I've also gone back to a lengthier warm-up, working on the buckle before I take up any contact. Our big walk improves with every ride. It seems to work best to ask for it after a number of trot transitions. Regarding my posture, it was also effective to sit up and back so far as too feel like too far, which I think is just far enough.

What really excited me was how engaged Val became with the introduction of new elements in the arena. Despite his cleverness, he was unable to correctly predict what I would be asking for next. There were just too many choices. Balkiness and steering issues vanished. :)

Would we ride over the rails, or perhaps through them? Circle around the entire complex, or figure eight with a diagonal change through the rails? Turn-on-the-forehand at each cone? What about halting squarely in the rails. (practice for halting at X!) We transitioned and backed through them as well. It was enough to make a poor horses head swim...

One question I have is how to determine the correct distance between the ground rails. Any suggestions would be appreciated. I'd like to set the distance so they wouldn't have to be adjusted for the trot work. Thanks in advance my blogger friends.

Afterglow

I likes my mints in me...

and on me :)

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Other news - there has been progress on the new arena. We've dropped and spread seven tandem loads of sand so far. In addition to the arena itself, we're adjusting the grade of the whole property to facilitate drainage. If it sounds expensive, it is. Who could believe you'd have to pay through the nose for sand when you live on an island made entirely from it?! We're getting there slowly but surely...

Whatever will she think of next?!

At the Barn #46 - The good, the bad and the ugly In the Arena # 84 - Making do

Guess what showed up at the farmette last week! A cowboy. A real live cowboy. A cow working, colt starting, boot, hat and spur wearing, knows how to use the rope hanging from his saddle horn yes mayam'ing cowboy from a ranch in Wyoming. *sigh*

The real cowboy's kid - a thirteen year old cowgirl - has dreamed of riding horses on the beach for her whole life... this summer they made the dream come true. After stops in South Dakota and Iowa for horse shows and to pick up grandma, they found their way here. Sounds good so far...

Stock photo - not the real cowboy ;)

Background: the woman I bought my property from still owns the land next door. She had to move inland due to health issues, temporarily abandoning her small horse boarding operation. For the past year I have helped her keep the business afloat on this end. Taking bookings, maintaining the facility, sorting the customers out when they get here, often letting them camp on my property. Here's why - although I enjoy meeting the horses (and horse people), I'm planning to put an end to helping with boarding business.

Shortly after the boarder's arrival, we spent three hours in the boiling hot afternoon sun releasing their 25,000 lb converted semi + three horse slant with live-in from a soft spot in the sand where the cowboy had attempted to turn the rig around. We ended up creating a track with lumber that I luckily had laying around. A very labor intensive and sweaty job. (strike one)

And the picnic table I sat on for a few minutes while rehydrating was apparently infested with chiggers. The back of my legs are covered with scores of maddeningly itchy bites. (strike two)

The offending devil bug

At 9:30 that same night, I was well on my way to bed when a series of confusing phone calls ensued. My neighbor down the way from the farm called to tell me that the cowboy's elderly mother was lost in the neighborhood randomly knocking on doors. I tracked her down at another neighbor's house. She wanted to call the police because she was worried about her son and granddaughter not being back from riding. She also had no idea where she was - across the street from my farm, her son's truck, her son's cell phone, (and her son and granddaughter as it turns out). I talked her down, reminding her that the ride takes over two hours which technically gave them another fifteen minutes, and directed her back across the street to her son's truck with the phone and the living quarters where she could wait comfortably. I also wondered how the police could possibly help someone who has no clue where they are.

I then left a message on the cowboy's cell asking that he please call me to let me know he and his daughter had returned safely. I never got a call, so could barely sleep worrying that one of them was injured and they had to spend the night in the woods or worse. Why would you not carry a cell with you on a trail ride in a strange new place when it was likely to be dark before you get back? (strike three)

SO as much as I love sharing our fabulous trail ride to the beach  - I'm done with feeling responsible for people who don't / won't be responsible for themselves, no matter how adorable they are or how cute of an accent they have...

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I took advantage of a beautiful cool day on Saturday to finally get a ride in. Still very very deep footing in our arena. There's a small area that is still somewhat firm, so we stuck to working in that limited space, at a walk. A delightful bareback ride. We worked on moving out, outside rein connection, halts and turns on the forehand. And me being even and balanced, keeping my weight down in my right side, not collapsing my left side. I thought from Val's responses, that I had succeeded in evenness, but the pictures tell a different story. :)

Left leg longer...

 

 

"Need more cookies - mouth empty!!"

 

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An update on improvements at the farmette...

My poor grading / tractor man is recovering from double hernia surgery. He'll be out of commission for many weeks, so the new arena is on hold (again). We'll have to work where we can, and pray for rain. On a good note - over the weekend I got the trailer properly electrified. That just leaves bringing in h2o and connecting to the septic and then we're operational. On tap for the next few days - carrying the trailer contents to the dump + the very thorough cleaning. Stay tuned for pix...

In the Arena # 78 - All's well that ends well...

So, last winter I posted about emergency repairs to the well pump that brings water to my barn. Dead well pump. Not fun - again...

There's the inconvenience of having to take things apart, purchase new parts and put them together... I know I shouldn't complain too much as my handyman (who also happens to be my father - love you Dad!) does the real work. All I really have to do is fetch tools and run back and forth turning spigots on and off. Then there's the worry about what we would do if suddenly we don't have the well. Dad does the fixing - I do the worrying.

I was right to worry. For the last month or so, the well not been reliable. Uneven, surging water flow that will sometimes peter out after being used for more that filling up a bucket - horse rinsing, or watering the garden. We checked out possible mechanical causes, but there may be another factor. The water table is as low as I have seen it since living here. Lack of rain in general, and lack of tropical systems that really dump in particular. I woke up this morning scheming about transporting water in the back of my truck, and siphoning verses carrying buckets, trailering Val to my house for bath time...

Good news is that handyman extraordinaire got the mechanics taken care of so we can bring what water there is to the surface - let's pray for rain!

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Progress... Dad and I laid out the boundaries of the new arena over the weekend, as well as shot levels to get an idea of how to move around the material we have, and how much sand I'll have to bring in for the project. It looks like rearranging what sand I have already will make the cost more manageable. Next step - planning. I have to take all the info we collected and transpose it onto a large copy of the site drawing. Ugh - math. I had to pull out the pythagorean theorem to make sure the layout was square. Within inches as it turned out, although a calculator was necessary to accomplish the ciphering ;) Getting closer all the time. Once we have our proper arena with proper footing there will be no excuses Val!

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Val and I had a "play date" yesterday. I hooked up with the only other dressage rider in the area - D,  a summer visitor. She borrowed a horse and brought him over for some schooling as I have the only "arena" around. Val was happy to have horse company - Cowboy pulled his patented scary jump out from behind the run in when they go by move. Twice. Thankfully Charlie, a pretty little refined chestnut quarter horse, was unfazed. 

We had a nice first session, although Val took advantage of my lack of focus. It was the first really hot day and he didn't feel like moving at all, so it took a lot of effort - mental and physical - to get beyond a walk. To be fair, the arena sand is very deep right now, making it all the harder to work. I can barely push the manure cart through it at the moment. Our trot transitions were labored and took way too long, with even some popping up in the front end as protest. (Yes - I was blocking with my hands at the time) ;) We finally got some round 15 meter circles at the trot, very good work on the buckle before it was over, and we ended on a high note.

It will be a good challenge for us to focus on working with other horses and distractions around. D's arrival is very timely. We have plans for more rides, with photos and video to come.

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A final note - with the sudden temperature rise come the snakes. This little pretty appeared between me and my destination - Val's stall window as I left last night. She may have been laying eggs under the wash rack concrete pad when I disturbed her. She hissed, coiled, struck and rattled her tail at me. An impressive display, but bluffing none the less. Hopefully this will be as serious as our snake interactions get this summer :)