Quick Update

So dear readers, it has come to that point. I am exhausted and don't want to update you, not because I feel you don't deserve to know what's going on in the life of dear Miss Ellie, but because I'm pooped and don't feel like writing a big long post. I believe in the long run I'm getting the short end of the stick here, but right here and now, you're getting jipped out of a post this evening.

Rest assured a longer, more in-depth post will be coming soon. For now, I will leave you with this video montage of today's ride, which was Ellie's 2nd in the big girl arena (I'll tell you about her graduation to the large arena next time) and her 10th or so ride (I've honestly lost exact track). She has been under saddle for 16 days now.

Have a good evening, enjoy the show.

Baby pictures

Today's progress in the ring was minimal, but I'm still very happy with Ellie's learning curve. She trotted around the round pen for about half the ring at a time, before stopping dead. Small steps... small steps. I did notice she seemed less than thrilled about even walking today, and I don't want her to become ring sour, so the plan for tomorrow is just easy lunging in the big arena, no tack.

I found a local tack shop that does custom leather work, which is really freaking awesome. I'm having a custom bracelet made for me, and I'm having the back of my noseband shortened. If you recall from this post, I had mentioned that Pessoa makes their nosebands stupid big. Well, that problem will be fixed, however, this means I don't have Ellie's bridle for tomorrow. A nice hack on the lunge line and a good long spa treatment with some love and treats is just what the doctor ordered.

On a side note however - I found a baby picture of Ellie!!!

I was doing some research trying to figure out where her action came from, and was researching Anrijetto, her grandsire on her mother's side. While searching around, I stumbled upon the old website for Ellie's breeder. On here I found a baby picture of Ellie, a picture of Ellie's sister, Fascination, and one of her mother, Pnervana. I was thrilled, and made an audible sqee (which solicited some teasing from the boyfriend). I love my mare, and finding a baby picture of her is absolutely thrilling.

So, with that, I'll quit yapping and let you enjoy the pictures I've found.

Baby Ellie, at what I assume is her inspection. 

El Bundy, her father. 

Pnervana, her mother. 

Fascination, her half sister (Fuerst Gotthard x Pnervana)

Fuerst Gotthard is a son of the stallion I would like to breed Ellie to, First Gotthard

Huston, we have liftoff!

No, I'm not referring to a bronc act. What I am referring to is the spring loaded trot that Ellie has. And I got to ride it.

As Andrea put it (as her horse Antheny rides very similarly to Miss Ellie Mae) - "It's like crack. I've never done crack, but if I had, I can imagine that's what it would be like. You get spoiled by that trot." And boy is she ever right. 

I mentioned at the end of my post last night that the goal for today was to trot Ellie on the lunge line in the round pen. We achieved that and more besides. I. Am. So. Freaking. Proud. And excited. And anxious to do it again. And terrified I'm going to screw it all up. That's healthy, right?

Ellie and I have discussed her tension on the lunge line before. In fact, this was one of the first things  she and I worked on, relaxing and being calm on the lunge line, specifically so that when we got to the step we took today, it would be less traumatic. Well, what I didn't think of was that she had done all that work with me, and not Andrea. Duh. Earth to Wannabe-Horse-Trainer, you need to think of these things!!! 

Learn from every small mistake. That's the point of this journal-blog, right? Moving on.

Ellie was a bit tense, because Andrea was at the end of the lunge line and not me. I was hoping the few days of lead lining would help her to trust Andrea a bit more, but... not so much. A reminder of what I mentioned a few weeks ago - Andrea has never, ever, done ANYTHING to this mare that could be construed as negative. They just... don't click. Mares are funny that way. She seemed a bit touchy today to begin with (she flinched when I pulled down my stirrups for the first time in over a week), so I took everything very very slow today. It was only around 60 (chilly compared to the 75 it's been all week) so I attributed some of her "flichies" to the weather, because beyond that, she was her normal self. 

I started the ride today with a recap of what we did yesterday - walking, turning, and stopping on a long loose rein. She stayed nice and relaxed, and is starting to understand leg and seat aids! Hooray! Baby steps lead to the big picture. Andrea joined us in the round pen, attached the lunge, and after a few steps, I asked for a trot. 

Holy. Crap. 

To say Ellie's trot is like riding a springboard would be an understatement. It's more like riding a trampoline on steroids. And it's AWESOME. To go back to the aforementioned crack metaphor, when I was riding Tiger later, the thought came to mind that it was like going from crack to pixy stix. Still sweet, but not nearly as fun.

We only got a few steps of trot in before Ellie got all confused and halted square, snorting like a fire-breathing dragon. My poor mare. I can just see the thought process. "Holy crap, there's something moving on my back while I'm trying to trot, holycrapholycrapholycrap," then we stop, and I croon to her an pet her. "Oh... it's Mom... well ok," and away we walk. We tried this twice, and decided I was probably safer off the lunge line, where Ellie wasn't worried about Andrea in the middle of the round pen. She retreated, and I again asked Ellie for the trot. She trotted a few steps, then once again stopped dead in her tracks, spooked. We walked... and repeated this once more before trying the same in the opposite direction, which ended in pretty much the same result.

Since getting home, and having some time to think about it while working on some concept art for the farm sign, I've speculated that today's results may have been a product of a couple of things.

1.  She may have genuinely been spooked by my being up on top of her and that's why she did not want to go forward more than a few steps at a time. I would not blame her, and this would be a totally normal and expected reaction.

2. Starting on the lunge line was probably not the greatest idea (though necessary for safety's sake), and Ellie's reaction may have been partly, or even entirely, due to her worries about that. Going back over mental reruns of her past performances on the lunge line, she was doing today the same thing she always does when unsure on the line - stop and turn to the inside looking for reassurance. The only problem being that this time I was the one making things scary by being up on her back and not in the middle of the pen where she could see me.

So, that's the report for today. Plan for tomorrow is to try walk-trotting in the pen with no one in the center, just the two of us. We'll see how it goes.

Another day, another leap forward.

Have I mentioned how brilliant Ellie is? I know I have, but I feel the need to mention it once more. 

This mare is BRILLIANT. 

I had a good day with her today. Could you tell?

Yesterday consisted of jump field prep and the girls got the day off. We did more jump field prep today, but only after I worked with Ellie (Tiger did get another day off after getting an overhaul of a pedicure). The mare is shedding like a beast, so I started today with good long grooming that consisted primarily of currying and using the grooming block with a lot of elbow grease behind it. Andrea put it the best - "It looks like someone shaved their granny out here!" (laughter is never hard to find around her) Needless to say... Ellie is shedding. A lot. 

I dragged Edwin to the barn with me today, so we arrived about an hour later than I normally do when alone. Edwin is even less of a morning person than I am (if that's possible) and getting him up in the morning... takes a little bit of time. Because of this, Andrea had started working the babies by the time we got there, and was busy working with Rio when we arrived. I had initially decided to just lunge Ellie in the round pen since she'd had the past three days off from work. I'm used to thoroughbreds that have to be worked EVERY DAY otherwise they are absolutely insane, and the idea of just hopping on after three days generally brings to mind thoughts of death and/or dismemberment. While being groomed and tacked up however, she was so quiet and relaxed (even after getting scared to death by the dump truck delivering shavings) I figured I push my luck a bit. I brought my lunge line with me just in case, but trekked out to the round pen with thoughts of our first lone ride floating around in my head. 

Remember a few weeks ago when just my pulling the stirrups down scared the poor mare half to death? A true testament to how smart she is, she did her Ellie Statue impression while I tightened the girth, pulled down my stirrups, and moved the mounting block (read as: dropping it like the klutz I am) next to her. I love love love working with this mare. I have never had such a rewarding experience working with any horse before.

I took the mounting slow, in case she decided to bolt since there was no one standing at her head, but, again, a testament to the mare's amazing brain, she stood like a statue while I mounted. Seriously. She needs to hold a horsey day class on standing still. She's a pro at not moving until being told to do so.

More to the point - I'm on Ellie without anyone else in the pen!!! To say I'm thrilled... is more than an understatement. 

I don't mean to sound like a broken record, but Ellie is a superstar. She walked around the pen completely relaxed, stopping, turning, crossing the round pen at 12, 3, 6, and 9 (in clock terms), and did it all with a total acceptance of the bit, not trying to evade it. She isn't looking for the bit, or have any sort of frame, but she is accepting of it. She has a super super walk, her beautiful shapely neck stretched long and low, engaging from behind, walking with a great forward motion. I am so excited to see where the next two or so weeks take us. 

The plan for tomorrow is to trot her on the lunge line. Keep your fingers crossed it keeps going this well! I'll update on how that goes tomorrow. 

Until then, I leave you with a great link to a lot of interesting (and valuable) equine news. Check it out here.

Week 1: COM-PLE-TED

Anyone who is a Starfox 64 fan will get where that title comes from. If you're not, you should be. Awesome game, and you don't have the be a video game genius to play it. Er... is my nerd showing? I'll work on that.

Geek mode: off. Moving on.

I am going to start this post with a summation of the week, then from there I'll elaborate. It'll help my scatter brain keep everything straight.

• Monday: More lead lining, with some halt/walk transitions. 
• Tuesday: Lead line class once more. Halt/walk transitions with some turning. Progress!
• Wednesday: Lunge line. Halt/walk transitions without anyone at her head.
• Thursday: TORRENTIAL DOWNPOUR.
• Friday: Murphy's law of rain.
• Saturday: Farm viewing.
• Sunday: Jump field prep. 

Ok. Let's start with Monday.

If you recall, last Sunday I backed Ellie. Wahoo!!! She was a super champ about it, and I could not have been happier with how she took it all. Monday we wanted to keep it simple and only take one more step forward with her training. We trekked out to the round pen and started with the mounting procedure. After how great she took my mounting up the day prior, I wanted to keep things positive. I stepped up onto the mounting block, put my weight into the stirrup, and waited. With barely an ear flick in my direction, Ellie did her best statue impression while I mounted up the rest of the way. This mare is awesome, and I wish 99% of the other horses I rode stood as well for me to mount up as she does.

We walked around the round pen with some contact on the reins, learning to connect the halt and walk commands we learned on the ground with the same actions while I was mounted. We had done a LOT of work with verbal commands on the lunge line specifically for this purpose, so she was pretty responsive to the verbal commands. She kept turning to Andrea for reassurance, but was perfectly ok walking and taking me for a ride. After some successful halts and walk transitions in each direction we called it quits for the day.

Tuesday rolls around, and we decide to do more of the same as Monday, with a bit more contact on the bit. I specifically have been doing everything in the round pen to keep at least the location consistent, so, back out to the round pen we go. Ellie once again was a big grey statue while I mounted up. I stepped up into the stirrup, swung my leg over, and put my foot into the stirrup all in one (albeit slow) motion, and she was still as the stone I just related her to. Have I mentioned I love this mare recently? I love this mare. She's so bloody smart.

As I said, we were doing much of the same, walking around the round pen with minimal contact on the reins, focusing mostly on making sure she was quiet and relaxed. This is one of those horses that if you skip a step it's going to make the next one impossible, because the unknown is so upsetting to her, so we're making sure to take everything very slow. Ellie, however, troops around the ring, almost bored with our transitions, so we decide to throw some steering into the mix. From the moment I mounted up on her Monday, I'd been giving her leg aids whenever we moved to get her used to leg pressure. Nothing's worse than getting up on a horse and realizing that they don't know A-NY-THING about leg aids and having them nearly scrape you off on the fence (something I have experienced one too many times for my liking). Ellie takes the pressure on the bit in stride, and while she's not thrilled with it, starts to get the idea and does a few rollbacks for me. Ending on a positive note, we call it quits for the day.

On Wednesday, as she'd been so relaxed the previous two days on the lead line, as well as allowed Andrea to move away from her and have her basically on a long line, we graduated her up to the lunge line. At first Ellie wasn't sure what was being asked of her. She tried to follow Andrea around the pen at first (as she had on the previous two days on the lead line), but with some coaxing and use of the turning aids we practiced the day before, we managed to move out on the line, and she trooped around like a champ. Beyond that, we did little else that day. Laura did a magic appearing act (or maybe I was just focused on Ellie and didn't notice her drive up) and was awesome and took some pictures for me.

Yay lunge line! 

So... Thursday. Yeah... Thursday... 

Tuesday I had checked the weather for the week, and I expected rain. On Friday. Well... It rained... a day early. I had wanted to move up to the trot on Thursday. That didn't get to happen. In Florida, as the weather is sunny and dry (meaning no precipitation... because it all hangs in the air) and WARM all year round, many many farms do not have an indoor or even a covered arena. Andrea's is one of those places, and if it rains you have two choices - ride in the rain, or don't ride at all. I'm a weenie. I don't like riding in the rain. I make no excuses, I am not ashamed. 

I got up Thursday morning, and noted the clouds. I got Alex (my son) to school, eyeing said clouds the whole way. I live about forty five minutes south of Andrea's, so the weather can be different from place to place. As I'm getting back into my truck at the school I mutter a prayer under my breath that the rain will hold off until after I ride, and head off to Williston. Unfortunately for us, Mother had other ideas. About halfway to the barn, the sky opened, and rain it did. Not just rain, but downpour. I arrive at the barn, dart inside, and find the girls in stalls. The farrier arrived to do some pedicures, I gave the girls a spa treatment each, and called it a day. 

Naturally, I figured the weather would do what the weatherman said it would. I know, I'm silly, right? I'll try and work on that too.

On weekdays, I get up at 8 to make sure I can get Alex to school by 9 and to the barn by 10. Friday, our feline roomates decided that 7 was a wonderful time to go rampaging around the bedroom after each other (they got evicted after romping straight across both our backs, up and down the cat tree, back across our legs on the bed, and finally knocking down the curtains on their tension rods) and wake us up. This, in itself, would not have been a bad thing; getting up an hour early just gives me time to enjoy some coffee and direly needed wake-up time. Since I was awake, I checked outside, and what do you know... rain. I had decided that if the rain kept up, I would give the girls the day off. I see rain... so... I went back to bed and gave myself an extra two hours of sleep I never get to have. Glorious!!! ... So is the sun when I get up. (-_-)

Murphy's law of rain. You expect it to rain, see it raining... then when you make other plans around said rain... it stops. *sigh*

Saturday we had an appointment to see another farm (another no go...) so the girls once again got a day off. The barn on this place was gorgeous, but the house was severely lacking, on top of the property just being far more than we need. So, back to the books. One of the real estate agents we spoke with last week has a new one she wants to show us, and we're in no rush, so it was no big deal that this place didn't work. Worst case scenario there will be farms available once HITS is over and we'll go from there. 

Today Edwin and I trekked out to the farm in the afternoon and started readying the jump field for a new course to be set up. After the rain storm from Thursday there are a lot of little sticks, leaves, acorns, etc. scattered about the field, so we set to grooming. Stick pickup, mole mound leveling, course planning, raking... etc. We got about a quarter of the field groomed, and we'll be going back at it tomorrow. I got to drive Andrea's four wheeler... *insert dorky giggle here* It was fun. I think I'm a little more excited about the fact I get to drive it again tomorrow than I should be (I never said I wasn't still a little kid somewhere deep down inside). I introduced Edwin to the ladies and then headed home to a yummy meal Mummy made. 

It's blurry, and I blinked, but I still love this picture.

That's it for now folks! Until next time...

FIRST RIDE SUCCESS!!!

That's right. You read that correctly.

I RODE ELLIE!!!

Ok, that may not have been necessary, but I really felt that it was. I can't even begin to put into words my excitement with this giant leap forward, and I have to convey it somehow. 

Yesterday we went out to view the farm we really like (again) so both Ellie and Tiger got the day off. I had hoped to get Ellie backed this week, so when I arrived at the barn this morning and I was greeted by two very calm mares who came right to me (they are now paddock buddies) I was hopeful it would be a good day. On Thursday when I did the desensitizing, I could not have asked Ellie to have been any better. She did not spook, she did not run away, she barely even moved when I was smacking the saddle with my hands. 

Friday, we (with the help of Laura) had a foray into long lining. Now, I am not always the biggest fan of long lining for nervous horses. For some horses the combination of a person at their head, the lines on their back, the new commands, etc. can all be too much to take in and learn effectively. With Ellie especially, where she is so nervous when it comes to new situations, and unsure of other people, I am wary of using another person for any training for her. She has to tell me through her body language that she is open to something a little more... trying, if you will. On a day where she is being nervous and a bit flighty (such as last Tuesday) I stick to familiar work so not to stress her out any more than is necessary. On a day where she seems relaxed and trusting, I throw her something new and take it one baby step at a time to see how she takes it. Today she told me she was in one of her moods to learn something new. 

For Christmas my father and his family sent me a lovely $150 gift card to Dover Saddlery. Thanks Dad!!! As badly as I need a new pair of boots (Ariat Volant Lace H2O Tall Boot are a great suggestion for anyone who has giant or mismatched calves like I do, and damn do I want a pair), I only had $150 to work with, not $500+, so I decided to buy training equipment instead. A pair of Vienna lunge reins, a chambon, and a few other small things, and I had spent my Christmas gift. 

My plan for Ellie today was to lunge her in my new Vienna reins, but as she was being so quiet... I decided to throw something new at her. Andrea asked me if I wanted help long lining her, and instead, I asked her if she would help me back her. Gulp. Exciting, but also somewhat scary. This is a giant step for my Ellie Mae. 

Andrea and I head out to the round pen, and we line Ellie up with the mounting block. Bless her big grey heart, she was an absolute statue. I lean over her, putting some weight on the saddle. Nothing. I put my foot up in the stirrup. Still a statue. I slowly, ever so slowly, put my weight in the stirrup (I have a grip strap on my saddle specifically for this sort of work). Ellie at this point takes half a step away, more so she can turn and look at what's going on than anything else, so I back down and step back to the block while leaving my foot in the stirrup. Once she's standing still again (takes about half a second and a quick pat from me and Andrea)  I stand back up in the stirrup. This time she stands still, so I lean myself over her back, stroking her other side with my hands and arms. Still no reaction. Again, very slowly, I pull my right leg up, over, and back down the other side of her body. 

I'm sitting astride Ellie. Holy. Crap.

Andrea and I kept it fairly brief after that, starting with single steps in a small circle. From there we moved to taking a few steps. Any time Ellie would stop we would praise her, and give her both the verbal and leg cue to move forward. After no more than five minutes she was walking around the round pen in a fairly relaxed manner. Every so often she would stop, and both Andrea and I would give her a soft cluck and I would apply some slight leg pressure. After a few rounds, we swapped direction. From there it was much of the same. We walked around the round pen until she was relaxed, and called it quits. I wanted a picture in the worst way, but as it was just Andrea and I, I didn't want to risk being at the end of the lead rope while Andrea took a picture and risk Ellie spooking. Not something I want her to remember ending our first ride with.

The dismount was a bit harder than the mount up. Ellie was rather unsure of my leg coming up her flank. She started a little bit, taking a few steps towards sideways, but with some praise and reassurance, she allowed me to pull my leg over her hindquarters, lever my body over her back, and slide to the ground. I am such a proud Momma right now, I can't even put it into words. I praise her, hug her, scritch her, and in general shower her with love. We head back to the barn, and after a good brush down, I throw her in her stall and retrieve Tiger.

Pretty girl! She looks awesome in that purple.

Tiger was fantastic, yet again. Today we went through the same paces as Friday, with far far less head flipping. Little Red is starting to understand that I'm not going to haul off and smack her mouth with my hands. Being that we were just getting to know each other I hadn't asked for flying changes from her yet. I'm a decent rider, I am confident in my abilities as they are, and do my best to be realistic. Flying changes have always been a bit of a challenge for me. I have a history riding primarily Thoroughbreds off the track, and they have a hard enough time taking up both leads, let alone swapping from one to the other. I am not going to lay all, or even a majority of, the blame on the horses I've ridden. Riding challenging horses has made me the rider I am today, and I wouldn't change anything. However, challenges for the mount teaching you (and vice versa the rider teaching the mount) can translate through to you, and they have with me. I was worried about asking Tiger for the swap, as I did not know if she even knew them. 

We warmed up, trotting nicely on the bit in both directions, Tiger flipping her head only once when I asked her to come on the bit, then settling into a beautiful frame. We continued from there into the canter, circling and cantering nicely around the arena. Tiger is a fun fun ride, but the poor girl has not been asked to use herself properly, and she is fairly out of shape. That's ok, I am too. I give us both a walk break before picking up the right lead once again. I circle once and point her across the diagonal. Boom. Didn't even have to ask. Auto swap. SA-WEET! I try in the other direction. I circle Tiger twice, letting her get the balance of the left lead, and then point her across the diagonal again. Bam. There it is. Auto swap. Big grin for me, lots of pets and loves for Miss Tiger, and nice cool bath (for us both... stupid unseasonable Florida weather). Fantastic way to end a fantastic morning at the barn.

My mares are awesome. 

New projects and new progress

So yesterday we (my mother, my boyfriend, and myself) went to see two more farms, so I wasn't able to get to the barn. Andrea's is a solid 45 minutes from my house, and an hour from some parts of Ocala, so on days where we go view farms it just isn't feesable for me to go see Ellie. On Tuesday while at the barn, I mentioned to Andrea that if she ever wanted help riding any of her horses, to let me know, and I would be more than happy to do so. Yesterday, while in between the first and second farms, I get a text from her telling me to bring my boots and tack, that she had a horse for me to ride. Excited and intrigued, I did exactly as she told me, and wore my breeches to the barn this morning.

This morning I arrived with my curiosity burning. I want to see who I'm going to be riding! All of horses Andrea has are more dressage type, and she told me to bring my tack. Interesting. As I was in the process of unloading my tack from the back of my truck and putting my boots on, Andrea goes walking by with this cute little chestnut. "You wanted to learn right? (Referring to my having voiced a desire for her to teach me more about breeding.) This mare is a test." Now I'm really intrigued. "This mare's owner asked me if she would breed her. Given the choice between her and your mare, who would you pick?" I look at her for a few moments, and decide Ellie definitely has the better conformation of the two. "Good, now tell me why." We go through the finer points of her conformation, (and later, when Ellie was on the cross ties, compared them). Then she informs me, "Her name is Tiger. She's free to a good home. They tell me she's a well trained jumper, and you were the first person I thought of." ... I'm floored. This woman is constantly going out of her way to help me out and thinking of me. I can't thank Andrea enough. Tiger is nothing special by way of conformation, but is extremely sweet, and has great ground manners.

This is after our ride, and soaking wet from her bath. Please ignore this. 

She's listening to the bunch of yearlings playing behind her, not being a grouch. Promise.

See? BABIES!!! They're so freaking cute.

Andrea tells me her story, and after riding her, I start to understand why her owner is giving her away. The mare is a fun ride, very comfortable. Out of shape, and has no clue how to use herself, but comfortable. Andrea has told me that she came from a hunter barn where she wasn't fitting into the cookie cutter mold they wanted her to. Big surprise. She's part Thoroughbred, and she's not fitting in with 100k warmblood hunters... sheesh. Not bashing TB's at all, I'm a huge fan of them as sporthorses, but they in no way are quiet "dumbloods" that fit into the mold. Each one has an opinion and at least a spark in them, and can not be treated like every other horse. They each need to be treated like an individual.

During our ride she started to show me the damage they'd done to her. She didn't care to have me touch her face; in fact, she ewe necked and flipped her nose early on in the ride before she figured out I wasn't going to haul on her mouth. After a few minutes she settled down into a frame, and despite my having to urge at every step (I'm so spoiled by Thoroughbreds in this aspect) she is a great ride. As she's not perfect for breeding, the woman does not want her, and because of an old cannon bone injury (that has gotten the 100% ok from one of the top equine surgeons in the country) she doesn't even want to try to sell. Andrea thought of me first, as I am going to be in need of a reliable lesson horse in the future. This mare seems like she'd be a great candidate for my advanced students. She would teach them how to ride not just get carted along, and they would be able to show her as well. Now, in the meantime, I would be able to continue to work her, and possibly show her until Ellie is ready to step into her shoes (figuratively, I am hoping beyond all hope to keep Ellie barefoot as that's the way she's been her whole life). Currently it's still a wait and see, as I've only ridden her once. I don't know if she's going to stay the somewhat heady beast I rode today, or if she will quit with the head flipping with some time, consistent work, and a balanced diet with less protein. We don't know exactly what she was getting, but we speculate that it might have had too much protein. Currently we only know that she's a Peter Pan granddaughter crossed with some breed of warmblood. Andrea is going to find out and let me know. Being that she has Thoroughbred in her, protein = HOT. It will be interesting to see how she progresses. Right now, she's my new project until I decide whether or not to take her permanently.

Moving on to Miss Ellie (who this blog is actually about, imagine that), was an absolute superstar today, and is one major step closer to having me on her back.

It's been unseasonably warm down here the past few days (in the 80's, as opposed to 50's and 60's) and she has a bit of a coat, so I haven't wanted to do too much with her because she's still not super fit and again, I don't want her to hurt herself. Today, as she has been so bothered by my stirrup leathers in the past, I decided to do a desensitization day. I only put her in my saddle, leaving her in a halter and lead. I spent about an hour in the round pen standing next to her on the mounting block, stamping on it, sacking her out with the lunge line, slapping the stirrup leathers against the saddle, patting down the saddle, leaning into the stirrups... not a single spook or snort.

I started work with her in the center of the pen, to give her room to spook away or turn and see what I was doing if she got too scared. Not once did she do this, but seemed to move away more in a fashion suggesting it was only because she didn't want to do any work. After establishing that she wasn't afraid, I lined her up against the side of the round pen, and continued work there. This is where I started pushing, doing all the aforementioned activities. The mare was a ROCKSTAR. I could not have asked her to be better.

I'm so happy and excited to see where each day takes us. I feel blessed that this more chose to trust me of all people, and I can't wait to see what the future holds.

Two great mares now, a great farm possibility on the horizon (going for a second viewing on Saturday, cross your fingers for us!), and super sunshine every day. Life. Is. Awesome. 

Worry, worry, worry

My poor dear mare... Today something was blowing up her tail, and I for the life of me could not figure out what it was. From the moment I got her out of the paddock this morning she was not her usual self.

Yesterday we did our same round pen lunging, but with real tack on. I wanted her to get used to the feeling of stirrups banging on her sides. She's worn a saddle before, but in the past when I saw her be lunged with the stirrups down it greatly bothered her. She still gets a bit nervous whenever things are at her side that she can't see - myself included - and this is something I want to rectify before I even attempt to get on her. Having the stirrups pulled down spooks her more than anything I've seen this far, which is a rather large problem. Having her spook away from me while I'm trying to mount her because the stirrup leather snapped and scared her would just... not be good.

After a good thorough brush down (as much as I love grays... they get so bloody dirty) I checked my saddle on her (perfect fit... imagine that), fit my bridle to her head, all of which she was an absolute champ for. No flinching, snorting, stepping away unless I asked her to (which now only takes a gentle touch of your hand rather than having to throw your whole body against her) or general upset from her at all. I was so proud, and shoved carrots in her face any time she did anything I even remotely liked.

She's so cute. Even with her satellite dish ears. 

I had tried my raised noseband on her, but as all my tack has been bought at one point or another for either a thoroughbred or a small thoroughbred warmblood cross, it didn't fit, and I had to put her in my figure eight. I prefer these nosebands anyway, as I much prefer the freedom through the jaw for them to chew and move the bit, but I hadn't wanted to introduce anything so new just yet. Thankfully, it didn't seem to bother her in the least. She allowed me to buckle it around her face, fuss with all the straps, and stood like a large gray statue, only occasionally looking at me to beg for a treat. The noseband I have was bought as a single piece (rather than part of a whole bridle), and Pessoa makes their nosebands so bloody big it's even large on her, despite being a large warmblood. If you ever decide to buy one of their bridles... make sure to try it on before removing tags or anything. They're stupid big.

But damn, does she ever look good in my tack.

The lunging consisted of much of the same, working on walking quietly away from me, long, low, and stretchy. I make sure to take everything one very small step at a time with her because of her trust issues. E-line horses have quite the brain on them (horses by the stud Escudo, for those of you out there that don't know what I'm referring to there) and I am very over cautious to make sure that I do NOTHING that she could take negatively. Mares especially from this line have a tendency to not forget wrongs that have been done to them. A cousin of Ellie's for example, E'toufee, was flipped over when she was young. She has never forgotten it, and was ruined for riding. Once she decided she was done, that was it. Done. I don't want anything like that to happen with Ellie, so I've been very careful with everything I do with her. One new thing a day, unless she seems to be taking everything very well, in which case I will introduce one more, and so on. 

Having the stirrups pulled down on my saddle made her spook away from me a bit, so I took a few minutes to gently snap the stirrup leathers against the saddle. I didn't do this nearly as roughly as I could have, as it seemed to be scaring her quite a bit. I did it a little on both sides, crooning and petting her the whole time. This will be the next continuing project. We did our lunge work, walking and trotting in both directions, and called it a day in the pen. 

To the left to the left - 

To the right to the right!

(Also, I apologize for persistent text sounds in both videos.)

This was early on in the lunge session, as you can see I hadn't pulled the stirrups down yet. I wanted to see how she reacted to the saddle in general first. 

I had tried pulling her mane once before, and she hadn't seemed too overly bothered; more curious as to what I was up to. It was too cold to hose her off, so while I waited for the little bit of sweat to dry so I could brush her down, I tried doing a bit more. To my complete surprise, she allowed me to with little fuss. I hate pulling manes with a passion (I get bored and I'm so OCD that I end up taking forever), but as she was being so good I did more than I initially intended, and got about half her mane pulled. It looks SO much better. I'm no pro, but when my horse is nice and quiet I can usually do a halfway decent job. I'll let you be the judge. 

Half pulled mane. More like 3/4 now that I look at it.

Today, like I mentioned early on in the post, my poor mare was overly worried about something. This was the worst I'd seen her next to the first day I met her. I'm not sure if it was the change in temperature (it was in the 50's yesterday, and in the high 70's today), something was bothering her out in the paddock, if I smelled different, I'm not sure. She flinched at every brush, spooked at the saddle pad, snorted all the way to the round pen, and even lept away from me at one point when one of the stirrups bumped her side. She did settle down and go to work after just a few minutes, but once we were done, she was still worried. I didn't do much different today, especially considering how upset she was. Instead of trying long lines I opted to just lunge her in side reins. I didn't want her to get more upset by something she is already distrustful of (ropes) on a day when I can't seem to figure out what's got her so bothered. We worked in both directions, lunging with side reins and working for longer than normal since she's going to have the day off tomorrow.

Video from today, not much different from yesterday's. 

After work she got a bath, which in itself is nothing special to write about, except that after, when back in her paddock (and still soaking wet) she did this to me:

*sigh* That's going to be a nightmare to clean. 

Oy. Horses... why do we love them?

Tomorrow we're off to see another farm, so she's going to have the day off. See you on Thursday. 

Holiday hiatus is over!

So, awhile has passed since my last post. A (very) belated Merry Yule and Happy New Year to everyone out there in cyberland!

Much has happened in all our lives down here in Florida. We've seen a fantastic farm that has great prospects to be THE farm, the holidays came and went, and a new member of the household has arrived.

Before the holidays things got somewhat hectic, as both my mother and I were going to be away (in two different places no less). Arrangements had to be made to take care of all the fur babies since I would be in New Hampshire as of the 26th and my mother would be staying in Naples (where we spent Christmas day) with our 'other' family until the 28th. Because of this (and a rather irritating cold that decided to make an appearance during my least favorite time of year), I only got to see Ellie one last time before we left. Andrea had given her shots that morning, so I didn't do much with her in the way of pen work as she was pretty sore through the shoulder. I can't exactly blame her, the last time I got a tetanus shot in the shoulder I didn't really want to move it either. The benefit of this however, is that I got to spend most of the morning fussing over her, bonding and desensitizing her to having her feet picked up, mane pulled, sprayed with a bottle, everything she wasn't so keen on over the last week I'd been working with her. While clipping her bridle path (something she doesn't like... I have no luck with horses and ears) I made sure to step up and down off the mounting block (plyometrics in the barn, boo yeah! ... I know, I'm a nut... I'll go back to my tree now...) as much as I could to get her used to the motion next to her head and shoulder. She seemed less than bothered by my fussing with her, so, being the fool that I am, I decided to see what she would do if I leaned my weight across her back. I had done this once before for a very brief period of time, but she only felt about half of my full weight. I decided to see if I could get her to bear my full weight. Tossing my 5'9" frame over her back was not exactly easy to do in a slow and gentle fashion (long legs, don't fail me now) but I managed. After slowly easing myself on and off her bare back I pulled myself a little further over, and eventually she allowed me to pull myself completely over her back, sack of potatoes style. Hooray for small victories! She bore my full weight, no complaints. She even went so far as to take a few steps when asked to back up! Note: I was not alone during the venture, Laura was there getting CiCi ready for her last ride before she left to be a hunter pony at her new home. I hung there like a fool with my butt in the air for about an hour, getting on and off a few times, and by the end she was allowing me to completely hoist (read as: half throw and haul) myself (in a far less graceful manner) across her back and pat down her sides with my arms and legs. One step closer to being on her back! Yay!

Yule, and then Christmas, came and went. We spent Christmas down in Naples with our second family, the Walkers. I helped reptile-sit (I now want a bearded dragon even more than I did before...). Bearded dragons are pretty cool little dudes. This particular guy had a mug that made me think of a mobster-type, and I kept waiting for him to pull a mini tommy gun on me.

Mobster Tambo.

You leave the mealworms or you sleep with the fishes. Capiche?

He really is a cool little guy, we chilled for awhile each day I was in Naples. Maybe I'll get one of my own one day. Not until all this moving business is over with though. 

Like I mentioned before, I was up in New Hampshire for a few days after the holidays, and after a lovely 24 hour car drive back to Florida, I was back in ye-olde-warm-weather on new year's day. Oh seventy degrees... how I missed thee. Twenty... is too damn cold. I saw snow... *shiver* Yuck. I'm spoiled already. 

Now that I'm back, the farm hunt has continued, and we have a few prospects on the horizon. We have seen one, tomorrow we will be seeing another. We shall see how this pans out, as it does affect the continuance of my work with Ellie. See, I was getting to the point. I'm not long winded for absolutely no reason!

The first day I saw Ellie after getting back consisted of nothing new. I mostly wanted to see if she would remember me and anything we had done before the long hiatus. I was pleasantly surprised as she seemed to not only remember me, but once again seek my attention, as well as remember everything we had worked on. She was very quiet as we lunged (still only walk-trot, I haven't pushed her to canter yet, she is still very out of shape and I don't want her to hurt herself) and we simply worked on transitions and staying nice and quiet on the lunge. We walked... we trotted... we did some rope-sacking... I stuffed her face with carrots. It was nice to see how smart she is in that she hadn't forgotten anything, and I made plans for the following days. More on that in the following post.