Being Backwards

Sometimes I feel like I must be the worst rider in the world. I'm incredibly frustrated with myself, but things may be looking up. Dee and I took a trip to Nancy's today to get some sense knocked into us and I'll tell you what, she had to do some pretty hard knocking. I've been riding terribly backwards, and while nancy blamed the fact that I ride in a small ring, I know that's not really it. The small ring makes it easier to ride backwards, but I've always had this problem and it's a bad habit that I quickly fall back into if someone isn't hassling me about it. It also doesn't help that I don't handle the spooking and bolting the way I should. Rather than sitting up and calmly handling the problem, I panic, lean forward and pull back... NOT the way to deal with it. I didn't really fix that today, but Nancy did have me riding a little bit less backward by the end, and seems to think that the issues we've been having aren't as huge as I've made them out to be.
I do love this mare, and I know that she's very nice. I just wish I rode her better. I think I may talk to my uncle about getting on one or two of his horses a few times a week, just to log more hours in the saddle. Before I do that, though, it looks like Dee and I may be spending a week at Nancy's! She's got a stall available, and I can afford to put Dee up there for a week. Riding in a huge ring for a week will do us a world of good.

Behavior

Since my last post, I've ridden twice. The first time could be considered a mild disaster, but also a minor breakthrough (maybe?). We started out well enough, but after a few figure eights, the resistance o the right began to escalate. At first, she was just a little bit stiff, but as I continued, she was more and more resistant.
Of course, the more she pushed into my right leg, the more I kicked back in response, but the more I kicked back, the less responsive she became. It was incredibly frustrating, and as I got increasingly frustrated, she just continued to fight me and act up. Finally, I was so frustrated and upset that I got off for a few minutes. I think that we both needed the break.
When I got back on, I tried a different tactic. Instead of fighting, I just sort of ignored the bad behavior and quietly rode through it. Magically, the more I just overlooked the behavior, the less of the bad behavior I saw. She actually became quite lovely by the end of the ride, so I took her out for a little mini-hack down the driveway to cool her down. This was the first time that we got all the way down the driveway, and she was a VERY good girl. At the point where the driveway crosses the river and a tree line (after you cross the river you can't see the barn or house anymore), she had a very minor tantrum about leaving her friends. For about a minute she was backing up and trying to turn around, but after a few failed attempts and some convincing from my end, she just marched on to a symphony of "Good girl!" I felt like a broken record, but the more I told her how wonderful she was, the more willing she seemed to keep going. I'll gladly look like a lunatic to passers-by if it makes mare happy!
The second time I rode, I once again employed the less-is-more technique of trying to overlook her shenanagins. Once again, the shenanagins disappeared when she couldn't get a rise out of me. What a cheeky minx. However, I shouldn't be surprised, considering Dusty was much the same. Overall, that was a very good ride. I did have one VERY odd moment, though. We were trotting along, she was being lovely, and then she did the most awkward, almost slow-motion little buck that I've ever seen. Then, she broke into a slow SLOW canter, did another REALLY slow little buck, and went right back to trotting around nicely. I have no idea where that came from. I can only guess that she had a horsefly on her or something, because slow, small bucks are NOT her m.o.











Day 10 - A song that makes you fall asleep - "Asleep" The Smiths

"And then the rains came. They came down from the hills and up from the sound."

Well, my plans to ride yesterday got washed out with the much-needed rain and thunder storm we had. I suppose it won't kill her.










Day 09 - A song that you can dance to - "Harder Better Faster Stronger" Daft Punk
And we did, in moustaches!

That mare is a monster....

I'm not sure if it's the time off or the never-ending heat wave, but Dee has been a bit of a monster this week. Thursday she was pretty good, with a significant drop in the spooking, broncing and bolting that she had been engaging in the day before. Friday, she was an absolute horror. I rode early, before work, with plans to only ride for a half-hour. It was incredibly hot and humid, even that early, and I didn't want to make her work hard. Well, she came out breathing fire and fought with me for the entire ride. Every inch or the ring had something to spook at, canter transitions were invitations to explode, every few minutes in the trot work, she was trying to take off or be naughty... it was just a disaster. I ended up working her for a solid hour without ever really accomplishing anything other than a halfway decent canter circle (meaning she wasn't leaping, squealing or spooking for one circle) in each direction. It was incredibly discouraging, but I honestly don't think the behavior was caused by any sort of discomfort in her body, because when she settled a little, her gaits felt fantastic. She's completely lost that stiffness, but it seems to have been replaced by feeling TOO good.
Yesterday, I almost gave her the day off, but decided that I needed to see how she felt. I once again was aiming to only do a short ride and thankfully, we accomplished that goal. She was much better, only spooking once and not acting like a wild beast in her canter transitions. She did feel a little free behind in the canter work, and a little hump-backed, but she held it together. I'm going to give her the day off today, and then it's back to work tomorrow!

Day 08 - A song that you know all the words to -
"Coin Operated Boy" by The Dresden Dolls

Baby Dee!

I was given this photo when I bought Dee. How cute is she!?

Day 07 - A song that reminds you of a certain event -
"Baby's on Fire" by Venus in Furs with vocals by Jonathan Rhys Meyers
New Years in Boston, 2004

Oh Cheeky Cheeky...

Oh Naughty Sneaky...

After far too long out of the saddle, I was finally able to get back on Dee today. She was a cheeky little minx - spooking, bolting, broncing - but when she decided to behave, she felt great. All of that stiffness behind has disappeared, she was bending better in both directions and that mopey, grumpy attitude was gone. Instead, I had a four year old who had too much energy and not quite enough self-restraint to behave herself the whole time.

I'm hoping that tomorrow she'll be a little less wild. She certainly got out a lot of pent-up naughtiness today, so I suppose it can only improve from here. It was great to be back on her, even if it was a bit of a rodeo ride.



Day 06 - A song that reminds of you of somewhere -
"There's No Business Like Show Business" sung by Ethel Merman

My friend and I used to go to a LOT of Mindless Self Indulgence concerts, and they played this song several times after the show finished. Now, when I hear it, I think of those shows.

Pictures pictures pictures...

Just some photos of my beautiful baby.

Day 05 - A song that reminds you of someone

"Once in a Lifetime" by The Talking Heads
My best friend and I always called this our theme song, and every time I hear it, it reminds me of all the ridiculous adventures we had and puts a smile on my face.

Doxy!

Dee started her Doxy Tuesday evening, which means I can get on her again come Wednesday! Yay! Dr. S seemed to think that we caught it early enough, so that a 3 week course should be good. I'm hoping she's right and that I'll get on a fresh, bucking bronco on wednesday who just feels SO HAPPY that she wants to leap and play. I would definitely rather get on THAT than get on to find her grumpy and mopey like she'd been. It just depresses me to ride a horse that seems to hate her job. So... here's to hoping for a wild ride next week!


Day 04 - A song that makes you sad -

"Signs" by Bloc Party



This song is just impossibly beautiful. Here are the lyrics:
Two ravens in the old oak tree and
One for you and one for me and
Bluebells in the late December
I see signs now all the time

The last time we slept together
There was something that was not there
You never wanted to alarm me
But I'm the one that's drowning now

I could sleep forever these days
Because in my dreams I see you again
But this time fleshed out, fuller faced
In your confirmation dress

It was so like you to visit me
To let me know you were ok
It was so like you to visit me
You always worried about someone else

At your funeral I was so upset
So upset, so upset
In your life you were larger than this
Statue-statuesque

I see signs now all the time
That you're not dead, you're sleeping
I believe in anything
That brings you back home to me

I see signs now all the time
That you're not dead, you're sleeping
I believe in anything
That brings you back home to me

Hot Hot Heat

We seem to have wandered into a mega heat wave. Forecast for today? 100+ and that's just the regular temperature, not counting humidity. It sort of makes me glad that Dee is on vacation... ponies shouldn't have to work in this sort of weather!

Day 03 - A song that makes you happy - "Doing The Unstuck" The Cure
it's a perfect day for kiss and swell
for rip-zipping button-popping kiss and well...
there's loads of other stuff can make you yell
let's get happy!

how can a song with lyrics like that NOT make you happy?

acidophilus

So, I was speaking with bettina about Dee's lyme, and we got onto the subject of probiotics. I've generally just used ProBios, but she suggested a few other possible solutions:
E-Biotic - A shake-on probiotic that, if I did my calculations correctly, would last for a few months.

Yogurt (!) Now, this is an interesting concept and might be worth looking into, but last time I checked, Yogurt wasn't cheap. I buy greek yogurt for myself all the time, and I'll tell you, its a bit pricey. So, while this might work, I don't think I want to spend huge amounts of money on a probiotic when I'll already be spending huge sums on all the doxy Dee will need.

An acidophilus supplement from the health food store. These actually seem to be fairly cheap, but cracking open a capsule every day would be a hassle.

Just food for thought.

Day 02 - Your least favourite song -

"I want it That Way" by The Backstreet Boys

My neighbors used to blast this song at full volume on repeat all summer long... ugh.

Happy 4th!

So, last night, I completely forgot to grab my mail. I grabbed it this morning and found a little envelope from the vet. Well... Happy 4th of July, your horse has Lyme! She came up positive and strong positive on both tests. Joy. I'll be calling the vet monday to discuss treatment and figure out how much longer I'll need to give her off. When Kess was diagnosed, he was also injured, so he got time off anyway. Tango was completely lame when he was diagnosed, so he also got lots of time off. Therefore, I'm not completely sure of protocol when the horse isn't totally broken. I guess I just wait until she's being treated and feels better?

So, I guess since I may not be in the saddle for a little longer, I'll do this 30 Day Song Challenge thing to keep me occupied.


30 Day song challenge


Day 01 - Your favourite song

"The Kiss" by The Cure
I just find this song to be incredibly powerful and beautiful. When I went to see the Cure at Madison Square Garden, I was hoping and praying that they would play it, and they did! It was one of the greatest concert moments of my life.