Riding Goals for the Remainder of 2010

I've been having a lot of fun getting to know Poco.  His easy going nature has yet to disappoint me.  As I discover his talents I've been thinking about goals I want to set to utilize them and places I'd like to go.

1.  Sorting.  One goal I had for 2010 was sorting.  There's a facility down the road from us that hosts sorting events every other Thursday.  I had gone once with Champ but after his loss I haven't been back. 

This week I discovered that Poco does roll-backs and haunch turns, and he does them well!  A definite plus for sorting.  So one of my goals will be to join my pals at the barn and "go sorting".  The facility is also hosting clinics this winter so I plan on joining my pals in attending some of them.

2.  Horse Show.  Another goal I have is to take Poco to a Schooling Show.  I attended my first show last October (see post October 2009, First Horse Show) and had a blast.  It was fun to see old friends and be out in the arena with my horse.  I came home with a higher level of confidence, a better bond with my horse and a big grin on my face.  And isn't that what riding is all about?  Yes, I also came home with assorted colored ribbons and that was very nice.  However, they took a back seat to everything else.

My goal will be to return to the Schooling Show in October and ride in the western classes, walk/jog for sure but also with a goal to ride in some of the Novice walk/jog/lope classes.

3.  The Lope.  When I talk to fellow riders facing confidence challenges, this is the gait that saps their confidence.  And I'm no different. 

I initially loped Poco before I bought him but when I suddenly lost Champ I also lost the wind in my sails.  Took awhile to get it back (true that time does help you heal).  Poco has a nice lope but I've had a hard time getting us to move into it. 

He must sense some of my issues.  I've come to find the saddle I'm using doesn't fit me correctly.  It pushes me way forward and for the life of me I can't sit back, which is where I depend on my seat to help me with my balance.

Right now I'm very uncomfortable at the lope, feeling like I'm going to spill over Poco's neck.  I'll be replacing my current saddle for one that fits me correctly and that should resolve my sitting issue and get me back on track.  I guess the best way to describe my feelings about the lope is that I'm not really afraid, I'm uncomfortable.

4.  Transitions.  There is also a challenge of getting Poco to transition from a SLOW jog to the lope.  We really need to work on transitions, walk to jog, jog to lope and back down the other way.  I need to put many miles in on slowing him down at the jog.  Which is what I'm currently doing as I struggle with my saddle issue.

5.  Dressage.  And lastly, much of my training to ride this last year centered around Dressage.  I find Dressage one of the most beautiful disciplines of riding.  As the cold weather comes in, I'll trade in my Wranglers and boots for English apparel and fleece and with a good, used Dressage saddle, I'll give this a try as the rain pounds against the walls of the barn and the wind blows.

I look forward to sharing my experiences with you as I set out down this road.  Stay tuned as this 50+ rider sets out to accomplish five goals between now and the first of next year!

A Day With Poco

Today I rode Poco and our daughter, Colleen came with me and took pictures. 

I bought Poco about six weeks ago.  He was supposed to be my "at home horse" to replace Cisco, who I lost to Colic in January.  I had plans for Poco.  My family/friends would ride him while I rode Champ.  I could see us riding out under the sunset.

But four weeks ago we suddenly lost Champ.  Poco is now my main guy.  I call him my "Glass Horse" because he is the only horse I now have to ride.

Poco has yet to surprise me.  He's well behaved, yet I can still see small positive changes in his behavior each time I go through my ground work exercises with him and establish myself as the leader.

Finishing up ground work:

We move to the indoor arena where my friend Haley is riding.  It's also cooler in here:

Hailey and I (Western and Dressage)!

Good Friends.

I tell Poco (Poke) that there's a secret waiting for him in his stall.

And give him a big hug for such a great ride!

Good Boy, Poco!  Ok, let's go get those carrots!!!!

Trucks and Trailers and How They Evolve

My husband and I were proud owners of a new F-150 4-speed pickup when I bought my first horse.  

I remember taking our truck into the shop to be wired for a brake controller, etc. 

Our good friends had an old Miley straight load two-horse trailer and were generous about letting us borrow it.  We eventually purchased it from them.

With our truck set up and the two horse straight load Miley trailer, we soon acquired another horse.  Summer came and it was time to hit the road.  What better place to go with our horses then to Cabin Creek on the east side of Snoqualmie Pass.

The plan was for me to take Friday off and our daughter and I would haul the horses up to the cabin.  My husband would join us when he got off work.

I recall my husband taking me for a driving lesson the night before our trip.  I drove all over the place pulling the little red trailer.  He had me park, back, and unhitch/re-hitch the trailer.

The next day our daughter and I were out on the road early, horses loaded in the trailer.  With the dog and cat in the cab of the truck, along with all the things one "thinks" they need to take when they go on vacation, we were really loaded down.  I recall my husband telling me to be careful, that everything he loved was in my hands.

Things went pretty good until we started to climb up Snoqualmie Pass.  I found our truck having trouble keeping up with traffic.  I shifted down to third gear, but eventually I had to put it into second.  I stayed in the right lane, not pushing the truck but waving and smiling to those who passed us.  So very slowly, we reached the Summit and headed down the other side.

But going down the other side had its own challenges.  Although I had my new trailer brakes, as I found my speed picking up and I could feel the trailer start to sway, even though my husband had put on the sway bars.  

I recalled my horseshoer's advice to look way ahead of where I was going.  And I did just that, breaking ahead of corners, etc.  I kept remembering my husband's comment that everything he loved was in my hands.  My palms were sweaty and my mouth was dry.

We eventually arrived at Cabin Creek, almost an hour later than usual.  When my husband arrived that night driving my car I was happy to swap keys with him and let him drive the truck and little trailer back home.

We shortly purchased another horse when our daughter wanted to participate in 4H.  We now had three horses.  Our daughter and I set out to find a local barn and trainer that would allow us to haul in so she could take lessons. 

This started a routine of our daughter and I hauling her horse to weekly lessons.  But our little F-150 was having a tough time keeping up so we sold it and purchased a used  F-250.  I loved that truck.  I spent a lot of time driving it and pulling the little red trailer...but fuel consumption....ugh, it was bad, real bad.

We now had a good sized truck, three horses and a two horse trailer.  We wanted to take all the horses with us to our cabin on vacation.  Plus our daughter was doing a lot of horse shows.

We felt the need not only for a larger trailer, but one with a good sized tack room so she could change, etc.  So off we went to (sadly because we loved it) trade in our little red trailer for a brand new three-horse slant with a good sized tack room. 

We did a lot of hauling to lessons with the F-250 and the three-horse slant.  Our daughter and I had the process down.  We could hook up the trailer and load her horse in record time, reload him and haul him home, put the trailer away and be in the house in time for dinner and homework.  Here are the two of us right before hooking up the truck for a lesson.


But something was missing and when my husband's sister and brother-in-law moved to California, we inherited....A Camper.  With it riding on our F-250, my husband and daughter were able to go to weekend shows the night before.  The camper reduced the stress of getting up early and having to haul to a show in the wee hours.  We could haul in the night before; have a relaxing evening and day at the show.  Many were the times we ate our lunch in the camper and my husband watched football games!  It was really relaxing.

It was an older camper and needed a lot of work.  So we sold it and upgraded to a newer camper with air conditioning, etc.  Now we ate in the coolness of the summer heat.  The new camper had a shower, etc.  Life was good, except (be forewarned) it's not a slide out and the bathroom is very small.

With the camper on the truck, pulling a fully loaded 3-horse slant (to help out kids who needed a ride to a show), we were tapping out the maximum weight we could pull.  Even with sway bars on the trailer, the swaying I encountered when going down a hill on a highway when I was hauling 3 large horses and 5 excited kids terrified me.

So.....we sold the F-250 and bought a new, one-ton, fully decked out, dually Dodge Laramie that ran on diesel instead of gas.  We now had the truck and trailer for any event with the mileage to cover it. 
OH MY GOODNESS!  How did we get here!!!!!

Is this like boats?  Does one start with a small boat and then upgrade to a bigger one?

Today we have a new dilemma.  With two (huge) Belgian Draft horses and one saddle horse (with a plan to add another saddle horse down the road), our three-horse trailer is too small to haul everybody to the cabin.  So we are talking about a larger horse trailer...

        Hmmm.  I'm thinking we might need to take a look at a larger, gooseneck trailer.

                   ....Living quarters would be nice.

                             ....Maybe a fireplace?

The Road I've Traveled

Since I left 50+Horses in April, I've traveled many roads.

I moved my blog to http://www.lifeplushorses.blogspot.com/ because I wanted to open it up to more then 50+ people.  In that blog you will read about Champ and my experiences at ground work and how I earned his respect.

But I feel I missed the mark on my decision to move my blog and surely have missed my 50+ readers.  So I've returned and will not stray again.

Things between Champ and I had been rocky since winter.  I found ground work was the key to earning his respect and earn it I did.  As a result things were going well for us.  We had bonded to the point that he tried whenever I asked, even if I asked wrong.  He also started to anticipate what I asked, to the degree that I only had to think and he knew what I wanted.  After a year of ups and downs, we were on our way to being a team.

I'd replaced Cisco, the horse I lost in January to Colic with an older, sweet and mild Appaloosa named Poco, whom I purchased last month.  My intentions were to keep him here at home so I could ride when I wanted and have a horse for my friends to join me when I rode Champ.

So it was heartbreaking when two weeks after my purchase of Poco that Champ got sick with an impaction and bladder infection.  Which came first?  They both seemed to appear at the same time.

Thanks to barn pals and my family, we walked Champ for almost two days straight as well as pumping IV's into him numerous times.  The impaction started to move but the bladder infection didn't respond to any medications, and we tried many.

No matter what we did, things didn't get better.  Seven days later, with Champ in misery and the Vet's prognosis of a tumor in the bladder, we made the heart wrenching decision on June 29th to put Champ down.  I still can see them leading him from his stall and hear myself sobbing so hard I thought I'd throw up.

As grateful as we are for Poco, today my family is still in mourning.  Champ was a huge part of our lives.  He is missed.

Poco now resides in Champ's stall.  An older, mellow horse, I will learn what I can from him and down the road I hope to find another horse, perhaps one of Champ's siblings.  That would be a horse with bling, younger, that's versitile enough so that I can try different disciplines with him.  And crazy as it sounds, maybe a horse that challenges me a little bit.

As my husband said, "You've become the rider you've always wanted to be."  I owe that to Champ but know that to remain that rider I will need to push my envelope to retain the ability.

50+Horses Moving To Life+Horses

In the last year I've had a lot of fun writing my blog on 50+Horses.  However, as I go down this road I find that I've got so much more to share and the words "50+" are restricting me from sharing some of my incredible stories with those -50. 

Sure I want to share my experiences of being a 50+ rider, but I also want to have the ability to spread out and share tales of those I meet along the way regardless of their age.  Thus changing the title to Life+Horses allows me that flexibility.

You can now dial into my blog at http://www.lifeplushorses.blogspot.com/ and catch up with me, my horses and whatever else is happening around here.

I appreciate all of you who have commented and followed me the past year and hope you'll join me at my new 'barn', http://www.lifeplushorses.blogspot.com/.

See you inside!

Spring Time at StarHop

In the past week, while our dog Hank and I have had our morning ritual of "throw the ball and I'll bring it back" in our front (summer) pasture, I've observed our grass grow almost 6 inches in less days.

Spring time has arrived at StarHop, our little ranch nestled on the west side of the Cascade foothills.  Although we had a 24 degree night a few days ago, everything here is blooming and growing. 

This includes the grass in our unused pastures, rich and high this time of year.  Word up here is to avoid turning your horses out on this beautiful, shiny, lush green grass due to its high sugar content and the risk of foundering.

So yesterday morning my husband and I had our annual conversation about whether it's time to prepare to move our horses to the summer pasture. 

Our preparation for this event starts about 6-8 weeks before they're relocated with brush hogging the summer pasture.  We cut and let the field dry, allowing the cut grass to settle back into the soil.  When the weather warms up around mid-June and the current cut grass starts to dry we'll move the horses to their summer pasture.

Waiting to cut it will mean another week's time before my husband and his tractor can get out in the field.  Another week's time will mean another 6 or so inches growth, equaling the grass almost being a foot tall.  We've found the higher the cut grass, the longer it takes to decay or not decay at all into the soil, leaving it cut and rotten on top of the newer growth.

So today, as I write this, I look out the window at my husband on his tractor, brush hog behind him, cutting the summer field.  I can smell the sweet grass through the open windows.  I can hear my wind chimes lazily ringing in the breeze and sometimes catch the sound of my husband singing his heart out to his IPod.   Periodically I also hear the pop/crunch/bang of rocks as they get caught up in the blade of the brush hog.

He drives our little tractor, or what I refer to as "The Little Tractor That Could".  Not very big, this tractor represents my husband and I, doing the best we can with what we have.  I like to think it signifies the support and love we have for each other.

This tractor represents the new washer, dryer, range, dishwasher, carpet and flooring I was supposed to get when we moved into this house.  But on one of our morning weekend, "State of The Union" coffee discussions, the need for this tool became a higher priority.  Although five years later, my new appliances and flooring are just now starting to come on the front burner again, I don't begrudge this purchase.

The tractor makes my husband as happy as horses in the pasture do me.  And as I see him out there right now, closer to the house, still singing away at the top of his voice, I have to smile.  That is one happy man and his happiness makes me happy.

The only down side was when the roll bar of the tractor caught on a tree branch while he was going underneath.  I watched as the limb snapped off, hitting him in the back of the head.  As he sat there motionless, I ran out, cell phone in hand in case I needed to get help, to find all was well, (heavy sigh of relief)!

After a break for lunch, he bravely returned to finishing up the job before the day was over.  The pasture now looks smooth and clean as my husband finishes the last few passes before he calls it a day.

Another spring of preparing to move the horses onto the summer pasture started today.  There's something special about this right of passage into spring - the tractor running, my husband singing at the top of his lungs, the open windows and sound of wind chimes in the breeze.  It's like hay in the barn for winter, that contentment and warm feeling that all is well with the world.

Sharing the Wealth

I've made a decision that I feel is the right one, but yet it kinda tugs on my heart strings.

I've decided to half-lease Champ to a young rider at our barn.  I feel good about this decision but it also kind of makes me a little sad too.  Sure, Champ's still my horse - but now I'll be sharing him with someone else.  Now there is someone else riding my horse, grooming him, interacting with him.  I'm no longer his prime person.

Why did I decide to do this?

For starters I may be 'retired' but I'm not turned out to pasture.  I hold a part time job, have ongoing commitments, new opportunities popping up (which I could never entertain when I worked full time), and two horses at home who also need my attention (see my Post, "Sometimes It's Right Underneath Your Nose", 2/21/10).

After being retired for 90 days, I find myself averaging about three rides a week on Champ.  Although I stop in and check on him as often as I can when I don't have time to ride, Champ's been sitting idle in his stall an average of four days a week.  As much as I'd LIKE to get out more often, I CAN'T and the fact that he's sitting there makes me feel terrible - it really bugs me.

Yes, I could bring Champ home, save the board costs which I budgeted into my fiscal plan when I decided to retire.  But I love this barn, the people, and the facility.  Now that I'm retired it's wonderful to have some place off the ranch where I can always go to - where I'm always welcome.  Even if I'm not riding I'm still part of it.  If I leave the barn, I can always visit but I will no longer be part of it.  I'll be a visitor, not a member.

Enter Katie.  In her teens, she and her sister share a horse which they used to board at our barn, these days they haul in each week for lessons.  I know this family and they know me.  They take incredibly good care of their horse and tack.  Both are well respected and awesome young riders.  This year, they find themselves competing in the same age division so sharing their horse isn't an option.

Both Katie and I take lessons each week from Hero Trainer so the "message" to Champ will continue to be consistent.  We ride different disciplines so Champ will continue to get to mix up how he's ridden.  Since I learned the hard way how easily bored Champ can get, this will be good.

Katie took three lessons on Champ to see if they got on well together.  I came up to observe a lesson but caught her at the tail end, taking Champ back to his stall.  I heard Champ had tried a few tricks with Katie but she was onto him like a bee to honey.  What I saw made me smile - a young rider cooing and loving all over a horse and a horse happily accepting of the attention!  Good stuff.

Sharing the wealth is good karma.  It's good for Champ - who will be in good hands, well taken care of and ridden by someone who knows what they're doing.  It will be good for Katie - who now has a horse to ride in this year's show season.  It will be good for my horses at home who will benefit from having more time spent with them.  And it will be good for me - who will no longer fret about not having enough time to get up and ride Champ every day.

And you know what?  I'm thinking Katie and Champ just might have a very successful season!  It will be fun to stop by a show and cheer the two of them on!