Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Dressage and NIN, what a beautiful combination

I posted this on my other blog, but since it's horse-related...
Here's Isabell Werth riding a dressage test. Someone put it to clips of Nine Inch Nails songs.
Dressage is amazing. NIN is amazing. Whoever made this video is amazing.

Tuesday, April 28, 2009

I miss Stellaphone.

I didn't go home over the weekend because I had to do a lot of studying and because I wanted to go to the computer science department's picnic. I haven't seen Stella in a long time, and I haven't been on a horse in a long time. I'm starting to get restless like I did when I had to stop riding for a few months because of my hip and back pain. It's crazy. I climbed into a tree outside of the dining hall the other day. I like sitting in the tree because I can watch people. The branch that I sit on is ideal because it's wide enough to be comfortable, easily accessible, low enough that I don't have to worry about getting hurt if I fall, and high enough to make me feel awesome :) Ah, but enough about the tree. I did my riding stretches while seated astride the branch--leg over the pommel, heel to the seat, various shoulder stretches, everything I do in the saddle.
A few nights ago, my mom sent me a text message with a picture of Stella attached to it. She wrote, "We miss you very much." Then, she sent me one of Stella's hindquarters that said "Butt we know you'll be home soon!" It was so cute, and it really made my night.
Amber and I talked about me being a veterinarian last night. I was helping her study human anatomy for her biology class. I explained a lot of stuff to her, and she said that I should be a Biology major since I like it so much. The reason I'm not a Bio major is that I don't like dissection and animal experimentation. Bodily fluids don't really get to me, and I don't have issues with the whole "death" thing. Everyone dies; so it goes. I don't agree with they ways they obtain their animal specimens.
The veterinarian talk really wasn't important. I'm not switching my majors, and that's that. We talked about surgeries and stuff, though, and I talked about watching a small portion of a surgery when I was at the horse clinic with Mac. We talked about Mac for a while. Surprisingly, I was able to do it. It was uncomfortable, yes, but I was able to talk about our fall, his illness, his last night, and the morning he was euthanized. I didn't cry. Sometimes I still do, but not last night.
Things have changed so much.
One month and 23 days until it's been two years since he first fell. Two months and 18 days until two years since he died.
It's about time.

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Final Lesson of the Semester

Today was our last riding class of the semester. We jumped today because we played games on the flat on Monday. I rode a chestnut gelding named Red. He was a good-looking guy with very sweet eyes, and he was a nice guy under saddle. He needed quite a bit of training to help him fix a...problem, but he was well-behaved.
His big issue was traveling in a straight line. He brought his head to the rail and canted himself with his hindquarters to the inside. He traveled sort of laterally for the entire lesson, which obviously didn't make jumping him very easy. It also made driving him into the corners ridiculously difficult, as well as steering him against the rail and avoiding jump standards that were a horse-width away from the rail. He was a little slow, so I tried to get a crop from Teresa.
I think Red was mistreated by a past owner. When I reached over to the announcer's stand to grab a crop, he spun away. Teresa ultimately had to lure him over with a candy wrapper and then hold him by the bridle as she passed me the crop. Even then, it scared him, and he nearly ran out from under me when I touched it to his side. Less than five minutes after our struggle, I clumsily dropped the crop. I survived without it, though, because I most certainly wasn't getting off to get it or struggling to have someone pass it to me again.
We worked on the flat for a while. Red's peculiar way of moving wasn't pleasant, but he would slam my leg into the wall each time I forced him to move in a straight line. I like my legs. I don't like it when horses crush them.
Jumping Red was also quite interesting. Of course he approached the jumps kind of funny because he wanted to go sideways, but it was a lot better than when he was on the flat. We did a whole course of five jumps today. It involved lots of interesting twists and turns, which was a challenge on Red. We had fun (and a few laughs), and I didn't fall off :)
I felt like I was going to fall off once, and everyone thought I was another time. The first time, Red threw his head down right before he jumped. I thought he was going to stop and was late getting into my two-point when I realized that he was actually going to take it. I think I compensated by throwing myself forward to keep up with him, and I lost my balance on the landing. I would've been perfectly fine on just about any other horse, but Red's lateral cantering kept me off-balance. I fixed it after a few strides, even though he turned on the landing and I wasn't sure about what was going to happen.
The second time felt pretty epic. I took a sharp turn into a line. I felt that Red was off-balance, but I continued approaching the jump anyway. I got the feeling that "something" was going to happen, and then we went over the tallest of the jumps. I don't know what happened, but everything fell out of place. I felt myself sitting on the cantle and then possibly behind the saddle, and both of my feet were out of the stirrups as we went over, and I had to halt a very surprised Red before he took the second jump in the line with such an awkward passenger. While everything was going on, I heard a few surprised "oh's" and "ah's" from my audience. Teresa immediately called out to me about my hip, but I assured her that I hadn't hurt myself. I was actually surprised that I was able to continue jumping (and I'm even more surprised that I'm still not hurting). I think I just scared everyone with my typical "something's going wrong" squeak. Whenever some unexpected movement jolts me, I usually make a little "ooh" or "eek" noise. I've also never fallen off without making a similar noise. Maybe it's just one of my many quirks.
I restarted the line and we took it well. It was really nice. We did the course one more time after that, and then the lesson was over. Everyone went back to the barn to untack their horses, and then we gave each horse in the barn a treat. I gave pieces of candy canes to Red, Jasmine, and Bugsy. I'm going to miss them all over the summer.
Aw, now I won't get to ride until next Friday at least.
I'm staying at school this weekend so that I can study for exams and so that I can go to the computer science department's picnic. I'm going to miss Tellaphone, but I'll get to see her soon enough--and then we'll be back together again for the whole summer.

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Saturday, Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday!

I'm really surprised that I've gotten in so much riding over the past few days. I've gone riding every day since Friday, which is amazing. I also get to ride tomorrow for our final lesson of the semester. I'm kinda sad about this semester being over, but at least I'll get to go home and ride Stella over the summer.
Saturday was a very busy day. Larry called me up and asked me to puppysit Abby for a while, so I drove up to the barn and brought her back to the house. I took her for a short walk, but she got lots of time to run and play in puddles and visit with strangers. She also had a snack with me in the kitchen. Who says dogs don't eat applesauce and tofu? I also gave her a bowl of water and a few dog biscuits that I took from the porch at Jean's house. I had to take her back to the barn kind of early because the 4-H was planning to do a road cleanup for our community service project.
I was definitely ready for a torturous four hours, but the cleanup was exciting from the moment we got to Heather's house. Heather took me to the pasture to meet her horses, Skippy and Samson. They were adorable, and it was funny to watch Skippy chase Samson around. Then, Heather's dad got in his truck while Cassie, Heather, Elizabeth, my sister, and I crammed into my tiny little car. We drove down to a road that didn't have too much traffic and I parked the car off the side of the road. After a few seconds, I realized that I was completely stuck in the mud. I gave my car a little gas, kicking up a huge spray of mud that spattered the entire front half of the car but failing to move the car a single inch. What did we do? We laughed hysterically at my predicament. Then, we rummaged through my trunk for something to help us out. Cassie suggested taking two of my Quarter Horse Journals and wedging them under the tires to help, but that only got them all muddy. I used my ice scraper to dig away some of the mud that had engulfed my tires, but that didn't do anything to help either. Since we'd exhausted our resources, we stepped back and...yes, laughed and took pictures. Eventually, Heather's dad returned and he dragged me out of the miry mess that I'd gotten myself into. Everyone was making jokes about my ability to park my car, but they also thanked me for starting our cleanup with a bang :)
We went along well for a while, but eventually we got bored and started to think of things that would entertain us. A few cars passed by, and we pulled the good ol' invisible rope trick on each of them. One of us would stand on either side of the road, pretending to strain against some sort of line that was stretched across the path of the moving car. Of course there was nothing actually there--we're silly, not stupid. The motorists, however, were quite surprised to see a bunch of foolish kids giggling on the side of the road as they approached, and they would slow down and sometimes stop as soon as they realized that we were holding something (an imaginary rope) in their way. The looks on their faces were quite amusing, to say the least.
We also discussed the possibility of finding a human body as we were picking up trash. We were laughing about it until we discovered a spine...ribcage...skull... It was a deer skeleton, of course, but the discovery couldn't have been more perfectly timed. The scary (and very sad) thing was that we found about five deer skeletons by the time we finished.
After the cleanup, we counted 18 full bags of trash, which was a pretty good accomplishment. A guy who was working in his yard as we passed thanked us for doing what we were doing. Later on, we got him with the invisible rope, but he just stopped, smiled, and thanked us again :) We took lots of group pictures and then Heather and her dad helped me hose off my car, mostly the brakes and windshield. I was really pleased with the whole thing.
I went to the barn after I got home (after I got lost on some random back road), and I rode Stella. We had quite a nice ride, although it wasn't quite as nice as Friday's ride. She was steering correctly again, so I have no clue what had gotten into her. That's just Stella for you.
Mindy came over on Sunday and we rode together. Stella did something really cute when I got on her. She took a few steps as soon as I was mounted up, so I halted her and made her stand. Then, I asked her to walk. She really seemed like she wanted to do "something," and I gave her the reins because I was confused and wanted her to show me what she was thinking. Sure enough, Stella strolled over to the bath tub in the corner of the arena and started to drink. She's asked me to let her drink while we were riding before, but I thought it was pretty cool that we're getting to the point where we have little "conversations" that go beyond the basics of walk, trot, canter, extend, collect, halt, leg-yield, et cetera. She asks me to let her hand-gallop, or to let her canter for a longer time, or to let her have a drink of water during the ride. I'm becoming more subtle with my aids. I think we're quite a pair :)
We had an excellent ride on the flat. We walked and trotted and cantered for a long time, even with five people in the ring. Our ring is really small, and I think five is the most horses I've ever seen working simultaneously. I think five is the most we should put in there too. Larry, Mindy, Elizabeth, my sister, and I can all handle a tight ring, though, so we didn't have any horse collision mishaps. Mindy didn't want to jump Tina since she's pregnant and at the stage where the zygote hasn't yet attached to the wall of her uterus. She just didn't want to try anything with Tina that could abort the pregnancy. I offered to let her jump Stella instead. She took Stella over a few jumps, but Stella got a little crazy and she decided to end the jumping session while things were still looking good. I took Stella back into the ring and cooled her out, and then Stella got a quick rinse since she was so sweaty. It was a very fun day.
As usual, I had a lesson at school on Monday. Instead of jumping, however, we had a flat lesson. We did fun stuff for the whole lesson. I got to ride Blaze, a pretty little chestnut mare. She was a good sport through all of our silly human games, so I made sure that I gave her a peppermint or two as a treat.
Our first activity was the cup race, where we had to race across the arena, pick up a piece of rubber footing from the wall, race back, and drop it into a cup. We had to do that as many times as we could in three minutes. At first Blaze was a little confused, but she picked it up quickly and we got a whole lot of rubber bits into our cup. I think I had five.
Then, we played the musical blankets game, where Teresa put out a bunch of the little blankets that we use to cover the saddles while we walk to the arena when it's raining. We played just like musical chairs, but we had to get one hoof onto the blanket in order to be safe. I stayed in for a few rounds, but then I battled John T and his rider and lost. It was really fun to watch from the middle. One girl got really into the game and urged her horse on, so he broke into a gallop and started bucking. She sat it just fine and started laughing, so everything was okay.
The best game of all was when Teresa put us into teams of two and gave each team a length of baling twine. Each person had to hold an end of the twine and race their horses to the opposite end of the arena, then turn and race back. Allyson and I won both times. I was glad to finally get the chance to play this game. I'd heard about it a lot and it sounded like so much fun. It really was, too.
Our last game was ride-a-buck. Teresa got us to take off our saddles and mount up bareback, and then each of us got a slip of paper with our name on it. Blaze was awfully uncomfortable because of her withers, but her trot was fine to sit bareback. I lost my paper at some point. I've played ride-a-buck at shows while studying patterns--I fold up the paper with the pattern printed on it and tuck it under my thigh. It was fun to try it bareback, and I guess I need to work on keeping my legs from wiggling when I lack tack.
Today I had to make up a lesson from earlier in the semester when it snowed. I got to ride Merlin, who is one of my absolute favorite school horses. It was an advanced-level jumping lesson, so I wasn't quite sure what to expect. When I was in hi-elementary, I made up a lesson in an intermediate class and scared the instructor to death because I almost fell off midair over a jump. I was kind of expecting the same thing, only on a more advanced level... It was a great lesson, though.
We started on the flat. Beth, the head coach for the riding team, was our instructor for the day. She asked us to drop our irons and do a sitting trot. That was easy enough. Then, she asked us to do a posting trot without stirrups. I explained to her about my hip and how posting without stirrups usually exacerbates the problem, so I got off the hook with that one. I just continued to sit the trot. She didn't like how I held my legs without stirrups. When I don't have stirrups, I allow my legs to drape around the horse. She told me to tuck my legs up, basically in a chair seat and with my knees higher than they'd be with stirrups, which reduced the security of my seat. I didn't like it, but I tried to keep my legs lifted whenever she was looking. When we got our stirrups back, we did some more work at the posting trot. Beth also didn't like my dressage-esque posting. She told me to post "forward and back" instead of "up and down." I knew exactly what she wanted and was perfectly capable of doing it (She said that it was "excellent" when I started doing what I've spent years learning NOT to do.), but it was terribly awkward and unnatural for me. If I posted like that at home, Larry would kill me. No, he would simply never let me ride one of his horses again and THAT would kill me. I did it the hunter way for a while before going back to the way I normally do it.
That's one of the main reasons I don't want to try out for the equestrian team. I just don't want to be forced to ride like that. It looks terrible and it's less effective. She told me to "untuck" my hips from under me. Larry would slit my throat if I did that at home. At my first year of District, the judge was placing forward-seat riders. Jacqui, a girl who used to ride with Larry, joked that she was going to go into her equitation class "showing off her butt and boobs" (as we often describe it at our barn, though in public we always use the term "forward-seat"). Larry said that she most certainly would not :)
When we cantered, Beth told me to stop moving my elbows. I was confused because I thought she meant that I should lock them and jab poor Merlin in the mouth with every stride. I thought that was atrocious, so I kept thinking about it. Finally I watched someone else in the class and I think I realized what she wanted. She wanted me to "pump" my upper body instead of opening and closing my elbows to follow his mouth. If Larry heard her say that, he'd flip out. He's spent years yelling at me and everyone else at our barn about "pumping." Once again, it looks atrocious. I do occasionally two-point the canter, either because I'm on an uncomfortable horse, my hip is hurting too much to sit, or I'm asking Stella to hand-gallop, but I don't allow my upper body to flop back and forth as if I have absolutely no abdominal strength.
I guess I'll have some more funny things to tell Larry next time I see him. Maybe I'll call him and tell him how they told me to "untuck" my hips (I told him that before, and he laughed out loud.), "pump" my upper body (He'll be flaming mad.), and show off my goods (sic) to the judge.
I personally felt excellent on the flat today. My hip was hurting a little bit before I got on, but I took care of that. I felt relaxed and everything was moving/not moving as it should. The experimentation with forward-seating was where my riding got a little wonky.
Jumping today was excellent, even though the flat portion of the lesson was slightly irritating. We did a combination for the entire lesson. It started out as a set of three very low jumps. There were two strides after the first jump and one after the second. We took the combination from both directions. I liked how Beth asked us which way we thought should be easier. Everyone in the class said that the direction that started with the two-stride set of jumps should be easier, but we were all wrong. Beth explained her reasoning to us, and it made a lot of sense. I really do like her teaching style, even though I disagree with a lot of what she told me today. I had a lot of very nice jumps, mostly because Merlin is a great guy.
The first time through the combination, we popped over the first jump and then Merlin moseyed out of the line. I felt him doing it, but I just couldn't stop him. It was a little embarrassing to have him run out like that, especially since we weren't even going that fast and he wasn't being difficult. He just decided that he wanted to scoot out of the line and trot back to his buddies. I made sure not to let him move off the path after that.
I also encountered a little problem once we reversed the line and took it from the one-stride side first. For some reason, I sat back down during the one stride between the two jumps, and I got a little left behind because I simply didn't have enough time to get back into two-point. I didn't do that again either :) The rest of our jumps were very fun and easy. I did get a little nervous at first because Beth raised the jumps up and they looked very high, probably the highest I've ever jumped. I relaxed though, and everything was okay.
Tomorrow's our last riding day of the semester... Aw :(

Friday, April 17, 2009

Lobsters are Jedis.

I had a great time at the barn tonight. Larry called us and told us that we could ride, so I put on my riding clothes and met Stella at her stall. I could tell she was feeling her oats, so I brought her out and longed her for a bit. I'm glad I did, too. She was actually quite lazy as I worked her on the longe line except for the first canter departure. When I kissed to her, she squealed and leaped into a fast canter. I don't know whether that would've escalated into something bigger if I'd been on her back. It doesn't really matter, though.
I tacked her up and we had a very interesting ride. We spent a lot of time in that transcendent state of perfect understanding, where there's no resistance, no pain, and absolutely nothing more satisfying. My hip was terrible earlier in the week, but it didn't hurt last night when I was on Stella. Stella was a little weird during this ride, even though we had some amazing moments. When we were walking, she would randomly decide that she wanted to turn around and walk in a completely different direction. When I asked her to turn, she'd barely respond or almost do a 90-degree turn. We usually do lots of work in the center of the ring to avoid the whole glued-to-the-rail mindset (I've heard stories of pleasure horses who simply can't function unless they're plodding along the rail.), but we mostly stuck along the fence tonight so that Stella could get into her head that plunging to the inside of the ring at the canter is completely inappropriate. She did that a few times, and it was really annoying even though it didn't unseat me at all. I don't know what was up with her.
When we were trotting, Stella started out kind of silly. She was feeling very energetic and was having a good time flying around the ring. We trotted through a really muddy area once and Stella broke into a canter. She sent up an impressive spattering of mud, which decorated both of us for the rest of the night. We worked through the energy to have some excellent, unified moments. I think I'm still leaning forward a bit as I post down, even though I straighten out when I rise. I worked on that a little.
Our cantering was amazing. I was ready for Stella to take off bucking or something, but I was pleasantly surprised when we departed into one of the most beautiful canters I can recall. (Do I say that a lot?) We did an amazing lead change too. I'm so glad we got a chance to work together last night.
My sister and Elizabeth also sang me a song about lobsters. They love to hang out in the lounge and sing improvised songs about random topics. Since I love lobsters so much, they did one about lobsters. It was absolutely amazing. Then, they started to sing a song about squash. I found a roll of duct tape, so I ripped off a few shreds and made a duct tape mustache, reminiscent of the paper mustaches that I used to make and wear while "mocking" my old Latin teacher. I also danced along with their song. I happened to turn around one time and saw Larry watching me through the window on the door. It scared me to death, and I squealed in a combination of surprise and glee. I turned so rapidly that I lost my balance and "sat" down on my butt (I didn't actually fall, but rather allowed myself to plop down onto the floor.). Then Larry and I started laughing and pointing at one another. It was hysterical. I guess that's payback for scaring the kids so many times :)

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Archie, Chloe, and Hodji

I started out on Archie today. He was a good boy, but he was a little fast. I still had a pretty good time riding him, though, and I got to work on keeping a soft hand even when things are absolutely insane. We had fun together. He was shedding a whole lot in the stall, so I spent a lot of time rubbing him and pulling off a lot of loose hair. Archie's such a cute pony.
During our switch, I did one of my rotating dismounts, where I twist my body around so that I land facing forward once I touch the ground. Amber asked me if I was okay, and then Teresa commented on how I'm always doing "some sort of acrobatics" for my hip. Somehow my painkillers became the topic of conversation as I adjusted the stirrups on Chloe's saddle. I didn't bring them up; in fact, I hate talking about them in public. First of all, I don't like the stigma that comes with chronic pain. People feel sorry for me and people tell me I should hold back. I don't like it. I'm also not fully comfortable with letting people know what I take. Deep down, sometimes I wonder if people wonder if I'm addicted--I'm not. If I'm not in pain, I don't take it and I don't think about it. I also have this weird fear that people will ask me for some. Strange, yes, I know. Teresa asked me if I take one before every ride, and I answered honestly. Then she asked about what's actually wrong, so I explained what the chiropractor told me.
Finally I got to ride Chloe. She's a new horse at the school's barn. She's half Clydesdale, half Quarter Horse. She looks just like a Clydesdale, though, except her feet are only slightly feathered. I enjoyed walking and trotting her, and her canter might've been nice if we hadn't had so many...er, mishaps. Chloe was so WIDE though, nothing like skinny little Stella. I felt like my legs were all sprawled out.
Oh, I should describe our mishaps :P Well, Chloe had lots of problems with staying on the rail, and she definitely wouldn't go deep into the corners. She was very green, never bad, but green nonetheless. Her stride was massive. It was so massive that I could hardly sit it. We cut across the ring once and started to go between two jumps. Then, someone came up beside us and I had to make a quick turn in order to go through two jumps. The turn wasn't unreasonable except that I was on a gigantic horse with a very wide turn radius. I was amazed that she actually made the turn. I actually pleaded with an audible, pitiful, "Oh please..." Then, Chloe tripped and almost went stumbled headfirst into a nearby jump standard. Teresa freaked out because she thought we were going to die, and the girl who rode up and forced us to turn freaked out because Chloe's stumble scared her horse. Yeah, it was a tad frightening, but...yeah, Mac on the brain. Really, I don't think I'll ever let go of that.
I survived my ride on Chloe and we switched again. I got on Hodji, a small bay Arabian-like gelding. I've heard a lot of people say that riding him is torture, but he wasn't bad at all. We only did a little stirrupless sitting trot, and I did a normal posting trot while everyone else did it with one stirrup. I can't post comfortably without my stirrups. I mean, I can. It just involves a lot of physical pain. I can't wait for the day I'm kicked out of the ribbons in an equitation class for failure to perform that particular test. It's the only thing I worry that the judge will ask for. I've been in lots of classes where they ask us to drop our irons, but fortunately none have asked us to post without them. Hodji was very slow, even though I thought he would be a lot faster and a complete pain. But he wasn't.
It was a pretty good lesson.

Monday, April 13, 2009

Jumping on Socks

Today was a pretty good lesson. I got to ride Socks, who was a very good boy for me. He's absolutely adorable, too.
I didn't know how well I was going to be able to jump today. I started to lose focus in my computer science class, which ends about an hour before I leave for the barn, because I started to hurt. It was just an immense, excruciating pain in my knees and hips and even my upper and lower back. I popped a painkiller before I left to go to the barn, and it kicked in just in time for the lesson. I feel like I'm going to pass out right now, but at least I'm not in too much pain. Right now, it's just a dull ache in both knees and my back, and a slightly sharper pain in my hips. I need to go back to the chiropractor, because I'm definitely going back to where I was.
Socks is such a good pony. He was very good in the stall when I was tacking up. He was also well-behaved while I fumbled around with his boots. I've never really learned to put boots on horses because none of the horses I've ever worked seriously have ever needed boots. I'm always scared that I've put them too tight. I've finally figured out the direction that they go, but Socks' back boots looked like the skid boots that go on a reining horse and they really threw me for a while. At least I can say I've learned how to put boots and a martingale on!
We worked on the flat for a while and had a good time with that. Socks was a little slow, but it was okay for the first crossrail that we popped over. It was so small, he actually stepped over it once. Later on, Teresa turned the crossrail into a larger vertical. I absolutely couldn't get Socks to speed up, so he approached the jump and I just barely got into two-point. I honestly didn't think he was going to take it and was cautious about getting into a full two-point, but Socks was very honest and took it like the gentleman he is. I got a little left behind, but I managed to avoid catching him in the mouth.
We did lots of jumps today. Socks was excellent. Once I got a crop, Socks moved out and cantered the jumps wonderfully. I jumped one-handed several times because my hip was hurting and I needed the crop to replace my leg. It was all good, even though it was a little harder on Socks because he sometimes wiggled up to the jumps and I needed the reins to direct him more toward the center. I'm very tempted to take a jump with no hands sometimes. On one of the school horses, I know I could do it. I don't think Stella's ready for me to throw the reins away on her just yet. She needs me to direct her every move over a fence or she'll freak out and think that I've forgotten about her. On the flat, we do the whole WTC without reins and she's great for me. She really only needs the reins for a bit of refinement and reassurance. Heh, I digress :)
There was one particularly amusing jump that we had where Socks popped right over and I fell forward a little bit. I caught myself with one hand on his neck during the landing, but there were a few strides between catching myself and regaining my composure. In those few strides, Socks did a flying lead change with no help from me and headed toward the next set of jumps with only an awkward leg aid to assist him. Did I mention that Socks is a great pony?
I even called him "sir," which was somewhat uncomfortable for me. It just slipped out. It has been slipping out lately. Mac was my sir, the Good Sir. After Mac died, I remember that Chester was the first male horse that I called a "sir." It made me feel terrible. I don't think Mac minds, or even can mind. If he were still alive, I think he would be glad that I've found someone else to be my passionate lover, that I'm finally comfortable handling and riding his little brother, and that I'm still riding. I think he would be glad that I can actually go to sleep and not have nightmares. I think he'd be very happy indeed.
In two months and seven days, it'll be two years since the day he fell. In three months and two days, it'll be two years since he died. It's been a long time without him...
Aw, I sound pathetic.

Friday, April 10, 2009

Blessed Bucking Beastie

I went to go see the love of my life this afternoon. It was a gorgeous day, and Stella wasn't wearing her blanket. I brought her inside to brush her off, and then we went out for a ride. I didn't bother to longe her because I'm lazy and didn't feel like it.
We had a beautiful ride together. I could feel that Stella was a little "excited," but it was all good. Larry had a client out to watch him work her horse, and she was taking a spin when I finally got out to the ring. Stella and I moved easily through the gaits, and my hip was surprisingly very cooperative. Larry took a whip to me earlier because I'd once again failed to make a chiropractor appointment. I really should go again. I'm almost certain that my legs are two different lengths again. Ah, but I digress.
Stella and I did have some difficulty in coming to a complete stop. I think Stella was just feeling good. When we started cantering, she threw her head down and rounded up to buck. Larry laughed and then remembered to tell me that he'd started her on some new high-energy feed to help her gain some weight. She also hasn't been worked in a week, so the combination of extra calories and no work made her feel quite good, I guess. I stayed alert for the rest of the ride, prepared for one of Stella's infamous bucking fits, but she didn't do anything big tonight. Near the end of our ride, she crow-hopped a little, but I put a stop to it immediately and sent her straight back into a canter. I don't think she was protesting the canter at all; in fact, I think she was expressing absolute exuberance. She's definitely a horse who enjoys a good ride, and she really doesn't protest unless she's scared, not feeling well, or feeling a little indignant because I've done something that she dislikes.
It was very dark out when I finally got off, and we went inside together. I gave Stella lots of horse cookies and a good currying. She also got a large pile of hay in her stall, which she greatly appreciated. We talked for a while. I miss her so much when I'm away. Hopefully it won't rain too much tonight so we can ride again tomorrow.

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Cal and Rascal

I finally rode the infamous Cal today. I guess it had to happen eventually. He was a rather large chestnut gelding with amazingly soft fur. He was a bit of a pain in the stall, but he wasn't terrible. I knew that everyone dislikes Cal, but I didn't know why (or at least all of the why) and decided to pop a painkiller.
I have to say that Cal was excellent for mounting. I'm generally firm about never throwing my leg over a moving horse, even if they're only walking. Therefore, I'm often caught awkwardly leaning onto the school horses as they mosey off, completely ignoring my request for them to stop and my tugs at the reins. Cal, however, stood perfectly as I mounted up. Of course, I got on him with the knowledge that he broke a friend's back at the beginning of the semester, but... Cowards never live at all, right? :P
He wasn't very willing to work off my leg, and he definitely didn't want to go into the corners. When we started trotting, he was slow. Also, I've never in my life felt the need to move my hands along with a horse's trot until Cal. Seriously. He was bobbing his head up and down like he was lame, but he wasn't. It was just...ack! He almost fell flat on his face one time, so I got Mac on the brain. I can't help it. Every time a horse even stumbles with me, I think of the day Mac fell, our last ride. It doesn't scare me, it just makes me think of what happened. Teresa made us drop one stirrup, and I've also never in my life felt like I was going to fall off because I only had one stirrup. It was pathetic.
CAL'S CANTER WAS ATROCIOUS. AND I MEAN ATROCIOUS. His canter ranks up there as one of the worst canters I've ever had the displeasure of sitting. He cantered slowly and I always felt like I was in complete control, but he felt like he was cross-cantering or something. He also had a very poor canter, which added to the discomfort. It wasn't fun.
Do I even have to say that I was glad to change horses? I don't dislike Cal the horse, I just dislike riding Cal. I was really, really happy to get Rascal. Today I learned that he's a Quarter Horse, which I suspected. Rascal and I had a wonderful ride together. We went around happily, and my riding improved so much just by switching horses and saddles. Rascal has the nice dressage saddle, after all :) We even had an amazing time cantering. I kept a rather short rein, but I followed his mouth closely and he worked very well with a little extra contact. He cantered beautifully for me. I thought to myself that Rascal is one of the school horses that I wouldn't mind owning. With a little training, he'd be absolutely amazing. Then I thought to myself that I already have the love of my life and don't need anyone else.
I get to see Stella this weekend. Ah, the love of my life.

Monday, April 6, 2009

Quite the weekend, quite the lesson.

I didn't bother going to the barn on Friday night. I was sick. I don't take many days off from mucking stalls and taking care of the horses, but this one was definitely necessary. I was weak from the flu and rather unhappy that I couldn't go to see my girl.
I did go to the barn on Saturday, even though I could only carry a water bucket with assistance and felt wiped out after the short walk from my car to the barn. Stella gave me a few squiggles to make me feel better. The dogs tried to knock me down in order to make me feel better. Abby and Jack were glad that I was home, to say the least. There was a 4-H meeting at the barn, so I sat through that. We planned a few things, mostly fundraisers because we need money for State.
Of course we'll be having a bake sale, as we always do. We sell immense amounts of cookies and cakes to people who swear they're on diets, diabetic, members of an anti-cookie cult... They love the cuteness of the kids. The people at the feed store are also really great to us and they come out constantly to stock up on snacks. We might have another yard sale, which would be great because I should really de-clutter my living area. Our last yard sale was a huge success, and it was a whole lot of fun too. One of the parents suggested that we simply collect donations in front of one of the grocery stores, adding that we should wear our show clothes. Well, at least I had the gall to volunteer for that one... Seriously, I've worn my show/riding clothes just about everywhere: rest stops, just about every store in town, college classes, advising meetings, office hours, fast food restaurants, sit-down restaurants, doctors' appointments, emergency room, convenience stations, neighbors' houses, public speaking events, you name it. It doesn't bother me in the slightest. The meeting was painless, and the braiding clinic that followed wasn't too bad either. I already know how to braid and band, so I just sat back and looked at the horses. A couple of the younger kids experimented with giving the patient Tina an atrocious mohawk, I brought in (and actually ate) some chocolate chip cookies, said goodbye to Stella, and then had to leave because I felt like I needed to pass out on my bed.
I passed out on my bed for an hour or so, and then I think I went back to the barn. Yeah. I think I did. I obviously don't remember much of it.
I do remember Sunday, though. Sunday was a pretty good day. I went to the barn and cleaned plenty of stalls, despite still feeling weak and fatigued. I longed Stella for a bit, but she was being lazy. I let her quit and instead turned her loose in the arena while I set up some ground poles. I used the longe line as a lead and worked some showmanship with her. We did lots of setting up, backing, pivoting, and standing for the judge. We did a little trotting, but I saved most of my running for the ground poles. I walked and trotted her over them several times. She was so good. She didn't look at them twice, just trot trot trot trot. I would've led her over some low jumps, but I wanted to save my energy for riding and not hauling heavy standards across the yard and into the ring.
Our ride wasn't bad. I mean, Stella wasn't bad. I was the typical person trying to get over the flu. The posting trot nearly killed me. I was panting for breath. The canter wasn't so bad though. Cantering is a lot easier, though, at least in my opinion. At least with Stella. She was very energetic. She wasn't uppity, bad, or out of control. She was just slightly faster than normal and moving powerfully. We had a lot of fun, but the ride was cut a little short because my stomach was unhappy and all of my muscles were screaming at me for making the stupid decision to ride. I'm glad I did, though.
After our ride, Stellaphone got her first real bath of the season. I scrubbed her down with a brush and lots of good-smelling shampoo until all of the spots that are supposed to be white were actually white. I also washed her tail and mane until they were gleaming a gleaming platinum, and I sponged her face off to remove most of the dirt and stains. She had a lot of slobber around her mouth from our ride, so I took care of that. I even wiped out her nose. During her bath, she kept raising and lowering her head while snorting. Occasionally she would start to tremble, taking a step or two back. I really don't know if I ever found out what was bothering her. She used to be terrified of the black mats that we have the horses stand on for their baths. When I tried to lead her onto the mats last summer, she reared up, pulled away from me, and fell onto her haunches. She was okay, but very dirty and even more in need of a bath once I caught her. She's just silly like that. Someone had thrown their jacket over the fence rail, but that wasn't it. I also moved the ground poles away from the mats, but that wasn't it. I even got to the point where I was picking up clods of dirt and small twigs, but those weren't the startling objects either. I think the bucket, which was filled with a white, foaming mass, was the problem. I moved that and she stopped trembling, but she didn't stop snorting and moving her head up and down to get a better look at something. I just didn't want her to start pulling back; I wanted a nice, relaxed bath that could reinforce the "black mats are good" idea in Stella's head. It was a good experience, too.
I hand grazed Stella for a little while, which she enjoyed. She was very hungry the whole time I was working with her on Sunday, so I made sure to give her extra hay before I left. I hugged her lots before leaving, as always :)
Today I feel a whole lot better, and I think I'm almost back to normal. I rode Rascal again in today's lesson. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I actually felt pretty good about myself after the lesson. He was kind of a tough ride, but we stuck it out and had a nice time.
On the flat, his walk and trot were lovely. His saddle, obviously meant for dressage, was also lovely. His canter wasn't terrible, just very, very fast. I had some interesting moments, to say the least. I tried him on a looser rein at first. He was wearing a simple snaffle, so I assumed maybe he's like Archie and just wanted a softer hand and looser rein. He literally took it and ran. He needed me to hold him at all times instead. One time, I got up behind Bugsy and had to make a decision--fast. I was blocked by a jump, so I either had to risk ramming into Bugsy (Not fun, it's happened to me while I was on Stella...) by staying behind him or risk my own seat and/or hitting a jump standard by turning sharply and cutting the ring. I chose the latter, and, boy, did I really risk my seat! I was expecting a much slower turn, but Rascal did almost a 90-degree turn the instant I asked him to go toward the center of the ring. I really fought for my balance. Then, I had a run in with another girl who was cantering a smaller circle. I joined her circle and we both tried to fit into a small hole between two jump standards. I was going to go back to the rail, but someone showed up on another pony and I just couldn't do it. I just followed behind the horse and it felt like I wasn't going to make it. This time, I ended up standing in my stirrups, once again playing with my balance. It would've been a lot easier if I'd been on a slower, more controllable horse. Teresa's been making a point of putting most of us on faster, more advanced horses this semester. It's definitely making for lots of learning, and that's great.
Jumping Rascal was also really interesting. I popped over a smallish fence to start, and Rascal did a good job with it. I did something strange, I don't even remember what, but it was fixed by the next lap and next pop over the fence. We did that fence a few more times, and then we added another to it. Rascal did them both quite nicely, but he didn't want to stop after the first fence...or the second. It just took a bit to bring him back to the trot once he landed and decided to canter off. The second fence landings made for some pretty epic riding. Rascal just took off each time. Once, I had to do some serious sinking to stay on. After the jump, I turned Rascal hard to keep him from charging through the fence. The sinking was the only thing keeping my butt in the saddle when he made some barrel-racer-esque turns.
Our best go was the second before our last. He calmed down a bit and came back to a halt in a very reasonable amount of time. Our final go wasn't that bad, but it was a little crazier. It was still fun.
I asked Teresa about class for next semester. The only way I can repeat the Intermediate class is to go into my Latin class completely dressed to ride and then making a run for it as soon as class lets out. I could always go back to Hi-Elementary, which wouldn't be all that bad of an idea, really. It'd be the confidence boost I said I needed. I can pop over a crossrail comfortably on any horse with a shred of sense. They don't do too much more than crossrails and tiny, tiny jumps in that class. I honestly wouldn't take the class if I had to go down to Elementary, though. I just wouldn't. Basically, I take these classes to keep me in shape for Stella and to teach me how to jump for Stella, mostly the latter. They don't even do crossrails in Elementary (Not saying they should... Not saying anyone who can't ride without stirrups and reins should...), so it'd be a waste of my time and money.
I also don't think I'm ready for Advanced Equitation. I might repeat Intermediate a couple of times and then try.
An older man who rides at the school's barn was watching our lesson and said that I stuck with Rascal really well, particularly with our final jump. A girl in my lesson also complimented our ride. It made me smile :)

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Bareback lesson

Yes, we finally got the chance to try some bareback at school!
I rode Mersea again, which was lovely. He's a good boy, even though he can be kind of nasty in the stall. He tried to kick me again today. He also made several attempts at biting me before I whopped him in the shoulder with the heel of my hand and set him straight. He was pretty good for me after that.
We had a wonderful ride with our saddle. Mersea has a particularly comfortable saddle. Walking, trotting, and cantering were all very fun. Mersea was a little slow, but it was still very nice to ride him. I like his gaits. We worked over some trotting poles for a while, and Mersea was, of course, very good at that. He's good at just about everything, really.
Teresa called us over halfway through the lesson and told us to strip everything but the bridles from our horses. I was excited to hear that, except that my hip was hurting and I opted not to take a pain pill before our flat lesson. It wasn't too bad during the ride, though.
Mersea is very short compared to Stella, so I had an easy time hopping onto him. I remember one time when I tried to jump on Stella bareback. I was having a little...er, problem. I was about halfway on, and then Stella took an accidental leg squeeze as the cue to leap into a trot. I stupidly gripped with my calves in an attempt to stay on, so she broke into a canter. At that point, she hit the fence, turned right, and left me in the dust. It scared the poor girl to death, and I couldn't even tell her that she was naughty because she wasn't--she did exactly what I inadvertently asked her to do! I digress. For the millionth time.
Mounting Mersea was a success, so we walked around and had a fine time taking it slow. Teresa called for a trot, so I took up a little mane and off we went. The mane. My absolute favorite part of the horse's anatomy when it comes to close calls! Mersea and I did have a few close calls today. In fact, I've never had so many "oh-no-I'm-about-to-fall-off" moments in a single lesson, especially at Hazelwild. I did manage to avoid hitting the ground, though, and it was a lot of fun. Teresa let us canter individually if we felt up to it. I've never actually cantered bareback before, so it was quite the experience for me. It was fun! As you probably expected, I did almost slip off once or twice during the downward transition.
I want to do it again before the end of the semester, and I want to try Bugsy. He looks like the perfect bareback pony.
I would've already popped some painkillers, but I'm really tired and sure that I'll pass out once the stuff takes effect. I need to stay awake and finish my programming assignment that's due tonight :P If I can't walk, there are less distractions--that's a way to look at it!