Right back at it

We do a quick turnaround this week and head to Opie's second show Sunday. It's another dressage schooling show, but more low-key than the last one.

This is the first show for my GMO and it's not even being placed. You go in, do your test, and then grab your score sheet and go. Normally I wouldn't show somewhere without the chance of ribbons because I'm a shallow child, but the scores do count towards year end awards. I also won't be able to attend their next show because I'll be showing elsewhere on that Friday and Saturday. I'll be getting some volunteer hours in though!

For a $30 entry fee to get some more test riding feedback and off-property experience, I'd say it's worth the trip out. Hopefully.

getting in some extracurricular grazing while waiting for the farrier 

Opie got Sunday and Monday off after the last show, and then had a very light w/t/c school in the ring before heading out on a trail ride. It sounds silly, but he feels like a more grown up horse after just one field trip. I mean, he still almost fell down at the canter this morning because he was too busy doing Not Smart Horse things, but the overall feeling is there.

I put my leg on and it means things--different things, not just Go. He feels a little more in-tune, and a little more like maybe he could listen to me and think my request through instead of making a snap decision between canter or quit. Because #thereisnoinbetween.

Guys, he did one whole show after all. He's basically as worldly as they get.

surveying his domain in a confident because he runs the world way.
or looking for his friend in the field even though he was left in the
stall next to him to babysit. #sogrownup

The spring weather has finally put together a long enough run that the outdoor was able to get some serious loving from the tractor and drag, and we headed out there the last two days. Opie wandered through there a few times when I first got him, but these were his first real works in it. I thought I was going to have a distracted, staring, screaming baby horse because you can see other horses from the ring, but he settled right in without fuss.

Tracy's post gave me a bit of a mental kick in the ass that if I want the weak work to improve--that being the canter transitions and the canter itself--I have to actually....canter. For shame.

Fortunately the walk and trot work have been good enough to carry through the week without having to linger on them. There's room to improve of course, but it's good enough to get through the next show. Instead the canter has been the focus.

I was holding out hope all winter that having more space in the outdoor would help with the canter, but the first day it was a whole lot of motorcycling to the left. I had no control of what his shoulders were doing and since the canter isn't particularly maneuverable anyway right now, adding in that extra problem was a whole lot of extra work for my poor legs.

He came out much better this morning though. He started off heavy, but several serious halt transitions that showed him plowing through my aids wasn't going to be tolerated lightened him right up. The right lead is usually his better lead with a worse transition, but it was the opposite today. He picked up the wrong lead going left a couple times because crooked, but once he got it the canter was lovely.

I've finished with some stretchy work at the walk and trot and lateral work in the walk every day. The lateral work is getting there. It's not trot worthy yet, but he's finally (mostly) doing it without being a llama at the same time.

i have to say it's nice to have a horse sound enough to outside again.

He gets tomorrow off as I scout out the facility we'll be showing at which is theoretically just down the road from where my barn is at a multi-day hunter show. So I'll get to swing in and cheer them on for a bit. You know, if it doesn't take them ten hours to get to their classes because hunter land.

WNYDA Dressage Schooling Show

Oh man, I am tired. I forgot how much sitting in the sun all day doing nothing takes out of you. What a rough life horse showing is!

I am happy to say that while Opie did not meet all the goals I set out for him, he made up for it by being a little midget horse rock star in the areas where I thought he was going to be a complete terrorist.

be aware i have zero exciting media to share

I scheduled in an hour window to get him on the trailer. Or to get him to stay on the trailer. I arrived at the barn early, shoved paste electrolytes down his throat because I wasn't sure he was going to calm himself enough to drink on his own, and then tried to feed him his breakfast which he refused because I'd just poisoned him. Apparently.

Hubby had agreed to meet me at the barn in hopes that he could get Opie locked in from behind fast enough to keep the horse on the trailer, but since I didn't have to wait around for food to digest I decided to see if I could do it myself. I've been doing a ton of trailer-less trailer themed ground work with him which is a post for another day.

I dumped his grain in a to-go bucket, shoved a handful in his mouth so he knew what I was toting, and then lead him on the trailer. Getting him on is never the issue. He followed me right up, and then I clipped the grain bucket to his hay net and shook it around to distract him while sneakily creeping back to throw the butt bar into place. He was twitchy and couldn't stand still, but he never threatened to book it backwards. Starting the day off with a win!

my mom said he was probably good because he was so confused
by his outfit. 

The ride down was uneventful (well, I did see a raccoon crossing the street that was the size of a fucking wombat which was slightly alarming), and Opie stayed quiet and chill for it. I got there so ahead of schedule that I had a primo parking spot and the guy parking everyone had nothing better to do so offered to help me unload. Thanks, sir! Just stand back while my horse jets off like a nutter.

We had two hours until our first test so I let Opie have a good long graze before doing anything else. I was relieved he was willing to put his head down and eat since he couldn't manage to stand still long enough on our trips to the park. He got his grain, and then we went for a long hand walk around the barns and outside rings. A trainer schooling her horse joined us for our walk and both Opie and her first-timer mare settled down in each others company while we talked OTTBs.

We finally headed back to the trailer where Opie got tied and began learning what horse shows are really like: standing. So much standing. There was much weaving, pawing, striking out, and pacing to the end of his line, but! He didn't scream. He didn't pull back. He never once tested the rope. I flopped down in my chair and stuck my book in front of my face to tune him out and eventually he gave up and started in on his hay bag. That took Bobby a full season and many tubes of UlcerGuard to figure out so he's already ahead of the curve.

the horses in turnout were very intriguing though

Training 1

The college is currently building a massive new indoor arena space so they had the competition and warm up rings arranged differently than usual. Intro through Training 1 warmed up outside and showed inside. Everyone else then warmed up inside (or in the far reaches of the second outdoor ring) and showed outside. It worked out well that Opie got to school in the ring he was showing in for Training 3, but he didn't get to peek into their very dark and trappy indoor before his first ever test.

He warmed up as well as could be expected. He seemed to forget that my left leg is a thing and kept bulging to the inside, but we schooled that a bit and got him straighter. His canter departs were as solid as they get for him right now. BM drilled a long neck and forward hands into me in our test run-through Friday so I had that fresh in my mind, and was also reminded seeing such lovely riders around me pushing for big, forward trots that my little horse has that in him too if I ask him.

Their indoor is the size of a small competition ring so we went directly into the "ring" instead of having space to trot around it. I let him have a walk lap while the judge finished writing on the previous test then picked up the trot. The second we stepped into it the judge blew the whistle. We were right by A and while I'm sure we could have done another lap before turning down center line I blanked and pulled Opie in to start the test.

That made our entry a little off center line, and then he threw his head up in the halt and looked around like, "WTF. How did we end up in here and what is happening now?!" He trotted right off though and did the first circle without incident.

As we passed by A/the open door to the outside world, he craned his neck around to stare at the people and horses massed just outside and consequently was too crooked and distracted to pick up the correct lead. I brought him back and got him sorted out quickly. He finished the circle and then promptly died and collapsed into the trot the second we went straight. Instead of getting after him to finish the last three steps of canter, I took the time to reorganize the trot so at least the next movement wouldn't be a throwaway as well.

His medium walk was good, the free walk is so short in this test and he spent it trying to covertly stare out of the ring, and then back to the trot. Trot was good, picked up the right lead first try and while he got a little quick an unbalanced that's just where he's at right now. He finished the fucking movement at least! Down center line and a very good square halt to finish.

Judge's final comments were, "Terrific horse--work on those canter transitions and canter needs more suppleness." Yep, agreed with it all! 68% for 4th place.

seriously. no exciting media whatsoever.

Training 3

We had a three hour wait until our next test which was spent with more hand walks, some screaming (but only when prompted by certain other horses he must have known in a past life. For how much nonstop vocalization was going on by every fucking horse on the grounds, Opie himself kept a pretty good lid on it.), and periods of being a Very Good Horse at the trailer and also a Very Annoying Please Stop Moving Horse.

He was quietly eating hay when I pulled out his tack for the second test, but the second the saddle went on he couldn't stand still again. I had plenty of time so I left the saddle on and plunked myself back down in my chair to let him see that he can get dressed and not immediately have to start doing all the things. Once he settled down some I finished getting him ready and attempted to get on. He had a little Come to Jesus about how he does indeed know about standing still for mounting and then we were off.

snackin'. 

I kept the second warm up super short because every half halt I did was a cue to Opie to quit. He was so tired from his constant mental awareness and constant fucking fidgeting that his already quitting nature was ready to give horsing a big ole pass. My goal for him not to stop to take a nap in the middle of the test was a real wish of mine, dudes. The chance of that actually happening was starting to become a distinct possibility.

Once it was our turn I kicked him into the biggest trot he had to offer as we circled the ring. I figured if I went in huge and overpowered and teetering on losing the balance, when I half halted I'd still have just enough left to still be mobile. He was a little haunches right for the halt, but moved off into the trot promptly. The first trot loop was an 8, and the left lead was there the first time. His comments for the canter were that there was some bracing on the hands which is fair. I was basically holding him up with both my hands and my spurs so he wouldn't die.

The free walk was a bit better this time with more room to establish it. He can do much, much better at home, but that's just going to take repetition at shows to get it.

Picked up the right lead canter the first time. Poor kid was done by that point. He went and held it with lots of leg encouragement, but it was on the forehand and far from his best work. He nailed the final centerline and halt for another 8.

Final comments: "All around, a lovely test to judge. Keep working on transitions: prepare better to avoid horse's bracing." Again, yep! The lack of preparation was because every time I so much as breathed a little harder on the outside rein Opie thought maybe I was offering him sanctuary to be done. 72% for 2nd place.

you have no idea how happy it made me not to get a yellow ribbon

Obviously the scoring was very generous. It was a schooling show, and the first one of the year for most of us. There were a lot of called out apologies of "Sorry, it's his/her first time!" in warm up as horses went skittering sideways or careening into oncoming traffic so I'm sure the judge was trying to make sure everyone had a positive first experience. I expect our scores to be significantly lower next month at the rated show. In the meantime, we're right back at it this Sunday with another schooling show to get more mileage and more test riding down.

As far as the comments and how it felt riding the tests, nothing was different than what we're working on at home. I didn't go in the ring with a completely different horse to ride and manage. The green moments were our weak spots that we're working on, and the strong moments are only going to get stronger. That was a really good feeling.

To end an already great day, Opie deigned to make trailer loading just as easy as it had been that morning. I got him locked in on the very first try, and he didn't even maim himself when I ran to the office to use the bathroom and grab my test. He was a sweating, screaming psychotic mess by the time we pulled into the barn driveway where he friends were waiting at the gate calling for him, but at that point all I had to do was hose him off and chuck him outside so I didn't really care.

"fuck you and your pictures, i need to go be with my friends!!!"
-opie, definitely

If this level of cooperation is the norm at shows, I might actually be looking forward to the season. There were some behaviors I could do without, but the fact that this kiddo is only six months off the track and I was able to take him to his first show flying completely solo without having to worry about any safety concerns--spooking, breaking free, being an idiot around other horses in crowded rings--that is where it's at for me.

Let's get ready to show!

Part of me is so excited that show season kicks off this Saturday!

And then the other part of me--the one driving to the barn in a Benadryl haze at 6:30 this morning--is like, I hate driving. I hate driving the trailer especially. So much brain power. Why does an hour and a half feel like five hours when you're hauling? I hate parking this thing, too. If everyone else could park like responsible citizens it wouldn't be so bad. Maybe. And my horse is probably going to be an asshole on the ground. And he doesn't stay on the trailer when I load him. What an asshole. Doesn't he know how much I hate hauling anyway?

BUT MOSTLY EXCITED!

super excited to braid this thing and make him look even cuter

I have realistic expectations for this debut. He's entered in Training 1 and 3 (because 2 was super long on paper so I didn't even bother reading it to see if I wanted to do it). I opted to pass right over Intro not because Opie is so amazingly advanced, but because I felt like Training gives you a lot more room to set up for each movement which is something he really needs. Basically I opted for Training instead of Intro because my horse isn't amazingly advanced.

As such though, after stalking my fellow competitors, we're going up against quite a few horses showing First already. We've got plenty of basics we're still working on: he curls behind the bit some still, his stretchy trot stretches down but not out, and his canter can be erratic.

Green to the level? More like green to horsing.

that bleach white tail always makes me happy even when the rest of him is
lightening way too fast

That's okay though! While of course I would love to come home slinging blue ribbons left and right, I have grown up goals for him instead. Things like, Stay in the arena. Pick up the correct lead. Maybe do not try to convince everyone you're dying of exhaustion and stop to take a nap halfway through the test.

I actually am feeling completely stress-free about how the riding is going to go. I'm only concerned about how much of a fuss he's going to make about the trailer and the three hour wait time between tests. Please do not make this a miserable experience for me, you naughty fucker.

"please get me my own fly mask
instead of this janky thing i'm wearing."

Is anyone else showing this weekend? Or do you live in the land of warm weather and are already months into show season?

Together but apart

Unsurprisingly, dear Dopie made himself a bit back sore after last week's overly dramatic shenanigans. Tightening all your muscles while jigging downhill and then throwing multiple tantrums while flying backwards off the trailer will do that to you. He got Tuesday off and I attempted to give him a light, loose ride on Wednesday. It was full of head flinging and general No-ness, so Thursday I popped him on the longe for some light, loose circles.

Yeah, no. Still not feeling it. Instead it turned into a schooling session on manners and listening, but we roundabout finished with a slow, relaxed jog.

BM was kept abreast of the situation and our lesson on Friday was catered to getting the back to relax while still doing its job of lifting and engaging.

looking all cute waiting for his cookies to arrive

I started the ride perched in the saddle as a peace offering and Opie responded by giving nose to the ground stretches at the walk several times all on his own. He got lots of praise and scratches to reinforce the idea that stretching is always a good answer.

Not wanting to drill the horse, I got drilled on my riding instead. Dudes, much needed. I will never turn down this type of lesson.

At the trot, BM really wanted Opie "looking out of the bridle" instead of down at the ground or behind him--aka, stop curling your big ole white snoot, sir. She tried to describe it to me as getting his front half to lead instead of my top half leading, but that visual wasn't doing it for me. The great thing about BM is that she has a hundred different was of saying the same thing. When she told me to imagine lengthening his front half out I was like, "Oh, duh. That makes total sense."

We worked on half halting and then catching him and sending him forward promptly to make the hind leg the one leaving the ground the quickest. It took several attempts of sending him forward and then having to bring him right back again as he got too quick to balance himself, but once he got trucking and really pushing off the ground it was awesome. For a tiny horse he's got a big stride, and when he's not falling down it's killer.

his bookends would also like some cookies

Then there was the fucking canter.

I have an incredibly hard time with coordinating multiple aids, and I was getting really frustrated with myself. I could tell BM was struggling with teaching me as I kept falling apart because, as she told me at the end, "You're an educated rider so I think I can give you all this information, but it's not computing real time." A-fucking-men.

I was supposed to be half halting the outside rein to slow down Sir Runs A Lot while simultaneously keeping a light feel on the inside rein unless Sir Throws His Head A Lot threw his head in the air at which point I was to gently vibrate that rein with my ring finger. Two hands working at the same time doing two completely different things.

I. Could. Not. Even.

he's much cuter now that his summer coat is coming in so dark

And if I could magically trick my brain into working Together But Apart, some other part of me got left out of the picture and went to shit. Like I was supposed to be working on all this as well:

• Thumb down to hold the reins in place so that the ring finger has freedom to talk with the bit. Otherwise it's too busy all the time and sending mixed signals. 
• "Lean back" (basically be upright/don't fall forward if you're me) in canter transition so his front end has a place to lift up to.
• Think of pushing my hand forward as if I was pushing into her fist.
• Long rein in the canter transition. "If you can't push your hands forward on a long rein then I'm going to make you do it on the buckle."
• There's a block behind my back that my elbows aren't allowed to pass behind. 

THAT'S SO MANY THINGS THO.

Meanwhile Opie is over here checking in with every air molecule in the state of New York , and BM's trying to threaten him into learning at the same time as trying to kick my own brain into gear. "If you don't stop being so ADD we're going to put blinkers on and ear plugs in to cut off all your senses." (Aimed at Opie, not me. I think.)

"i pay attention to everything."
we know, opie. that's the problem.

We had a powwow at the end while I casually ripped my hair out in frustration and defeat. While BM lectured me on how I make dressage too complicated in my head, and I was all, "Who's making whose hands do two separate things at once, BM? Not me!" And BM was all, "Well, clearly." (...that might have been inferred and not an actual quote.), she stopped and pointed at my leg.

"Look at what your heels are doing! Doesn't that hurt?"

Okay, listen. Just because my heels like to try to dig into the ground every second of their lives even while hanging neutrally at my side does not make them bad heels. They just don't know the meaning of being horizontal. Ever. BM added on to her lecture that I have to police myself at all times to make sure I'm not weighting only the outside of my foot and over-flexing my ankles. The entire ball of my foot has to be weighted. Just the worst.

Opie started three days of Bute that Friday and continued through the weekend which he had off. When I got to the barn this morning he was ready to work. He was also a little squirrely to start, but that's to be expected.

I was able to really tap into my seat aids again without any resistance from him, and it got him going so much quicker. After a nice stretchy walk break, I picked the trot back up and he offered that great big floaty trot we worked most of the lesson on all on his own. He got tons of praise as I rode around enjoying it before finishing with a much nicer left lead canter than the first one he offered.

finished the morning with inhaling grass

Spring Cleaning

It felt like a good time for spring cleaning this weekend.

Basically, it wasn't snowing. Good enough for me!

"but i love the snow."

I've been waiting impatiently for the weather to get its shit together so I could bring my trailer home and scrub it down. Every time I looked at in the parking lot I shuddered. I also love cleaning and organizing so I was legitimately looking forward to diving into this project.

top: bottom half washed, roof waiting to be tackled.
bottom: mold. mold everywhere.

I had to wash the fenders twice--there was so much mold that I was basically smearing it around the first time. The roof also needed two rounds of loving. I didn't think the body was quite as bad as it was until I started scrubbing, and then a whole new trailer appeared glowing from underneath.

so shiny and beautiful

The inside was already in good shape as I've been using it for trailering practice (a fat fucking lot of good that's done me), minus all the candy wrappers that needed to be picked out of the shavings. Tire pressure was checked on all four plus the spare, a missing grease cap was replaced, and a new light cover was put on the list for the next time I drive by a TSC. The bearings all got greased last year and then the trailer sat pretty much all year so I held off on doing that this round. It will probably get done later this summer depending on how much work it actually gets to do.

Finally it was time to tackle the dressing room!

mostly just needed a good sweep

I was expecting this to be more work/fun than it was. The downfall of loving to organize things is that they're always organized on some level. I pulled a few things out to leave at home, set some things aside to move into the barn as the weather warms up, and did a once-over to assure myself I had everything I needed to kick off the season.

extra lead rope, two lead shanks, shipping halter (now dead thanks to opie),
two extra halters, a dunce cap, and a mirror to get my hairnet hair proper

extra girth, bridle, and reins, plus standing martingale.
laundry bag for sweaty pads/clothes, poop shovel, cooler, irish knit, chairs, and road bag.
one day it will be for real warm again and i can pack his blankets away.

"hullo, would you like to come play ball with me now?"

My three drawers that house the majority of my show-only shit needed nothing more than a quick glance over. They were prepped for last year and never got to do anything.

UL: vest, mattes shims, dunce cap bag
UR: show helmet, white clothing that lives in quarantine
BL: first aid shit, duct tape (duh), tests book, baby wipes (for sweat), hair net and miscellany
including two of my three tide to go sticks. i have a lot of faith in my ability to get filthy.
BR: all of the above tucked away plus an extra clean rag (probably used for more sweat),
and my bag from bel joeor that houses my braiding kit

I always think I'm going to clean out my door, but it always gets ignored. I don't know why, there's just nothing in there that excites me.

mostly dead sponge, sunblock, rasp, sweat scraper, sunblock,
cookies that usually get made into a soup, electrolytes, mostly dead fly mask.
probably some other shit...

All that left was making sure my "Should you break down on the side of the road" box was equipped.

MOAR SUNBLOCK!!!
i didn't even know i owned that hoof pick.
registration, tool things... i have AAA and US Rider....

Yeah, I don't know. Hubby said it was fine. Pulling the Useless Girl card on that one.

Since I had the soap and the bleach out, I also brought home my grooming tote to scour. My brushes got soaked and I attempted to clean out the tote itself.

eventually i'll chuck this thing. it's like ten years old at this point.
it's broken. it never really gets clean.

nothing that needed replacing in this mess.

The truck also got washed, vacuumed out, and all fluids checked and topped off as needed--that at least I can do by myself! All that was left was to park it back at its home.

and give the naked pony some cookies

Opie got his tail scrubbed white again, half a bottle of Cowboy Magic sprayed onto his poop stains, and his bridle path trimmed. Let's be real. There's no point in making him clean clean until the day before his first show. And my little cleaning OCD heart cannot wait for bubbles and braids and Hello Kitty.

Has anyone else been hit by the spring cleaning bug? Or did you guys get spring five weeks ago and have long since moved on?

All by himself

Opie has been up to so much the past few days! I need to write recaps on how BM fixed his canter departs, his first 2'3" jump, and about how I would get on and have this dreaded feeling of, "This is the anxious, tense horse that's going to be at shows." and then he magically became #childgenius at the end of each ride.

Really, those are the recaps though.

• I was in too foul of a mood to ride in my lesson Friday so I had BM get on. She had his canter departs transformed by the end and now he steps into them easy peasy. Whatever, Genie. That's why I pay you. 
• BM had a 2'3 vertical set up on the rail that looked doable after Opie was being such a star cantering over a giant X so BM and K urged me to try it. Opie hesitated a stride out because #daunting, but I gave him a poke with my spurs and he launched right over it. He landed in a heap, but knows the game is to land and canter so he quickly picked up the canter all on his own even though he was a little wide-eyed. Good kid.
• Sass monster to trained(ish) horse every ride, every time. That is all.

Now I just need to keep those wins in mind as I recount the frustration of Opie's first solo outing.

always interested when the trailer comes out.
all the better to plan nefarious things probably.

Winter disappeared for a hot minute this weekend continuing into Monday so I marked yesterday as a park trip. BM was too busy to join us, but that was fine. I actually wanted to get a solo trip in before show season starts up so that Opie could see we go places by ourselves and no one dies.

Right off the bat, it was kind of defeating. Opie wanted no part of self loading which means I had to walk him on to the trailer and then try to sneak down to latch the butt bar. This is actually how I loaded Bobby, minus the sneaking as Bobby had the most rock solid "Stand" known to man and would wait patiently while I went around and locked him in.

Opie doesn't do stand in any part of his life. BM was on hand to offer assistance if needed and pointed out that he just never stops moving. In his stall he's off from one station to the next--feed bucket, hay, mineral block, LikIt, scoping out the aisle, repeat ad nauseam. His little baby brain is constantly spinning.

After multiple rounds of me taking one step to the side and Opie reverting to flying backwards off the trailer, he finally just...gave up? I was able to get the butt bar up and latched then quickly got the ramp up and jetted out of there.

so sweaty

He weaved and screamed for the thirty minute trip over, but actually unloaded fairly sensibly. I hand walked him for a few minutes, and then tied him to the trailer for the first time without him doing anything more than wandering a bit. The trailer parked next to us had horses on it which I think calmed him down a little bit and he even ate a little bit of hay between staring at everything.

sneaking bites while i rolled wraps.

I got him saddled and was putting on my helmet when the horses next to us got unloaded. That set Opie off onto a scream fest right in my face which took all my meditation skills to ignore, but he let me bridle him and get on without trouble. I was pleasantly surprised that he marched right off past the two horses without a second thought. He needed a couple of reassurance nudges once they were out of sight, but soon settled right in.

We did a little bit of high-headed trotting before reaching his first brave horse test. The water crossing that we came to at the end last time and needed Momo to lead us into was about ten minutes into the ride this time with the route I took. There were a bunch of people in the parking lot that he screamed to once when he saw them, but he plowed right into the water with zero hesitation. There were two girls taking pictures with their phones so I asked them if they'd mind snapping one for me. Young girls with phones: they know the importance of #doitforthegram.

"maybe if i look hard enough i'll see other horses??"

Phone back, Opie strolled down the trail without further incident. Occasionally he'd spot a person ahead of us and would try to hustle to catch up with them. There's power in numbers I guess, even if you have to make do with humans instead of horses. We came out at another parking area where a big party was going on in one of the pavilions. He watched them closely, and as soon as we crossed the road and left them behind he let out another scream. Trying to rally them to him so he didn't have to continue in this desolate, horseless wasteland by himself? Who knows. Fortunately that was the last noise he made during the ride which was fantastic. I'd braced myself for a nonstop scream fest honestly.

future jumpies?

We had a little trot, then a little canter, then proceeded to engage the jigging button. WHOOPS. Especially when said jiggy button was occasionally, randomly paired with the violent head flinging button, often seen when one should be paying attention to one's feet when walking down an exceptionally steep hill. I trail ride with a floppy rein and floppy seat because trail riding is solely for the joy of riding for me. This has worked just fine up to this point, but Opie needed the security of a short rein to stop jigging. He never pulled, but the second I let the reins go slack off he went again.

Of course picking up the reins was double edged. He would stop jigging, but he started chewing on his tongue--a loud, annoying alternative that almost made me want to go back to the jig.

We finally reached the boat launch where I thought he might want to stop for a drink as he loves drinking from puddles on rides. He took one look at the pond spread out before him and trotted right in all by himself. I was like, "Aww, so cute!" except then he seemed to think he should just keep going. It might have been 70*, but it was not a day for swimming. I got him wrestled to a stop, grabbed my favorite between the ears picture, and carried on.

love this view

No further incident until we burst forth from the trail and saw the trailer parking across the field. Opie practically sat down then jumped forward before slamming on the brakes and then walking like nothing had happened all in the space of about two seconds. I almost somersaulted off the back of him it was such a bizarre move.

He managed to get back to the trailer flat footed on a long rein and was a gentleman while I took his bridle off and got him haltered. He accepted his candy, snatched a bite of hay, and the second I turned around to hang up his bridle his screamed and set back. Fortunately I was all of two steps away and managed to talk him off the ledge but the fucker still managed to break the cheek piece of his nice leather halter. I grabbed one of my many spares and strapped it over the broken halter before retying him.

what a beautiful show halter.
too bad it's number 564 that you've broken!!!!

Everything packed away, all that was left was getting the horse secured in the trailer. Cue twenty minutes of getting on, flying backwards, and leaping up as he went flying backwards as if he intentionally wanted to bash his brains out on the top of the trailer. He's too short and the trailer is too tall for him to hit it even with his head in the air, but thank god for putting the dunce cap on him anyway because he was literally jumping up as he went off like it was a goal to knock himself stupid.

And maybe that's exactly what happened because he then decided he wasn't even going to get on the trailer anymore.

I know twenty minutes is not a long time for some of you to spend with trailer shenanigans, but more than a minute is too long for me. Especially since we've been working on trailer manners constantly and he was doing amazing with everything.

Once again, he finally just seemed to give up. He walked on with me and let me hastily latch him in. I tried working on the backing off once we got back to the barn, but he'd reverted to completely fucking useless.

too a.d.d. to even focus on grazing this morning

So while the ride was better than I expected based solely on this amount of making noise he did (and he was very brave and didn't balk at a single thing the entire time), the trailering really upset me. I know mileage is going to be key, but mileage is also extra gas money and an extreme emotional toll on my fucking brain that deep down hates baby horse dramatics.

He got today off as planned. He felt pretty tight on the left side of his back, but no surprise there with the amount of tense jigging and tense everything for the second half of the ride. I rubbed some liniment in, gave him a gram of bute, and tried to let him have a long graze after scrubbing his tail and poop stains.

Hopefully he gives me a good, silent ride tomorrow. He's got some sucking up that needs to be done before he's back in my good graces.

A jump jump horse

or not.

I bought Opie with the goal of making him my dressage horse. My allegiance has shifted away from eventing since we moved up here from PA. The availability of events combined with the community that participates in them quickly soured my favorite things about the discipline--the general camaraderie and feeling that everyone is rooting for everyone else.

That said, I do still love jumping and there are plenty of other opportunities to show over fences in the area. While I will never be a hunter princess or have the brain skills to navigate the jumper world, they're both readily available to dabble in should I so choose on a weekend where nothing else is going on. We're also in an area that has hunter paces all the time, including at my own barn!

So while Opie's main focus is on the flat, he's going to get an active education over fences in his life, too.

loves this game

While it may seem like poor Dopie gets drilled on the daily, I assure you we spend just as much time frolicking about doing absolutely nothing productive. On Sunday I decided I would combine the two and give him a real deal jump school. Last week our lesson was the only structured ride we had. Every other day was spent slopping through the mud on "trail rides" (Opie says hauling my ass around while he swam is a more apt description) and popping over whatever jumps were set in the ring. He really enjoys his days off from dressage, and he always comes back into work the next day better for it.

Previous jump days have been...a little sketch. While he has yet to say no to anything in front of him, getting to the other side could be slightly perilous. I was never entirely sure it would occur to him to put his landing gear down in time, and he felt that any input from me about distances was to be ignored at all costs.

so cute tho

Surprise! All that dressage work that's been force fed down his throat has done what it's meant to do. He's a more balanced horse with an understanding of his legs and feet, and how to keep them a part of him. He takes a half halt--a real half halt that re-balances him and loads his hind end instead of just slowing him down. He's allowed me to have input on distances because he waits to see what I'm telling him to do.

Don't get me wrong--not jumping hasn't magically trained him to jump. The jumps are so small because he's not completely trustworthy about that landing gear yet. There's landing in a heap, and then there's landing in a literal heap.

and then there's landing like a boss on the hunt for the next fence

He still throws his head in the air sometimes when I correct him close to the fence, but while he does it he also takes the correction. I try to put him in the best spot to jump from and give him every cue that "This is the spot, now jump!", but I also try to let him live and learn a little. If I see from several strides out we're on the right rhythm to nail it, I let him carry on all by himself. Sometimes that means he gets to that perfect spot and feels his way through by braille, but live and learn.

sometimes awkward, but...

...always pleased with himself 

As for me, I spend a lot of time with chicken wings, boobs out unnecessarily, and my head canted back to avoid a potential blow to the face. There are, to put it lightly, improvements to be made with my upper body position. I feel that once we get to the point where the jumps can go up and cantering to them becomes more regular, I'll be able to follow more instead of being so defensive. Right now I'd rather lean back and not follow him to the ground should he take a face plant upon landing.

i mean, how happy does this kid look?

Nothing we're jumping right now is anything any horse shouldn't be able to get over from a walk. Maybe I'm going too low and too slow, but fuck knows I've made the mistake of hurrying things along with past jumping horses. The difference in Opie with his dressage homework has been significant enough that we'll stay on this path.

I'm sure a pro could jack the jumps up and get him around without much issue. He wants to jump and he wants to get to the other side; I don't think he'd say no to anything. But I'm not a pro, and I'm not equipped to handle the minute adjustments and quick reactions that would take. I want him to continue to like this game, and he doesn't need blunders from me shake his confidence.

my face says, "plz don't bash me."
opie's face says, "yasss, jumping horse!"

How do you guys approach jumping with green horses? Let 'em rip because there's no better way to learn than by doing the thing? Or is it all flat work all the time until they get to do some small jumpies and then more flat work? Personally I can't wait for summer so I can get him started over our cross country fences!