An EPIC week!

This past weekend saw both of us at home (for a change) and with empty calendars for Saturday (for a change).  So we decided to "rent" an extra horse so the two of us could ride together for a few hours out on the trails.  Tucker was in a grand mood, as was his new buddy, Bella.  Though it was drizzly and cool, we headed out to find some new trails among the beautiful Redmond forests.  Fall is arriving at Seattle's doorstep and the smells are filling the woods.  Cooler weather means friskier horses, and these two were definitely feeling their oats!

Bella is a youngish Thoroughbred who's been evented and I suspect is from the racetrack.  She wasn't interested in having Tucker and Shanna in front, and she was very strong. (my shoulder muscles are killing me!)   If she wasn't at a full-out gallop she wasn't content.  But for the most part, after we covered the first half-mile or so, both equines behaved quite well.  Bella got frustrated a few times when I asked her to sidle up next to the blackberry bushes for the occasional snack, tending to dance around and rear up.  One of the most impatient mares I've been around in awhile!  And her naughtiness made Tucker look like the "good one"! 

Shanna and Tucker had an awesome time bonding on this ride, and both of them had wide, wide smiles.  He was bold and forward and brave, at the same time obedient and responsive.  Shanna got to spend a lot of time in two-point at the collected canter, and both of them built some more muscle.  The scenery was phenomenal, the horses were a blast and the pace was exhilarating.  A ride none of the 4 of us will soon forget!

After a day off of R&R in his field, we showed up at the barn Monday for a lunch-time ride.  Tucker seemed to be in a good mood from the start (perhaps it's the new snaffle that Shanna bought him?) and while I warmed him up in the sunny outdoor jumping ring, Shanna laid out a zillion cavalletti for walk and trot work.  Tucker was game to maneuver through the ground poles like a champ, picking up his feet (his new bell-boot-covered-feet!) and moving forward nicely.  Even his canter transitions were nice! The more muscle he develops the more balanced he gets and the more easily he's able to get underneath himself and move forward. This ride was going so well that I thought I'd take him over some of the little fences in the ring since Tucker seems to enjoy jumping so much.  The jumping he really dug, and the cavalletti he excelled at, so the only outlet for his usual shenanigans was a rather significant excursion up the hill, out of the arena.  Crazy red fella had to do something naughty or we'd suspect a lobotomy.....

There were two "scarier" fences in the ring -- more solid than just the regular poles.  I figured Tucker would look hard at them, and maybe skid to a stop the first time, which he did.  And this was his second attempt at the 20" picket and roll-top.  Rockstar!

Tucker was being so good in the arena that Shanna decided to try her hand at a few cross-rails and their joined-at-the-mindedness was evident as they cruised around the arena in synch.  I'm not sure who had the larger smile between the two of them.....  I'll make eventers out of them yet!

Three New Things and A Good Mood!

We're delighted to report that Tucker seemed his old chipper self today!  We arrived just as Salvador was feeding everyone so we managed to remove Mr. T. from his dinner before it happened, rather than mid-bite.  I expected some grumbling about that but he was surprisingly okay with the arrangement.

During our lesson yesterday with Jordan we discussed the merits of lunging him and decided to tack him up and introduce him to side reins.  At first we lunged without them, just learning how to go around the circle on a giant leash, the point of which he didn't really agree with.  But he complied so I put on the outside side rein, rather loosely.  That added an additional element, part of which bugged him but it also intrigued him a little, I think.  Shanna also bought Tucker a new bit, this one a 1/4" smaller than the last with a slightly different configuration. He seemed to take to it easily and gummed it a lot less than the snaffle we had been using.  After he seemed to get the hang of one side rein I introduced the second one, also loosely connected.  This didn't make much sense at all to him, and it was tough to get him moving forward.  A couple of times he seemed done with the exercise and attempted to free himself with a buck, a kick or a rear.  We laughed at him and shooed him on, reminding him that the purpose of the lunging was to move forward. 

Stopping on a good note Shanna wanted a mini lesson while I was still attached to the other side of the lunge line, so she hopped on and trotted Tucker in a 20m circle while I gave small pointers.  Her equitation is improving dramatically, and they both seemed more relaxed than usual.  Shanna because she knew he'd easily stay on the circle and Tucker because he was relieved to have a point to this lunging madness -- a rider!

Again we ended that on a good note and because he seemed in such a good mood still I decided to hop on and take full advantage of his willing compliance.  We had some nice trotting and a few cavalletti poles on the circle, then we did a handful of trot/canter/trot transitions.  Building on what we learned yesterday with Jordan we collected, half-halted and entered the canter going into the corner on the rail, helping him to get underneath himself and pick up the correct lead.  After just a few of those I praised him a ton and called it a night.  After a light ride no bath was needed and we plied him with apples, wafers and fly repellant.

It feels great when we leave the barn on such a high!  Tucker seemed pleased with himself, and contentedly munched his grain and hay while I loved on him a few last minutes (and Shanna managed to put all our gear away neatly).  His mood tonight was refreshing and we're hoping that maybe we can school cross-country soon.  It'll be good for all of our bodies and minds! We adore this fellow and endeavor to do everything we can to ensure his happiness.  Today was a good day.

Plateaus....

This week's been one of highs and lows.  Tucker displays moments of pure genius in the ring -- light, airy trots, collected work over cavaletti, forward circles, and a willingness to loosen his back and be round.  And then he decides "to hell with this, I'm outta here!" and bolts out of the arena and down the stall aisle! He's been crabby in the cross-ties this week, despite the regular smoochie ambushes and even the occasional snack.

Trying to ease whatever seems to be bugging him, we got him a fly mask so the nasty little things stay out of his eyes.  His new shoes seem to fit really well still and he's got no visible saddle rubs. But that doesn't stop him from being grumpy.  I wanted to make last week's trail ride really fun, so I didn't even tack him up.  I skipped a visit to the cross-ties and didn't get near him with a brush.  We went directly from his pasture to the trails, and all along the way I picked black berries for him.  By the end of the ride the sides of his mouth were purple and my hands were covered in sticky dirt!  But I was focused to keep him moving forward on a long rein, not asking anything of him except to go where I directed. We walked down to the pond and he had a drink, we cantered across a sandy area on a loose rein, we explored a neighborhood and even got patted by kids. He seemed relieved to just have a mindless ride without demands and requests, and the berries (not to mention the bareback pad) were a definite score!

We've also considered the fact that his human Mama just gave birth to twins last week, and I wouldn't be surprised if he's feeling that vibe.  Tucker no doubt loves and misses Beth, but it wasn't until the day after the babies were born that it occurred to us that maybe he's just a little "off" as a result.  We're reminding him that all is well at home with his real family, and that maybe soon his Mama and little sisters might come visit him.  And that they'd be so proud of him for all the learning he's accomplished here at Camp this summer!

So today's lesson with Jordan went pretty well after Tucker's multiple days off.  Shanna only rode once last week while I was gone, and my only ride was the leisurely trail ride.  Last weekend we worked over cavaletti at the trot in a straight line.  He had some really lovely extended trots over the poles, and he's learning to half halt.  Kind of. So I had high hopes for His Highness' happiness under the watchful eye of our teacher.  In all it went pretty well.  We worked on round 20m circles, walk and trot leg yielding from the quarter line to the rail, trot/canter/trot transitions, and submission (not his strong suit).  The lateral work went really well and he's learning to get underneath himself from the trot to canter. He still likes to lift his nose like a giraffe and trot like mad into a flat canter, but he's clever and we'll get there.

Meanwhile, we're curious to see if we can discover the source of his seeming frustration.  If his teeth check out and the body worker/chiropractor doesn't find anything major subluxated or needing to be exorcised, I think maybe an afternoon of cross-country jumping will be just what the doctor ordered!

So the plateaus are okay.  They're teaching me patience, Shanna consistence and Tucker confidence. We're all making progress over time and sometimes a big, deep breath is in order.

Supraspinatus, biceps brachii, lateral vastus... and ribs!

Going through pics today from some Arena jump play last night I noticed that the handsome fella has developed some rather nice muscles--and I can see his ribs! No wonder the ladies are looking when he prances by. Erin decided to give Tucker a lot too look at, and left no chance for mind numbing circles. They went over jumps, some times at a walk, some times at a trot, and often at the canter. Dare I say that Tucker and Erin probably couldn't have done this a month ago? Three more days will mark the 1 month anniversary with the handsome devil.