Cross Country Schooling

Today we went to the Carolina Horse Park for their cross country schooling day. Caitlin Romeo trailered us over, she rode her Intermediate horse Jake, Hannah Mayer rode her Morgan mare Viz and I rode Millie. It was not only a cross country schooling day but also the first Pipe Opener (a combined test) so there were lots of horses there. Millie has never been anywhere like the horse park, she has only been to smaller venues. She handled it very well!

After the last time we jumped I wanted to try a different bit, Denny suggested the "Timmy bit" which is very much like the "wonder" bit. It is a loose ring with a fixed slot for the check piece and a fixed slot for the rein so it has some leverage. This is often the first thing we try when a snaffle just isn't cutting it. Some people feel if you can't ride in a snaffle you can't ride while other think there is a right bit for every horse. Denny is all about finding the perfect bit for the horse, to do that you have to try a lot of bits! I don't think the Timmy bit is the perfect bit for Millie so we will have to keep playing with different bits in the future.

We warmed up in a big flat field, when I started trotting around Millie seemed a bit fresh, she was very alert and kept trying to look around at what the other horses around were doing. Sometimes Millie likes to stick her head right down and crow hop a bit so I worked her with her head a bit more up. For this reason I sit in the canter at the beginning with her, once she felt alright I got off her back and let her move on a bit. I then warmed up over some logs and she was pretty good. She tends to want to get flat the last few strides, I need to sit earlier with her to get her back in a more packaged canter before the fences. I felt like she was opening her mouth and putting her tongue over the bit when I was trying to set her up so I asked Denny to tighten her flash a hole. The next time I came around she shook her head badly before the fence and I had to pull her out. I asked Denny to try just taking the flash off since she was pretty good with the hackamore with no flash. This made a world of difference she was not arguing before the fences at all, she still wanted to get flat but was more rideable.



Caitlin on Jake, Me on Millie, Hannah on Viz

 We ended up doing the training up bank one stride to a log with a dropping landing. Millie wasn't too sure of her foot work the first time but came around again and did it very well. We played a little with the water, the water complex at the horse park is MUCH bigger than anything Millie has seen. I wasn't sure how she would react to it but she just went right in! We wandered around in it and then did a jump a few strides away from the water, went into the water and cantered around the island. Then we trotted into the water, cantered out and over a jump a few strides away. Millie did really well, I was very happy with how she handled everything. I am very glad we went to school because I think it would have been a lot for her to take in at her first event of the season!

So Thursday was my birthday, turned 25, now I feel old! It was beautiful out and we ended up jumping most of the horses. Little Jumbie did her second jump school, really just trotting over small cross rails, verticals and boxes. Very casual just learning to go from one side to the other. She  doesn't seem to care about it at all and just trots over most of them with out even really jumping. We really just want to keep it cool with the horses just starting jumping, we don't do much but will we will jump her every 3 or 4 days. This will let her feel like it is just part of the routine and no big deal.

I also got to jump Cordi, I was very excited that I was going to be able to jump her today as we haven't jumped her much at all. I was expecting to just do a little and not jump very big but Denny ended up having us jump some bigger oxers. Cordi is fun because she wants to go and jump the jump. The first jump after we have been sitting I usually have to get her forward to but after that I just have to set her up she goes on her own. She is such an amazing jumper she is fun to jump at any height but when the jumps get around 3'6" or bigger she is a blast! We did a small course and then Denny had me jump our stone wall, which probably isn't quite 3' to the brush oxer which was set around 3' ish too. Then I did the two stride with a fairly small jump in and a bigger jump out. Cordi is small but can make up the distances easily. Sometimes I forget this when I haven't jumped her so I gunned her in the 2 stride a bit and got close to the out but she just came up over it. The second time I didn't and she jumped it really well. Then Denny had me keep coming around to the brush and he kept raising it and raising it until it was 3'6" or 3'9" and she got to just the right distance and cracked over it, she felt amazing! I really love jumping this horse!

Well if jumping Cordi wasn't enough of a great birthday present I also got to jump Millie. Again I figured it would be little jumps, maybe some gymnastic lines or something. Starting out Millie was very fresh but once we started jumping she settled down. I warmed up over some small stuff and she was trying to run through the hackamore a bit (we ended up deciding the hackamore won't really be the best "bit" for Millie). Denny had me do the same brick wall to the brush as he did with Cordi and immediately had me keep coming back to the brush. She was wanting to elongate a bit the last few strides so she didn't have to really sit and come up over the jump. Because of this Denny kept raising the oxer to make her have to try. I came off the left (easier, longer approach) and the right (which made it off a tighter turn so she would have to sit more). He just kept raising it until it was around 4' maybe a little bigger and Millie just kept coming down and jumping it like it was no big deal. I have only ever jumped Millie, probably, around 3'3" in the past, I was so excited by the way she just came down with no concern and just powered over the jump. I am really, really looking forward to competing Millie and Cordi this summer!

So I ended up having the perfect birthday, jumping 2 of my favorite horses over some bigger fences!

Hackamore

So the last time I jumped Millie I felt like I needed a different bit. I jump and flat her in a KK loose ring and I didn't feel like I needed a harsh bit or anything just something different. I had told Denny maybe I could just try a thinner snaffle, she just gets pulling forward and down. I have to sit REALLY early coming to a jump so that I can get through her pulling stage before I am really setting up for the jump.

So, Millie ended up with a small bit rub and so we gave her a couple days off and found a hackamore to hack her in for a few days. Yesterday Denny wanted to just pop over a few jumps, I had the hackamore on. I hadn't ever ridden in a hackamore before, Denny said just ride normally. Millie seemed to have a little less steering but not anything to really note. I started trotting a few fences and didn't notice any real difference. When I started cantering I really noticed a difference! Millie was not heavy or pulling! I could sit 4 or 5 strides out with out her fighting or running through me. I could not believe how much better it was. We didn't jump many fences but decided to jump again today, we did a bit more and I cantered a course and again was amazed by how rideable she was. I am not sure if it will still be effective enough when we jump bigger (or for cross country) but I am very excited about trying it more.

Jumping

Over the last few days we jumped most of the horses on the farm. Denny really likes to take is slow with the young horses. We trot a lot of fences with them and keep it simple. This allows them to build confidence in a stress free way. When the horse is allowed to figure out what to do before the fence on their own when trotting, they gain tons of confidence in themselves. If you canter the horse right off the bat and dictate where exactly they need to take off from they will not necessarily learn to help you figure it out. There are few people who can get in to every fence on every horse perfectly every time. If you miss you distance and your horse has had to help you figure out what to do in the past he will likely be able to get out of the situation. Sometimes when a horse has only been ridden by a really good professional who gets in prefect all the time and is bought by an amature the horse doesn't know what to do when he gets in wrong.

Anyway, one of the days I was riding Rosie, Denny's off the track thoroughbred mare. She is coming 5 this year and has done some jumping with Denny this fall. I have been riding her since we arrived in Southern Pines and aside from popping her over a cross rail in the indoor a few times I haven't really jumped her. As I mentioned before she can be a bit hot at times and so we have been riding her in the indoor to start with. It is funny because even if I only ride her in the indoor for 15/20 min and then go outside she is, well has been (knock on wood!) perfect. The other day she was very quiet and Denny had me trot the cross rail still set up in the indoor, she trotted very calmly over it. After that Denny decided to go to the outdoor and if she seemed quiet to jump some of the small jumps there. Rosie was being perfect so I trotted her around and popped over some of the small verticals and small boxes we have. I was quite awed when she came up over the purple planks. They were quite shiny in the sun and she felt amazing going over them, she really came up with her wither and cracked her back over them. She was so good we went out to the cross country and jumped some of the small elementary fences we have. Rosie is a very good jumper and seemed quite confident, she didn't look at a thing. This horse could get fried pretty easily, if we just galloped her around and made her jump all the novice jumps, sure she would probably do it but we would probably create a rusher and eventually a rusher and quitter. Not that we won't start cantering her to jumps more but if she is having a high day, we will just trot her and if she is still high we would probably wait until another day. You can't have an agenda with babies, you have to be very patient.

We had a similar rides on Atti and Simply the next day. They are more experienced than Rosie and tend to be quieter. We trotted them over some slightly larger fences in the ring and then went out to the cross country. They were perfect and just trot trot trotted all the jumps without feeling the need to accelerate or run at the jumps. I was pretty happy Simply wasn't worried every time Atti would go off and jump leaving her behind. They were turned out together in the past and were amazingly bonded. In the past anytime Atti would leave Simply would get very upset and would tend to rush a bit to the fences trying to get to Atti. They have been separated for a few months now and are much easier to ride together. We were just about done and were hacking back by the double up bank, Denny walked Atti toward it to let he sniff it and she jumped right up on to the bank and up the second bank. I figured Denny did it on purpose so I just kept walking and Simply jump popped up them. Denny hadn't meant to go up them but the horses are so confident and are getting so programed to just go jump the jumps with no nervousness. It was pretty funny!

When I was jumping Millie, just warming up I knew she was in a bit high. When I was just cantering around she kept trying to grab the reins and scoot off. When the other horse hit a rail jumping Millie went leaping into the air, she is normally a pretty quiet horse but has her days! Denny had me start trotting some jumps and she tried to just throw herself at the fence. Again, not normally Millie, so we decided to just trot all the fences today. She is quite comfortable, and pretty adjustable, cantering fences but the point of today was to not let her get upset/worried about it. She needed to stay calm and remember jumping isn't some big thing to get worked up about. By the end of the ride she was trotting to the base, rocking back and jumping with ease in a quiet, controled way. It was nice to see her change from wanting to run at the jump to me being able to loop the reins and have her set herself up for the jump.

Diamond Camilla (Millie)

I also got to jump Cordi for the first time in several weeks. I was pretty excited, she is my favorite! I was in a lesson with Denny on Skybreaker and Laura on John Burgesses' horse Stevie. Cordi has done much more jumping than the horses I ride and she doens' necessarily jump as well if the jumps are too tiny. So we jumped her a bit bigger than the other babies, only around Novice height. For not having jumped her in a while I felt pretty in tune with her. It is important for me to keep Cordi in a packaged, energetic canter. She would like to get long to the fences and if I keep her more together but forward I can make adjustments much more easily. She was a little bucky to a couple fences which means I was probably using my hand a bit too much. She also hasn't been asked to sit and carry her canter much lately so that may have had something to do with it as well. She felt really good other than that! We didn't jump many fences because she was being so good and hasn't jumped in so long, so we kept it short and sweet!

Beaulieu's Cool Concorde (Cordi)

Education

Today Denny and I had an interesting conversation while riding, about the lack of knowledge of a substantial number of people in the horse industry (namely working students). I don't know if people don't teach it or if the students just don't care enough to learn/study it. Things like what the German training scale is, how it fits together, and how to use it with your training. Also things like what proper distances in jumping lines are and how to accurately walk them. These are fairly basic things people should know. It isn't enough to be able to jump a line, you have to know when you are walking a course what the distance is so you know HOW to ride it. Also you should know, when riding on the flat, what you first need to achieve with your horse in order to properly move on to the next step. Principles of Riding is a really good book that goes over the training scale also there are tons of websites that go over it. I think the best way to learn about walking distances is to help set fences for you instructor or clinicians. You may have to ask questions and really get involved but what you learn is important for any person who wants to jump.

A Bit Warmer

So the weather was a bit better today. The mornings have been quite cold though, I ended up going to get breakfast with Denny and May after feeding. When we got back the ground was still pretty frozen so we rode Rosie and Lofty in the indoor. Rosie is a funny horse because she is as calm as can be inside and if you go hacking after riding in the indoor. When you start outside she is quite hot and leaps and bucks on the lunge. She always settles down and goes quite well but has an outburst at the beginning. Rosie is off the track should settle down over time. I also haven't ridden her outside a lot down here, if I rode her outside everyday she would probably settle.

After I warmed Rosie up Denny suggested setting up a cross rail and popping Rosie over it. I got of and set up the jump, I hadn't jumped her before and she hasn't jumped in a long time so we kept it small. Denny just wanted her to casually trot to it, rock back and jump. She was very casual about it, not worried or upset about it all. I trotted it a few times both ways and then kept working her normally and popped it anytime she seemed really relaxed. This made it no big deal for her, she worked over her back and softly and then would pop the jump and go right back to being soft. We really aren't in any hurry with the babies, it is all about keeping it low key and simple for them so they aren't anxious abut jumping.

For the second set Denny and I took Skybreaker and Millie out for an easy hack. They went on a long hack with lots of trotting yesterday so we wanted to do an easy hack. These to horses both had setbacks so they are not as fit as we would like them. Skybreaker was gelded in the spring and had complications and had to have a second surgery. This resulted in him being out of work for several months. Millie had a foal last year but couldn't go back into work after weaning because of a sarcoid on the girth area. It took several months and many treatments with XXterra but the sarcoid is now under control and she can be ridden normally (with a fuzzy girth). So this winter we are really trying to get these too fit!!

In the afternoon we rode Union and Cordi, we hacked them as well. We did some trotting up the hills on fire lane 3, once we hit fire lane 1 we continued walking up to the Equine Research Center and wound our way back. We had them out for a bit over an hour, these two are much fitter than Skybreaker and Millie. Union is Denny's prelim horse, he is a thoroughbred who seems to remain quite fit. Cordi compete Beginner Novice and Novice last year and did lots of hacking in VT so she is pretty fit. She will need to get more fit to hopefully go Training this summer. The foundation is great because there are so many places you can go on long trots.

We took Simply and Atti out for a similar hack as Union and Cordi, but a little bit shorter. These two are 4 coming 5 and will also be working on getting more fit this winter. It is amazing how fit you can get horses even just walking. Denny said today he has heard it is hardest to get a horse fit the first time. This makes a lot of sense to me. If the horse has never had to expand their lungs or use their muscles, tendons, and ligaments extensively before of course it is going to be hard! If the horse has used them a lot in the past I would imagine things would kick in much faster. You can't rush getting a horse really fit, you have to build and build and start with walking.

It is supposed to get warmer and warmer the next few days!!! Jumping tomorrow!!!

Snowy Day

Well they weren't lying about the snow! I could NOT believe it when I looked outside my door this morning. We must have gotten at least 6 inches, this constitutes a huge snow storm in the south! The horses were all quite high, especially the ones that were stuck in their stalls last night. Luckily none of them wiped out (at least I didn't see it if they did!). It was still snowing quite hard in the morning so we decided to wait until the afternoon to ride anyone.

Around one Denny and I decided to take Skybreaker and Cordi out for a hack. We rode around the farm but when we would go down any hills Skybreaker would slip pretty badly. When he almost fell down we decided it was best to go in the jump ring. The footing was quite good so we worked them in the ring for a while. Cordi is traditionally a very quite horse, today she almost dumped me several times! Every time snow would fall off a branch or jump she would leap in the air. It was actually quite funny because it is so the polar opposite of how she normally is. In the end she settled down and worked really well. With all her energy she really felt great, she was nicely forward and connected, which can be a problem at times.

Denny and I then rode 2 more sets in the indoor. We didn't work any of the horses too long, with the bad weather we didn't want to get the horses too sweaty. All the horses on the farm didn't get worked today but we mostly have young horses right now. It isn't such a big deal if the young ones get days off here and there. Hopefully the snow will melt tomorrow and we will be able to work all the horses outside!