Nova's First Field Trip

Nova and I went to a friend's place to ride this weekend for her first field trip!  She hopped on the trailer to go and was pretty good, although excited, when we arrived.  Nova does have a tendency to become a bit of a bull in a china shop when she's wound up, and being in a new place definitely counted as excitement!

I was able to get her groomed and tacked up, we wore our bright yellow and I also donned an orange reflective vest. We rode in the jump field to start and she gave me some peppy walk, trot, and canter, as well as walking and trotting over some poles and low cavalletti.

Next we headed out to the fields and trails!

Today's jewelry courtesy of Chameleon Browbands:

Here's the video from her ride today

Sweet Nova was pretty tired when we finished, you could hear her saying "My brain is full, may I be excused?"  We got untacked and I asked her to get in the trailer and she politely declined.  Unfortunately, not getting in is not an option, so we ended up doing a few minutes of the hokey- pony and the tappa-tappa stick. I call it the hokey-pony because she "puts her left foot in, she takes her left foot out, then she shakes it all about..."

I tapped her on her hip: tap-tap- ...rest... tap-tap ...rest... the tapping twice is to irritate her into going forwards, the rest is to give her a minute to think, then choose to go forward.  When she takes a step forward I stop tapping and praise her.  If she backs up the tapping gets faster.

She's a very smart mare and figured it out quickly.  It didn't take very long and she was making a face at me in resignation "...Ok FINE!", heaving a deep breath, and launched into the trailer.  She got a couple cookies, a "good girl!", and we were on our way.

All this is super normal for a five year old.  She is trying to determine the rules and boundaries, what she's allowed to do and what's not ok.  As long as I'm consistent with her and give her the structure she needs to feel confident, she'll learn to be a super steady and enjoy the job.  

It all starts with the first field trip!

Happy Halloween

A Halloween photo shoot with the horses was so much fun this week!  Lena O'Brien took these photos, big thanks for the images!  I provided costumes from years of collecting for costume classes at horseshows, and Nova and Miss Pea were our equine models.  Kathy dressed up as a mermaid and had Miss Pea as a sea horse.  Nova, Mahzi and I were clowns.  

We also brought out my horse skeleton!  I used this in years past when I was teaching clinics, since so much of good riding and training is understanding anatomy and how the human and horse affect each other with such comparable parts.

Though the skeleton is super fun as a prop at Halloween too!

Nova was a champ about me moving around her all dressed up, and she was so good about wearing her own festive clown leggings and the red wig. When I first started to put things on her I let her sniff each thing, then when she'd touch it with her nose I'd give her a cookie.  It didn't take many repetitions before she was all in for costumes and cookies!  Not bad at all for a youngster, and another solid reason to work with an ex-racehorse!  They've seen so many different things at the track, by the time they're done racing even an elaborate clown costume is no big deal.

Big thanks again to Lena and Kathy for doing Halloween photos.  It's good to remind ourselves we're not overly dignified, and always good exposure for a new horse in training to experience a portion of the Bit of Honey Circus.

Tall Pony Selfies

After our ride this morning I hosed off Nova and put her back in her pen with Highboy.  They hang out there and eat from hay bags during the day, and are out at night in the pasture with Miss Pea and Note. 

Highboy has definitely been jealous of Nova.  She's getting so much attention and gets to go riding, and he sure wishes he could go too.  She's still squirrelly enough that I'm riding her here with just the dogs, but once I'm able to take her for trail rides with friends I think she's going to love it.

This morning she was particularly wound up.  It's been much colder at night and the crisp fall air always makes the horses excited.  I also hadn't ridden her for several days so she had accumulated some unspent energy!  She doesn't do anything real dramatic when she's like this, just has more opinions than usual about where she wants to go, how close the dogs can be to her, how fast we ride.  I tell her that her opinions matter, but they don't necessarily change what we're doing!

We walked out around the neighbors to start, and she was still extra wiggly after that lap of fields.  I took her back to the fenced in ring and we did a little walking and trotting in circles once we were in the more controlled area. The ground poles help immensely with this by giving her something to think about instead of how to entertain herself.  They also are physically more difficult to navigate so encourage her to use her core when walking and trotting.  This makes her more balanced and stay more clearly in the gaits I want.  

When she's unbalanced, rushing, or distracted she starts creeping into the pace.  As she's still getting acclimated to these newly longer legs and large body from her current growth spurt, she's kind of uncoordinated right now. Pole work helps with proprioception and knowing where her body is in space, as well as strengthening her body.

Highboy is about three inches taller than Nova right now, but she seems bigger when she's closer to the camera.  She is kind of narrow at the moment for a Standardbred, but still significantly broader through the chest then Highboy, who looks big from the side and then nearly disappears when you look at him straight on!

Nova's First Canter

This morning Nova and the dogs and I got dressed and headed out for a ride.  We hacked around the neighbors and then went into my back fields.  She doesn't much enjoy going away from the barn and her friends, but is willing if the dogs go first and I encourage her. It is somewhat a wiggly path we create as we go downhill away from the barn, but we get there in the end.

After a few laps walking, focusing on using her core and maintaining a defined four beat walk, I asked her if she wanted to trot across the bottom of the back field.  She was surprised, since so far I've been clear about maintaining a civilized walk, but ultimately decided trotting would be fun and picked up the faster gait.  She was very well behaved especially considering we were way out in the fields in the wide open.  

As we rounded the top of the hill Nova was still behaving herself so I asked her if she wanted to canter.  She easily picked up the right lead and we cantered all along the east fenceline!  Before we got to the front of the field I brought her back to the walk, and she seemed quite happy with herself.  I gave both her and Pascal cookies for their hard work, and we adjourned to the barn to get hosed off.

What a fun ride, and what a good girl!  This is only her fourth ride here at Bit of Honey, though of course she was ridden some before she came to me.  I don't know if she had any canter experience under saddle prior to today, but she did really well on the hills and uneven ground.  I'm so pleased!

Riding Out and Barefoot Report

This morning Nova and I went for a hack with the dogs around the fields and the neighbors. She was initially hesitant to leave the herd and leave their sight, especially with Highboy calling so insistantly.  He's really gotten attached to her quickly!

After a little discussion, Nova accepted my explanation that she wasn't actually leaving to go into the great beyond all alone.  She was on an adventure with dogs to lead the way and keep her safe, and of course I'm there to help her out too. 

We rode around the fields, through the woods and behind the pond, watched the dogs take a dip in the pond, and then around the neighbors' fields.  She did great, and is starting to listen to my seat well enough that I could do some video and ride one handed.

I'm also happy to report that I pulled her shoes yesterday and she's now getting along just fine barefoot.  Her hooves will take a bit to transition to being barefoot all the time, but so far she's not tender or sore, even on the gravel driveway!  She's well on her way to living au naturale here. 

Lynx Update

The photos from the professional photographers from Nationals have arrived!

These first ones are from Creek Dreams Photography.  These were my favorites, I love Lynx competing as a real sporthorse!

The guy can sure jump! He cleared his crossrails with plenty of room to spare, knees to his nose, happy expression on his face. He had similar incredible form in his over fences class, those pics can be seen here, they're from video Chris took on his phone.

This trotting photo is from Lynx with me in a dressage test.  

Lynx and I spent quite a bit of time hacking around the show grounds, especially on dressage day.  At home we'd do a little ring work, then go hack around a field, do a little more dressage work in another flat area, then take another walk.  He was confused in the beginning at the show about all the time in the ring, so I tried to make it more similar to home by walking all over between dressage warmup and tests.  The photographer got this great shot of us out in the grassy areas.

This one makes me smile, with Lynx and Chris having a talk about horseshows and dressage.

This last photo was from Vicki Wright and she shared it on Facebook.  Lynx and I are in front of the group of stalls for MMXX Standardbreds, the aftercare organization that Lynx was from.  I love the display of so many of the ribbons won by both us and the other team members. 

Lynx headed to his new home in Kansas about a week after we got home from the show, and I'm happy to report that he's doing really well!  He hauled nicely as expected, and seems to be settling in at his new place.  He has a horse friend with whom he shares turnout, and has gone for a couple casual rides with his new human. 

She's having a great time getting to know Lynx, and he's been the same gentleman there as he was here at Bit of Honey! 

She was also kind enough to write a list of the fun things I taught Lynx that she's now enjoying.  It's a lovely review of Lynx and my training with him, which I appreciate very much!

As always, I do my best to keep in touch and help with the transition into a new home for any horse that comes through my program.  Thankfully so far this pair is working out to be a very nice match, and I fully expect they have many fun trail rides ahead!

New Herd Friends

Nova had spent a little more time than usual in the large stall and run because of some logistical things here the past couple weeks.  Happily, the past couple days she's been in the ring sharing the secure fenceline with my herd, and now everyone knows each other.  That means it was time to turn Nova out with the others in the big pastures!

Thankfully it all went really smoothly.  I initially let her out with Note and Pea, since they are more particular about new friends than Highboy, who loves everyone.  I was on the phone with an old friend but still outside so I could supervise while I filled water tanks.  Once the first squeals and sqawks were done and everyone had gone back to browsing the grass options I let Highboy out too.  

Everyone got along fabulously, and had a good romp around the front field.  I'm sure Nova will be much more content now that she's out with her friends.

She and Highboy have become fast friends.  They decided to eat mash together that first night out of the same tub, then both went to the other tub and shared that.  It only lasted the one night but it was cute while it lasted!  Highboy has the two front white socks, Nova has one hind sock.