A Relaxing "Trail" Ride

I'm still basking in the glory of yesterday and so, apparently, was Rico. He was ecstatic to see me and while I was unpacking my tack from the trailer he was just staring at me like I was the most interesting person in the world.

He does think a lot of stupid stuff is interesting though...

I tacked him up and threw the pelham on him, I'm giving him the next month or so off from the double since he sloshed his tongue around a little bit last week and I want to work on getting him back into the snaffle. But today I wanted control because we went on a trail ride!!

This fancy beast is also happy to go on trail rides!

It wasn't a real trail ride, I'm going to do one of those on either Friday or Saturday. Today we just walked down the access road (which he hasn't been on in months) and all the way down the road we live on.

The fanciest trail horse in the area (he didn't have much competition)

He got to see his pig, his goats, his cows, his bull, his other goats, those horses down on the right, and his dogs. In addition to being excited to visit all of his animals, he was super spooky at everything that had changed. Honestly, he was just having fun being a silly horse, so I enjoyed it with him.

He's a pretty silly horse

I got back to the arena and he went right on the bit and I did some work at the trot and canter on suppleness. Tomorrow we start back to normal work and we're going to really make the push for PSG this winter. I have a plan for next year that I will go into detail about later, but my personal goal is to compete at a CDI at one point in my life and after Rico's performance, that goal may be achieved sooner than I expected! Love him!

THIS horse

Today was such an amazing day. I was so incredibly proud of my horse and all the hard work both of us have put into bringing him back from all of the injuries that he has had. I can confidently say and have been able to confidently say for the last nine months or so, that THIS horse is the horse I always wanted. Today proves that as I cantered up centerline on a horse who was light and responsive, a horse who I didn't have three years ago when all the drama started.

This picture sums up today- Rico is AMAZING and I'm hanging in there

But it was not the score I wanted, I went off course, and classic Rico added some fun things into the test that I didn't think were fun, but I had to bring myself back to three years ago when I was fighting an unknown lameness and the vets said that they didn't know if he would ever come back to dressage, let alone fourth level.

LOVE

With a lot of hard work, vet visits, and rehabilitation plans, I can happily say that my horse and I returned to fourth level, we earned the highest score we have ever earned at that level, and WE HAD FUN DOING IT!

Our first centerline in three years!

The best part of today was reminiscing about how far we have come. Three years ago in September 2009, I showed 3-1 and 3-3 with scores in the low 60s. He was nearly impossible for me to get along with- he was a very physical ride, he didn't care what I thought, and he was right in thinking that bucking was a good way to control how much I asked of him.

Bucking through our test in September 2009

In November 2009, Rico's leg blew up and he was diagnosed with a suspensory. I sent him to rehabilitation in Gilroy with hopes of having him back in the spring.

Rico in the aquapacer at rehab in December 2009

In February 2010, I brought him back but something wasn't right. I fought with abscesses, swellings, and a horse that used to be an 8 mover but was now moving like a pony.

I am not a pony!!

June 2010 the vets gave up and we took him down to Alamo for an MRI. The injury was a lesion on the deep digital flexor tendon and my horse needed surgery. We did the surgery and I started bringing him back, but he wasn't coming back. He launched me and threw out my SI for the first time. I knew that if he came back, he was going to be that impossible horses again so in September 2010, I moved him to my parents ranch and gave up on him for good.

Not a bad life for a broken down retired horse

April 2011, financial problems took me down to my parents ranch too. There I was, broken after my second SI injury and losing weight due to a stomach ulcer caused by the painkillers I was on. He was just sitting there and so was I, we were broken together. One day I decided to ride him, I trailered him over to the nearby arena and hopped on him bareback. He went right on the bit, he was sound and moving better than ever.

Starting to move like he used to!

October 2011, we're back to nearly full work and have our first lesson in a couple years. I had plans for bringing him all the way back to fourth level and showing him in 2012.

Even started cavalletti

December 2011, we're fighting hock problems and I'm struggling with the idea of injecting them. February 2012, we take our first lesson with Heidi and the next day he comes up lame with a check ligament injury after galloping around in his pasture. Back to square one.

This horse has had enough cold hosing for a lifetime

June 2012, he's back! But then shows up lame in 3 out of 4 legs. I chose to inject his hocks, taking a big financial risk on a very injury prone horse.

Turns out it was worth the risk, but how was I to know?

August 2012, he feels amazing, I finally have my horse back. Better than my horse- he is light, easy to ride, and FUN. But then the behavioral problems come back, he's rearing, bucking, launching and overall very unhappy. I dealt with it as long as I could but when he started losing muscle, I realized that his saddle wasn't fitting him. I bought a new one.

He's back! But without muscle?

October 2012, here we are! Rehabilitated for what I am hoping will be, but likely will not be, the last time.

But we're happy to have gotten this far!

I would love to say that today is the day that made everything worthwhile. But honestly, it isn't, because what we went through was a blessing in disguise. Everything that we have gone through has led up to this moment.

Shoulder-in is better than it's ever been

Without Rico's injuries, I would not be a Grand Prix rider, or have my A rating. Without Rico's injuries, he and I would have never been forced to work together to get through all of this, strengthening our relationship. Without his injuries, Rico would not be the horse that he is today, the horse that I can't wait to go ride every day, the horse who doesn't injure my shoulders or ignore my aids or buck me off when he is frustrated.

School canter which we got a 7 on for the first time!

This is the horse that I wanted all along, and I'm so grateful for all that we have been through that led me to THIS horse.

I love this horse

Down to the Wire

We're getting down to the wire here. Today is our last ride before we show tomorrow! It's been shocking to me that more things haven't gone wrong. I mean I know that I was seriously injured and it's a miracle that I can ride (only yesterday was I able to sit the trot with minimal pain); and I know that my horse's leg was acting up and we had to drain his leg; but I swear that we should be injuring another leg or that I should be seriously ill or something.

Everything looks okay though!

But rather than focus on the bad, I want to go through my test so I can memorize it and figure out what to work on in warm up. Yesterday I warmed up and then rode the test. I did a LOT of transitions and rode him a little extra round, then picked him up for the test. Mistake. I should have worked on the bend/suppleness more because the entire test was him leaning one way or another. So today I'm going to focus on the bend for all gaits, but I also have other stuff to work on:

Wish we could trot up centerline

A enter collected canter; X halt, salute, proceed collected trot; C track left
- straightness on centerline with no tempis
- balance and straightness in the halt transitions
- straightness in the collected trot (remember to turn left)
- suppleness in the corner

Mediums are difficult for both of us.

HXF medium trot with 5-7 collected steps over centerline
- GO GO GO
- then WHOA WHOA WHOA
- then GO GO GO, remember this amount of GOs

We're both better at half pass now.

KX half pass right; X 10m circle; XG shoulder-in; C track right
- half pass needs bend
- 10m circle needs bend, end it in a shoulder-in
- shoulder-in needs bend and steadiness, when in doubt bend without much angle

Hoping the extended trot doesn't throw my back out during the test.

MXK extended trot
- GO GO GO!!

Needs bend always!

FX half pass left; X 10m circle; XG shoulder-in; C track left
- half pass needs bend
- make sure to go straight before circling, which needs bend
- end circle in a good, steady shoulder-in

Extended walk is not a problem, collected walk is very difficult

S collected walk; SR half circle collected walk; RS half circle extended walk
- downward needs balance and softening
- no jigging in collected walk
- no diving in extended walk

SE collected walk; E half pirouette left; S half pirouette right; E collected canter
- no jigging in transition
- left pirouette needs to not step out
- right pirouette needs bend and no sit and spin
- straightness in collected canter

Canter left is pretty good

A centerline; DE half pass left; EC counter canter; C LR change
- no pirouette on centerline
- bend in half pass, slow and bouncy
- balance in cc, no kicking in the change

Medium canter can be fun... at times...

MF medium; A centerline; DB half pass right; BC counter canter; C RL change
- GO GO GO
- no pirouette on centerline
- bend in half pass, slow and bouncy
- balance in cc, no kicking in the change

If the rider would stop tipping, the horse would be better...

C 20m circle 5-6 strides of school canter; HK extended; A centerline; X halt, salute
- shoulder-in into the school canter
- GO GO GO
- no pirouette on centerline
- straightness and balance in the salute

This horse occasionally halts square

AH! It's such an intense test for a horse who goofs off. In the past he has done the following obnoxious things in a dressage test:
- dropped his shoulder and ran off on the forehand during an extended trot
- broke to canter and galloped away with me during an extended trot
- took off bucking in an extended canter
- tempi changes on centerline
- not really halting
- halting crooked
- kicking my foot out of my stirrup in the lead changes
- sit and spin in the walk pirouettes

Lead changes are a good way to express yourself

Luckily he isn't so heavy anymore, so I'm not too worried about being taken off with, but all of the others still apply! He's getting much better about not kicking my foot out of my stirrup, but it still happens occasionally. He's also getting better about the sit-and-spin walk pirouette that he likes to do, but I'm probably going to still ride them a little large just in case.

This horse could be a reining horse if he wanted

Honestly though, I can obsess over the test and how we are going to do all I want, but what really counts in the long run is that we are BACK in the show ring. Even if we suck super hardcore and get a 45%, I'll be so happy that he is sound enough and I am healthy enough for us to make it back into the court.

This person is almost as injury prone as this horse.

We're BACK!

I have come to several conclusions over the last two months since I have last updated this blog. One of these conclusions is that I am a terrible blogger. I am so glad that I don't do this for a living or I would be starving right now. Except that money would be a great incentive for blogging and I would probably update this more consistently if I were being paid.

Is this not a blog about ME? When do I come in?

Anyway, to the point. Rico has been brilliant lately. Unfortunately my new saddle isn't here yet, which is a major bummer. But fortunately I have the best saddle fitter ever so I have a saddle that fits me to borrow. Unfortunately the saddle doesn't fit Rico. Fortunately some family friends had a plethora of old pads they weren't using so I get to stack them under my saddle.

And this behavior is now gone!

With this new set up, Rico has put on a TON of muscle and.. um.. well some fat as well. He looks amazing and he's doing really well. Because he is doing so well, I broke down and full-clipped him, took a lesson from my old trainer who I hadn't seen in a year, and signed us up for a show.

You signed us up for a WHAT? I'm too sleepy to show...

Full-clipping him was a fantastic idea, he is a lot more energetic, he doesn't get as sweaty, and I can ride him in the middle of the day without him feeling lethargic. Clipping him was also a bad idea, he now spooks at everything. EVERYTHING. He saw some cows yesterday and stared at them for a good five minutes. Every time I tried to turn his attention away from the cows, he would threaten to spin/buck/leap so I just gave up and watched the cows too. I wonder what my neighbors think of me.

Accurate depiction of what my horse looked like yesterday

My lesson was great! Heidi can't see me until next week but I was desperate to get a lesson in before I signed up for Greenville. Desperate enough to drive two hours north to Katy's barn. Except that I got really really sick last night so my mom was nice enough to drive me so that I could rest. I didn't rest, I sat in the car bitching about how sick I was. I have the best mom. Anyway, Rico was fantastic, I was expecting to get bucked off because of the cow incident yesterday but he surprised me. No sticking in the walk pirouettes, no bucking, only one kick change, and we fixed the right bending issue easily.

Would this horse ever NOT be perfect?

So I signed us up for Greenville this afternoon! Just one test on one day, playing it safe both for soundness and finances. I'll be showing 4th level test 1 on Sunday October 28th! Two weeks from tomorrow, super intimidating. But honestly I kept putting off showing all year because we weren't ready, we had saddle fit issues, we needed his hocks done, my parents were out of town with the truck, etc etc. It feels good to just say "SCREW IT! We're going!" and not care about scores.

As long as the majority of the test doesn't look like this, we're golden.

I'm really looking forward to showing not to chase medals or try to qualify for something, but to enjoy my horse, to show off all the hard work I have put into retraining him and rehabbing him from his numerous injuries. Three years ago I showed 3-3 at Yarra Yarra in September 2009, that was our last show and it was alright. I scored in the low to mid sixties even with Rico's silliness. But I feel like we kind of fizzled out.

Our last show ever... until now!

I never really scored the way I wanted to and Rico had become this impossible horse to ride. He was so heavy in the bridle that I was in and out of shoulder-slings; he was so lazy that I had to use spurs and a whip every ride; and worst of all, he and I just didn't get along. We just didn't like each other. Looking back on it now, his injuries were the best thing that happened to us, as devastating as they were. He will never jump again, he probably won't make it to Grand Prix, but what I have is this silly horse who is light in the bridle, easy to ride, and best of all- FUN! We enjoy each other now and I definitely could not have said that before.

The best horse, regardless of what the judge thinks of his silliness.

So here we are, three years of hard work and rehab and we're BACK! Looking forward to cantering up that centerline :)

Ch-ch-ch-changes

My horse has... lead changes. I couldn't figure out how to describe them. They're GOOD changes, they're big, they're clean, they happen when I ask and don't when I don't. They're not GREAT changes. Occasionally he kicks through them. Occasionally he slows down and hops. Occasionally he just won't do them when I ask.

Why can't we practice extended canter all the time?

I realized that in order to prevent these things from happening, I was massively overriding them. I would take way too long to set up the change, I would shift my weight severely to one side, duck my shoulder, and swing my leg way back. Then my horse would think for a couple of strides and finally change. Meanwhile I'm hanging off his back like a lunatic.

Really? You're going to ride like that?

Luckily this realization coincided with my saddle issue. I've been riding in my jump tack recently with a big western pad, another less large folded western pad, and a riser pad. He's relatively comfortable so that's good! Problem: I can't sit the trot in my jump saddle. Solution: improve the throughness and responsiveness in the trot (baby steps) and improve the easier upper level work in the canter. THEN when I get my saddle, I'll take the time to teach myself to sit the trot again and spend time on the pirouettes.

The most impressively difficult trot to sit (dramatization). Also, the most impressively unflattering shirt (not a dramatization).

So I've been doing a fair amount of trot figures and transitions. Trot is getting better! Super through and doesn't pop off the bit randomly like he used to. The canter is much more interesting, I'm currently really focusing on the canter half pass pattern from 4-1 and PSG (TBH, haven't looked at the 4-2/4-3 tests yet, woops), the counter canter, and of course, the flying changes.

Totally ready for Prix St George. In fact, skip it and go Grand Prix.

As I implied above, this has been the most difficult part for him. Poor guy only gets a stride to straighten himself before I swap my legs and THAT'S IT. No more leaning, poking, tapping, or other weird movements that Rico has learned mean lead changes. It has been hard on me, but it's been especially difficult for him. At first he wouldn't change at all, that was difficult... then he would change but it would occur several strides after I swapped. Now I finally have him swapping either right as I ask, or one stride after (and he gets stopped and turned around if he does it a stride after). Yay!

Extreme air not required? Dressage is boring...

So I started on the tempi changes again last night. He had twos a few years ago, and I put the ones (well, I have one one) on this spring, but I wanted to start with the basics again. I cantered across the diagonal, straightened, asked for a change and just asked whenever the canter calmed down again. We got up to doing threes! Good pony. Now time for the challenge...

Challenge??? Can't we stop with that and go get some alfalfa?

Counter canter has always been an issue for us, so I decided to challenge him by doing tempis around the entire arena, so he had to swap to the wrong lead. Not a problem on the long side. Very much a problem if we were turning AT ALL. It wasn't like I was asking for them on a 10m circle or anything, but still, I switch my legs, he needs to change! So that's our next project, getting them in the corners/on circles.

How about instead, we play unicorn ass again?

In the long run it will help SO much, but for now, poor horse is really hoping the dressage saddle comes soon so that the majority of my rides are spent attempting to sit the trot!

Canine Love

It's the end of the last full week before school starts, which means that I'm savoring all the moments I can spend with my horse before I delve into the world of the psychology lab, graduate school applications, and way too much homework. Oh if only, it's been in the high 90s all week, meaning I can only really go up to see him in the morning or in the evening unless I want to suffer from heat stroke.

What, you don't want to visit THIS attractive animal in 100 degree heat?

Anyway, I spent a lot of time with my dog the other day because my horse doesn't happen to fit inside the house. I love my dog and because of this, it's going to be painful to leave for either graduate school or a job next year! Especially if I'm out of state or in Socal where I can't come see him and my cat on weekends.

Who wouldn't stay with this face forever?

The cutest thing ever though, is the relationship that my dog and my horse have. Rico LOVES Cooper and Cooper LOVES attention.

Adorable

Rico will groom Cooper forever, it's almost like therapy for him. He would stand there for hours grooming the dog if I let him.

Nom nom noms

But sometimes he takes it a bit too far.

Dog ears are delicious

But for the most part, they get along great.

Most ridiculous hand walk ever

But the problem is that 1.) my horse probably won't find another dog that he can groom regularly at another barn and 2.) my dog is WAY too trusting of horses, most of whom want to kick him.

BFFs

So when Rico leaves, Cooper needs to figure out that not ALL horses stop to give him a nice grooming when he gets in front of them. But until then, they can enjoy their borderline inappropriate relationship.