Secret Santa 2017: Evaluating TC's Diet

I was fortunate enough to receive my Secret Santa gift really early this year! The reason being is that L was my Secret Santa and she knew immediately what to get me and I'm having SO MUCH FUN with it.

She and I have been really good friends for years now and even though she moved away from me, we still chat a fair amount. When she was in town for Thanksgiving, we rode together (still need to write about this) and she gave me my present! It was a month's subscription to FeedXL.

She knows I'm both really into data and really into being completely overwhelmed by horse ownership despite having them my whole life. So when she told me about FeedXL, I was super stoked. I had been thinking that I wanted to redo TC's feed for a while, since he's not finishing all his grass hay, and this has been SUPER helpful.

First page

Basically what you do is you put in all your feed information and it tells you where your horse's deficits are. I was super stoked because not only would it tell me how his feed is now, but I could put in a bunch of other feeds and experiment with what is the best feed.

TC's diet (up until tomorrow) is as follows:

AM:
1 flake grass hay (5.5lbs or so)
1 flake alfalfa hay (6lbs or so)

PM:
2 flakes grass hay (11.5lbs or so)
1 flake alfalfa hay (6lbs or so)

Grain:
3lbs LMF Gentle Balance
1g Animed Muscle Up
5g Animed Glucosamine 5000
10g Animed MSM
3g Animed Anipsyll
15 pills (6,000 IUs) Vitamin E


I had let his Omega Horseshine run out a month or two ago because I didn't see enough of a difference and then I added the Anipsyll because he eats on dirt a lot of the year (which is now run out and I'm not going to feed it over the winter since he doesn't eat on dirt in the winter). I'm also relatively cheap so the Animed supplements are great. They're a very no-frills company. I hate spending money on stuff my horse just pees out and I do worry that he just pees out all those supplements!

Final diet- his sodium is still low because he licks his salt
lick and I dunno how much he's really getting, I will be adding
more salt to his diet though

The problem coming into winter was that TC wasn't finishing his grass hay, so I wanted to remove a flake of hay and add some grain to make up some of the calories. Now that I had more room in my tack room, I could store more grain so this was actually an option!

I wasn't sure what to take out though, so I ran the analysis.

The first analysis came back that TC was being fed WAY too much protein, and not enough iodine or sodium. I was also feeding more Vitamin E than he needed, so he was probably just peeing it out. Knowing that he needed less protein, I opted to pull a flake of alfalfa and ran it again.

Final diet continued

Now TC was getting too little energy for his weight/workload and he was also missing copper and selenium in addition to the iodine and sodium. 

Knowing that I didn't want to spend a lot, I decided to replace some of the grass hay with grass pellets (cheaper than feeding an extra flake of hay, and less wasteful hopefully), which helped with the energy but not anything else. I also added a pound of equine senior because I had wanted to get something a little sweet for clicker training and that seemed to be a good idea- either add it to his grain or use it for clicker training each day.

That took care of everything except the iodine if I'm remembering correctly, so I asked the supplement wizard what to do. It listed a TON of supplements but the one that I noticed was California Trace, a cheap supplement that has a bunch of stuff that California soil doesn't have in it. This one stood out because just the other day my mom asked me if I wanted a bunch of it and I said I didn't know. So now I know!

New diet! No salt in there yet though oops

With TC's new diet, he now has everything balanced and I'm not out a ton of money I don't think.  Here's the new diet:


AM:
1 flake grass hay (5.5lbs or so)
1 flake alfalfa hay (6lbs or so)

PM:
2 flakes grass hay (11.5lbs or so)

Grain:
3lbs LMF Gentle Balance
3lbs Grass Pellets
1lb Equine Senior
1oz California Trace
1g Animed Muscle Up
5g Animed Glucosamine 5000
10g Animed MSM
12 pills (4,800 IUs) Vitamin E (going to to slowly let these run out)
1g Salt

So the changes are: add grass pellets, equine senior, california trace, and salt; take out Anispyll (becuase I ran out anyway and he's now eating on his mats for a while due to winter), vitamin E (slowly since I have a lot of it), and the extra alfalfa flake.

Now my goal is to work on this stuff (without being shamed
into spending too much money lol)

I'm really excited to see how this works! I need to keep an eye on his weight because it does get cold here (in the 30s overnight now) and he doesn't wear a blanket (he isn't clipped), but I figured I'd try this for December and see if he's okay. If that's not the case, he'll get some more food.

So major thanks to L for the most amazing Secret Santa gift! I had no idea I could obsess over my horse's diet to another level but it was so fun and didn't tell me I was accidentally depriving my horse of any necessary food, phew.

Now off to the store to get him some equine senior and grass pellets!

WW: My First Rated Dressage Show

As I mentioned a while ago, I was going through old pictures on my computer and came across some wonderful things (and not so wonderful things). One of which is hilariously old pictures of me at my VERY FIRST rated dressage show. 

It was 2004 (and ten years later I got my Gold, didn't think that would happen at the time) and I was a teenager. I was riding Larkin, the horse I leased before I bought Rico in 2005. I rode Training 2 and 3 and I think got high 60s/low 70s scores plus some blue ribbons! Looking back I just... I'm so glad I learned how to dress myself a little better, and ride a LOT better. 

Studying my test, Training level is hard, yo. And it's still hard
thirteen years later when I went off course at T2 omg

Larkin was so good

Coming up centerline with my super stylish helmet (which was
plastic with a velvet cover for optimal ugliness)

I couldn't quite get him on the bit but he was a good boy

His walk work was always 8s

And he had a good canter (his trot destroyed my back)

Yay all done! My boots were so short and my jacket was so boxy

Yay blue ribbons and two beautiful picture frames that I still
have to this day :) 

A Relaxing Break

Last week was the first time I spent a prolonged period off at home in a very long time. I mean I had to travel a little bit (3 hour drive) to Thanksgiving and stayed overnight there. But no airports!

Instead of packing my schedule like crazy, I just... did whatever I felt like each day. And that felt REALLY nice. But it means that I didn't do much. I did ride my horse almost every day though!

On Tuesday we wandered around and ate food, yum

On Tuesday I had to take my saddle to get repaired. It's a normal thing that happens with it- the stitching on the monoflap gets worn down with use (where my leg sits) and then pops. This time the right one popped first, which is unusual, me? Using my right leg? What is this insanity? But luckily the guy was done by Wednesday! Woohoo. 

Unfortunately Wednesday, my first day off for Thanksgiving, I forgot my back brace as I went down to get my saddle. So I ended up just long lining TC using the clicker. He was SUPER good. He was a bit high, having both Monday and Tuesday off, but he only took off a couple of times and we got super far along in his training with the clicker. He would eagerly trot off after I had clicked and given him a bit of grain, stoked to go back to work and do more good things for more clicks and grain.

Thursday, Friday, and Saturday I just did dressage rides. Thursday I had to ride quick and early since I had to zip up to Thanksgiving, then Friday I rode in the afternoon.

Lots of wandering

Both of those rides were good solid rides with minimal bad behavior. TC's fun thing the last week or two (or more actually) has been to balk and buck when my leg comes on for the first upward transitions of the day. From walk to trot in the beginning, and trot to canter later on. It starts with him retracting his neck, then balking, then if I press him, he bucks/kicks out.

I experimented on Thursday with a lot of walk halt transitions, getting him SUPER into the bridle before asking for trot, and we got a better first transition. Still sucking back from the contact but not being so shitty about it.

I didn't think until Saturday to add walk trot transitions to warm up too. I think he just gets stuck. He's the sort of horse who really needs a good warm up before he really gets moving, so I think that now that he's a bit out of shape, warm up is even more important. The longer he walks and the more transitions he does early on, the better the ride goes.

He's such a pretty color now, pls stay this way

Saturday I didn't ride for as long. I started in the court and wasn't in a great mood to begin with, so without the mirrors, I struggled to get the right feeling over his topline. I decided to just leave and go to the covered to help myself out. That worked out super well, we got some good work with no bucking, and ended early.

I decided to bathe him that day too. I scrubbed him all over with whitening shampoo, something I've started using on him despite him not being white just yet. I also scrubbed his mane, which I don't usually scrub because I like keeping it a bit dirty for braiding, and I tended to only bathe him before shows this summer/fall.

I also attacked his nasty brown/yellow tail and got that as white as I could get it. I basically decided that I didn't care if it turned purple, so I left the blueing on it longer than was recommended, and let the shampoo before then soak in for quite a while. Turns out it was the right amount of time because his tail looks great! And not lavender/blue. I might push it for even longer next time (I want to wash it every week or every other week to try to really lift those stains). I don't mind his tail being a bit blue at this point lol.

Wandering

After the bath I headed out to Kate's new barn and hung around there. She had me help her ground drive Kat- I was the clicker person. It was SUPER helpful to get even more practice with the clicker and Kat looked amazing by the end of it- stretching over her back and lifting her shoulder (in a good way, not in the way that she prefers sometimes). We headed out to dinner with some of her kiddos afterward, which is always entertaining.

For someone who used to interact with teenagers on a regular basis, I really have lost my touch with them. They're just so... young. And their slang is weird. I dunno. They're still such a great group of kids, even if they are confusing to me sometimes and I don't know what to say to them. At least at my job at the college, I'm locked away from all the teenagers.

Sunday I just fed TC in the morning because I spent the day with L and Kate! But more on that later. 

Not the Last Passage

All through Thanksgiving break I wanted to ride Rico, but I kept putting it off. I think I was just worried. I'd ridden him just a little bit since he was sick and none of those rides had gone well. He's always been a bit on the lazy side and that coupled with being weak made the rides really unpleasant for both of us.

Part of me thinks that I should cherish any rides he gives me. Even if they're just me coaxing him down the road and asking him to do a little bit of trotting sometimes. But the other part of me thinks that there's no reason to torment both of us. I always leave the barn feeling like I'm having to beat an old horse who gave me everything through a ride just because it lets me relive our glory days (and does nothing for him other than annoy him). The thing that I love so much about TC is for the most part he loves his job and wants to do stuff. Rico was never that horse and maybe being with TC for so long makes me extra sensitive to it.

We look so dorky

So finally on Sunday morning I decided to just make myself ride him. I was prepared to just sit on him and let him give me a pony ride, then get off.

I took him into the arena and he was surprisingly forward. As we walked around he spooked a few times and then stopped and stared at the cows. Like... the cows he's seen every summer/fall for many years. I asked him to keep going, but he wasn't having it. I really urged him to at least walk forward and finally annoyed him enough where he then stuck his head down, shook it as he pushed into walk, jigged a step, then stopped suddenly to stare again.

I finally kicked him out of it and he was BESIDE himself at how rude I was being, not looking at the cows. But he finally walked on, with the occasional head toss at me.

I wanted to do like... a couple laps of trot and maybe canter him. My mom reports that he canters in and out of his pasture every day, so it's not like he's not cantering him. But last time I cantered him (as he was coming back from his illness this winter), he fell with me. So I was nervous about that. Still, just trotting around would be fun.

He was itchy under his neck

We picked up the trot and I instantly regretted not putting a saddle on him and forgetting my back brace at TC's barn. Without really being able to put him on the bit, his trot is quite bouncy. It's nothing in comparison to TC's, but you don't see me doing more than walk TC quietly around bareback.

Rico seemed to hate me bouncing on him as much as I did. Poor guy, he's like "dude I put up with your shit for years and now you won't let me look at cows and insist on bouncing around on my back when I jog around with you?" I hear you, buddy.

He tossed his head at me and kind of struck out for a step, and that felt much smoother, almost like passage. And really, a lot of my rides on him bareback would substitute the trot for the passage.

But I gave up years ago that I'd ever passage him again. Certainly after his illness.

Right as he went into it

Thinking that maybe I could entice him to smooth his trot out a little bit, I asked for it. And he gave it to me. No questions asked.

It wasn't anything in comparison to his passage in the past, but it was SO MUCH FUCKING FUN I CAN'T EVEN EXPLAIN.

I immediately felt a tightness in my chest and water in my eyes. I couldn't believe it. This horse had two raging bacterial infections earlier this year and was diagnosed with severe neck arthritis. Granted, he gets prevocox, and it was cold outside, and he's been cantering around in his pasture getting himself fit enough to do it. Plus I mean he was quite talented at it to begin with... but I seriously didn't think I'd EVER feel him passage again! It actually made me sad when he got sick because I feel like I couldn't remember the last time we passaged, the last lead change I rode, the last piaffe.

Now at least I have the last time I rode passage on him, and it was awesome. I'm so glad he was able to give that to me, somehow.

Obviously not to be stopped, I asked him to canter at one point. He didn't really want to canter to the right, not sure if that's a neck thing, a strength thing, a coffin thing, a hocks thing, or simply that I asked him to do it going away from the cows and that's unacceptable. But I wasn't going to push it either way. The left though, we got some good canter steps (going toward the cows) and it was super fun!

His canter is so much like a rocking horse. TC has been cantering a bit baroque lately (I think he keeps bucking his SI joint out of whack) and is not as loose through his back in the canter as Rico is naturally. It made me miss Rico's canter so much. And just Rico in general. He's such a good horse.

TC is good too, don't get me wrong, and in a lot of ways, TC is better than Rico. TC is a bigger mover with more presence, TC is more forward, TC has a better feeling in the bridle... but Rico is Rico. He's talented but safe, willing but not over eager. He's just the best horse.

And I got to canter him! And passage him! And now if this is the last time I ever get to do those things, I have it written down. And on video. And that's quite enough.

The Story of My C2 Rating (or How I Knocked an Examiner Down)

I ran across some pictures one day and thought I'd tell this story. I think it's kind of absolutely hilarious. Also horrifying.

There was a time where I jumped ponies, it's true

I wasn't super good at it though

Like why so long with your stirrups, Megan, why jumping up
his neck, Megan?

When I was getting ready to take my C2 rating, I was horseless. I had been jumping Stretch for a while but he had been injured the fall before the rating. I still wanted to take it, so a family friend offered me a pony to ride! It was her friend's pony who had been a stallion but was recently gelded. His name was Brannigan.

Brannigan was a GREAT horse. He had competed I think at Prelim (? I get him mixed up with another pony they had, one did Prelim and one did Training) the last year but the person riding him had gone to college or something. He was scopy and maybe a bit sassy, but super fun.

Boing

For a few months, we made weekly trips to go ride him and take lessons from his owner. She was an event trainer (and now moved away, boo, she had nice ponies and was nice herself!) and Connemara pony breeder. Brannigan had been her pride and joy.

Such a nice person to let a shitty teenager ride him for a pony club rating!

I had a blast jumping him. I don't remember too much about the dressage, since dressage was the worst and who wanted to do that anyway? But I do remember that he felt like a powder keg to jump.

Dressage so gud guys

He is like DRESSAGE NOT GUD SHE CANNOT
RIDE ME GUYZ THIS IS TERRIBLE

The day of the rating I was panicking like I always did at ratings. And shows. And even more than ten years later I'm still panicky. But Brannigan was a gentleman. He had done many a show and pony club rating.

Stressed-out Teenager Stink Eye TM

Bandaging his legs

Formal inspection. Uh, keep in mind the examiner on crutches
with her broken leg... 

The formal inspection went GREAT. I passed with flying colors. I also did fine in the dressage, apparently. I was TERRIBLE at dressage at the time. Literally my old dressage pictures are so cringy as you already know. It's a miracle that kid learned to put her horse on the bit, let alone actually earned any scores above 50%.

I dunno I mean I have heard that bending is a thing to do in the
dressage? CORRECT YOU PASS

The show jumping went super as well. But Brannigan was ON and I was not used to riding this kind of horse. Stretch was a hunter before I got him, and not a super athletic one. I had just spent a year riding a quiet low level hunter and I was put on a powder keg pony for maybe a couple of months before the rating. But it all went well.

Spicy 

I dunno I mean maybe I think we could have gone slower and
been more in control? The best at pony club discussions.

We walked out to cross country. I had schooled cross country once before with a group of people with a new trainer (who I eventually rode with, then failed my C3 rating with, then went back to work for, then fucked up my SI joint because of her, then quit). He was fine. Maybe a touch herdbound, but fine.

Our one time schooling cross country. I will always miss this
wonderful lady who is with me <3

We were supposed to do a little course that ended with a canter up a hill to show pace. I was on an experienced event horse who was also a weeny pony, so figured it was fine for me to go near the end. But Brannigan was not about that and was a bit feisty on the way out on our course.

I have exactly one picture from this course. It is of the exact moment at the bottom of the hill where I lost control.

SEE YOU LATER BITCH, LEARN TO USE YOUR CORE

I got to feel what a weeny pony real event horse felt like in that gallop up the hill. He was really moving. I absolutely could not stop him. We ran and ran. I was standing straight up, yanking on is face and trying to get him to slow down at ALL. I didn't think to like... circle... or anything. We were galloping straight at the group of horses and the examiners.

We came careening into a horse at full speed. That horse jumped sideways and crashed into an examiner... the examiner with the broken leg. She fell on her ass. Like way to kick someone while they're down right?

Luckily she was okay, PHEW. But I was so so embarrassed. I can't remember if I had to go do it again, but I did pass that rating. I was horrified though.

He was so cute

Brannigan was returned to his owner with a massive thank you and an apology for probably instilling many bad habits in the few months I rode him. I still feel so horrified that I knocked an examiner down in my rating! I did make amends and we taught alongside each other for years afterward.

Thankful for Cliches

Another year another list of things to be thankful about. I wasn't going to do this because it just seems so cliche but I was realizing how shitty things were at the beginning of the year and I just wanted to write a list about the things I'm thankful for about my horses.

Getting to take this guy on a trail ride after almost losing
him this winter? So thankful

I am thankful that Rico made it through his two raging bacterial infections.

I am thankful that TC bounced back after last winter and I was able to ride him again.

I am thankful that I was able to ride Rico again, even though it's just at a walk on the trails.

I am thankful that I got to have the show season I wanted on TC.

I am thankful that Rico gets to have the retirement he deserves.

I am thankful that TC is turning into the horse I knew he could be.


I am thankful that both horses are healthy and sound (at least for now, those jerks) and that I have the means to be able to have both of them in my life.

ACTUALLY showing my horse, especially in a new place after
being afraid to even ride him at home this winter? So thankful

Really looking forward to spending more time with each of them over this long weekend, and maybe hanging out with some fun people too! Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Bombproofing Clinic Take Two

On Sunday, TC and I headed over to a barn nearby for another bombproofing clinic! This was our second one together. As a reminder, here is the write up from the one in March.

I was SUPER stoked for this clinic. In March I was so apprehensive about it because TC had been a really reactive, spooky horse and was regularly scaring me undersaddle. Now, after a whole season of traveling to new places, experiencing new things, and generally being a good pony, I was really looking forward to this clinic. It was just going to be FUN!

So eager

I unloaded TC and sure enough, he was MUCH better about being tacked up than last time. He didn't make as big of an entrance and I was actually able to get his bridle on without being dragged around the property. All of that time going to new places and dealing with his antics has really paid off.

I still decided to do a fair amount on the ground. First, I wanted to play it safe. Second, my saddle actually needed to be repaired (getting it back today) so riding in it all day was a good way to increase that repair bill. Third, I definitely still have more confidence on the ground. So I put a rope halter (not his usual one, I have one without a clip) over his bridle and led him over to get signed in.

After signing in, we headed into the arena to join the crowd of horses (about nine or ten).

Once again, we were the only ones in english tack. Everyone else was riding nice quiet quarter horse types. I was the only weirdo bringing my dorky dressage horse over. I like it though, it's a nice change of pace from the dressage shows and clinics where I have been yelled at for breathing too loudly or trotting near someone (srs, some people have problems with friesians and freisian xs because they can be "thundering" when actually my horse is pretty light on his feet).

Car wash

The structure of the clinic was very much the same as last time. We had introductions in a circle, where I used the same line about being here for experience because he's young as last time, while also wrestling him to stand still like last time too. TC continued to mirror his prior behavior of enthusiastically dragging me to obstacles to investigate them while we walked around them. The clinicians showed us each obstacle and told us how to introduce the obstacles to our horses. Most of the horses, or at least the riders, had been before so it went faster than last time.

Before setting us loose, the clinicians reminded us that kindness would get us further than punishment. I've had to learn the hard way a couple times that adding more tension to a situation doesn't make a horse relax. It sounds like a no duh situation, but it can be easy to put pressure on them.

The whole time we were talking and wandering around, TC was strutting around a bit. He was way way confident. He knew where we were and what his job was and he wanted to do his job as fast as possible for that sweet sweet praise. Take it down a notch, bro.

Tarp

We started with the water and he marched through it just fine. Then we went over to the tarp and marched over that too. Then we hit the car wash and the bridge, which he was pretty good about too. Everything he did with confidence, even if he was a bit rushed. It wasn't rushing to get away from the object as much as being like "I KNOW WHAT TO DO LET ME DO IT."

After that, I hopped on. Immediately I was like oh fuck. He felt really rude. I was not necessary. Keeping it in mind that he might lose his shit on me, I figured I'd just get through as much as I could with him in his mood and then do more ground work. Days like this don't happen very often, but there are some days where I get on him and he's just like FUCK OFF and seems like all he wants to do is pick a fight. It was probably caused by me shutting him down a bunch on the ground before getting on him. Does not do well being told he can't go forward.

But here we were and we were going to figure it out.

When your mom dresses you up

We started by just walking around the arena, then played over the bridge and the tarp, the easiest stuff for him. I then saw an available yoga ball. Cool! On days where he's feeling like he wants to fight, I always give him lots of praise. Isn't it fun to be ridden, yes we like being ridden, we get pets and good boys. So we got lots of praise for kicking the yoga ball and I could feel him settle a bit. It is fun to be ridden. Yoga balls are very fun. Let's kick it again. OH YES LET'S GO KICK THE SHIT OUT OF THAT THING. He kicked it away from himself at one point and then positively LEAPS into the air and strikes out, then leaps after it.

So we definitely left the yoga ball after that, though he did seem like he was in a better mood. So, uh, yay?

Our next obstacle was the cart. Last time he really didn't figure out pushing the cart but this time he totally did! They have a side (not the side in the picture) where you can let them push their chest on it and it will roll. TC was all about doing this. We approached it slowly at first, with him getting told he was good when he put his chest near it. He can be a bully with his chest in general so getting him to push with it wasn't hard. He figured that out and had a great time with it.

Cart

Poor animal

We went over to the monkey barrel after that and once again TC refused to pay attention to the monkey popping out in front of him because he was too busy spooking at some jump standards on the side of the arena. Cool.

We walked over to the flags and I was about to grab one when TC suddenly spun and ran off with me. What the fuck. This horse is not that kind of spooky, not at this clinic. As we whirled, I saw that another horse had kicked his yoga ball and that he wasn't spooking, he was excited to join in. Lay off the yoga ball!

I asked the clinician if I could trot around the arena to calm him down and I was allowed to. As we were trotting I could hear people seeming impressed with his gaits. Yeah... they're really nice to look at. And they're nice to ride when he's not snaking his neck and striking out like he was. He was just WAY too happy to be there.

Sure enough, we had a bolt and then some leaping due to a whole lot of nothing. Just excitement. Yay clinics. Yay fun obstacles. Must celebrate. Fuck my rider, who cares that she hates my celebrations? Life is too short to make your rider happy anyway.

We had one final straw that made me get off of him for good, and that was him once again reacting to another horse doing something he wanted to do and he reared. I kicked him forward and got him to do a few good things before getting off. Fuck not having fun. I'm not there to ride through his bullshit.

Monkey

Flinging things at him

After getting off, I decided to go throw things at him. I'd be lying if I said it didn't feel kind of nice to chuck things at him after he had been so obnoxious. I mostly threw the little discs at him. One hit his face accidentally. He was a champ and just stood there and took it. I threw them under his legs and over his back and onto his butt and everywhere I could think of.

At the same station, they had the flags too, so I waved those all over him and we even went on a nice walk around the arena with one waving near his face.

There were also noise makers (a water jug filled with rocks and a bag full of cans) that I shook by him. That was the only thing that bothered him, he thought that me shaking a bag full of cans near his butt wasn't very fun.

That was all the time we had for the morning, so we headed out of the arena for lunch!

Flags

I didn't bring much for lunch because I had planned on using the whole break to tie TC up at the trailer and ignore him, then leave early. As I expected, the moment TC realized he was left at the trailer (I hid in the tack room and then in the truck and creeped on Fresno results), he began rearing and rearing. He really hates being left anywhere but his home cross ties or the wash rack.

I found out later that there is a patience pole near the arena that they told me I could haul over to use without paying a ring fee! So I'll be seeing about doing that sometimes. He's really got to be better about being left...

After 45 minutes of pretty much non stop rearing and pawing, I took him into the arena with the intention of doing maybe 10-15 minutes of work and then leaving. I didn't even grab my helmet.

But once back in the arena, TC was a dream! I could see that he finally got all his energy out and he was finally ready to work. Remind me next time we have a bad start to a ride to just tie him up for 45 minutes and let him rear himself into calmness. Or maybe he should be able to cope with his emotions better. Whatever.

Dear TC, you are an asshole, pls stop

Everything had been made much harder now that we were all pros at the obstacles. I spent a few minutes throwing the bag of cans onto TC's saddle and letting it fall off, then went to play with the harder obstacles.

The bridge had been made into a teeter totter, which TC hates. He always steps off of it when it starts to teeter. I had grabbed my clicker and a few cookies, so with that I was able to get him to go on it. Some people were able to get their horses to stand on it and shift their weight to make it teeter back and forth, which was SUPER cool but mine wasn't about that. Maybe next time.

All of the strips of fabric on the car wash had been let down. The first time TC walks through the car wash in general, he hesitates, even if just one strip is down. Since we had already had that experience earlier, TC was fine with it. We walked through it in both directions, then I backed him through it. At first he wasn't sure about backing through it, but then settled into it.

Destroying the car wash

Noodles

Last time, the noodle chute was something TC didn't like. This time, I rode through it once and he was a little squirrelly, but then settled just fine. Once as all the noodles were in it (after lunch) and the pieces of plywood were pushed closer together, we went through it again. TC was super good about it. Actually seemed to think that the noodles felt good to itch against rather than feeling wiggly about them. Again, we went forward and back through them.

I was running out of things to do, so I figured that we'd just walk over the mattress and then head home. Last time TC was super weird about the mattress, but this time he was totally fine. He thought about pawing it, which the clinicians said to avoid because the horses could get shoes stuck in it or pull it toward themselves. So I told him to stop and he just resorted to smelling it.

Mattress

I was just thinking that it was time for me to leave when the clinician came up and had us all get out of the way because they were going to inflate this tube man.

TC has never seen anything like a WACKY WAVING INFLATABLE ARM FLAILING TUBE MAN before. I wasn't sure how he'd respond but I was SUPER curious.

I've never seen this horse do such a hilarious thing. In all his confidence, once as the tube man was fully inflated (nearly touched the roof of the covered arena), TC surged towards it. He picked up a trot, lowered his head and then flung it up in the air, snaking his neck and striking out.

I had no idea what he was doing. What the fuck is your plan, man? Apparently he thought maybe he'd intimidate it? Thought it was a toy until realizing it was actually gigantic?

He ultimately skidded to a halt pretty far out and stared at it. He kept trying to get his head to go up higher so he could see it better, but unfortunately he was not tall enough.

After we played with the tube man, it was time for the last thing of the day, so I figured I'd stay. We got a group of horses to walk in a circle with a parachute between them. I was just leading TC, though next time I will try riding him! It was super fun, and TC was not afraid at all. He kept trying to bite the parachute, which I had to wrestle him back from a few times.

In the end, we held the parachute up really high and allowed horses and riders to ride under it. TC watched everyone go under it and then it was his turn! He wasn't really interested in going under it, he wanted to put it in his mouth instead. I was able to convince him though, and he happily marched under.

go under, TC!

Overall it was a SUPER great clinic. I was mildly disappointed at first because of his weird behavior, but it's just part of him being a young horse and getting experience. And I honestly can't fault him that he has a rider who doesn't like his celebrations. I mean, he needs to get that under control and be a bit more emotionally mature, but that isn't going to happen by avoiding situations like this. So we just press forward.

After telling myself to get over the mild disappointment, I was really happy with the day in the end. TC was definitely more confident and less nervous about everything at the clinic than last time. I was more confident with him, even if we haven't reached Rico status. We did more and were more successful than last time. And we pointed out a few weaknesses (like standing at the trailer tied) that we need to work on.

Sounds like a good day to me!