HELP WANTED: NEWBIE WESTERN RIDER SEEKS E-COACHES TO SAVE HER FROM EMBARASSMENT

that'd be great if you come back krista, i may need a photographer for the reining classes.... if not no worries, and i will be around in the morning (as long as i found somewhere for the pony to hang out) in case you need any thing :)

im embarassed to admit i STILL havent ridden. As I said, I have a friend up from Ontario, so yesterday afternoon/evening was a write off, then today I just couldnt get out of bed. This stupid f-ing rain!!! its making me very mad. I miss the sun, and the energy it used to give me... :(

I will try to squeeze a ride in before heading to town to go to OHW, and watch/photograph cattle penning :).

if i dont ride tomorrow, someone please come up here and kick me in the buttercup.

im so spoiled to have a "push-button" pony.

.... sadly, it was raining ( i know, excuses) before we headed in to town, so i didnt ride again...

but! watching my saddle, and blanket, (oh yeah, and my friends :P) in the arena at old home week, made me wanna get out there. I should probably start with riding... but im thinking it might be something to play around with next year :)
i took as many pictures as I could (with the lighting and the speed, was hard to get anything decent!), then my camera died, so all i have to share is one from my cell phone. still looks pretty cool :)



my brother also bought me a horse book (the Tao of Equus?), that Im going to start reading here in a minute (my job is so stressfull, lol). hoping that helps with the motivation!

Only 3 more 6am workdays, thank god.

I had to jinx myself. i was just hoping for a quiet day at work, and to read my book.

I have to rant. Maybe someone can help.
There is an older couple that got a summer membership at the gym, and they have terrorized me since the beginning. I hate to say it, but now I know why people have stereotypes towards people from Ontario out here (im slowly not including myself as one...)

I understand what they meant by BIFFO in my first year at UNB now... if anyone is interested, I will gladly elaborate.

Anyway, since day one they've done nothing but complain. Even after my boyfriend had to bust in to a locker with a grinder, after the gentleman had locked himself out while taking a shower (and was now only wearing a towel...). This is a town in which no one locks their houses, cars, and keys are often in the ignition. There was no one at the gym (LITERALLY NO ONE), except for myself.
They also make strange/unreasonable demands, and constantly change the radio station.

NO ONE wants to listent to BIG BAND, or easy listening while at the gym. Especially when the client base here is mostly young-middle aged men/fishermen.

The gentleman has also got in to many disputes with another older gentleman that is somewhat of a regular.
Im thinking they are worse than little boys.

Did I mention that im excited to be done work in less than 2 weeks?

Not only does this put me in a foul mood at work, but now I just want a nap, and am feeling less than ambitious to go ride. Hopefully, as the bell rings 1:00pm, this funk will lift, (im off until tuesday).


GAH!!!

okay, im done.

I would think the Ride would be the One thing that would get you Out of your Funk.....

i know it would joan, its just getting my buttercup in gear to go do it.
i make tons of excuses, but where my horses are right now is less than ideal for me (although, ideal for them, so i shouldnt whine), and i have to be in a good mood to deal with the social aspects of visiting my boyfriend's grandparents/family.

days like these i dream of going "off the grid", just me and my ponies :)

OK.......this is just for today............. you out to go :cowgirlride.gi before I you silly...............

well, i DID ride friday, and it was incredibly hot, Angus was very cooperative, in hopes that it would be a quick ride.

as for saturday? gosh im a slow learner... we got to the show early, and there werent many people entered (busy weekdend for showing on the island), so i figured, hey, i'll give the other classes another shot. ugh.
well, angus was well behaved for horsemanship (although, still not a pleasure speed horse), and then i tried the dreaded trail again. they actually let us warm up with the obstacles, so i focused on the fence. he was being good, and i actually got close enough to undo it, and walked all the way around the standards with it in my hand. i was happy!
then we entered the class, and the wind picked up again, blew the longe line all around, and ... we may have almost ran over the judge..... twice.
pleasure i was consantly circling again...

then for games.
angus was defintely excited for this, and... had some issues - wanted to go to the wrong side of evry barrel in barrels AND down and back. we got first in the down and back, but only because the 1 other girl competing hit the barrel. I'll give angus that, he doesnt knock anything over.
then... on the way home from the barrels, he went wild, headed full tilt towards the gate (which i beleive he thought was open), slammed on the brakes and turned hard at the last minute, and left me hanging over the fence. I wasnt hurt, but lets just say the pony is getting more lessons on manners/general behaviour. and also... some sort of bit that he may actually listen to. (we use a full cheek snaffle, any suggestions on an upgrade?).

so then i was like... great, making a fool of myself again... and had everyone giving me basic steering advice ("next time, start turning earlier") - no one (except the reining clinician who has actually TRIED him) realizes that he is VERY hard mouthed when he decides to be, and can definitely be stubborn.

finally, it came to the reining classes. i was worn out and bruised, but looked at my patterns and said "hey, could it be any worse?"

we ran the best patterns we ever have. we had some lead issues (he needs work on the right lead). we went for flying changes (go big or go home), and the transitions from left to right left us disunited occasionally. but man did the dirt fly, even without plates! i was very pleased.
We also had our first shot at "western working horse", and for our second attempt at two tracking, we rocked it. first he thought i was asking for canter leads, but once he got it, it was really smooth.

the judges actually said (again, same ones that told me the basics of steering) "wow, he really likes to rein, doesnt he? that was great!"


i think we should stick to what we know. im still pumped that we rocked it.

despite having only one other competitor, who's new horse just came out of heavy work/training, and actually had sliders installed...(ahem, RedBarronBPeppy), we did well. I wish I had actually remembered to get my scores.

The thing I love about reining, is not only do you compete with others, you mostly compete against yourself, working to improve your own PB score.

Im very excited to have an indoor to work in this fall/winter/spring, and access to a reining coach.


sorry for the delay, i've been showing drafts! very new to me, but worth the experience. i got to be the groom this time, which was awesome, and had two roan clydes and a percheron to prep. i dont have show pics yet, but i have these :)

i used almost half of a bottle of show sheen


for reference, brittany is about 5'6-5'8. lucky is 18.1-.2


this is my boyfriend's cousin in lady's cart


this is my bf driving a cart :)


these are the roans!

hahahaha Twist...you sure are a sucker for punishment........I guess the Go Big or Stay Home thing sort of applies to you....but you did get out there and gave it your all........The crowd used to sing the song.....Flying Purple People Eater when I used to barrel race drunk......I would come off at one barrel or another and Brick would just stand and wait for me to get back on.....The ring crew would hang around the 3rd barrel waiting to catch me if I made it past 1 and 2......everyone thought we were a joke.....well me....not so much Brick......I quit drinking and we started winning....folks that liked me anyway still sang the song........the folks I started beating Never spoke to me again.......so, the lesson of this story...........rose THEM ALL IF THEY CANT TAKE A JOKE!!!!!!!!!! :cowboyhound.gi you gotta have fun.

haha, you know what? i think we'd get along just fine. "go big or go home" has always been the motto of my athletic/equestrian life, because if you arent pushing/challenging yourself, what are you trying to prove? so what if it doesnt always work out perfectly...

thats kinda my thing... always has been. when i showed english i showed this devil pony who chucked me everyday, or scared the life out of me with his huge jump, then i'd show him, and he'd show off. we seemed to always end up in the champion ring when i least expected it, braids undone, untacked, pony soaked from being hosed off, and my crisp white shirt covered in slobber.

the upkeep involved in showing, the wardrobe required (ESPECIALLY WP) and the spotless horses just arent me. never have been. maybe thats because i show bratty ponies - one year even a white one.

i think i'll keep trying games (although people think im an absolute nutjob), because the pony loves it, and the wardrobe required doesnt cost thousands of dollars, and the pace is more my "new" style.

and we love reining. we nailed our reining classes (despite not having a great place to practice), i had sand head to toe from our stops (without sliding plates), our rollbacks were some of the best we've done, and only lost points due to my flying lead changes.... did i tell that story?
during the clinics we took in the winter i kept asking about flying changes (knowing the pony could do them), and the coach figured the group wasnt quite at that stage. He then decided to demonstrate them on angus, but had a hard time getting them.
This was the clinic we first ran patterns, and a lead change is required (flying change preferred). the clinician said "if you havent successfully achieved flying changes in practice, dont do them in a pattern, unless you believe in divine intervention" well, feeling like a little thistle, i decided to go for it (it was for practice after all...). and nailed both of them.

we havent gotten them consistently tho... (we have difficulty with the right lead - i say we, because i've always been stronger/better on the left lead, i think my hips are asymmetrical), but i keep trying, and thats one of the things we will devote serious time to this winter.



after this show its only concluded that my goals/personality/pony dont suit WP. he may have once competed at it, but its not "our" thing. i swear part of me kept trying knowing he had done it before with a 13 year old girl. i was like the jealous new girlfriend, trying to achieve what they had before.
but if i dont actually like it, meaning i dont actually practice it, im just making a fool out of myself for no solid reason.


i dont even know what im trying to get at here.

next show isnt until september, and IM PUBLICLY COMMITTING to only showing in the afternoon. ONLY reining and games, and maybe western working horse (we tried it last show, and i found it very similar to reining) and MAYBE command.
the rope gate in trail legitimately scares the pony, so why am i making him do it? until he isnt scared, im not even bothering.

hahaha...cant wait for your Next Public Appearance......... :cowboyhound.gi

Well, I'm glad the show ended on a good note for you! Reining seems to be his thing then eh?
I lol'd at your comment:

withaTwist wrote:

maybe thats because i show bratty ponies - one year even a white one.

because my whole show career I showed white ponies. Mostly bratty too, especially Teeka.

I adore western pleasure, but I could definitely see your point. If I bought a fantastic hunter horse, I'd feel like I needed to like jumping even though I really don't. Stick to what works for you both.

through some digging, and the wonders of the internet, i did discover his past trainers were reiners, and they loved him for his heart and ability. why try to go against it?
plus the dressage he was doing in the few years before me trained the slow gaits out of him... and really focused on roundness, so it makes him and even better reiner.

i always tear up when i remember what the reining clinic guy told me the first time he tried him/worked with us: " someone put a lot of time into this horse, you should relax and enjoy him"

dont get me wrong, if he was slow enough for it, i wouldnt grumble about WP. and since sometime over the winter i must have lost my mind completely - ive made the total 360 from "slow/steady/controlled" to "ride it like you stole it", maybe someday i'll go back to that, but right now this is fun.


teeka - pleasure AND white ponies? maybe im not the crazy one here :P i dreamed of having a chesnut on this island because of the red dirt, lol. i couldnt imagine the time needed to groom a white horse in our muddy spring/summe climate!

and i agree, i believe each horse has talent for different things, and are more naturally inclined to one discipline or another, why work harder than you have to? again, call me crazy (im seriously considering adopting the name tag) but you can tell when a horse ENJOYS what he's doing, and that is reflected (to me) in success at shows, and rider enjoyment.

Yes indeed, pleasure with my crazy gray Teeka. Meticulous bathing, constantly finding new, better whitening products and the use of a few pro tips, lmao. I used to have her shining like silver though.

i may ask your trade secrets! as i mentioned, we were at the draft show for OHW with two roan clydes (check out my pics! i guess they are rare around here...) and talk about sucker for punishment!

17+ hands, and feathers! needless to say... we should have started bathing MONTHS in advance.

any products you recommend? we tried a bluing shampoo from cowboy magic (well, my bf did, i was cleaning stalls), but nothing seemed to get ground in/hock stains. :(

Hmmm good question, it's been a while! I remember using a lot of baby powder as a last resort. And a scraper block that smelled like rotten eggs when you scraped it on something hard to sharpen it. It was the only thing that worked on good urine stains. I'll go through my tack box and see if there are any leftovers in there that I can grab a name off of.

hmm, are those blocks black? i used something similar this year for shedding - GREAT on the clydes, as ive noticed before, white horses shed more. never thought of trying it on stains!

Yes yes they are! And they were fantastic for shedding. Can't remember what they were called. Just give them a scrape to sharpen them and they'd take the stains right off.

i wish i had known that before the show! ah well, i'll know for next time, thanks!

Alright, scoured the ole' tack box but there's nothing show-related left. I just can't remember the names of the stuff I used. I remember one thing though. My mom used to be a hair dresser and she used that purple shampoo for ladies with white hair. After she stopped hairdressing I used the rest of that shampoo on the horses and nothing ever made them whiter! Hahahaha

This is a little piece of the black scrapey thing:



I'm sure we're talking about the same thing.

haha, yup, thats the one. mine are farnham's "slick n'easy" i think.
ive heard about old lady shampoo, i figured the cownboy magic blue stuff would be similar... but i KNOW the bf didnt leave it on nearly long enough as he should have.
thanks for the tips!

LOOKS Like the old Bot remover block

BOT REMOVER! Yesssssssssss that's the one. Holy cow. Never had bots, so I forgot it's real use, lmao. Removes stains too, haha.

need to remember to try those for bots! i used it for shedding in the spring :)

so! this morning i was inspired. I've been reading "the tao of equus", which is basically a story about a woman who learned valuable life lessons through horses, and then went on to use them for therapy sessions.
Anyway... I've somewhat related to this book, and have always been very aware of horses body language and "energy" (some draft people have dubbed me a "horse whisperer" - just because i pay attention to their body language, and persuade them through gentler means...), and am really enjoying her explanations of emotional congruency and how your emotional state is picked up by the horse, even if you are attempting to hide it. It goes along with my adventures this year, my transitions as a rider, and of course angus's help.

I went out to the field 2 days ago and just spent time with my 3 brats before going to my parents for supper. fed some carrots, gave some scratches. i love how they can just make me feel at peace, and how they interact without all the bullshit that people do. i love their honesty.

this morning i went out to ride angus, sas i havent ridden him since the show, and he was literally, neck deep in a round bale. Finley however, would not leave me alone. He has become quite cuddly since his track days, and is always very curious. I took this to mean something, and since I'm planning on taking him on a 2 day wagon train (angus will be further away, boarded by then, and is actually more spooky and "hot" than Fin on these types of rides), figured I would give him a try.

The last time he was ridden was on a trail ride when Jill (RedBarronBPeppy) came out, no real schooling/learning involved for him.

I took him out, brushed him, he stood quiet (he HATES standing still), saddled him, and took him over to the area fenced off with our hay to ride. He stood still for me to get on (MAJOR DEAL) as he usually moves all over the place. We had a rough start, he was popping up in the front a bit, being a bit of a turd, but i took a deep breath, adapted the "i have all day, and we've already accomplished standing still" attitude. so we stood. i didnt ask for anything more. after a little while i asked him to move forward again - no hesitation, walked right along.

Finley is a horse that has always amused me - from day 1 he pretended he was saddle broke. the more you expect from him, the more he gives. For example today: he was turning on the haunches, giving easily to rein pressure, stopping and backing up when i asked, and standing quiet.
Now, he is a bit of a dummy, and we had some battles about him being drawn to the fence where the other two were working on the round bale. He would get really close to the wire, and I would start to panic/worry, and stare at the wire, thinking he was gonna get caught up. Then i realized by staring at the wire, my body was saying to go towards it. as soon as i made him stop, stand, and looked across the field, he would go forward and away from the fence. im very proud of him.

The goal is that he will learn enough basics to be more fun for my boyfriend to ride, such as a better stop, and be lighter on the hands, carry himself better than the pacer he is, lol, and ideally neck rein. I think both angus, and my reining clinics, have made this much easier to accomplish than when i was going it alone.
I've been hesitant to get back on both the stbds due to my fall/trampling last year, but I think after almost a year of Angus, Im ready again :)

Hopefully I will get back on Twist again soon. If I can make big dumb lanky Fin start to give and flex, she should be a dream, she was bought as my project horse, and I hope now I know enough to give her another chance/better start.

Excellent blog entry Twist, it had not shown up as a new post for me so I came over to take a gander after you mentioned it. Love reading your entries, I really do. They give me a lot of insight to my own ordeals.

Lemon juice and sunlight dish soap works wonders...You've seen the horse my kid rides...