Where is June going?

May flew by, June is flying by. By and large, the weather has been AWESOME, and that has meant that Larry at the barn has been able to get hay in. 

Bestie is a big fan of the new hay. We had gotten to the point where last year's hay looked really brown and dry. The horses were eating it, but this fresh cut is a big hit. Between being out on grass and the arrival of the new hay, she's had a few gassy spells. Probably brought on by the fact that she's not a girl who ever says, "Oh, none for me, thanks. I'm full."

Our lesson schedule has gotten a bit topsy turvy because I was out of town at the end of May, and out of town again over Father's Day weekend. It was nice that Paula rode her those two weekends. 

The week before I left in June, she seemed a little funky. I had ridden her on Sunday, and she was great. Then I went to ride Tuesday, and she seemed kind of stiff in the hind end. The next day she seemed better, but I decided to lunge her for a couple minutes - didn't notice anything. On Thursday I rode, but just at the walk. We went down to the big arena; she seems to like the deep footing in there.

Paula rode her on Saturday while I was gone and said she was great. Who knows about the mystery funkiness. Maybe she was a little stiff and ouchy while in heat. I've only ridden twice this week. Looking forward to my lesson tomorrow and getting back in the swing of things.

A great article - Aging Gracefully, on trailridermag.com

Back in the saddle

Paula rode Bestie last weekend while I was away. Peace of mind for me knowing she was getting a little exercise in my absence. I heard via text that it went well, but haven't had a chance to get the full scoop; will get that tomorrow night when I have my lesson.

I got back into town on Monday. The weekend had been very hot, and Monday was still pretty warm, so I postponed riding until Tuesday.

Once I got Bestie saddled up Tuesday after work, I decided to ride in our regular indoor, the upper one. She was super sluggish, and kept pulling me toward the door. The arena did feel kind of hot, so I dismounted and walked her down to the lower arena. The lower arena is always airy because the plastic walls are lowered in nice weather, which typically results in a nice breeze. She was better down there, but still inattentive. Honestly, it was a drag to keep pushing her along, so after about 20 minutes I dismounted, walked her back up the aisle to the door, got back on, and we headed outside to go down the path to the outdoor ring.

About a third of the way down, we met a few riders and their horses coming from the ring, and Bestie totally lost interest in walking down there, since they were going the opposite way - the magic way ... back to the barn. Whatever. I chalked it up to being one of those out-of-sorts nights, after experiencing a break in our routine over the previous 5 days.

On Wednesday we tried again. The weather had cooled off, and she was great in the upper ring. We did a lot of figure eights over a center pole, and long diagonals. She was much more peppy than the previous night. After about a half hour, we went outside and headed down the path, catching up to a couple people who were riding the same direction with their horses.

The early evening was perfect, much cooler and with no bugs, and walking out to the ring was really pleasant. Once we got there, we turned around and headed back to the barn. Easy peasy. She seemed really happy to be outside. Sometimes I can sense both of us loosening up and relaxing on that path. We spend so much time in the arena during the long Vermont winter, enjoying a mosey down the path feels like heaven.  

Quick stop at the barn

My lesson was last night due to a conflict on my usual day, Sunday. We had a good 50 minute lesson, so I didn't plan to ride today. When I got to the barn, it seemed Bestie didn't plan to ride either - this is her "if I don't look at her she will go away" posture.

We're still working on strengthening her, since she carries her right hip lower than her left. It's better than it was back in the fall, and she has put on muscle - so good to see. We did lots of little circles with me working on fine tuning myself .... things like keeping my hands in position like I'm carrying a tray, dropping my heels - pretty basic stuff, but I still need Paula's reminders to keep it all going at the same time. :) My main challenge is bringing my leg back behind the girth when needed; I just can't get it back there, which Paula says means I need to work on my lower abs (learned that at Pilates last week, too!) and stretching my hip flexors.

This coming week's lesson will also be on Friday night, because holistic vet Kim Henneman is back to our barn on Sunday. I'm really interested to see what she says about Bestie. I feel like she looks so much better. Amazing what a little more riding time with the support of a good instructor can do.

So today was salon day - a full grooming, conditioner in her mane and tail, bridle path trim, and hoof polish. She pretty much zoned out on the cross ties. There was one spot where her neck meets her shoulder that she really loved curried today. Typically she doesn't really react to currying, so it was kind of surprising to see her stretching her neck as I did that spot on both sides. Love the single piece of hay hanging from her mouth. 

It was pretty quiet at the barn. A good night to have her parked on the cross ties for a while.

With spring grass coming in, I thought this article about spring turnout from Holistic Horse was very timely and super useful.

Today's lesson: focus, focus, focus

I think that because I'm riding so much more than in past years, I've really noticed Bestie's heat cycle this spring.

Over the last few years, she hung out most of the time, and our rides were not very structured. Whether or not I rode was dictated by how I felt when I got to the barn, and how much time I spent with Dude. Pretty irregular. Pretty short rides.

But now that I've got a routine to my riding days, I've realized that when she's in heat her plan may not really match up with mine. Understatement.

Like yesterday. Typically I don't ride on Saturdays, but yesterday was gorgeous - sunny and 70 degrees. Since it's only early May, we haven't had many days like yesterday in northern Vermont yet. I thought it would be a nice day to ride down the path, circle the outdoor arena, and head back to the barn. Just a relaxed 15-20 minute walk to get us both outside - we spend so much time in the arenas.

The horses had been turned out all day, so Bestie seemed pretty calm and happy to see me. I didn't notice much of anything while I tacked her up, and she went out willingly enough to the arena so that I could hop on from the mounting block and then guide her out the open door.

She even started off down the path happily. But a few steps in, she whinnied - a huge, body-shaking whinny - and then whinnied again when a horse back in the barn answered. We kept walking down the path, but she was super alert and moving along at a good clip. Not exactly the mosey of an outing I was hoping for. And the whinnies kept coming, which put me on edge.

About three quarters of the way down the path, I stopped her and we stood for a moment, then turned back. I just had this feeling that things were going to go awry at some point.

We went into the arena and did about 15 minutes of circles and she was quiet and responsive. It wasn't the ride I had planned, but we ended on a good note.

Today it poured, so there was no turnout. When I got to the barn for my lesson, Bestie was anxious to go outside. I grazed her for a bit hoping to take the edge off before my lesson, but once tacked up and in the indoor, she was still really "up." I think I even said something to Paula about needing a really focused lesson. Probably said with a nervous laugh.

So that's what we had. Paula got the lunge line, and clipped it so that it ran over Bestie's poll. And for 58 minutes, we did circles, me in the saddle, Bestie on the lunge line, Paula at the other end of the line. Small circles at the jog, working on getting her to bend. One way, then the other. Then a bigger circle to stretch her out, then back to small circles.

Bestie was pretty well behaved doing the small circles, but whenever we tried to go down the long side and give her some room, there's be a bit of escalation - she'd increase her speed and throw her head up. When that happened, we went back to small circles. At the end of the lesson, I got off, and walked her around the perimeter a couple times. My legs felt like jello. I think we both heaved well-that's-done-and-I'm-tired sighs at the same time.

From a really helpful article about mares in heat - "Consider focus-type lessons, such as ground poles and changes of speed and direction."

Yup, words of wisdom.

Happy birthday, Bestie!

A milestone birthday - 20! The last 12 years since Bestie came into our lives, arriving tethered all by herself in a big stock trailer, have gone very quickly. I still remember when she came out of the trailer, looking a bit ratty from being out on a Vermont mountain all winter. First impression - not too impressive.

From the beginning she was awesome in her stall as Maddie worked around her. We just had a couple broken leather halter straps early on as she got used to cross ties. :) 

Lots of ups and downs with this girl and her strong personality. She was skinny when she arrived, so it was a while before Maddie rode her. Then, the first time that Maddie got on her, Bestie reared. A BIG rear. Maddie stuck on, and no harm done, but a little unsettling.

In shows, she's either rocked them, or pitched a fit. Made her presence known, one way or another. The only time Maddie ever fell off was when she was spinning in the saddle after a ride, and Bestie threw a little buck when she'd had enough. You don't goof around with her. She has her own terms for everything.

I brought her a birthday apple. She got treats from Jenny and Kathy in the barn, and Renee took her picture to send to Libby, who we bought her from. It was a lovely day - turnout today was in the sunshine with warmer temperatures than we've had the last few days. I groomed Bestie really well, scrubbed the post-winter scrunge on her legs, cleaned up her face, and polished her hooves. A little spa treatment for the birthday girl. xoxo Bester Bear.

Most interesting lesson ever

April 10 lesson. Imagine the arena above, but kind of crowded...

Four pigeons. Two cats. One horse. And me.

The pigeons have been in the rafters of the indoor closest to the barn for weeks. They appear each spring, usually one or two pigeon couples, to assemble nests somewhere in the rafters' nooks and crannies. The horses are always a little skittish when the pigeons first make their reappearance, but most horses get used to them. 

Bestie was one of the horses that was doing fine with the pigeons, even when one bird dropped suddenly out of the rafters to swoop right over us during a ride a couple of weeks ago. I felt her tense (and I know I did, the bird appeared so suddenly), but she kept jogging along.

When we went into the indoor a couple of weeks ago for our lesson, there were two pigeon couples in the rafters. No sweat, seen 'em before. However, things got interesting because the barn cats followed us into the indoor. When that has happened in previous lessons, Paula has scooped them up and returned them to the barn. But the cats were pretty quick this time. One went over to poke around in the corner where the jump standards and poles are piled up, and one climbed the short wall and went into the aisle that leads to the other indoor.

We started the lesson. As I came around one corner, a cat reappeared and then disappeared among the jumps. Another couple circles, and the other cat jumped up on the wall right as we came around the curve. I started to feel a little jittery. Bestie gave the cat on the wall the hairy eyeball, but otherwise didn't react. The cat jumped into the indoor and leisurely strolled in front of us as we tried to go over a pole.

Then both cats climbed up into the rafters, and the pigeons started flying nervously across the indoor. The cats couldn't get to the pigeons because they had climbed into the rafters pretty far away from the nests. But the pigeons really weren't happy.

As Bestie and I circled, every so often I could see a cat's leg or tail hanging from the rafters as they prowled around up there. I had this nightmarish thought of what would happen if a cat suddenly fell out of the rafters. I was pretty sure it wouldn't be pretty. Pigeons Bestie was fine with, but dropping cats would be a whole 'nother story. I mean, the thought "I am dead if that happens" did cross my mind. I could feel my stress level rising and rising and I started an internal debate on whether to tell Paula that I just couldn't continue. 

During all this - me sweating and riding with one eye on the rafters and one eye on our riding area - Bestie was going along like nothing was happening. In her world, nothing was. So, I took a few deep breaths to calm down and kept riding.

Honestly, when it was over and I could laugh about it and recognize that  lesson was a good one, I felt like Bestie and I had really achieved something together. She totally took care of me. There was enough going on that she could've escalated and I would've likely gotten off. But we got through it.

It was not a happy ending for the pigeons, though. When I got to the barn the next day, I found out that the pellet gun had come out. Apparently during a lesson after mine, a pigeon flew right in front of the horse and rider and it was determined that enough was enough. Felt kind of bad for the birds.

A little shopping trip

It's been ages since I've needed to do any horse-related shopping. But this week my last bag of shavings got down to less than a third of a bag, so I added Guy's Farm and Yard to my Saturday list of errands.

I try to accumulate a list of "needs" prior to stopping at Guy's so that I don't have to make the drive more frequently for onesie-twosie purchases. One thing I wanted to check out was their stock of coat conditioners, but none really appealed to me - all the products seemed kind of greasy.

It's always fun to wander the aisles and see what else catches my eye.

Lots of gardening related stuff was out, like seed starters and packets - it gave me the itch to garden even though it's still wayyyyy too cold in Vermont.

I ended up getting two bags of shavings and the items above.

The Lexol wipes are great for cleaning tack; so handy for when my saddle or bridle just needs a quick wipe and not the full clean. I also use them at home on our leather chair, and on my boots and clogs.

We haven't had a canister of the peppermint bit wipes in a while. Total impulse buy, but kind of nice since it's a local business.

Bestie's salt block is getting tinier and tinier so it's only a matter of time before I have to replace it. She has licked it down to almost flat on one side. I keep flipping it around on the rope in an attempt to ensure that it disappears pretty evenly. She is crazy about the Himalayan salt licks. I always buy the Hilton Herbs type. I've seen unwrapped chunks for sale also, but I always wonder about the quality of those.

On the next trip, I'll probably be adding fly spray to the list.