Apples, Thundering Hooves and Quicksand

At last!  The temperatures are dropping and the last week has been wonderfully coolish.  DH's Mom and I went out the other day.  It was a very relaxed ride, the two of us not talking much.  Gem has taken to walking with purpose when we go out, that plus his bigger steps means that we usually get ahead of DH's Mom.  So when we entered the old orchard through a very narrow, dark entrance, we were way ahead of DH's Mom.  The sight that greeted Gem and I was quite funny....picture being greeted by five horse butts sticking out from bushes.  That's all you could see...their butts.  It's the height of the apple season.  The horse's couldn't have cared less about us being there; there were apples to be eaten!   We stopped and waited for our slow poke companions.   When our friends entered, the horse butts pointed at DH made him spook a little.  Really?? 

We walked through the orchard (Careful!  Horse butt up ahead!!) and then entered the scrub brush area.  Gem made a bee-line to his "special shrub".  Over the summer, he started walking right through this large shrub located in the middle of an open area, then backing up through it...back and forth a few times.  Initially, I thought he was just being a jerk and would force him forward.  Then DH's Mom pointed out that he was scraping the flies off of his belly.  So this has been part of the routine all summer.  The flies aren't as bad now...so I think he does it because it feels good.  :-) 

On the way back to the barn, Gem lowered his head looking for some apples that had fallen from a nearby tree.  He tripped over his own front feet and his whole front end went down!  In fact, the side of his head hit the ground.  WTH?  I was pitched forward on to his neck...I have to say that getting a horn in the gut isn't pleasant.  However, my concern was righting my boy so I quickly sat back in the saddle and steadily pulled back and braced the reins to give him something to "lean" on to help him up.  He was none the worse for wear, thankfully.  DH's Mom was impressed that I stayed in the saddle.

Last Friday, Gem was a bit frisky (cooler weather??)  Because of this, I took the time to warm him up in the paddock.  He was not paying complete attention to me and DH's Mom asked if I wanted to lunge.  I believe that lunging has benefits, but I prefer to ride it out and get his head back when I am in the saddle.  When Gem consistently responded to me telling him "easy", then I felt ready to hit the trails.  Looking back, I am glad we had a warm up session.

The ride started out pleasant enough.  DH's Mom and I were joined by CL riding a beautiful Clyde, Marty.  Gem looks delicate next to this guy.  :-)  CL, like DH's Mom, has ridden most of her life.  Marty is still a youngster - I think he's 4 - and he still has some youngster behaviour.  But CL corrects and moves on.  I like riding with them.   CL/Marty were leading us across the large middle field, with Gem and I close behind and DH's Mom/DH a little further back, bringing up the rear.   About 5 minutes into our ride, we started to enter the winter feeding field to gain access to the forest.  CL/Marty stopped dead at the entrance on high alert.  Then I heard it....the pounding of hooves!   We couldn't see exactly what was going on because of the trees and shrubs against the stone wall. 

Direction of thundering, crazy horses.

I moved Gem to the right, away from the entrance and tried to take cover against a couple of bushes as the herd of 30 horses thundered through the small opening, with a couple breaking off and either jumping the wall (WTH!) or veering into the forest.  Holy crap, Batman!!   I had an adrenaline rush and my complete focus was on Gem and keeping us safe.  I was thinking quite clearly and honestly, there was no room for panic.  I implemented a half-halt and luckily in the excitement, I managed to convince Gem to do small circles and that there was no need to follow the herd.  I had my palm on the horn pushing my butt into the saddle.  The thunder of the herd galloping by me pretty much drowned out any other noise, but I do remember hearing DH's Mom yelling at me to hang on.  Understandably, Gem was a bit bouncy.  There was one point that I lost my balance slightly and thought that I might be coming off, but I righted myself.  I got it together in time to watch the last of the horses continue galloping down the bottom of the field.  Beautiful. Then I started to breathe again.  :-)     Of course, this whole incident only lasted, what, 30 SECONDS???  We have no idea what caused the stampede.  DH's Mom admitted that she was a tad nervous...her main concern was a horse kicking out and hurting her or DH.   Gem and I survived our first stampede!  Yay!   OK, it needs to be said - DH's Mom was not wearing a helmet.  This is a perfect example of how the situation can change in an instant when you are out on the trails.  Just sayin'. 

As we rode along the golf course, a golfer's ball connected with, I think, the flag pole resulting in a loud twang! noise...right next to us.  Come on...really??  Gem did his beautiful two large side steps...his version of spooking (geez, I wish I could get him to side step like that when I asked....his cross-over is amazing!)    

Then CL decided to take us into the marsh..."oh, it's not too muddy", she said.  Good grief.  I should have known better.  With all of the rain we've had, how could it not be muddy, for cripes sakes!  She led Marty through deep mud that caked his feathers.  I have to tell you it was like quicksand....as you walked, it was like you got sucked in deeper and deeper into the black goo.  Gem, in the meantime, was trying to convince me that walking along the edge of the trail through very thick bushes to avoid the ankle deep mud was OK...not!   Believe me, if walking through the brush was a viable option, I would have been all over it.  However, it was actually safer to walk right down the middle of swampy mud.  Convincing him took some effort, but he listened more often than not.  I know, hard to believe, right?  Me convincing him that mud was OK.  Crazy, eh?  DH's Mom was struggling a bit as DH is only about 14.3hh and his tiny feet were really sinking into the mud.  In retrospect, it probably wasn't the safest situation for DH's Mom and DH to be in.  Interestingly, although I was apprehensive as we got deeper into the marsh area, I focused on the fact that we were almost through it, and I was OK.....I did not loose my mind.  Weird, eh?  When we emerged, Gem and Marty had mud and splashes half way up their legs and on their bellies.  DH was covered and DH's Mom's jeans were splashed up to her knees.  Sometimes there is an advantage to being on a taller horse.  :-)   

The whole ride, I was the entertainment...in a good way.  :-)  DH's Mom was reminiscing to CL how last year I would yell or scream like a girl in certain situations, or how I would tell DH's Mom to go fly a kite if she wanted me to try something, etc. etc.   We laughed a lot.   Later on, CL gave me a high five for being a good sport and for having a great ride.

As I drove to the pub to meet DH's Mom, I reviewed the ride and smiled...a lot!  I did pretty good!   Over beers, DH's Mom mentioned how pleased she was with how I managed the various situations presented over the last few rides.  And then she said it.  She said that I was ready to go with her for an off-site trail ride.   Nice to hear, of course, coming from her.   If she had said this to me a couple of months ago, I would have been jumping for joy and asking when.  But the reality of it was that her suggestion did not carry the "approval" weight that I thought it would.  You see, I think the last couple of rides have pushed me to the next level.... I have graduated....in spite of riding inconsistently.   I don't need an offsite to add variety to my riding experience or to prove anything to anyone.  I am more confident, my seat is better and I am learning to go with whatever the ride throws my way.   Gem's confidence in me shows and I would rather continue to build on that and focus more on jogging and loping out in the fields at LA's.  In fact, the stampede proved to me that horses can run really fast through the fields and not trip on anything.  :-)

I appreciate DH's Mom recognizing my recent achievements and I thanked her, but I didn't take the bait.   We enjoyed our evening.  When I got home, I told My Husband about my super, awesome ride...and he was suitably impressed. :-)

Love, Like and Dislike

I love summer.  I love sitting on a patio with friends having a cool drink.  I love BBQs.  I love sitting with my feet in the pool, hypnotized by the shimmers on the water.  I love the brightness of the sun.  I love the colours of the gardens.  I love the birds.  I love wearing linen and sandals.  But I am not a huge fan of summer riding.  I don’t like the bugs.  I don’t like the fact that, with temperatures hovering around 30C coupled with high humidity, I have sweat dripping down my face before I even get the saddle on Gem!   I don't like the feeling of sweat-soaked clothing sticking to me after I ride.  In addition to heat, this summer we had the added bonus of severe storms…..nice to watch through a window, but not great for anything else….  

Gem has been enjoying his life of leisure.   He loves his private turnout area, where he spends the day munching on hay or lounging under his tree.  DH, his roommate of 5 years, was turned out with the herd in June and now has his own little harem.  I thought Gem might miss him, but he took it in stride.  Besides, Gem is not alone; there are five other turnout areas bordering on his that have one or two horses in each.  They are separated from each other by electric tape fencing but are still able to socialize.   LA lunges him once a week, just to keep him loose.  He looks big and shiny and in spite of the heat and the horrific number of flies, his humour is generally good.  When I see him, we enjoy each other.  Maybe it’s an age thing (he will be 14 in October), but he seems content.  You would think that my inconsistent riding schedule over the summer would cause him to be impatient with me when we do ride, but it hasn’t.  I like the fact that there doesn’t seem to be any anxiety for either of us. 

There were a few times that I just didn’t want to ride out in the fields; too hot, too many bugs, etc. etc.   So Gem and I did short sessions in the front paddock.  We hadn’t really “worked” in a while, and I really enjoyed communicating with him this way.  He was patient and responsive.  One time, we actually did Keyhole with a young lady getting ready for a competition.  What fun!   Of course, his turn wasn’t tight after he went through the barrels, but he sure enjoyed loping home.  :-)

 

I actually love riding in a soft rain.  I love the quiet that comes about when it starts to rain, I love the sound of it on the leaves and I certainly love the coolness of it on my skin.  A fellow boarder and I were out on the trails last week and it started to rain, soft at first and then a little harder.  We ended up going into the forest.  We stood and watched the golfers on the other side of the wall.  It was refreshingly cool in the forest.  We were quite dry under the trees and it was peaceful.

I went out with DH’s Mom recently.  We had had quite a storm the night before and I wasn’t too happy about going out on the trails…..there’s mud after it rains…..mud.  Anyway, I sucked it up and off we went.  The forest is great, but for a big guy like Gem, it can be confining.  Some of the trails are too narrow, some have trees that are too low.  I have to be careful and remind my riding buddies of Gem’s size.  It’s happened more than once that we had to back out of a tight spot.  The forest is also a great place for deep mud….it never gets a chance to completely dry so when it rains, the mud gets deeper and squishier.  After walking through some deep mud without issue, I relaxed.  Yay!   We were on a narrow path and I was gabbing to DH’s Mom over my shoulder.  Then…wham!  Gem swerved to avoid a puddle and my left knee was slammed into a tree, pulling my leg out of the stirrup and half unseating me.  It hurt!!!  I iced it as soon as I got home.  My knee did swell a bit and I still have a really nice black bruise covering my knee cap.  The reality is that I should have been paying attention to where we were going in the forest, not turned in the saddle having a conversation.  Lesson learned.  It seems that I always end up with one injury every summer….I am hoping that this is it.

 DH’s Mom, TS and SS have gone on quite a few off-sites over the summer.  In general, the excursions have been good.  I guess you really get to know someone when you travel with them.  :-)  There were a couple of scary incidents, including TS experiencing a runaway.  DH’s Mom mentioned that she didn’t like the fact that SS believes that it’s OK to let his horse graze untethered…apparently, he believes that he has trained his horse to “stay”.  I agree with DH’s Mom.  If something were to spook the horse, he could take off and be a danger to himself and others.   The three of them did manage a camp overnighter mid-summer and said that although it was stifling hot, laying out under the stars and hearing your horse munching next to you was pretty awesome....I agree.  :-)

My plans to do an off-site trail ride this summer sort of went by the wayside.  The weather was a major factor for me.   LA and I talked about it on and off, with plans to do something the end of August.  Then LA sustained an injury to her forearm.  She was loading a usually calm mare, a mare that she knew well and had ridden, into her trailer.  This mare had trailering experience, but for some reason freaked out and kicked.  Her hoof narrowly missed LA’s head; fortunately her forearm happened to be positioned in front of her head and took the brunt of the kick.  It was confirmed after a visit to the hospital, that no bones were broken, but skin was broken (in the shape of the hoof!) and her arm was so swollen that her fingers were numb. Her arm looked like Popeye’s.   She was on pain medication for a week and had to take it easy.   She did not have an unkind word to say about the horse....stuff happens when you are around them and some things cannot be predicted. 

 The flies have been horrific this year, but for some strange reason, Gem only has a very, very small smattering of bot fly eggs on his legs.  What’s with that???  I am not complaining!  I like the fact that his legs don’t look yellow from the knee down!

Lady - May 2014

Lady is doing well!  She has put on weight and is loving her life.  She's now 35 years old and I like that she has found a forever home that allows her to mingle with other senior horses.  She is at a peaceful stage in her life and looks great.

I don't like barn politics and I certainly don't like being involved with barn nastiness.  There was  unrest at the barn this summer.   My understanding is that a boarder had LA look for another barrel racer for them.  The thought was that this second horse would also be boarded at LA's.   LA put time into locating a perfect horse for them.  They waffled back and forth, then bought the horse, did not pay LA a finders fee and then set the horse up in a out building on their hobby farm.  Then the boarder took her daughter out of lessons and started coaching her on the new horse at home.  WTH??  This woman doesn't even ride!  Her thought was that because she had sat through so many lessons that her daughter took with LA, she could do the same at home and save the money.  Then, to add insult to injury, this boarder started encouraging others at LA's barn to take gaming clinics at another facility; some boarders did, so there were two camps - the loyals to LA and the betrayers.  Sigh.   Disappointing for LA from a business perspective, yes.  But also devastating to her personally because this boarder and LA were friends!!  Well, not so much any more.   I am not sure if LA asked her to leave or if she did on her own but her other barrel horse is gone and so is her tack.  I like that the tension seems to have been lifted....and I also like that there is more space in the tack room!

I like the fact that the temperatures will start to become cooler.  My favourite time to ride is the fall and winter.  I love the colours and breathing in crisp air.  There are predictions that we are in for a mild fall.  If it means that I don't have to seriously layer-up clothing-wise until the end of November, then I will like that.  :-)

Freedom

I am the type of person that doesn't like being dependent.  As an example, I loved smoking.  I smoked for a very long time and for the most part enjoyed it.  But when I realized that it was becoming inconvenient to smoke and that I was planning my social time around smoking, I quit.  Just like that.  And it was freeing.

After DH's Mom's conversation with me regarding trailering offsite, I gave my head a shake and set my jaw.   I was reminded that I did not want to be dependent on others when it came to riding and frankly, no one was going to tell me that I couldn't handle an offsite ride!  :-)

I booked a private lesson with LA, out in the loping field a couple of weeks ago.  I told her that I wanted to start riding on my own safely and confidently.  That I wanted to be able to have the freedom to come to the barn when I wanted and not feel the confines of having to ride with someone.   She eventually got it out of me how inadequate DH's Mom's comments made me feel.

LA:  Do you think DH's Mom is a good rider?

Me:  She's a confident rider.  She's been riding since she was a kid.

 LA:  Yes, she is confident.  But she's far from perfect.  We all have little technical quirks when it comes to riding.  But I can tell you right now, neither DH's Mom, TS or SS is qualified to make an assessment of your skills.  You are a much better rider than you give yourself credit for.  Stop listening to them and don't be so hard on yourself!

Of course, after her little pep talk, my lesson was awesome.  :-)  Gem and I jogged around the field numerous times.  The ground, with it's lumps and bumps and hardness, feels sooooo much different from sand!  Gem was fresh at the beginning, but he eventually calmed down.  He was very responsive to my requests to slow down or speed up.  He eventually dropped his head a bit and I think he was enjoying being out in the open.  I enjoyed being one on one with him.  LA did point out that the uneven terrain causes me to pitch forward a bit, so I have to work on keeping my back pressed against the imaginary wall. 

LA:  I think you should lope now.

Me: OK.

LA:  Walk him a few strides and then queue him.  It will be fine.  Don't over-think it.  Loping around a field is fantastic.... it's the most freeing feeling.

I cleared my head of thoughts tripping on rocks or small shrubs and focused on the sun, the view and how powerful Gem felt....and, of course, how beautiful his flowing mane looked.  :-)  There were a few times that I thought Gem was getting away from me, but I gently sat back and he ever so slightly slowed his pace to something I was more comfortable with.  Strangely, I didn't seem to notice the differences in the terrain like I did when we jogged around the field.  One time when we were going around a bend, he actually self-corrected his lead by doing a flying lead change!!!  LA clapped at that.  :-)  I felt wonderful....and free.  :-)

After that lesson,  I went out the trails with DH's Mom, TS and SS.  As we entered the large field from the orchard, TS said she was going to lope.  SS and DH's Mom said they would join her and asked if I was coming.  I told them to do their thing.  One of the things that LA told me a long time ago was to not always lope when others did; you didn't want your horse to think that he should lope every time others took off.  So, Gem and I came to a stop and watched them all take off across the large open space.  Gem's ears were pointed towards them, but at no time did I feel his body coil up and indicate that he wanted to lope after them.  We stood and watched them come to a stop at the other side of the field.  It was then that I asked him to jog across the field towards them....which he did at a beautifully easy and consistent pace.  

And that, my friends, is how awesome my horse is.....he stayed with me. He didn't race after the group and when I asked him to catch up with them he did so at the pace I determined.  I will admit that my heart did swell a bit, and I had a big smile on my face as we came up to the group.   As we jogged past my fellow riders, who had stopped to catch their breath, I mentioned that Gem and I were going to hang out in the loping field and left the group standing there.   He and I spent some quality time together walking around the field, enjoying the sun and the apple blossoms.  Bliss.  Yes, the umbilical cord has been cut.....  :-)

Shades of Scared

Bucking Beauty:
The weird weather over the last month meant that most times we were riding in the arena.  I don't mind riding in the arena.  However, when the weather doesn't cooperate, it can get busy.  The last two times in the arena, a young lady and her friend joined in.  The young lady has a new horse....a 4-year old ex-race horse that she wants to train for games and barrel racing.  This mare is not used to being ridden.  She carries her head very high and doesn't actually walk, she prances.  She only knows to go straight and fast...really fast.  She bucks when she's asked to trot or lope in a controlled manner.  She is spooky and will take off.  Not a great scenario when it's crowded, but the young lady wants to expose her new mare to everything so that she's ready for the show scene.  I get that, but I really hate hearing "look out!!" from behind me as she is trying to get her horse under control.   Perhaps part of the problem is that it's sensory overload for the mare and she's frightened???   It was so bad one afternoon, that all of us exited the arena because the mare was totally out of control.  It was thought that lunging might get her "head" back.  I didn't stick around.....I had had enough of her horse taking off and bucking.  Sigh.

 
Full Speed Ahead!:
Flooding has affected the trails around the barn, but the nicer weather and crowded arena encouraged people to get out.  Obviously, the grass and trails are slippery because of the wet, muddy conditions.  The other day, DH's Mom, TS and SS were out on the trails.  TS and DH's Mom started to walk into the forest, when suddenly they heard the thumping of hooves and SS yelling "WHOA!!!!  WHOA!!!".  For some reason, SS's horse spooked and bolted at a full gallop across the muddy field.   It took a while, but eventually SS was able to convince his horse to stop galloping.  It was very, very scary for both rider and the observers.  The other horses went into high alert, wondering why SS's horse took off in the first place.  Every little thing set them off.  The ride was a short one.  My first thought was why didn't SS execute an emergency half-halt?  Perhaps the slippery conditions would have caused his horse to fall???  He has been using a bit-less bridle lately, and I wondered if he had been using a bit would it have made a difference in slowing his horse down quicker??? 

Too Big!!!
I had a friend from downtown Toronto visit over the Easter weekend.  He had never been near a horse and was excited and afraid at the same time about meeting Gem.  He was totally freaked out when he saw how big Gem is and he tried very hard to mask his nervousness because he knew that Gem might feed off of it.  Initially, he wouldn't touch Gem.  Eventually, he started helping me groom and tack up.  :-)   There were a couple of other riders in the arena when we arrived.  My friend put on a helmet and made himself comfortable on a stool.  Initially, he was nervous as horses passed in front of him, but after a while he relaxed; he was my cheering section when I loped around the arena.  :-)  At the end of my ride, I asked if he wanted to sit on Gem.  He hesitated and I could tell by his colour that he was very nervous, but he said "yes"!  Up he got.  Gem was a gem as usual and I led my friend around a few small circles.  He was mortified at how high up he was and how powerful Gem felt, but when he dismounted and was on the ground, he was so excited that he had faced his fear.  I was impressed!  He could now tell all of his Toronto friends that he "rode" a horse.  :-)

Breathe!!!!:
LA took Gem for a spin the other day and texted me this:  " Gem's mouth is lovely and soft.  Good work!"  I was very pleased.  :-)  She also mentioned that she had him in the water and that I should take him out to the pond because he enjoyed getting wet.  OK.  So the next time I went out, DH's Mom and I went to the pond.....and I froze.  I could not believe how flooded the area was and how large the pond was!  Deep breaths.  Deep breaths.  DH's Mom went right in.  Gem and I walked in about 10 feet.....and he splashed and splashed, soaking DH's Mom.  :-)   I was uncomfortable, and when I felt it was too much, I asked him to walk back to the shore....and he did.  In fact, we went in and out 3 times!  This was huge for me in the "trusting your horse" department.   So the next time we went out on the trails with DH's Mom and TS, we went into the pond and continued walking right across!!!  The water was up to his belly.  I think I held my breath the whole way.  lol!  I was elated when we reached the other side.  We stood for a moment on shore and then walked back through the pond without hesitation!  He absolutely loved it.  :-)

Satisfaction:
DH's Mom purchased a truck a couple of weeks ago and is in the process of purchasing a trailer.  Initially, she was going to purchase a two-horse trailer but she explained to me over after-ride burgers and beer that if she had a three-horse trailer, her, TS and SS could trailer to other equestrian trails in the region and spend the day.  

Me:   "I would be interested in that!!!" 

DH's Mom (very dismissively):   "You don't like water. We are looking for variety and we really want to ride these trails.  There's all sorts of terrain. You couldn't do it."
Me:  "Oh, I see."
DH's Mom:  "You only ride a few hours a week and we ride almost every day."

I was, well....crushed.  After her comments, I immediately felt inadequate.   Since that time, I have listened to DH's Mom, TS and SS talk amongst themselves about how they will have to drive a couple of hours to this trail and how they would have to stay over night at that trail and how much this one costs compared to this one....and on and on. 

Enter Lady's ex-caregiver.  We actually got together this past weekend for lunch.  A conversation we were having about horse trailers (she used to trailer her Percheron to dressage competitions), transitioned into a discussion about her new Clydesdale, a beauty that she got for trail riding on her property.....yes, she owns 100 acres with trails....oh, and her property has access to a couple of service roads that are connected to neighbour fields who have given her permission to ride through....a trail riders paradise it sounds like to me.  And, she has invited me and Gem to come to her place and ride with her!  She has offered to pick Gem up in her trailer and if I wanted I could leave Gem over night so we could trail ride over a weekend (she's only 30 minutes away from my house, so I would go home and then come back in the morning).  Nice, eh?  

The next time I rode with DH's Mom, I told her about my lunch with Lady's ex-caregiver.  I have to say that I felt great satisfaction in telling her about my invitation to ride with Lady's ex-caregiver on her property.  I also felt great satisfaction when I realized that DH's Mom was envious.  This adventure, which she and the others crave, was handed to me.  
 

DH's Mom and the others may think my capabilities are lacking, but my horse rocks and makes up for my shortcomings.  He's not the one that spooks regularly (SS) or takes off (SS) or rears and sits down when a bird flies out of the brushes (TS) or buck-a-lopes when she's pissed or in heat, which seems to be all the time (DH's Mom).  My Gem is sane.  Hmm, now that I think about it, do I really want to go off site with these guys???

Knowing that I have a friend who would like to ride with me on her trails (how awesome is that!!!??) has rejuvenated my confidence.   So, my goal over the next few weeks is to ride on my own and go in the pond, play in the mud and when the ground dries out, lope in the field to get used to the feel of the ground under foot.   All of these really push me outside of my comfort zone, but when the stars align and I do get to ride at Lady's ex-caregiver's place, I will be prepared! 

Confidence Lost and Found

The trails that we ride are through forest, brush, swamp and open fields.  The trails are good, but some have become inaccessible because of fallen trees and overgrown bush.  LA has been busy the last couple of years with improvements to the facilities, so clearing the trails has not been a high priority.  A couple of weekends ago, one of the boarders organized a trail clean up day.  Her son has some serious chain saw equipment, so he came out in the morning and cut down encroaching trees in the forest and cut up those that had been downed over previous winters.  A few other boarders walked through and started cutting up the branches, etc. for easy hauling.  

Later in the day, a few of us tacked up and started through the forest trails, snipping at branches that were at face level or grabbing clothing.  In addition to DH's Mom, TS, SS and myself, were were joined by the tallest herd member, Martin, a Clyde-mix standing about 16.3hh, and his rider MC.  Martin and MC lead the way, which was good for me because if they made it through then Gem and I would.  :-)  

The horses were on high alert, ears forward and a little on edge.  The forest trails had been altered and looked different to them.  There was the smell of downed trees.  Deer and other wildlife had been disturbed and were making their own noises. The herd horses were actually further into the forest because they now had access. There were snapping and chopping noises in the distance as other boarders were breaking up piles of branches for those of us that would be dragging them off the trails later.

We sort of weaved our way in and out of the trails bordering the winter feeding field and came to an entrance that Gem and I hadn't used before.  We had to step over a fallen tree to gain access to the forest.  To be honest it was a bit close, but Martin and MC were crashing their way through, which meant we could.  :-)  SS, bringing up the rear, had brought a little mini saw with him and decided to saw off a branch that I had to limbo under.  Kind thought, but when Gem heard the unfamiliar sawing sound right at his butt, he didn't like it.  This coupled with the altered scenery, the tension coming off of the other horses and the lumberjack noises, started him prancing.   SS stopped sawing immediately, but then a boarder appeared out of no where, stomping through the brush and trees....another unfamiliar sight. Gem started doing a pirouette, like this only faster:

To be honest, I was starting to get nervous, which didn't help the situation.  I turned Gem around and took him back outside the forest entrance and walked him in small circles, telling him "easy".  After a bit, I thought I had it together and that I had his "head" back.  I turned him towards the opening.  In an instant, I could feel him start to power up.  Holy crap.  I didn't have any time to react.  He squared himself up, took two big trotting steps and JUMPED over the fallen tree to gain access to the trail.

It was obvious that he wanted to catch up to the group, who had continued walking through the forest.  He started trotting through the trees on a not-quite trail path.  I don't recommend this, particularly when you are on a tall horse.  Maintaining my balance, while simultaneously trying to rein him in, protect my face and body from branches and screaming like a girl was a real challenge.  

I managed to execute a half halt while telling Gem to "WHOA!!!  WHOA!!!".  It worked, but like a crazed idiot I continued pulling back so hard on his face we ended up backing up into trees and bush....snapping and breaking branches, bending small trees over....again, not something that I would recommend.  Visions of us both being impaled flashed across my mind.   DH's Mom made her way back to me and told me to stop screaming like a girl, and to stop pulling him; I was to put my butt in the saddle, move the reins up his neck, and cue him to go forward.   Yep, OK, that worked.  And when we got out of the bushes, he stopped immediately.  I took some deep breaths.  My heart was racing and I informed the group I was getting off....the first time I have EVER been that nervous on Gem.  DH's Mom vetoed me getting off.  I didn't argue......actually no one argues with DH's Mom.  :-)

We continued on.  My heart was still racing and I continued to take deep breaths.  SS was riding beside me and when I told him that was the most nervous I had ever been on Gem, he looked at me and said that if that was the worst, then Gem was a very sane horse.  :-)   All of the horses continued to be on edge.   Each horse took a turn at acting up.  TS's horse actually reared in the forest and scared her.  Gem didn't spook, but occasionally he would show us how beautiful he looked doing a side pass when he suspected that another lurking lumberjack was going to jump out and swing an axe at us.  

At one point, we left the forest and started walking across an open field.  I had had enough. I said my farewell to the group and headed back to the barn solo.

The next Sunday, I saddled Gem up and went to the arena; no trail ride for me.  We had not been to the arena in a while - I have taken a break from weekly lessons.  There were a couple of other riders there to keep us company.   I have to admit my confidence had been bruised from the previous ride.  However, as soon as I sat my butt in the saddle, I knew it was going to be a great ride.  He was attentive, his eye soft and once I saw how responsive he was, I just relaxed and went with it.  He easily adjusted his jog speed when I asked.  His trot was big and floaty and I could have posted all day.  After a while, he dropped his head and was nicely collected!  Where the heck is LA when you need her to see stuff like this?!!  We loped a few times around the arena each way, at an even pace with my butt in the saddle!   We did squares and backing up into a box.  We trotted over poles.  We attempted turns on the forehand and haunches.  We rode for well over an hour and when we were done, he had nice foam around his lips and a little bit of a sweat on.  We did all these things ON OUR OWN.  No LA, no riding buddy coaching.  On our own, communicating with each other.  It was wonderful.

My confidence was temporarily lost, but that arena ride a couple of weeks ago helped me find it.  Actually, Gem helped me find my confidence.  He gave me what I needed at the time I needed it.  He's a gentleman.  :-) I think it will be one of those rides I will recall when my confidence is being challenged, just like I refer to my first solo ride around the fields when I need a boost.  I have since been out in the snow with Gem a couple of times.  He has led the group with a purposeful walk, breaking through the snow and making the base for the trails.  He loves the winter.

 LA has asked me to participate in a western dressage clinic in January.  Perhaps word got back to her about the forest ride and Gem being a potential eventer/dressage candidate.  :-)  I may consider it....who knows!?  

Have a good weekend, everyone!! 

Sweet and Sour

Sunday before last was Gem's annual birthday trail ride.  He turned 13 in October!  He's now officially a teenager.  Where has the time gone.  It was our first really cold day, but after a couple of dark rainy days, the clouds parted and the sun shone through for the ride. Yay!  

Starting to get ready!

For the last four years, I have hosted a little trail ride/get-together in honour of Gem's birthday.  I post a notice on the barn whiteboard, saying that all boarders are welcome.  I pick up plates, napkins, forks, cake, chips, pretzels, beer, soft drinks, hot chocolate, coffee and Bailey's to go with the coffee.  :-)  I bring an extra table to set up the food/drinks and a couple of extra chairs.  It's a bit of an effort, but Gem's worth it.  :-)   Last year, a fellow boarder made chili, which was great.  There is a bunkhouse on site, and LA's mother puts wood in the stove and when we get back from the ride, we all hang out in the warmth.  It's fun.

Gem excited about his party...or not...

This year, Gem shared his birthday celebrations with Mary.    Her mom, R., mentioned that she was going to have a few of Mary's friends over on the weekend to celebrate her birthday.  Mary wanted to participate in the trail ride so R. asked if she could extend the invitation to her daughter's friends to come out on the trail.  I appreciated her asking.  Sure, why not!   R. made the chili this year (delish!!) and I brought everything else, as usual. 

Heading out!

Word has spread about the event, and this year we had a total of 15 riders, which was awesome. Gem and I were leading the trail ride this year.  :-)  It had rained for 2 days prior to the ride and it was muddy!  In a way, it was a godsend that the grounds were so wet and slippery, because everyone had to walk or slow jog; no crazy galloping!  I was feeling quite confident, even as we waded through some pretty boggy areas.  Surprisingly, a couple of the very experienced riders asked occasionally to take a different route or not to go through the forest because they didn't like mud.  WTH?  I felt vindicated!  I wasn't the only rider that didn't like mud!    :-)

Birthday boy!

Gem was a star.  Mud?  We don't care about no stinking ankle-deep mud!  Thick brush?  Bring it on!   Water?  So what!   He walked with purpose the whole time and I felt connected to him.  There was an incident with a horse from the herd coming over to the group and causing a bit of a ruckus.  Gem didn't like his attitude after a time and pointed his butt at the horse and indicated that he was going to give him what for.  But this was a fleeting display, and we continued on without incident.  It was a really good ride in spite of the conditions.  We were out for over an hour.  Lots of laughs, lots of talking, lots of rosy cheeks.

The après-ride in the bunkhouse was packed!  People were chowing down and the chatter brought the noise level up.  Over the din, a woman, whose child had joined in the ride, started whining and complaining to anyone standing around the food table about the variety of soft drinks I had brought.  I found her complaining irritating.  I didn't know her or her daughter; I assumed that her daughter was part of Mary's birthday group.  When she continued on and on, I finally said to her, "Then don't drink them!" and stared at her.  She backed down.  Then I heard someone else complain that all of the hot chocolate was gone.  Then someone started whining that the coffee wasn't as hot as it should be.  WTH? The fact that I had bought and schlepped all this stuff to the barn was lost on them.   I went outside and ate my chili in the sun with other boarders, and sipped my cold beer.  It was a good move.  The 6 of us talked music and movies (could Chris Hemsworth be any more handsome???!!) and shared a few laughs.

At one point, R. and I were together outside and I mentioned the woman who was complaining about the soft drinks.  It turns out that this woman's daughter was not part of Mary's group!  The woman saw my post on the board while her daughter was having her riding lesson, called LA's mother and asked if her daughter could join in.  Now, my note on the board specifically said "boarders only", but LA's mother said she could!   In her defense, I guess LA's mother thought it was OK because of Mary's friends participating. 

The next day, I received a text from R.  Unfortunately, word had spread through the lesson people that there were apparently exceptions to the "boarders only" rule when it comes to the birthday trail ride and some people had their noses out of joint!  Great.  Sigh.
  
The Birthday Trail ride was a sweet success, the best turnout yet.   Clearly, people enjoyed themselves. There were lots of positive comments flying around on FB.  However, unless the barn hosts a Fall event next year, there won't be a repeat.   Having a couple of Mary's non-boarder friends join in,  LA's mother allowing a lesson person to participate and some inaccurate wording of FB posts giving the impression that it was a barn event, have created a bit of a problem.  

Frankly, it's getting too complicated and I don't want to be the bad guy by putting my foot down and refusing to open up the invitation because of barn politics.  Why should I fund an open invitation?  So, I am thinking that it's time to transition the ownership of this successful event.  Maybe it's time for the barn to host it, then LA can manage the politics.  Or maybe R. could host it as Mary's birthday event.  Perhaps I am being a sour puss...... but, I would rather stop my event than have the fun for me slowly sucked out of it.  Ending Gem's Birthday Trail Ride at it's peak is a good thing in my opinion......always leave them wanting more.  :-)  Happy birthday, my handsome boy!  Don't worry....we will find a way to celebrate your special day.  xoxo

Enjoy your week, everyone!

Awesomeness

It was my birthday this weekend.   I started my birthday month (yes, month!) celebrations on Friday evening.  A girlfriend hosted a dinner party in honour of my birthday.  I have been celebrating and laughing with this core group of friends for over 25 years.  How awesome is that?   Saturday My Husband and I went for a lovely sushi dinner with another couple.  I actually introduced them to each other over 20 years ago and My Husband and I stood for them at their wedding.  Cool, eh?   There will be lots of vodka sodas over the next couple of weeks.  I am up to the challenge.  :-)   

Sunday there was a Fun Day at the barn.  Boarders and lesson people competed for little prizes in Command, Poles, Barrels, Key Hold and Apple Bobbing.  It was awesome seeing all ages competing.  I think the oldest competitor was 65ish and the youngest 11.  The sun was shining, temps were around 17C with a sight breeze.  Perfect.

Gem and I did not compete.  A number of people tried to cajole us into competing, but I held firm and declined.  Today was the day; I had other plans for Gem and I.  :-)  I did not want to share my plans with anyone, in case I jinxed them.  There was a lot of excitement in the barn as everyone got tacked up.  I could tell that Gem was a little pumped by the activity.  And when everyone was finally out in the front paddock warming up, he was anxious to join them.  Not so fast, handsome. 

I walked him to the arena, past the spectators and the riders warming up.  After his initial look at everything, he turned his attention back to me.  We were alone in the arena.  We warmed up and eventually worked our way up to a lope.  Yes, lope.  By myself.  In the arena.  He did try to give me the business initially, but he eventually agreed that loping was a good thing.  :-)  My butt was in the saddle - a good sign.  It was awesome!

After we loped a couple of circles each way, I noticed that the warm up period was over in the paddock.  I decided to take advantage of this.  I dismounted and walked Gem right through the paddock to the trail obstacle course on the other side.  All the competitors were there, standing around waiting for the competition to begin.  We walked through the crowd to the mounting block.  He stood perfectly still as competitors walked around and behind him; I mounted him without issue.  Good boy!

Gem giving the stink eye to the loose horse.

We milled our way through the crowd (maybe 20+ riders??) and did some of the trail obstacles, loosening up and getting used to all of the noise and horses.  He was friggin amazing.  Nothing bothered him and he did not resist at all.   He was attentive and I felt really connected to him.  Some of the horses from the herd heard the excitement and came to join the party, walking in amongst the competitors. There was the odd squeal, and one horse did sort of give Gem the business as we stood there, but both he and I dealt with it.  

 We stood at the fence and watched most of the barrel competition.  Lots of cheering, clapping, yelling and whistling.  Gem stood majestically, facing the spectators on the other side of the paddock, patiently waiting.  OK, it was time.  I took a deep breath, turned him around and started walking him away from the crowd of competitors.  We walked along the perimeter of the front field; our first time walking on our own, in a field.  No riding buddies, no instructor.  Deep breaths.  I admit that I did talk to him as we walked in the sun; in fact, I might have been a bit of a Chatty Cathy.  :-)  He politely listened, he ears twitching back and forth.  When we got to the bank of bushes at the end of the field, we crossed the bottom of the field and walked back up to the paddock from the other side.  His head was low, one ear front one ear back, head occasionally turned slightly to look at me.  It was awesome.

So for the rest of the afternoon, we alternated standing and cheer on the riders (he stood perfectly still each time), going through some obstacles (he is getting really good at backing up through the "Z" layout!) or I would walk him around the field solo.  My confidence continued to increase and at one point I actually did a slow jog down one side of the field and back!!  :-)  I even walked him through a small pathway to the Loping Field, thinking that I might even try jogging him around the field on my own.  I know!  Crazy, eh!!.  Unfortunately, there were a number of herd horses grazing there and I didn't feel THAT confident about riding around them.   That day will come.  :-)

As our ride came to an end (time to set up the potluck!), I realized that he and I had been outside for over 3 hours!  I took him over to the apple tree next to the paddock.  The last few weeks, our routine has been that before we head to the barn, I stand up in the saddle and pick some apples for him (all of the apples on the lower branches have been eaten by the other horses).  I can no longer reach apples this way, so now I walk him right into the tree, stand up, grab a branch and start shaking it.  Apples fall and he chows down, slobbering his version of apple sauce all over the place.  :-) 

As I untacked my handsome boy, I didn't want our time to end.  It was such a perfect afternoon.  I think he felt it, too.  He actually let me give him a lingering hug.  :-)   As I was driving home and reflecting on the day's events, I came to the conclusion that this was probably one of the best times Gem and I had had together.  Sure, there have been great lesson experiences and trail rides, but this particular afternoon was just him and I.  No one else.  We did everything on our own.  And it was OK!   You know, I knew it would be.  I had started forming my plan to ride the front field by myself on Saturday afternoon and did not deviate from the plan, even when I had people trying to shame me into competing.  :-)   I visualized it over and over again and I believe my determination helped my confidence when the time came.  My goal of riding the trails solo is within reach!  Awesome!!

And, just to put the cherry on top of a terrific weekend, I donated the outstanding amount still needed for the purchase price of a 20-year old draft cross that was to be shipped today from a feed lot to slaughter.  She's a very well-trained, lively girl and I am delighted that she will be given a second chance.  It's difficult when there are so many that need to be saved, but in this case there was a foster ready to take her if the kill buyer's fee could be paid.  She is now safe and in foster care until she can be permanently placed.  How awesome is that?!  

Have a good week, everyone!

Getting Reaquainted

Jean and Stu left today for their new digs.  Their new location is about an hour and a half away.  The distance is not so great that there won't be opportunities to get together in the future.  She doesn't have an onsite trainer, so I gave her the book 101 Arena Exercises by Cherry Hill.  She seemed quite enthused with it.

* * * * *

Gem and I have been making up for lost time!   I have to say though, that after not riding him for almost two months, my muscles (what few I have) have had to go through an adjustment period.  I had forgotten how big he is and my inner thighs have been reminding me! 

We have participated in two lessons now and we have been out on a few trail rides.  Because of the varied terrain, I believe the trail rides have helped him to get back on track physically.  He has been awesome out on the trail.   As I mentioned before, I think we have turned a corner in our relationship and I am feeling much more confident in him and in me.  Oh, he still gives me the business on occasion just to keep me on my toes, but I seem to know better how to bring him back to reality.

LA took me out on a trail ride last week.  It was a beautiful day.  Gem and I were the leaders.  Of course, because we were leading, I tried to avoid the areas that made me nervous.  :-)  No such luck.  LA instructed me to go to the dreaded creek.

Me:   I heard the bugs were really, really bad in the forest.

LA:  All the more reason to keep moving.

Me:  I think it will be really slippery because of all the rain yesterday.

LA:  Let Gem pick where he wants to step. 

Me:  The swamp area mud will probably suck those leg protectors off of your horse.

LA:   Let's go. Move it.

Off we went.  Yes, it was muddy.  Yes, it was a bit slippery.  But going through the forest without incident eased me into facing the black horse-eating mud around the creek.  The mud was coronet band deep and it did get a bit close - the bush was overgrown and really tight.   At one point, Gem refused and started to dance a little and back up.

Me:  Holy crap!  Holy crap! 

LA:  Push him on.

Me:  I can't see where we are going!!!

LA.  There is a path.  Trust me.  Move forward!  Be decisive!

Well, I somehow convinced Gem to carry on.  Then came the dreaded creek.  I have to admit that it was a shadow of it's former self in the Spring, but it was still a creek.   I took a deep breath and then Gem and I crossed. Yipee!   And, leading LA and her mount back through the muddy path to the forest was....well....fine.  WTH?!  :-)  The rest of the trail ride was awesome.  We went through brush, mud, the pond and open spaces.   Last year, my heart would have been fluttering, but not so much this summer.  :-)

My last couple of lessons have been interesting.  Having gone from school horses back to Gem has been an eye opener.  The horses I rode in lesson had training as reiners or in dressage.   Over countless years of training riders, they are very responsive to what is being asked.  It's easy to ride them and it helped my confidence tremendously.   Gem is sometimes stubborn and lazy, but he is much, much better than he was a year ago.  He and I are so much better, in fact, that our new project is to learn how to do a lead change while doing a pattern at a lope!  Cool, eh?  

This week's lesson was very good.  Gem was a bit frisky - head tossing and the occasional little happy dance -  but it didn't interfere with what I was asking him to do.  He made me laugh.  In addition to the usual work, we incorporated some of the trail obstacle course into our lesson.  Gem LOVES when we do stuff like this - he is easily bored with the usual lesson routine of walk, jog, lope.  He's actually pretty good at backing up through the "Z" pattern of logs!  It's a great exercise for rider, too.  Your horse has to trust that you know where to go because they can't see behind them and you have to be able to communicate to your horse where to place their feet, when to start turning, etc. etc.  Gem's feet hit the logs regularly, but he didn't move any of the logs out of place.  This is one exercise that I am going to continue practicing!  Side passing over a log - not so great; Gem rolls the log up his leg, puts it in his mouth and then starts to carry it.  Sigh.  We jumped/stepped over a cavaletti a number of times at a trot and crossed over a bridge without incident.  Then LA said we were going to the Loping Field.  Gulp.

The Loping Field is a small field that is completely surrounded by trees and bush.  It is a natural circle, so of course it's the perfect place to learn how to lope in the open.  As we walked over, LA suggested that I lope the field.

Me:  Are you mad?? 

LA:  You will be fine.

Nervous Classmate:  Do it!  Do it!

Me (to Nervous Classmate):  Easy for you to say.  Listen, I will lope in that field when you do (knowing full well that she never would).

I had just about convinced LA and Nervous Classmate that loping was not going to happen when DH's Mom, out on a trail ride, joined us and put in her two cents worth.  Sigh.  I agreed to lope in a straight line first.  And you know what?  Gem and I did it!  I queued him and he responded right away.  We loped at a very even, gentle pace in a straight line, turned and loped back to the group.  I couldn't believe it!  Everyone was cheering.  Then I decided to go the full circle!  We repeated our performance and you know what?  My butt was pretty much in the saddle the whole time!  :-)  BTW, Nervous Classmate did not lope the field.


Loping on grass instead of sand feels completely different.  I am going to end every trail ride with a lope around the Loping Field.  It will help my balance a lot.  My goal is to get my confidence up to the level where I can lope straight through one of the larger fields.  Oh, and I think I am ready to walk around the field next to the paddock solo.  Yep, you read that right - solo!   :-)  Giddy up!!