Journey to Get Back in the Saddle

[Pathological Kisser]

I know that the average age of a gaian is probably 15 or 16, but I do also know that there are alot of adults as well. So I don't know if the person who reads this would really understand. When you are young things are so much simpler, and when you hear about adults problems they seem so much more managable than what the people are making out. Well I may not be very old, but at 25 (26 next month) I have seen and done alot.

I guess I should start by introducing myself. I am from Washington, Pennsylvania. Its a small, history rooted town a little south of pittsburgh in the southwest corner of the state. I did'nt start riding until I was 11 even though my mother always had horses. When I was 13 I started showing. I began riding western because I wanted to do gaming. I competed in the 4-H barrel racing, pole bending and keyhole until I was 16. My first horse that I used for all of those years had a heart attack and I was devastated. My mother had given me a young horse the year before that she was training. But after Missy died I started to doubt myself and was afraid that without her I wasn't any good. So to prove myself I decided that I was going to train Mer, the young horse, myself (arn't kids stupid). He was walking, trotting and starting to canter. I probably wouldnt have done too badly, but Mer has one of the worst dispositions I've ever met. It was definitely not a good match. But I did learn alot. I learned how to lose with grace and realize that you have to look at each show on the merits of you and your horses ability and how well you performed instead of a ribbon.

After Mer (who we still have despite my repeated threats to send him for glue), I got Star. Star is my angel. We actually bought her to use for lessons, she was just a big, trail horse who seemed really calm. Well all of the lesson kids hated her. I got sick of listening to them complain and I told my mom if she wanted Mer I would trade her him for Star (by this time Mer was much much better). With lots of love and pampering Star emerged from her dingy shell with the looks of a Warmblood and the heart of a saint. I taught her to jump and she took me to my first hunter shows and eventually my first jumper shows. She took me from 4-H to the next level of showing. She is the sweetest horse, granted she still has alot of issues from her years of abuse before us.

After this I started working Belle. I know that many people think that bays are boring, but Belle is the most beautiful horse that we own. She has no white anywhere on her, but she is built so nice and she has the prettiest head. Belle is now my hunter show mare. She and I were getting ready to do the Adult Amatuers (3'3) at the rated shows and we were schoolin 4' at home. I was actually supposed to go to a clinic with (drumroll please)...Frank Madden....last April. But, in Febuary I found out I was pregnant. My boyfriend and I were really happy but I was sad that I was going to miss so much riding time. Fast forward to present. James is now 6 monthes old and such a joy to be around. He loves the horses and already has favorites in the barn. But, my boyfriend moved out a few monthes ago and now its just us. I don't have the money to hire a sitter so even though we live in the apartment above our barn, I never get to ride anymore. I have Star and Belle just waiting for me. Plus I have two young horses that need to be trained. My mom and I run the business together, but without me to help she is taking care of 33 horses all by herself. She comes up and watches James so that I can do lessons, but she is too tired to sit up here with him while I work my horses.
We are trying to come up with a plan. So in this journal I will document my rides, when I get to them and my log of how my horses are progressing.  

[Pathological Kisser]

Well, I started this journal and then never added anything.

That might seem like I forgot about it or was lazy in my journalling, but not so. I have only gotten to ride a handful of times since last year. Naturally it is very upsetting to me. Things are still the same, James and I living in the apartment at the barn and I do my few little beginner lessons.

However, the newer development is that in Febuaury we had a HUGE blizzard. The horses were stalled 24/7 for five weeks, they only got turned out in the indoor arena an hour or two a day (since we had to rotate through and turned them out while we were cleaning their stalls-which was kind of a pain since this made stall cleaning take ALL day). But the snow was like two and a half feet deep outside.

Everyone around here lost power, I was only out for a few days. But my mother didn't get power back for over a week. When she did all of her pipes burst so she has no water at her house. My dad says that he can fix it but he is only home a day or two on the weekend and has lots of other things to do. So it is April and she STILL doesn't have water at her house. So where has she been living? With me.

So, at night, after I put James to bed I cook for my mother and we sit down to watch a movie. Now, since there is someone here to be with James if he happens to wake up with a bad dream, I could go downstairs. But then I feel guilty because my mother works all day long and we really never get to talk so that is sort of our only time to chat.

But I have bit the bullet and started going down at night. The first night I went down and brought Star in. Belle would be the better one to ride, but Star is just too easy. Belle needs a few days of just lunging before I get back to riding. Star you can just jump on.

So....

Night #1-

I brought Star in. I'm going nice and slow. I had all of my equipment ready and gave her a really good grooming. She has such a soft, slick summer coat. I took her out on the lunge line first to get some of her excitement out and get her used to Whichi and Cino. They get turned out in the grassy area outside the indoor at nights. Which means they can stick their head over the gates and look in at us, or run past the gates being idiots. Not that we would ever do that when students/boarders were here, but it is me, so....I can deal with it.

Star was a little surprised when they first ran up but then she could care less. We lunged a little, just walk and trot, working on getting her in a long, low relaxed frame. She has mounting issues that I used to put off fixing for another day since she is just my fun horse. But I decided to use a little cheat.

She wants to walk/trot off as soon as you put your foot in the stirrup, so I usually just hold the inside rein, bounce bounce and mount. But she just gets more and more upset if I try to work with her on standing still. And if I mountdismountmountdismountmountetcetc, then she just gets more upset. Sooooo, this is my cheat. We have two mounting blocks, a three step and a two step. I put a rubber feed pan with a pound of oats on the top of the three step and then the two step off to the side with the wall on the other side. I led her up, she nibbles grain calmly while I step easily on. I let her nibble a little bit longer while I praise her. I know it is cheap, but it works and keeps her calm. When you have an extra hot horse you have to take what you can get.

And I was so proud of myself. I am usually very throttle down and have trouble rating myself. I get over anxious to do too much. But we just did walk trot. I worked her on relaxing under saddle, maintaining a calm even pace on a circle and straightaway. Then I was able to work on the details of my own equitation. It is amazing how much I have lost. And the better I ride the better Star does. I know that is true with any horse, but dramatically so with Star.

If you're riding too much with the back of your leg and use it to cue her to move over, she does nothing. But as soon as I turn my knee forward and bring the side of my leg against her she legyields/halfpasses like a Grand Prix horse. If my heel is just down but I'm still a little too heavy in my seat she is fast and rushy, but if I keep my seat extra light and my heel down powerfully she is light and relaxed.

I know that cantering will be much more difficult, she is majorly rushy at canter. But I think going slow, really concreteing our basics all over again will help. I rode her on the buckle about half of the time so that I was sure that I wasn't overcompensating with my hands and really using my legs. By the end she was doing nice turn on the haunches with leg and seat cues only. She has been abused in her past by idiot riders so if you do too much with her mouth she gets frantic. The more in shape and on cue she is the better she can focus and not get upset.

And then Night #2. I brought her in, groomed her....and her back was sore. A spasm in her latisimus dorsi(sp?). Now I know that my saddle fits her appropriately, and she does already have back muscle issues. (She needs lots and lots of massage that I just don't have the time for now). So I took her out, lunged and gave her a good grooming, little massage and put her back out. ::sigh::

It wasn't serious, I'm hoping it was just the usual sore muscles from having so long off. But I haven't been able to get back down for the last two nights. But...it is a beginning.