I think we have beat up the lightness issue like a blacksmith beats a hot horse shoe!
I have had some idle time this week. Scary for my credit card. Bought two saddle (one by accident kind of), a hot water heater, a tub of platinum plus, two tubs of daily wormer, several coolers and Irish linen horse blankets, and a few clothing items from my friend Eddie Bauer. Oh and a couple of cases of protein shots. Protein shots are the nectar of the gods - not really but they have become a necessity in my life. And anyone that works out and is watching their weight should try them. Women don't get enough protein in their normal diet. Trust me on this. The doctor told me. He is an amazing man. Just go get some protein and I will stop the public service announcement.
Two saddles you say... I swear to goodness the devil made me do it. This information is top secret - at least from my beloved spouse. I mean how am I going to explain that I bought one saddle let alone two? And do you really think he is going to buy that the second one was an accident? Sometimes he isn't the sharpest tool in the shed when it comes to the ways of the electronic shopping galaxy but this might be a tough sell. Would you prefer to hear about how I ended up with two or what I ended up with? Silly question. You are horsewomen. Being the logical beings that you are, you know we can't change the grievous mistake I made so, you want to hear about the saddles.. I love you all for that. First purchase is a Dale Chavez cutting saddle. Square skirt, basket stamp, padded seat. Ad says 17" seat. The photo shows 16 1/2 to the padding. I think it might be a little big but it was $825 pretty reasonable for a Chavez. I don't feel like I wouldn't be able to get my money back if it doesn't work out. The next one was the oops. I have been looking at these Don Rich saddles on eBay for months. They look great. He offers a ranch versatility/cutter/reining saddle. Did I mention they look great? So I made an offer on one. Ok so you are going to get the story of the Oops. He had an hour to accept the offer and when he didn't I went ahead and bid on the Chavez. The next morning I get an invoice for the Don Rich saddle. Shit. It seems his acceptance went into the spam filter. Crap. Now I own two. I am on pins and needles wondering if the quality of the Rich saddle will be worth the $1800 that I put on my credit card. I have 7 days to return it so if comes and it doesn't meet my expectations I can return it. I will let you know how this all turns out. Unless Mr Wonderful takes my technology and credit cards away.
Then there is the platinum plus and wormer. I have heard through the grapevine that this is what a certain very successful, very pretty rider, very handsome cow horse trainer uses. His horses are always drop dead gorgeous. They look happy and fit. This certainly handsome trainer won the snaffle bit this year on a horse that truly looked happy to do his job. He is certainly a handsome successful trainer on certainly happy gorgeous horses. Hahaha. So why not give'r a try. If I turn into a handsome successful trainer riding drop dead gorgeous horses you will all know why.
On to the hot water heater. RD put this idea in my head. She has a client that built their own portable hot water washer thingy for bathing horses. She tasks me with helping her find a tankless hot water heater. Now...let me just say that we have a tankless that runs our house. Best darn investment we ever made. Not because of the energy savings or the green technology. The reason is so much more than that. Picture this... Your in the tub and you NEVER run out of hot water. That is right ladies... An endless hot water bubble bath. For hours or days if you want. The glory of it all. If my house was on fire that is what I would want to save. Not really but I do love it. The plan is that we mount the hot water heater on a hand truck then mount a propane bottle underneath hook them together then add a garden hose and voila we have a portable instant hot water for days. Now the drawback it can only push 4.6 gals per minute. I know what that means but I have no idea how that is going to work for our application. "Application" sounds like I know what I am doing.
Durning one of my boarding stints with a trainer who shall remain nameless... I learned the secrets to getting a horse to dry quickly on a cold day. My dear friend Jennifer - the horse blanket goddess - taught me about the virtues of a good old Irish linen cooler. Jenny used hers year around but they are not vey stylish for the winter. So when winter came I bought a fleece one like my dear friend Laura had. She always goes for style baby! One day we show up to the barn and said nameless trainer is using our blankets to dry his horses - only he is layering them. He puts the Irish linen on then puts the fleece over the top. And guess what - the horses are drying FAST. Really fast and they are not to hot and not to cold. They were just right. Like porridge. Only dryer. From that point on we all used this method and cut the time we spent drinking Mikes hard lemonade while waiting for our horses to dry in half. The money we saved on Mikes covered the cost of the extra cooler. I introduced this method to RD - the two cooler method, not the Mikes, and now she is hooked. So with the devils hands I ordered some for her and some new ones for me.
All I can say about Eddie...40% off clearence prices.
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
Happy New Year
I am excited about what the new year is going to bring. Don't know what it might be but I am still happy about it.
Been spending time riding out in the country with RD and on my own. Mr. Semper is on the mend and I rode him three times last week. He feels great.
An interesting thing happened to me last weekend. I don't know if I can explain it or not but I am going to give it a whirl.
While at RD's I wanted to try out a new saddle. On a side note... I have been looking for the perfect saddle to do Ranch Versatility and WCH and just haven't had much success. She had the saddle on a horse that is what I would consider a finished WCH / ranch horse deluxe. He has some quirks but he definitely knows his job. I have ridden him before but just to kind of dink around while she was working Ms Lily. Basically I used him as a couch. He had a WCH style bridle on and a set of nice romels. I get on and start to walk him off. Here is what went through my head. saddle... um... o.k. ouch - hard seat.... horse... WOW. I lifted my reins slightly and he was so light in my hands. Forgot all about saddle, seriously I could have been riding on a bizillion dollar m.l. leddy covered in gold and wouldn't have noticed how it rode. I asked him to trot - again so light. Not that the gait was smooth or that his movement was wonderful. Because honestly it wasn't all that great but what I couldn't get over was how it felt in my HANDS. Weird. I can't really explain it. I thought I knew what that felt like. Semper is light. Heck I can ride him around bridleless using only my legs to do a reining pattern, he drives from behind and collects up nicely when you ask with your legs... how much lighter can you get? Let me tell you.... tons and tons, light years, infinity and beyond lighter. I can't put my finger on it. I can't articulate it. I obviously am not explaining it well. But what I do know is that I WANT IT. Whatever IT is. So what do you think it was? Was it the drive from behind that I was feeling? was it just his way of going? Was it the lift in his shoulders? Lord knows it wasn't the saddle, the bridle or me.
This is one of those things that makes me question my level of horsemanship and / or knowledge. How can one 15 minute ride on a strange horse change my perception so drastically? It has me so befuddled, confused, irritated, and beyond annoyed. AND longing to feel it again. Only on my own horses of course.
Been spending time riding out in the country with RD and on my own. Mr. Semper is on the mend and I rode him three times last week. He feels great.
An interesting thing happened to me last weekend. I don't know if I can explain it or not but I am going to give it a whirl.
While at RD's I wanted to try out a new saddle. On a side note... I have been looking for the perfect saddle to do Ranch Versatility and WCH and just haven't had much success. She had the saddle on a horse that is what I would consider a finished WCH / ranch horse deluxe. He has some quirks but he definitely knows his job. I have ridden him before but just to kind of dink around while she was working Ms Lily. Basically I used him as a couch. He had a WCH style bridle on and a set of nice romels. I get on and start to walk him off. Here is what went through my head. saddle... um... o.k. ouch - hard seat.... horse... WOW. I lifted my reins slightly and he was so light in my hands. Forgot all about saddle, seriously I could have been riding on a bizillion dollar m.l. leddy covered in gold and wouldn't have noticed how it rode. I asked him to trot - again so light. Not that the gait was smooth or that his movement was wonderful. Because honestly it wasn't all that great but what I couldn't get over was how it felt in my HANDS. Weird. I can't really explain it. I thought I knew what that felt like. Semper is light. Heck I can ride him around bridleless using only my legs to do a reining pattern, he drives from behind and collects up nicely when you ask with your legs... how much lighter can you get? Let me tell you.... tons and tons, light years, infinity and beyond lighter. I can't put my finger on it. I can't articulate it. I obviously am not explaining it well. But what I do know is that I WANT IT. Whatever IT is. So what do you think it was? Was it the drive from behind that I was feeling? was it just his way of going? Was it the lift in his shoulders? Lord knows it wasn't the saddle, the bridle or me.
This is one of those things that makes me question my level of horsemanship and / or knowledge. How can one 15 minute ride on a strange horse change my perception so drastically? It has me so befuddled, confused, irritated, and beyond annoyed. AND longing to feel it again. Only on my own horses of course.
Monday, December 5, 2011
Going to Las Vegas and Ms Lily
Going to Vegas on Thursday! Cowboy Christmas here I come.
Semper is all tucked in for a mini vacay on the cattle ranch with Ms Lily. She is going to teach him the ins and outs of living the real cowboy life. He seems to be healing up and he is definitely feeling good. I took him for a little ride and I swear he was loping in place getting ready to do some kind of "airs above the ground". I had to remind him just because he is white doesn't mean he is part Lippizan. A week with RD being ridden out checking cattle and gettin' some fresh air will do him a world of good.
Ms. Lily has been with RD for 3 months. I rode her on Saturday and what a difference. No silliness, no spooking at random goofiness. She loves, loves, loves her job. We sorted and moved cattle from one pasture to another on Saturday. I rode Scooter for half the ride and Lily for the other half. They are half siblings and are as much alike as they are different. RD and her husband (this man can heel rope a cat with a piece of baling twine - on the first try - impressive to say the least) love Ms Lily. They are enamored with her ability to be a solid partner when they have a job to do. As I have said all along... this mare is always a willing partner. She knows where her feet are all the time but she needs a job with purpose to encourage her to bloom. They have given her the job and she is eating it up. She has been roped off of, dragged calves to be branded, sorted cattle, worked in the cutting pen, she has been ridden in the snow, up hills, down hills, through water and every situation they put her in, she takes it head on. She can lope a perfect circle on a loose rein with flying lead changes out in a 1000 acre pasture with 200 head of cattle looking on, dogs running at her feet - all the while dodging gopher holes. The more difficult and intricate the work is, the more she steps up to the plate. Of course RD and husband are extremely capable and confident horse people and are very strong leaders. Lily is thriving.
Here is the rub...what is going to happen when I bring her home and she has nothing to occupy that big old ed-u-ma-cated brain of hers. Cuz Little Ole' Ms Lily definitely has a brain that she ain't afraid to use. I am pretty sure she is smarter than I am and I am damn sure she can read cattle better than me. She is an awesome ranch horse... but is she going to be able to keep it together to be an awesome show horse for me? Up until now I have never wanted anyone else to show my horses but...I have asked RD to show Lily this spring at a couple of small local schooling shows. I need to see her "git'er done" in the show pen.
Semper is all tucked in for a mini vacay on the cattle ranch with Ms Lily. She is going to teach him the ins and outs of living the real cowboy life. He seems to be healing up and he is definitely feeling good. I took him for a little ride and I swear he was loping in place getting ready to do some kind of "airs above the ground". I had to remind him just because he is white doesn't mean he is part Lippizan. A week with RD being ridden out checking cattle and gettin' some fresh air will do him a world of good.
Ms. Lily has been with RD for 3 months. I rode her on Saturday and what a difference. No silliness, no spooking at random goofiness. She loves, loves, loves her job. We sorted and moved cattle from one pasture to another on Saturday. I rode Scooter for half the ride and Lily for the other half. They are half siblings and are as much alike as they are different. RD and her husband (this man can heel rope a cat with a piece of baling twine - on the first try - impressive to say the least) love Ms Lily. They are enamored with her ability to be a solid partner when they have a job to do. As I have said all along... this mare is always a willing partner. She knows where her feet are all the time but she needs a job with purpose to encourage her to bloom. They have given her the job and she is eating it up. She has been roped off of, dragged calves to be branded, sorted cattle, worked in the cutting pen, she has been ridden in the snow, up hills, down hills, through water and every situation they put her in, she takes it head on. She can lope a perfect circle on a loose rein with flying lead changes out in a 1000 acre pasture with 200 head of cattle looking on, dogs running at her feet - all the while dodging gopher holes. The more difficult and intricate the work is, the more she steps up to the plate. Of course RD and husband are extremely capable and confident horse people and are very strong leaders. Lily is thriving.
Here is the rub...what is going to happen when I bring her home and she has nothing to occupy that big old ed-u-ma-cated brain of hers. Cuz Little Ole' Ms Lily definitely has a brain that she ain't afraid to use. I am pretty sure she is smarter than I am and I am damn sure she can read cattle better than me. She is an awesome ranch horse... but is she going to be able to keep it together to be an awesome show horse for me? Up until now I have never wanted anyone else to show my horses but...I have asked RD to show Lily this spring at a couple of small local schooling shows. I need to see her "git'er done" in the show pen.
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Randomness
There are a few things that I am having trouble wrapping my head around today.
One... What is sooooo terribly wrong with serving Jellied Cranberry sauce?
or using canned pumpkin? I mean really... isn't using fresh stuff kind of like reinventing the wheel?
Next would be....Whose big fat lame idea was it to put Thanksgiving so damn close to Christmas?
The five day work week always puzzles me. Why not a two day work week and 5 day weekend? Does anything in the word "weekend" lead you to believe that it has to be two days? Why not five?
Retirement - as long as we are on the subject of work.... Why do I have to wait so long to get to retire. My mom always said that anything worth having was worth working for. Is retirement what she was talking about? If it was, I completely missed that one.
Why does coffee taste so good in the morning and only so-so in the afternoon?
How come when I'm in the shower in the morning I can remember everything I'm supposed to do TODAY and as soon as I step out of the shower I forget everything I'm supposed to do TODAY?
Pennies.... need I say more?
Does anyone ever put the Turkey on the table before they hack - ut hummmm... carve it up?
Does using dry shampoo really count as washing your hair? Or is it like using that sprinkle on powdered carpet cleaner that we all know DOES NOT work.
How many pairs of cowboy boots is to many? and should I have spurs for all of them?
Any insights are welcome. Have a stupendous day and give the ponies some treats from me.
One... What is sooooo terribly wrong with serving Jellied Cranberry sauce?
or using canned pumpkin? I mean really... isn't using fresh stuff kind of like reinventing the wheel?
Next would be....Whose big fat lame idea was it to put Thanksgiving so damn close to Christmas?
The five day work week always puzzles me. Why not a two day work week and 5 day weekend? Does anything in the word "weekend" lead you to believe that it has to be two days? Why not five?
Retirement - as long as we are on the subject of work.... Why do I have to wait so long to get to retire. My mom always said that anything worth having was worth working for. Is retirement what she was talking about? If it was, I completely missed that one.
Why does coffee taste so good in the morning and only so-so in the afternoon?
How come when I'm in the shower in the morning I can remember everything I'm supposed to do TODAY and as soon as I step out of the shower I forget everything I'm supposed to do TODAY?
Pennies.... need I say more?
Does anyone ever put the Turkey on the table before they hack - ut hummmm... carve it up?
Does using dry shampoo really count as washing your hair? Or is it like using that sprinkle on powdered carpet cleaner that we all know DOES NOT work.
How many pairs of cowboy boots is to many? and should I have spurs for all of them?
Any insights are welcome. Have a stupendous day and give the ponies some treats from me.
Monday, November 7, 2011
Semper and the Vet
So Friday I spent trailering my main man to the vet. I chose this particular vet because he has a wonderful reputation as a diagnostician and has the skill to back it up. His main practice is in Nevada but he comes to California a couple times a week. The ranch he operates out of in California is magnificent to say the least. I would stay in a stall there. I am not sure I have ever seen an indoor as large as this one... my guess is 220 x 400 clear span. Wonderful footing. I swear I was drooling.
Anyway... back to the big man. We went through all the basic stuff, walk and trot in a circle in the arena and then out on the hard ground. Flexation tests and more walking and trotting. The thing is that Semper has not been lame at all. But something isn't right. Semper was so sweet and he was extremely willing to do what ever he was asked. I felt like he might have been a little off in the right hind because he swishes his tail to the right alot and he tends to want to cock that hind foot. The vet decides to do x-rays and scans of his left first. What the heck? I thought it was the right! Turns out - so did he. He got a base line x-ray of the leg he thought was good so he could compare the two. He was really pleased with the quality of his left leg. His hock joint on the left were in fabulous shape. Armed with the good side he moved over to the right. Low and behold...a small tear in the suspensatory where it connects to the hock. Very small and very fixable. But for Semper, when he had to flex that joint it probably felt like a hot poker sticking him in the leg. Poor guy. It all came together. The swishing, the resting, the good stops after a week or two off and the bad stops when I would ask him for them days in a row. The penning his ears in the turnarounds. The not liking deep footing. Semper told me as much as he could without standing up, screaming at me and pointing to it. The good news is that he did tell me, we caught it early, it is completely fixable and he is going to be good to go with a month or two of time off / light riding. The vet said for a 12 year old his joints are in extremely good shape and that if I take care of him he is going to be going strong into his late teens and beyond. AND we don't have to go back unless Mr. Semper tells me he is hurting. It is such a relief to get it figured out and have a plan.
Anyway... back to the big man. We went through all the basic stuff, walk and trot in a circle in the arena and then out on the hard ground. Flexation tests and more walking and trotting. The thing is that Semper has not been lame at all. But something isn't right. Semper was so sweet and he was extremely willing to do what ever he was asked. I felt like he might have been a little off in the right hind because he swishes his tail to the right alot and he tends to want to cock that hind foot. The vet decides to do x-rays and scans of his left first. What the heck? I thought it was the right! Turns out - so did he. He got a base line x-ray of the leg he thought was good so he could compare the two. He was really pleased with the quality of his left leg. His hock joint on the left were in fabulous shape. Armed with the good side he moved over to the right. Low and behold...a small tear in the suspensatory where it connects to the hock. Very small and very fixable. But for Semper, when he had to flex that joint it probably felt like a hot poker sticking him in the leg. Poor guy. It all came together. The swishing, the resting, the good stops after a week or two off and the bad stops when I would ask him for them days in a row. The penning his ears in the turnarounds. The not liking deep footing. Semper told me as much as he could without standing up, screaming at me and pointing to it. The good news is that he did tell me, we caught it early, it is completely fixable and he is going to be good to go with a month or two of time off / light riding. The vet said for a 12 year old his joints are in extremely good shape and that if I take care of him he is going to be going strong into his late teens and beyond. AND we don't have to go back unless Mr. Semper tells me he is hurting. It is such a relief to get it figured out and have a plan.
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Sunday
Sunday show day. Again we are up at 5:30 and on the road. Today Mr. Wonderful is trying his hardest to not drive like a maniac. He is driving slow and very carefully. It still annoys me. I resolve that it must be my nerves and that he really isn't doing anything wrong and keep my mouth shut. Which is huge for me. HUGE.
We are the last ones to arrive at the show. The parking is crazy and everyone is running around like chickens with their heads cut off. Typical show. So we join in the chaos. The show secretary delivers my patterns and show order. I only have Semper today and I really didn't get to give him a good bath on Friday. It was dark when I put him in the trailer so I didn't really get a good look at him. He had a blanket on but - Yikes - The sun is out and he is really dirty. I start to scramble. I get a bucket of water and towel and start trying to get the dirty spots cleaned off. The perils of owning a white horse. Ugh. I get him saddled and go to warm up. He is swishing his tail and flinching like a mad man. He gets that way sometimes but usually only when he is getting bitten by heel flies. There are not any flies around today. He is flinching so hard and swishing so bad it is almost impossible to get him through a warm up. I am using a different saddle blanket than I normally do so I changed it thinking that might be the problem. And I covered him in fly spray to make sure he wasn't getting bit. After I changed the blanket he started to settle down.
Up first was the trail. The course had changed from what is was the day before. You start off leading your horse into a box, you bridle, ground tie and hang up your halter. Back down between a couple logs to a mounting block. Mount and back out the rest of the way out of the poles. Turn and walk over a water obstacle. Trot through the trot poles, to the mail box. Side pass over a board to the mail box and retrieve the keys out and return. Pick up a left lead and work a pattern over some poles. The pattern was tight with several transitions from a lope to a trot. Next you had to drag a log. Here is where it starts to get tricky. They have this life size cow with horns, painted like a Holstein and the rope for the drag is hanging on the horn. Semper has seen this monstrosity before and was sure that it was a horse eating demon. So asking him to get close to it was going to be a bit of a challenge. We get the drag rope and I dally. I have to drag the log through a gate - let me just say...tall horse, short gate - I had to duck...big time - So I have my head down, can't see where I am going, have to make a tight corner, not let the drag get caught on the panels and drag this log up to a fire where a guy actually brands the log. Did I mention that there was another rider simulating a heeler on the other end of the log? So a lot going on. We got it done pretty handily. Now I have to remember to keep my hand UP to go through the pole and then finish with opening and closing a gate. All and all I was pretty happy with the job we did. We placed 4th.
On to Ranch Riding. I have attached a link to a youtube video that Mr. Wonderful took of that class. This was his first time being the videographer. Please don't be to hard on him. See if you can pick out where I lost points. We came in 2nd (by one point.)
The next class was Cow Horse. I was so proud of Semper. He really tried hard to work the cow and he did a nice job. We had to box the cow at the end of the arena and then take it down the fence to put it in a pen. No turns on the fence. The boxing was good. We started down the fence and the cow took off. We got a little behind but I asked him to move out and all that power is right there. He got back to position pretty quickly and our cow went right into the pen! Yippee We placed 2nd in the Cow Work and were one of the only three exhibitors that day that penned their cow!
Reining was next. Semper was working really well in warm up by this time. We were in a smaller arena with shallow footing. He was sitting his butt down and stopping pretty. His turn arounds were fluid and nice. We were to do a reining pattern and then rope the dummy. I had practiced roping a little bit earlier in the day and he was very patient, stood quiet while in position at the dummy. The pattern starts with a run in and stop. He blows the stop. He acts like he wants to stop, but just won't stay in the ground. He stops without me pulling him into the ground but he isn't happy. Tail is swishing, ears are penned. Not pretty. I now believe that he is hurting somewhere. He has to be. So I finish the pattern and don't ask for much speed in the run downs so that he doesn't have to stop hard. The rest of the pattern is pretty and his turn arounds are fluid and nice with energy. Oh....but the roping. I am lame. Totally and completely lame. I untie my rope as I am walking towards the dummy. And then it happens. Semper spots the mule that he has fallen unequivocally in love with. The mule is just about 20 ft away on the other side of the gate. All he can think about is getting back to his new found love interest. I get the rope untied and he is not really dancing in place but he is shifting his weight and not wanting to stand still. He ears are forward and he is locked on to the mule. I start to get nervous and fumble with the rope. I make my first loop - way to small and I know it, but I throw it anyway. What the heck? Of course I throw it like a girl and it isn't even in the same zip code as the roping dummy. I get another loop and Mr. Semper is still moving around and not paying any attention to what I am doing. He and the mule are making goo-goo eyes at each other. I make my second loop and it is nice in size but I am concentrating more on keeping Semper quiet than I am where the rope is going to go. I throw and confirm to everyone watching that I am completely and undeniably roping challenged.
I placed fourth in that class. What the heck??? When I get the scores... I would have placed first in that class had I been able to handle my rope and horse at the same time. I lost 3 points for him not standing still and 6 points for not catching. Ouch. I actually didn't lose any points for my rope handling skills. Go figure?
The last class of the day is halter. And you all know how I feel about this. I know this horse is made right. The last show I was all butt hurt about my placing in halter. The judge is a western pleasure / halter judge so am feeling pretty good about this one. Semper goes in and stands square. Yippee.... go man go! Then he cocks his right hind. I set him up again and he cocks his right hind. This goes on and on. What the heck. He just won't stand on that right hind. I realize now that he may have been a little sore on that right hind and didn't want to put weight on it. Duh. He wins the halter class hands down. Overall. YESSSSSS.
We came in 3rd in our division. Won a nice hay bag. I left the show with a ton of thoughts bubbling around my head. Mr. Wonderful had videoed the ranch riding, cow work and reining for me. I hate watching it, but I can't stop watching it. As I am watching it, I shake my head and talk to myself like a crazy woman. Another thought that is bouncing around is "is there something wrong with my horse?" This is a horse that is always willing. He is acting like something is not right. I came home and made an appointment with a vet. He comes highly recommended to diagnose hock, leg and hip problems. Even though he isn't visibly lame, I feel like something is going on and I want to head off any problems. Wish us luck!
We are the last ones to arrive at the show. The parking is crazy and everyone is running around like chickens with their heads cut off. Typical show. So we join in the chaos. The show secretary delivers my patterns and show order. I only have Semper today and I really didn't get to give him a good bath on Friday. It was dark when I put him in the trailer so I didn't really get a good look at him. He had a blanket on but - Yikes - The sun is out and he is really dirty. I start to scramble. I get a bucket of water and towel and start trying to get the dirty spots cleaned off. The perils of owning a white horse. Ugh. I get him saddled and go to warm up. He is swishing his tail and flinching like a mad man. He gets that way sometimes but usually only when he is getting bitten by heel flies. There are not any flies around today. He is flinching so hard and swishing so bad it is almost impossible to get him through a warm up. I am using a different saddle blanket than I normally do so I changed it thinking that might be the problem. And I covered him in fly spray to make sure he wasn't getting bit. After I changed the blanket he started to settle down.
Up first was the trail. The course had changed from what is was the day before. You start off leading your horse into a box, you bridle, ground tie and hang up your halter. Back down between a couple logs to a mounting block. Mount and back out the rest of the way out of the poles. Turn and walk over a water obstacle. Trot through the trot poles, to the mail box. Side pass over a board to the mail box and retrieve the keys out and return. Pick up a left lead and work a pattern over some poles. The pattern was tight with several transitions from a lope to a trot. Next you had to drag a log. Here is where it starts to get tricky. They have this life size cow with horns, painted like a Holstein and the rope for the drag is hanging on the horn. Semper has seen this monstrosity before and was sure that it was a horse eating demon. So asking him to get close to it was going to be a bit of a challenge. We get the drag rope and I dally. I have to drag the log through a gate - let me just say...tall horse, short gate - I had to duck...big time - So I have my head down, can't see where I am going, have to make a tight corner, not let the drag get caught on the panels and drag this log up to a fire where a guy actually brands the log. Did I mention that there was another rider simulating a heeler on the other end of the log? So a lot going on. We got it done pretty handily. Now I have to remember to keep my hand UP to go through the pole and then finish with opening and closing a gate. All and all I was pretty happy with the job we did. We placed 4th.
On to Ranch Riding. I have attached a link to a youtube video that Mr. Wonderful took of that class. This was his first time being the videographer. Please don't be to hard on him. See if you can pick out where I lost points. We came in 2nd (by one point.)
The next class was Cow Horse. I was so proud of Semper. He really tried hard to work the cow and he did a nice job. We had to box the cow at the end of the arena and then take it down the fence to put it in a pen. No turns on the fence. The boxing was good. We started down the fence and the cow took off. We got a little behind but I asked him to move out and all that power is right there. He got back to position pretty quickly and our cow went right into the pen! Yippee We placed 2nd in the Cow Work and were one of the only three exhibitors that day that penned their cow!
Reining was next. Semper was working really well in warm up by this time. We were in a smaller arena with shallow footing. He was sitting his butt down and stopping pretty. His turn arounds were fluid and nice. We were to do a reining pattern and then rope the dummy. I had practiced roping a little bit earlier in the day and he was very patient, stood quiet while in position at the dummy. The pattern starts with a run in and stop. He blows the stop. He acts like he wants to stop, but just won't stay in the ground. He stops without me pulling him into the ground but he isn't happy. Tail is swishing, ears are penned. Not pretty. I now believe that he is hurting somewhere. He has to be. So I finish the pattern and don't ask for much speed in the run downs so that he doesn't have to stop hard. The rest of the pattern is pretty and his turn arounds are fluid and nice with energy. Oh....but the roping. I am lame. Totally and completely lame. I untie my rope as I am walking towards the dummy. And then it happens. Semper spots the mule that he has fallen unequivocally in love with. The mule is just about 20 ft away on the other side of the gate. All he can think about is getting back to his new found love interest. I get the rope untied and he is not really dancing in place but he is shifting his weight and not wanting to stand still. He ears are forward and he is locked on to the mule. I start to get nervous and fumble with the rope. I make my first loop - way to small and I know it, but I throw it anyway. What the heck? Of course I throw it like a girl and it isn't even in the same zip code as the roping dummy. I get another loop and Mr. Semper is still moving around and not paying any attention to what I am doing. He and the mule are making goo-goo eyes at each other. I make my second loop and it is nice in size but I am concentrating more on keeping Semper quiet than I am where the rope is going to go. I throw and confirm to everyone watching that I am completely and undeniably roping challenged.
I placed fourth in that class. What the heck??? When I get the scores... I would have placed first in that class had I been able to handle my rope and horse at the same time. I lost 3 points for him not standing still and 6 points for not catching. Ouch. I actually didn't lose any points for my rope handling skills. Go figure?
The last class of the day is halter. And you all know how I feel about this. I know this horse is made right. The last show I was all butt hurt about my placing in halter. The judge is a western pleasure / halter judge so am feeling pretty good about this one. Semper goes in and stands square. Yippee.... go man go! Then he cocks his right hind. I set him up again and he cocks his right hind. This goes on and on. What the heck. He just won't stand on that right hind. I realize now that he may have been a little sore on that right hind and didn't want to put weight on it. Duh. He wins the halter class hands down. Overall. YESSSSSS.
We came in 3rd in our division. Won a nice hay bag. I left the show with a ton of thoughts bubbling around my head. Mr. Wonderful had videoed the ranch riding, cow work and reining for me. I hate watching it, but I can't stop watching it. As I am watching it, I shake my head and talk to myself like a crazy woman. Another thought that is bouncing around is "is there something wrong with my horse?" This is a horse that is always willing. He is acting like something is not right. I came home and made an appointment with a vet. He comes highly recommended to diagnose hock, leg and hip problems. Even though he isn't visibly lame, I feel like something is going on and I want to head off any problems. Wish us luck!
Saturday
At 5:30am on Saturday I am up and getting ready to go to the Ranch Versatility Clinic. We get the horses and are on the road. Right out of the gate, I start in on Mr. Wonderful's driving. It is my nerves or am I just being overly sensitive?
Cow work was first up. I wanted to work Semper on cows since we hadn't seen cows since August at the last show. He wanted to stand and visit with his new friends. He fell in love with a jenny mule that was there. She wasn't quite as enamored with him as he was with her. She was a beautiful mule. The cattle are used up corriante roping cattle. They haven't been worked by cow horses before but that doesn't make it any easier. They want to run, run, run. All they think about is getting to the other end of the arena and they don't care who or what they have to run over or into to get there. It is our turn and he moves like he has cement in his legs. He finally gets the lead out and starts to get into the work when the cow takes off. Right through the line of riders that were supposed to be holding herd. One of the lady's colt takes to bucking. Hard. She rides about five good jumps and then goes off. I hate watching this stuff. I thought that she got kicked in the head for sure. He stepped on the back of her thigh and tore her jeans but other than that she came out unscathed. Thankfully. I think she was more worried about her pants being ripped and her butt hanging out than she was the ginormous bruise she was going to have. My daughter had left a pair of pants in my truck so I offered them to her not realizing they were Capri's. She put them on over her jeans and finished the clinic. My hat went off to her. But with all the commotion I didn't finish my turn on cattle with Semper. A couple others went and the clinician offered to let me have a go on Lily. I switched horses and let her have a go. I wanted to go really slow and work more on position on the cow. She wants to be in a hurry so my job was to keep her correct and slow. She did great. The clinician decides that we could all use more work so everyone worked another cow. This time Mr. Semper had his game on and after a little discussion about stopping straight before the turn he did really well.
Then on to trail. I think this lady stays up nights dreaming up these trail courses. I won't bore you with all the details yet, but I thought it was a really tough course. Little did I know that the next day it was going to be even more challenging. I rode Lily and worked on swinging a rope from her. I spent a few minutes just walking around swinging a loop. I probably looked like an idiot and Lily was probably embarrassed by my lack of prowess. She tolerated it. She did the walk overs and we worked the side pass. She always knows where her feet are so those types of things are easy for her. I went and got Semper and worked the rope because I have never worked a loop from his back for real. Then we walked through the course and found all my holes! And there were some big holes. I was supposed to be jogging through some cones. The clinician keep saying "put your hand up, PUT YOUR HAND UP". I am thinking that my hand is up. Riding reiners you are taught to keep your hand in a 6" x 6" box in front of the saddle horn. When I finally put my hand up, up came those shoulders and he floated through the cones. Go figure.
After the trail was Ranch Riding. I have come to really love this part of the event. Probably because Mr. Semper likes it and he looks good doing it. I had to make some space and timing adjustments but things were o.k. The judge is a Western Pleasure/Equitation judge. So I needed to ride more like I would in those types of classes. I was pretty good at Equitation as a youth and thought it wasn't going to be an issue. Well is seems that I have developed a slump. Call it a reiners slump or cutter slump, but I am having trouble keeping my shoulders over my hips, my back straight, and my shoulders back. What the heck? When did this all go to hell in a hand basket?
Next was reining. The pattern is an easy one. I should be able to ace this one. Really? Alas....Not so much. You run in and do a stop past the center marker. Back up to the center. 2 turnarounds right, 2 1/4 turnarounds left, and depart on the right lead for a small slow, change leads to a left large fast, change leads to a right lead wrap around, stop, roll back, wrap around on the left lead, stop, roll back and stop past the center marker. First I forget the back up. Then I do three turns to the right. Not to mention that in the run down Semper was swishing his tail and penning his ears. What is going on? Thank goodness it was a practice run. The circles and lead changes were fine but the stops were horrible. I have to pull him to the ground and he is cranky. Then the clinician tells me to back him up hard and ask again. I do and he is a pill. Do it again and it starts to get better but he is not happy. This is becoming an ongoing issue. I am starting to think that something else is at play here. He finally gives me a couple mediocre stops and I let it go. RD and I have been tossing around the idea that he might be sore or something isn't just right in his hips or hocks. He isn't lame. He just isn't doing this part of his job like he does everything else. This horse is a pleaser, so when he doesn't give you what you want, it makes you wonder what is up.
I rode Lily some more just asking her to stay with me and get her used to all the commotion of the day. She handled herself like a pro.
I annoyed Mr. Wonderful all the way home about his driving and bent his ear about what could possible be wrong with Mr. Semper. It was a long day and we still had show day to go.
Cow work was first up. I wanted to work Semper on cows since we hadn't seen cows since August at the last show. He wanted to stand and visit with his new friends. He fell in love with a jenny mule that was there. She wasn't quite as enamored with him as he was with her. She was a beautiful mule. The cattle are used up corriante roping cattle. They haven't been worked by cow horses before but that doesn't make it any easier. They want to run, run, run. All they think about is getting to the other end of the arena and they don't care who or what they have to run over or into to get there. It is our turn and he moves like he has cement in his legs. He finally gets the lead out and starts to get into the work when the cow takes off. Right through the line of riders that were supposed to be holding herd. One of the lady's colt takes to bucking. Hard. She rides about five good jumps and then goes off. I hate watching this stuff. I thought that she got kicked in the head for sure. He stepped on the back of her thigh and tore her jeans but other than that she came out unscathed. Thankfully. I think she was more worried about her pants being ripped and her butt hanging out than she was the ginormous bruise she was going to have. My daughter had left a pair of pants in my truck so I offered them to her not realizing they were Capri's. She put them on over her jeans and finished the clinic. My hat went off to her. But with all the commotion I didn't finish my turn on cattle with Semper. A couple others went and the clinician offered to let me have a go on Lily. I switched horses and let her have a go. I wanted to go really slow and work more on position on the cow. She wants to be in a hurry so my job was to keep her correct and slow. She did great. The clinician decides that we could all use more work so everyone worked another cow. This time Mr. Semper had his game on and after a little discussion about stopping straight before the turn he did really well.
Then on to trail. I think this lady stays up nights dreaming up these trail courses. I won't bore you with all the details yet, but I thought it was a really tough course. Little did I know that the next day it was going to be even more challenging. I rode Lily and worked on swinging a rope from her. I spent a few minutes just walking around swinging a loop. I probably looked like an idiot and Lily was probably embarrassed by my lack of prowess. She tolerated it. She did the walk overs and we worked the side pass. She always knows where her feet are so those types of things are easy for her. I went and got Semper and worked the rope because I have never worked a loop from his back for real. Then we walked through the course and found all my holes! And there were some big holes. I was supposed to be jogging through some cones. The clinician keep saying "put your hand up, PUT YOUR HAND UP". I am thinking that my hand is up. Riding reiners you are taught to keep your hand in a 6" x 6" box in front of the saddle horn. When I finally put my hand up, up came those shoulders and he floated through the cones. Go figure.
After the trail was Ranch Riding. I have come to really love this part of the event. Probably because Mr. Semper likes it and he looks good doing it. I had to make some space and timing adjustments but things were o.k. The judge is a Western Pleasure/Equitation judge. So I needed to ride more like I would in those types of classes. I was pretty good at Equitation as a youth and thought it wasn't going to be an issue. Well is seems that I have developed a slump. Call it a reiners slump or cutter slump, but I am having trouble keeping my shoulders over my hips, my back straight, and my shoulders back. What the heck? When did this all go to hell in a hand basket?
Next was reining. The pattern is an easy one. I should be able to ace this one. Really? Alas....Not so much. You run in and do a stop past the center marker. Back up to the center. 2 turnarounds right, 2 1/4 turnarounds left, and depart on the right lead for a small slow, change leads to a left large fast, change leads to a right lead wrap around, stop, roll back, wrap around on the left lead, stop, roll back and stop past the center marker. First I forget the back up. Then I do three turns to the right. Not to mention that in the run down Semper was swishing his tail and penning his ears. What is going on? Thank goodness it was a practice run. The circles and lead changes were fine but the stops were horrible. I have to pull him to the ground and he is cranky. Then the clinician tells me to back him up hard and ask again. I do and he is a pill. Do it again and it starts to get better but he is not happy. This is becoming an ongoing issue. I am starting to think that something else is at play here. He finally gives me a couple mediocre stops and I let it go. RD and I have been tossing around the idea that he might be sore or something isn't just right in his hips or hocks. He isn't lame. He just isn't doing this part of his job like he does everything else. This horse is a pleaser, so when he doesn't give you what you want, it makes you wonder what is up.
I rode Lily some more just asking her to stay with me and get her used to all the commotion of the day. She handled herself like a pro.
I annoyed Mr. Wonderful all the way home about his driving and bent his ear about what could possible be wrong with Mr. Semper. It was a long day and we still had show day to go.
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