Placed in a Holding Pattern

Red just gave himself 2 weeks off by puncturing the upper inside of his forearm. I have no clue what he could have done it on. He is in a 4-board white vinyl fence pasture that might as well be a padded cell. No sharp objects, debris, or random metal in the pasture. But he's that type of horse. Give him a stick of butter and he's slice himself open with it somehow. Regardless, he's got the next 2 weeks off until it heals. It's deep enough, very swollen, and he was in pain. The only good thing is he did it in the night before the vet was scheduled to show up at 8:30am for spring shots. So, no extra vet trip fees, yay! Either way, it's coming out of Red's allowance.







Pics were taken about 8 hours after the vet was there and cleaned it up.

Spring is Here!

Ahhh, the warm weather has finally arrived, but so has the rain! We need the moisture, but muddy sloppy arenas make it hard to ride. Either way, I've been bringing Red back from our time off this winter as possible and he's coming along nicely! I have a not-so-short unedited uncut video here (~9 min) of him hacking around. He's come a long way in his dressage since last year, but obviously we still have a lot to work on and many improvements that need to be made, including for myself, for the love of God SIT UP STRAIGHT!

More updates, pics, and videos to come!

Is Spring here yet?

What a fun winter it has been. Red has been relaxing and taking the winter off. As soon as it warms up, it's back to work for us!

Since August, not much has happened. Red has his shoes pulled in September and he was tender for about 2 months. Once he was 100% sound again, the temps dropped and that's where they have been ever since. We see 4" of snow here, 6" of snow there, but the cold has been the real story. -12°F, -22°F, wind chills approaching -40°F; it's getting old.

Otherwise, Red did God-knows-what to his eye in January and had it swell up nice and big. The vet was called, he was checked and medicated, and was back to normal within 48 hours. Whew! See the pic below, it wasn't pretty!



The good news is that slowly but surely, winter will come to an end and warmer temperatures will be here, which means lots of riding, schooling, and eventing! Until next time...

Holy Update, Batman!

Wow! I can't believe how long it's been since I've updated Red's blog! Yikes!!! Thanks to those who reminded me and got me back in line!

Red has done a ton since our first event. I have been working on his transitions and control and keep trying to expose him to more and more every day, jump new fences, etc. Red was in his second event on August 15 at the Colorado Horse Park and he was great. He is getting much better about being calm when we go somewhere new. Horse trailer does not = run, though we are having some trailer loading issues due to the mental reminder they give him of a starting gate. We'll keep working on that.

Here is a video synopsis of his second event: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nU04pUFOkN4

Here is one my mom made for us that is very special, it's to music and very cute!! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fpO0c7rKxoE

We also have a few fun photos from the day...




More can be seen here: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2453573&id=9614331&l=6960a8b20a

This past weekend, August 21-22, the infamous Phillip Dutton was in town teaching an eventing clinic. This was something I planned on attending with Red months ago, so I was glad it worked out.

The first day, he was a little hyper. Phillip said he was "lovely looking" but referred to him the rest of the day as "the nervous one". He calmed down a bit when it came time to jump and I was very happy with Red's performance. Phillip challenged Red and I, and considering how green Red is, I thought he did great. He really started to settle down and relax as the day went on.

There is a video of the first day of the clinic here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qA6dGUKJlbM

The second day of the clinic, Phillip advised I ride Red in the morning too since our ride time for cross country wasn't until the afternoon. I did, and when we got out on the XC course, Phillip said he was much more calm. He actually stood around like the other horses and wasn't nervous at all. We had a blast jumping all kinds of things: logs, coops, ditches, barrels, down banks, up banks, through water, and even got to jump an up bank out of the water. Red only hesitated over the barrels and going in to the water.

The most memorable part of the day was the ditch. Red was starting to resist and was cantering in place and not going forward as we try to approach this ditch. Phillip told me to loosen my reins, so I did. He said to loosen them more, so I did. And once again, loosen them more, and I did. Finally, he said, "Drop your reins!" and for some odd reason with out question, I did, and Red went forward and jumped the ditch. It was awesome.

The clinic was great, Red and I both got to experience some new things and I think this really helped give me the tools we need to keep moving on and moving up.




Red Avenue and I with Phillip Dutton, Aug 21 2010.

Our First Event!

Well, it's done! We worked especially hard this month and Red did his first event today! I wish I could have given more updates along the way, but I'll give a brief run down of them now:

1.) We have been working a lot our dressage.

2.) I've been trying to put together random things at the house for him to jump to give him as much experience jumping new scary things as possible.

3.) Remembering to relax and have fun!



So today was the big day! I planned on getting there an hour before my scheduled 9:25 am ride time to let him see the sights and warm up. This was not nearly enough time and next time, I need to double it. We got there, unloaded, got registered, then realized 30 minutes were gone and my ride time was in 30 minutes! Crap! So quickly brush off the horse, quickly tack up, and by the time I got to the dressage arena, I had 10 minutes and I was riding a prancing giraffe. Well, crap. Looks like I'm going to spend this time walking and trying to calm him down, because he is plenty warm!!

The dressage test was nothing like what we practiced at home, but there were horses everywhere and this place was sooooooo exciting! Red wanted to see them all! He had good moments where he was collected and bending well, and other not so much moments. We didn't get our LEFT lead on the first try of all darn things, but got the right! When it was all said and done, I was very happy with him. He didn't spook at the judge's tower. He didn't spook at the huge white letters. And he listen to most of what I had to say, as long as it didn't get in the way of him looking at everything else around him, haha. After dressage, we were in 5th place of 8 riders.

So now it's time to prepare for the jumping phase. He jumps the warm-up jumps without hesitation, he is going great. He is listening, not too quick, just great. We get to the start and I want to watch a round and see what my course is because I didn't have time to walk it. Turns out it's just one big circle, easy enough. So we're getting ready to start and Red is prancing, trotting in place, just being crazy! He was ready to go!

So we go on course, jumps 1, 2, and 3 were great. Fence 4 was a coup that was elevated and Red did not understand what in the heck that was so he stopped. He popped right over it on the second try. Jumps 5 and 6 were great, and jump 7 was an up-bank, meaning he was jumping from a lower level of ground on to a higher level. Red has never seen anything like that before and stopped. And stopped. And finally he got it! Jumps 8 and 9 were good, and jump 10 was a large downhill jump. I was sure Red was going to stop but he flew over it and loved it. Obstacle 11 was water, which was another fear, he has never seen water before! He didn't even hesitate, it was great. Jump 12 ended a great run! I was so proud of his first go at this new sport.

I wasn't happy with all the stops, even though he did GREAT, he could do better, so I jumped a second round (which was optional, not judged) and he went all the way around without stopping once, it was great. He really ended on a good note! It was a good opportunity for him.

Well it turns out we finished in 4th place! How exciting! That was much better than I ever expected. I wanted him to see what this was all about and get the experience, so placing didn't matter, but he really did well. Good job, Red!!!

It feels like summer!

Gosh, what a great day! 75 degrees, sunny, with a light breeze. It was the perfect day to spend outside. I rode Red and worked on our dressage and transitions. I rode him in spurs for the first time and wow, what a difference. We could bend, we could balance, and the transitions are coming along beautifully! I'm getting really excited about May 1st! We need a little more work on the right lead and there is still a way to go with the transitions, but he's responding well!

He did such a good job today, I decided to give him a bath which he didn't like, but he's nice and clean now. He got to graze on the green grass growing on the trail while he dried.

Below is a picture from yesterday, such a cute pony!

New Jumps!

So I finally got my jumps built! Here is Red giving them a try. So far, so good!

I love this weather!

First off, let me say a big "hello!" to my new friend Aurora and her family up in Alaska!

The weather here in Colorado has been great these past few days. Today I hopped on Red bareback, without a saddle, and let him eat some fresh grass on a riding trail while the dogs ran around and got some exercise. It was so nice! It was over 60 degrees out.

Below are some pictures from this week, just the daily sights.


Red eating dinner. When almost all of his grain is gone, he bites the side of the dish and shakes it to move the remaining grain to the middle of the dish. It's too funny to see.


This is our shadow. What a pretty day!


No saddle, just hanging out, Red is eating grass.



Red loves to come in the garage and beg for treats!

This Sunday I think we are going to our first lesson and getting a chance to school our first cross country course. I'm so excited!!

A jump jump here, and a jump jump there...

The weather imrpoved a lot quicker than I expected, so I was able to squeeze in one more ride before I leave for Alaska. Red and I worked on our walk-trot transitions in the ring, took a nice relaxing walk around the trail, and even jumped! A few jumping video clips can be seen below. The 2nd jump was 2'6" and 2'9". He was a good boy!

Our Next Goal: Transitions

I've been riding a lot more consistently now, and the weather has been great (with the exception of today and the 6" of snow on the ground that is still falling). I think our first event is going to be at the Colorado Horse Park on May 1, so I looked over the beginner novice dressage test A and give it a try with Red for the first time yesterday.

We trot down the center line with no problem, turned right and Red asked me where we were going. We followed the arena to the left and made our circle. When we broke from the arena rail, Red again asked what we were doing but we kept going. We picked up the canter and made our second circle, and when it came time to transition to the trot again so soon, Red was completely convinced we were suppose to keep cantering around the arena. It took me half the arena length to bring him back to a trot again, but we got it even though his head was straight up in the air. We transitioned to the walk and had a nice relaxed walk across the diagonal. We picked up the trot, made our circle, and got the right lead on the first try (though it wasn't so pretty) and got back to the trot easier than the previous time. We came back down the center line alright and did an ok halt.

The bottom line is it made me realize the next thing we need to work on are transitions: canter to trot, trot to walk, trot to canter, etc. So, there is our goal. I also jumped Red over a new jump and I didn't let him see it before we approached it. It was just a part of our fence that only has the bottom 2 rails, nothing too scary. He jumped it just fine, in fact I think he liked it!

As I said before, it's currently snowing. I leave town on Tuesday for a while so Red is going to have about 2 weeks off. When I return, it's going to be the final push before our first event. So the rest of our training will be transitions, transitions, transitions!

Spring is here!!!

Yikes, I can't believe how long it's been since our last update! They will be coming more frequently now that spring has FINALLY arrived. Was that a long, cold winter or what? Yuck!

Well Red had most of the winter off, he just got to eat and play in the snow. We went on occasional trail rides, about weekly or bi-weekly, so he still got to get out a little. He lost some muscle tone so we are working on getting that back now. We are working 3-4 times a week continuing on balance, bending, yielding, etc. You can see his improved form in these video stills below:




Yesterday, Red got his right lead on the first try. Yeah! Was it a fluke? Probably. But I was so excited. It really was a good enthusiasm and confidence boost for me, I was so happy with him. Red also loves to jump, though that this point we're just jumping straw bales and rails.



I'm hoping out first event will be on May 1st. There is an eventing derby (dressage and jumping in 1 day) at the Colorado Horse Park with an Elementary Division. It's cheap and I think it would be a great experience for Red. I'm changing my colors from royal blue to red for Red, how cute does he look below???



There will be more updates more frequently now that we are back to work. Until then...

Red's New Barn

In the beginning of December, the new barn was complete! It's super cute, it matches the colors of our home, is 24' x 36', and has a cupola with a horse wind vane on top. We also got it with skylights and a dutch door for where the stall will be. Then, Red will be able to come and go as he pleases!



We have to bring the ground up and put in a more suitable flooring, with rubber stall mats in the stall to keep things nice. But for all intensive purposes, the outside is done, and thank goodness. This winter has been quite cold and windy, and Red has spent many days and nights in there keeping dry, warm, and wind free.

More pics to come when the inside is complete!

Our First Trip!

Red got to take his first trip! We have construction on a barn starting this week, so I had to move Red on Saturday because he would be in the way. So we took him over to my friend's house in Firestone for the week. He was a sweaty mess by the time we got there, he was worked up! But he walked right into the trailer and walked right off with no problems. He pranced around in his stall and was full of energy. This morning he calmed down a lot and was back to his normal self. I hope to ride out there later in the week!

Yikes! It's been a while!

Yikes, I can't believe it's been 2 months since I last posted an update! I guess that's what happens when you spend so much time traveling for work, going to New Mexico, Tennessee, Alaska, Wyoming... sheesh! The sun also sets now at 5pm so it's already dark when I get home from work. That means unless I have a weekday off, riding is reserved for the weekend only!

Red has been doing great. The vet said his weight is perfect. Infact, he said he may be getting a little chubby when he was out to last check on Red! We battled a little auto-immune allergic reaction on his nose that looked like a fungus. After 15 days of steroids, he's all cleared up! You can see a pic of how it looked below.



Red was awesome the last time I rode. I don't know if it was a fluke or not, but he was really relaxing and taking much better hold of the bit. He had his head in the best position he's had yet. I also set up some straw bales that are about 18" high and 12" wide and jumped Red over them. And guess what? He loved it! I thought for sure he'd stop the first time just because he hasn't jumped them, but no! What a good boy.

Below are some more recent pics. Red does tricks now, like sit, lay down, roll over (hahahaha). Hopefully we can get some riding or jumping pics or video again soon!

More Jumping...

Here are some more highlights of Red free jumping! I'll post another riding video soon...

Looking better...

It's time for an updated picture of how Red is looking, so here are a few photos. As you can see he is developing his top line, the ribs continue to slowly disappear, and we're rounding out those hindquarters. Woo-hoo!



He went about a week without being worked, and boy was he feeling good. He threw the best temper tantrum I've seen him throw so far on the lunge line. He kicked out, he took off and went around at 300 mph, (still has yet to buck much), pulled the line right out of my hands... that kind of stuff. Needless to say, he was lunged at the trot for about 45 minutes non-stop after that. What a sweet pony I had after that.

We continue to work on bending and leg yielding. After his spa treatment, he had several days off and apparently in that short time span forgot what my leg meant. The next time, I rode with a dressage whip. Guess who got their memory back after that? Well enough in fact that we cantered a bit! It took a lot of work to keep him upright and bending around turns, but he did it! We did big circles to the left and smaller circles to the right.

Red has a few more days off this week because I'm out of town for work, but we'll pick up where we left off next weekend. Until then, enjoy his pretty pictures!

Red's Spa Treatment

So Red got to see the chiropractor/accupuncture doctor! What an interesting process to watch him go over the horse. I had never seen that before. He was poking Red all over and he'd flinch bad every once in a while. So the doctor would do something to "fix" that problem area, go back and touch that area, and he was fine.

His diagnosis was as follows: he has a TMJ reaction on the left, needs teeth floated soon. His left rib 1st posterior was out of whack, so he put that back where it belonged by pulling Red's right front leg all over the place (about wrapped it up over his head) but it worked. He adjusted the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th lumbar dorsal right enough to where I heard them crack back into place. Red felt much better right after that. Then he said he has sacral apex motion to the right, but pelvis decreased motion to the left, and he adjusted that area. He did aquapuncture (like acupuncture, but they inject B12) on the "pelvic trigger point bilaterally, GB 27 point on left," I'm guessing fancy words for injected the left pelvis and hip since that was what I saw him do.

Red is going to be off for a few days to recover from his treatment, but then we'll get back to light riding. Below is a pic I took of him with his fancy new ears. He really loves not having flies and gnats in his ears on the trail!

Look Mom, I'm NOT a Giraffe!

The last video I posted of me riding was from May 24th I believe. The good news that that we have come a long way since then, though we are not even close to being "there" yet. Red no longer cleans my ears with his, especially thanks to the addition of the running martingale I added for these last 2 rides. We are also now using the proper size bit and a Vespucci bridle with a figure-8 (thanks, Mom!). Yesterday was the first day he wasn't resisting the figure-8. So, baby steps. We are getting there slowly but surely!



As you'll see in this video compared to the previous ones, we don't throw our shoulder in as bad or as frequently, we yield to the leg a lot more than before, and we are slowly learning how to carry our head. These things are far from mastered, but they are improvements! I'm very happy with his progress. After all, he's got his first beginner novice event to attend next spring hehehe ;)

Enjoying the days of summer

Here is an example of just one of the many storms to come by this summer. What a great picture, two things I love in this world: ponies and storms :)

I hopped on Red bareback the other day while he ate grass, just to see what he would do. A pic is below. As you may have guessed, he didn't care. He wanted to go for a walk on the trail but finally relaxed and accepted the fact it was eat time, not ride time.

I also took Red all the way around the trail by himself for the first time this past weekend. He did great. He froze once when we saw several horses in a large pasture, but he got going again with a little encouragement.



But yesterday, Red and I had an exciting experience on the trail. I went with the neighbor girl and thank goodness, we had 2 out of control horses on the trail with screaming kids on them come flying by.

We heard screaming behind us and we thought it was coming from a house. Well finally cresting the hill behind us come these 2 horses at a full gallop. There are kids on them (~13 yrs old) and they are screaming, legs wrapped around the horses as hard as they can, leaning forward... all the wrong signals for "STOP". I yell to my neighbor to turn our horses around and face them, heels down, and grab mane. These guys fly by and our horses rear and spin around but that was about it. They were really good considering. So one of these kids grabs the reins of the other horse and she ends up getting pulled off her horse... what a mess. She was hurt, found out today she bruised her ribs. We walked her home where the horses were waiting. Red did not like being around those horses. We had to keep moving because he was very very nervous around them. After we got past them, he calmed right down again.

I thought "oh no" as I'm on this green TB, off the track since January, as these guys come galloping at us. But Red did well. Had I been by myself I don't think things would have gone as well so thank goodness for that.

Hot Summer Nights

I went out to ride last night at 7:30 pm and it was still 84 degrees out. Good thing I don't mind the heat!

Red has been full of himself recently. I increased the amount of senior feed he was getting because his weight gain plateaued. I went out to feed yesterday morning and he was just rip roaring around the pasture. Kicking. Bucking. He was feeling good. So I knew I was going to ride that evening.

I lunged him before I rode to get some of that extra energy out of his system. As usual, he was a good boy. We just worked at the walk. I focused on my equitation, contact, getting him to carry his head right, a little bending, inside/outside leg work, etc. As a reward we went for a walk on the trail. I let him trot up the hill and it kicked his weak lil butt! He was huffing and puffing when we got to the top. Then we walked back home on a loose rein.

When I got back home, the neighbor was tacking up. I asked if she wouldn't mind if I came in with Red while she rode. Red hasn't stood in a ring yet with a horse trotting, cantering, and jumping around him. I wondered how much he could care. He fell asleep in the arena! :-D

I gave Red's mane a trim the other day. It was getting a little too long and wild. Now he looks like Lloyd Christmas from Dumb & Dumber. My poor boy. Neither of us can wait until it grows out!