Somehow a year has zipped past already. Not sure how that happened. I wandered in for a lesson at a barn and met a lazy draft cross nicknamed the Thigh Master. I figured I'd ride him for awhile to get in shape, then move on to something fancy and forward. You know, the type of horse I actually like. That's not exactly what happened.
Instead, I decided that the Thigh Master had potential. We started to get along. He stopped throwing massive temper tantrums, I got back into shape. I learned to sit, he learned to go forward. Both of us compromised on some things because we were having a lot more fun together than we were with other partners. And then I truly lost my mind and bought the lazy, opinionated pony.
Today we had what I refer to as a dressage hopping lesson. This is where Trainer A sets up some jumps to jazz up our dressage exercises. As we're working on getting Theo to fill in the outside rein, she set up two fences on a 15m turn. Fences throw it into sharp relief when you don't keep the balance all the way through your half circle. I sat to my fences and Theo carried me forward with enthusiasm. We had some trouble when we switched to his sticky right lead, but with a few reps we got it sorted and I had yet another lesson that resulted in aching abs from keeping up with his big, correct effort.
I never would have imagined this when I decided to casually pick up riding again. I'm really looking forward to our big show in two weeks. I think mi papi is going to surprise a lot of people that think they know him. Expect the Unexpected is living up to his name.
I know it's the day after a show because I'm staring at my screen in a stupor. Way too little sleep followed by a lot of anxiety and physical labor, then too much sleep. I, like many people, am completely worthless the day after a show. I can't even type well since Theo dragged me around on the lunge while he was tracking left. Guess which shoulder takes the brunt of the hit in that direction? Yeah. My poor left shoulder is propped up.
But I can also think rationally again which is nice. I completely forgot to share Theo's latest pre-show outfit.
My poor, poor horse. Because he's a beaver, he goes in turn out overnight even when braided up. That means he needed all of his fly armor as well as a sleazy to protect his braids. I haven't done a good job of coordinating his summer outfits. He even looks embarrassed in the picture. But there's good reason for the armor.
I love the moans and groans. He was so happy to get a good roll in after all of that grooming. But the good news was that his braids were just fine the next morning, so the armor did it's job. Even if he's a bit of an eyesore while he's wearing all of it.
So the first outing is done. Theo was a damn packer once he was done being a stud, which was nice. With his reputation, I'm always cautious with how he's going to react to things. He gave the judge's booth a hard stare, but decided that it wasn't worth shying away. Mom has spurs, you know. I let him stop and greet the judge and scribe, so he decided they were okay. He went in the ring and marched around like a horse that knows his job. We've got some work to do with getting that really butter soft feeling when under pressure, but that's expected. I still turn into an alien the second I see a judge, but it's getting better. He went around without looking like a giraffe, so that's progress. The larger arena definitely helps me open him up since I'm able to take more than six steps without turning. Trainer A is optimistic about the sanctioned outing since we'll be in the large arena for our Training 3, which means I can open him up more. I guess he looked a bit stuck in our first test while I worried about getting his big butt compressed enough to fit. She said if I had our gaits from the large arena in my Training level test, we would have been at 68%.
It was also a sharp reminder that, as much as he's improved, he's not a 70% horse. He's gotten so much more obedient and willing, but that doesn't change the fact he's not lofty. He's not electric. He doesn't have that edge that gets you the high scores. He doesn't scream 'look at me!' when he trots into the ring. The horses the judge loved were right there on the bit, just dying to go forward with long legs barely touching the ground. That is not mi papi. He has a mellow attitude about life and that often translates into 'not enough desire to go forward'. Trust me, lady. There was plenty of desire. He put a lid on it because I asked him to, and I love him for it. When I said lengthen in the canter, he said 'yes ma'am' and I said 'omg BRAKES!'. I made the judge laugh when we halted at G since Theo had just done a lengthening and I was a bit worried we were going to halt in the judge's booth with her. I guess my eyes got a bit big. We got an 8 for that halt, our one 8 of the day.
Holy shit, my elbows are in
I don't even mind. A judge like her would have been all over Fi and loved her. Other judges that hated Fi will reward Theo for his soft eye and willing attitude. It's just going to be luck of the draw and leaving no points on the table because we're not starting out with 8 gaits. Though we did get a 7, which is a step in the right direction.
Horse shows are good for bringing us back down to earth. Theo is great. I adore him. I feel quite safe on him and he gave me the confidence I needed to go in there and ride the best test I could on the day. We're not going to be winning a ribbon at regionals. Not in New England where he'll be the cheapest horse in the ring and probably the only one without papers. But I can give him the best damn ride possible and give them a run for their money.
I have a weird relationship with horse show ribbons. I love winning, so when you win, you get ribbons. That's a given. But sometimes you get ribbons because you're the only one in the class and that's not the same thing. And sometimes you win for reasons other than being good, like the time half of the class got eliminated on cross country because they missed a jump that was awkwardly placed. Then there are the ribbons that are green or brown rather than blue but I keep them forever because they were a real victory.
I have a couple more ribbons to add to my collection and one of them is a keeper. It's a bit of a shock considering how the day started.
He looks like a perfectly normal, well behaved horse, right?
My dear, sweet gelding decided that he was a stud this morning. Big time. After getting him booted up and tucked into a cooler, he chilled in a stall while the two mares were loaded up. As soon as the mares started heading to the trailer, he started acting up. As I moved him outside and he waited his turn to load, he got bigger. And bigger. He was spinning, offering to rear, snorting and carrying on with his ridiculous 'look at me' trot. When it was time for me to load Theo, I had everyone get out of the way. He was so beside himself that he was almost dangerous. Fortunately he still loaded, though he did try to jump on for his first attempt. WTF, papi. I did NOT want to get on that horse.
As soon as we arrived, even though I had almost four hours until I showed, Theo went on the lunge. I had to start with him spazzing in a 10 meter circle and he dragged me around pretty good before he decided that was too much work. It took all of about ten minutes of trotting for mi papi to decide being naughty was just not worth it. So much for being a big, bad stud.
The actual show part went very well. Theo managed to squeeze into the little arena for his Training 3 test and we got a 66%. The judge wasn't a big fan of Theo, she liked the big, lofty movers more than the accurate ones. Trainer A was very happy with our geometry, but not much that can be done about an average mover. Miss Thang was snorting and acting up and got a 68%, as a comparison. She's awfully pretty when she's being fresh.
We went back in for our First level test with orders to open up and go forward. With the large arena and some lengthens, that seemed likely. Theo was pretty wiped, but he pulled it out for me and put in a solid test. We would have some more points if I'd actually run through the test before the show. I had Trainer A read for me so I had a prayer of remembering which short diagonals to use. We got a 63% for that test, which I'm very, very proud of. Theo's a First Level horse!
Part of me was disappointed with our performance, but then I had to remind myself that it's 2 points up from our ride this winter for Training 3 and the judge wasn't tossing points around. I also have to remind myself that Fi's first attempt at First level came in at 59%. I didn't expect Theo to be going around at this level already, so today is a big win.
It's like an archeological dig, chipping through all of the hair and muck and overgrowth from the winter to find the fancy horse that I supposedly bought. Or at least I keep telling myself there's a fancy horse under all of this grunge. I wanted to keep him well protected so his legs and back and head didn't get a single trim since the onset of the winter coat and he hasn't had a bath in all that time. He was nice and safe, but very fluffy.
After two rounds with the clippers, I think I've found my fancy dressage horse. Here he is in all his splendor.
I love this picture because he looks like such a dork with his curly forelock and hay dragging to the ground. I guess the clipper marks didn't come out that badly.
I also took care of his chestnuts and ergots. This required hoof nippers, bandage shears, and a lot of brute force. If it takes a tool chest to manage your horses legs, you might own a draft cross.
It turned out to be a good thing I clipped his legs completely. I got a call last night asking me to come to the barn and take a look at a bleeding sore on the outside of Theo's front left hoof. Blown abscess? Wouldn't that just be my luck right before a show. I jumped in the car and zipped over to the barn to find this.
Definitely not an abscess, but how the hell did he do that to the outside of his foot? It would make perfect sense on the inside, the flies are out in force, but he can't kick himself on the outside of his foot. After cold hosing and cleaning, I figured it out.
That perfectly straight line? He caught the fence. He likes to stand very close to the fence when the mares are out so he can be a creepy creeper and watch them. Kick at some flies while that close to straight boards and this is what happens. No stitches or anything needed, I just gooped him up, tossed on some bell boots, and sent him back outside with more fly spray and his fly sheet. This would have been a much bigger mess if he'd still been a hairy beast. Good job, Theo, waiting for the leg to be prepped before being damaged.
I got a text letting me now that we are leaving the barn at 5:30 am on Sunday for the show. That means I need to be there at 4:30am. Which is a 3:30am wake up call.
For anyone that's curious, I mentioned to Trainer A that I looked at the derby cross and got the look. I am NOT supposed to be distracting myself at my first dressage show of the season by sneaking away to jump. If I'm good at my first couple shows, then she'll let me jump at the shows after my dressage tests. Until I am consistently not forgetting how to ride as soon as the judge rings the bell, I will keep my butt in the sand box while at shows.
So sayeth the trainer.
With the plan set up for the first show of the season, I am now focused on learning my tests and getting my gear in order. I have to track down the clothes I haven't used since October, locate my travel stuff, and work on Theo's turn out. Anyone that shows a horse knows that the turn out doesn't come together the day before the show. It's weeks of currying and pulling and clipping and feeding to get that glossy sheen.
Looking very much like a serious business dressage horse yesterday. Minor detail we had just gotten back from tearing it up on the trails.
Theo gets a lot of grooming and fussing, but it's still a tough time of year to turn out a horse for show. His trace clip is in full effect which isn't the fanciest look. The clipped areas are currently dry and he's been itchy and a bit cranky about it. I've been hitting him with a leave on conditioner daily to try to help, but our humidity is in the teens right now and my skin is just as dry and itchy. We're finally getting warm enough for a bath but the winter coat parts of him are long enough that a bath is completely impractical. He'd be wet for days.
Despite the fact I dislike clipping in spring, I attacked Theo with the clippers today. He needs a bath so badly, I can't wait for him to shed out on his own. I used my smaller clippers with the guard and went the same way as the hair so I only had to clip the areas that haven't been clipped yet. The length is the same all over this way. I didn't want to go over the dry parts of his skin again. I did his butt, leaving the fuzz under his saddle pad, and clipped his legs down to his knees. I also found his ears in all of the fuzz on the top of his head. Then I pulled his mane, which he didn't appreciate.
About this point I heard there was a pony party at the barn in 30 minutes. I threw mi papi's mask on and chucked him in his field so I could escape before the screamers arrived. I'll get pictures of his new clip job tomorrow. I have some evening up to do and probably should get further down his legs. it was like an archeological dig trying to find the horse under the fuzz.
But that's a big part of the show season check list done. Another round with the clippers and pulling will happen this week, his first real bath of the season, and then tack scrubbing. I guess I should be thanking Trainer A, I only have half the tack to clean this way.
While I stock up on ramen because of my entries, I have my first schooling show of the season in just over a week. Trainer A and I agreed that we'll do Training 3 and First 1. Form is done, Coggins is ready, all set.
But then I, being a grand fool, started looking at the other half of the show. They're also running a jumping derby cross. Oh, man, jumping. How can I go to a show with jumping and not participate? We love to jump!
But it gets complicated. From previous experience with this show, I'll be one of at most five people going higher than Training level in dressage. This means I'll be at the very end of the ride times. The derby cross starts at noon. With two tests to manage and being right in the middle of the jump heights, I'll probably end up with all three rides within an hour of each other. That wasn't a big deal when I was eventing, but when I'm supposed to be practicing my DQ mojo, it's a big distraction. Since it's a schooling show and I wouldn't be jumping to compete there's some flexibility, but it's still a distraction.
There's also the question of jump height. At home, we bomb around 2'6" like it's nothing. Beginner Novice? Pfft. But take him somewhere new with fill he's never seen? Now we have a huge question mark. At two foot they don't fill in their fences, so we marched around great last year. At 2'6" we'll be facing several colorful panels and possibly a rolltop. I don't want to do two foot forever. It's time to move up, but that means a lot of work to get him grooving. And when we canter out of the ring to do the cross country part? Well, what are the chances I'll pull off another landing on my feet when he realizes he's going out in the open by himself? Pony is going to rock pirouettes one day with that quick as a cat spin.
I want to do the derby cross, but the logical part of me says I don't need the distraction with the big kid shows barreling at me. Mentally it's good for Theo, but it's not easy. At all. But the jumps . . .
This is Theo circa 2009 when he was just getting started as a trail horse. He's all of five years old. Look at all of that mane! Look at the Western tack! Look at that complete lack of a neck!
And he is most definitely bay. I have no idea why the vet listed him as black on his Coggins. I got a note from the secretary about the discrepencies in my entry. A bay horse named Expect the Unexpected with a Coggins for a horse named Theo that's black. Oh, and the show horse is an American Warmblood but the Coggins is for a Perch X. Might need to get that test redone or its going to be a loooooooong show season.
Poor papi, making the leap from backyard pony to super show star is hard.
