Big Doings!

Haven't had time to post in a while. Been working 7 hour shifts at a peds office and running to the barn in any spare time because it's beautiful out! Sherwood was lame for a week with what I thought was a stone bruise and now know to be a skillful faking-lame act.

Dennis and I got her on a trailer and buckled in, now we need to do it again.

I found her a trainer! One i can afford to have come by and ride more than once a week... And be a friend. NICOLE!! We went for our first trail ride today and she was fantastic. We encountered deer, other riders on horses, walkers, dogs behind fences, and there was some snorting, some head-tossing, so jigging, but... No spooking, bolting, bucking, rearing, etc. She was a dream! Love my mare!

It's been insane- just finished up a 4-week whirlwind in the Brooklyn Emergency Department and although I'm excited to get back to a schedule where I Can get to the barn on a regular basis, it's a little sad to leave behind all the new people I've met. C'est la vie...

In light of the insane schedule I was keeping, Sherwood has actually been sitting around and I've seen the full extent of... Bored Mare Behavior. I hopped on after a week or so of not getting there and should have known better from the antics in the aisle and on the lunge. We're still lunging for 15 minutes before every ride, but I think she may be getting balanced enough to hold a controlled canter in both directions under saddle! So, next ride, I will update you on that. I was going to try on Sunday, but between the Car Show down the street- think loudspeakers, blaring carnival rides, and growling muscle car engines- and the Bouncy House for a Christening party next door, I figured maybe we'd wait.

Her topline is really starting to fill out, and although she's still not engaged on the bit even half the time, steering and halting has become much more dependable (always a good thing!). She's even starting to get the idea of bending around corners and going long and low at the trot- on the straightaway OR with direction changes.

She is truly a great mare- every day I deal with her, I thank the Big Guy in the Sky for watching out for me because she is just fantastic. The bouncy House? One look and it's not a big deal. The muscle cars burning rubber down the street? A quick flinch but then onto other work. I don't know many four year olds who are as relaxed as she is. I just bought my trail and ring pass to Bohemia!! So now, as soon as I figure out how to get her to walk on and stay on a trailer (she gets on fine but backs right off immediately... grr), we can go play in the park! Which is really exciting because I've been getting trailer driving lessons and have use of a truck and trailer when I need it. So... yay for fall trail rides!

Sherwood has been coming along nicely! I even managed to get some glamour shots of my lovely girl after her bath. It was getting later in the day, but she'd had a hard workout and received a lovely bath, and was all squeaky clean and shiny. Perfect time to hang around and get some pretty sweet shots in an ugly barnyard.

I've been riding her about 2-3 times a week and working on the lunge the other 1-2 times. She hasn't had one act-up under saddle (knock on wood, KNOCK ON WOOD!!), but we haven't progressed to a canter yet. I figure, if it's not steady on the lunge, it's not ready under saddle. Not in a rocky, uneven arena filled with stuff that... should I hit it, it's going to leave a mark. No bueno. We have been doing lots of circles, figure-8s, serpentines, patterns, and we're starting over cavalettis. We're now up to stride poles followed by a double stride. I think we're going to work on 2 and 3-stride combinations tomorrow... Depending on how she is after today and yesterday's days off.

The schedule we'd finally worked out through this past 7 weeks of my Internal Medicine rotation was to go T, W, F, S, Sun. Lunge on T/F and Ride W/S/Sun, when I have the time and energy to be more patient and cognizant of her shortcomings and areas she needs to work on. Most of the time on the lunge is review work- H<-->W<-->T transitions, pick up the canter, let her sort through her balance, do a couple T<-->C transitions, change direction and do it all over again, then slip on the side reins and do it all over again in both directions. Overall about a 30 minute workout, maybe 45 if I get involved in something, with lots of walking breaks and halt transitions because... she sucks at them. I can't seem to figure out how to teach her to halt gently- ask her nicely, she blows right through it. Ask her more forcefully and the head comes up, the back drops, and it's a super awkward, uglyness. Bah.


Loki wanted to do his part in supporting the team effort, so he offered to wear team colors. Sadly, they were a bit large for him.
And he looked like Frankenstein when he tried to walk... slash hobble.
















We did not make it to the Young Horse Show, but our in-hand work was pretty sweet by the time we figured out we weren't going to make it. I spoke to the JC this week about sorting out her ownership transfer. It turns out that since her old owner could care less about me getting her papers at this point, I need to apply for a duplicate foal registration and get a notary to sign off on my reason that her papers were lost in shipping. Lovely, right? So, we're working on that while we also work on all the stuff necessary for the end of this clinical- next Thursday is my last day! AHH! Then we got to Brookdale. And get scared of gunshot wounds and knife stabbings. A far shot from the opulent north shore office I've been in... Wish me luck!!

There's been big doings in my life, so I haven't been to the barn or updating. I'm currently at the family casa in RI because 1) I'm on vacation and 2) my dad had a heart attack scare early last weekend that got me up here Saturday morning. It turns out the chest pain wasn't a heart attack, but probably a complication of a previous car accident that left him with an intermittent esophageal motility impairment. Phew!

For an update, I have a video of Sherwood out in the arena with her first buddy! Dennis and I talked about which horse of the boys to first introduce her to, and Bandit won- hands down. An alpha who's old enough to know and teach manners, but not so aggressive that he'll pursue her into a breaking point of beat the snot out of her for kicks. He's also fast enough on his feet to get out of the way of her unskilled but pretty powerful kicks.

As you can see on the video, he doesn't put up with her shenanigans, but also lets her think about the stupid things she's done and how to NOT do them again. After the video is over, they stayed together in the arena for another 2 hours and there was no further trouble. I threw them some hay and they peacefully ate out of the same pile- with Jovi (the dark bay in the background) keeping watch.

Earlier that day, she proved she may be similar to another mare I used to ride- and loved to bits. Dan, a 15h gray Polish Arab mare, would have hissy fits if I didn't show up to ride/work with her every other day- minimum. Miss a week? You better buckle your helmet down tight because you were going for a RIDE! Although she never bit, kicked, dumped, or stomped me- as she did to many other people- if I didn't show up, she'd threaten to do so with mock bites, pinned ears, a half-hearted strike that missed by inches... Did I mention she was a horse that no one else wanted to deal with?

In any case, Sherwood was giving me some trouble when I got there Thursday - crankiness, pinning her ears, over-reacting to any input, incessant pawing on the crossties, yah de dah- and I marked it off to her getting more comfortable and now starting to show her true mareish colors. I mean, honestly, no mare is a much of a peach as this girl has been, right?? But, as soon as we went out and lunged for our standard 15 minutes and worked on some in-hand stuff in preparation for the show, she was back to being her peachy self. Even to the point of standing quietly for bug spray and grooming in the arena versus the aisle for prep to meet her Senor Bandito. Methinks it's a classic sign of the "Mare Work Bug."

I'm so disappointed- it been beautiful out yesterday and today, and... I'm stuck inside studying for finals this week. Grrr... This is my morning break for breakfast and to vent my frustration.

I checked in with Dennis and Sherwood hasn't had an ounce of soreness from taking the back shoes off- yay!- so it would be reasonable to get over there and lunge her for 15 minutes, have some grooming time, and maybe work on my newest idea... Want to hear it??

In view of her pretty awesome ground skills and manners, I got the idea of showing her in-hand and getting her used to shows from the ground before even asking her to behave under saddle. Unfortunately, after looking about at the shows for this season, most of them are either breed specific- aka inspections- or straight hunter shows where there are no in-hand classes. Boo Hiss. EXCEPT for one. The Young Horse Show in mid-June. Which... is kind of a big deal in the land of rich folks and warmbloods. And fairly soon. Eep.

First problem is my insecurity and blue-collar background rearing its ugly head. I don't belong there. My horse is "just" a giveaway OTTB with fairly poor leg conformation, although admittedly nice movement and brain. I'm just a schooling level rider who's out of her league in taking on an OTTB to begin with, nevermind dreaming that she can show at anything other than backyard shows. It's an ugly place in my head, isn't it?

EXCEPT. If I want to break out of this circle of insecurity in my head, maybe an in-hand class is a good place to do it. I've always felt a little bit more secure on the ground, and yes, my mare does have some pretty good conformation faults, but we're not there to do anything but learn. Winning is a nice goal, but keeping our heads in the game, doing our best, and proving that OTTBs aren't the crazy lunatics everyone on LI seems to think they are- those are our true goals.

I'd also like to point this out- she won just about $90k in 30 races and never had an unsound day (Knock on wood, KNOCK ON WOOD!!!). So... suck it, conformationalists.

Break's over. Back to studying.

Farrier has been out, and now I'm reporting- see, Mom? I'm not an errant child, I do give you updates on the grandbaby. :)

First picture is of her waiting for her food- real crazy TB I brought home, standing there and waiting patiently for her hay cubes to soak while everyone around her gets fed. Watch out, she might rub on you!

 And then... the farrier came! First, we did Fred. She was, quite frankly, amazed with his progress. No cross ties, just his halter and lead rope, and half the time, Dennis wandered away from him, leaving the lead on the ground and no one holding him. He stood like a stone, gave his feet like a gentleman without any antics, kicking, or uneasiness. He stepped over when she needed to switch sides with a quick hope, but didn't jump or throw his head too high, and not even a leap forward. All of which were commonplace events in the past. It was really amazing to hear her version of what he was like even up to the last visit and the difference in him now. I informed her that he liked it better when you verbally asked him to "lift" before tugging on his fetlock or squeezing his tendons, and she joked, "Oh, he needs to give you permission?" but then she did it and was visually surprised and pleased at how much easier he picked up his hoof for her. She joked around, "You should have taped him before and after- you could hang your sign up and have people pay you to be their trainer!" I just laughed- can you see it now? School, pup, pony, and side business! Like I don't have enough stuff on my plate!

Then Bandit, who was just a good ole boy- like he is for everything. Love that old man.

And then... Sherwood. Who also was just great. Stood like a stone on crossties while the farrier did her shoes, stepped over easily and without any antics, and... here are the pictures to prove it!

What a good girl!!

Pulling the nails out...

Removing the shoe itself!

The farrier asked me what I was planning to do with her after commenting on her conformational deficits. I acknowledged them- I mean, we know she's got super long pasterns and she's over at the knee, and... I could probably find other issues as well, but those are the biggies. So when I told her I was hoping to do baby eventing, she gave me this look like I was nuts, and who knows, I might be. But I amended that statement with my plan to basically use her as my project horse, learn the basics of retraining, horse care, and whatnot, do as much with her as she can and wants to do, then retire her to trails and hubby horse status once I'm making more money and can afford a competition partner to go beyond what she is able. Not that I truly care what anyone thinks, but I believe some of her "This girl is a loon," look subsided. Honestly- do you think I would get a free horse from a nasty track to be in denial about her issues? And then plan to take up a hard sport without any reality check on her suitability? Oy.

Baby's back shoes are off!!

Yay!! Free back feet!!

In any case, on the way out, she made a comment on how amazing Fred's behavioral changes were, and that my new mare was super quiet and well behaved. The look on her face when she asked me Sherwod's age and when I got her was awesome. "Oh yeah, she's four, and I got her off the track last Thursday." "Oh, so when was her last race?" "Mmm... I think Equinline said April 13th." "OH! So you mean you just got her off the track!"

On the way out, I paid what I owed after she packed up her stuff, while Dennis and she were chatting about Fred's amazing turnaround. She said something about how incredibly well behaved Sherwood was, before she turned to me with this serious look. I thought I'd given her the wrong amount, but instead she just said, "You have a gift," and grinned, and got in her car.

Very nice to hear, and a far cry from the claims that I "ruined" a horse earlier this year. Honestly, it made my day. I feel like I've come far in the past year or so with my horsemanship, but most days, I go out to work with the two of them and feel like I never have any idea what I'm doing. I watch Youtube videos, read up on retraining exers and ground work, so those help, but watching someone else and doing it are very different, and you never want to screw up your or someone else's animal. I just go out and do the best I can with what I know and how the situation feels, and it's really awesome that a stranger who's never met me before and has no preconceived notions, can see the difference in one animal and appreciate the status of another. Means I must be doing something right. Now, I must get on with studying. Wheeee!!

It's been raining for the past three day, with today being a slight exception and tomorrow looking to be the rule. So.. I went over and worked Fred and Sherwood today, and ended up showing Dennis that maybe, just maybe, us English people know something about something, and that maybe everything we do isn't because our horses are well trained by professionals. We started showing Fred how to lunge a couple weeks ago and worked on it some more today, after I played with him and some of the basic groundwork principles- giving me his head when I apply pressure to the cheeks of his halter without swinging his whole body... I think he's finally starting to understand that he can bend his neck, he's not stuck being straight, and that maybe it won't kill him to trust us just a little bit.

Dennis even lunged him a little bit, and was amazed at how difficult it was to stay in the "v" when your mule is super reactive to every move, sound, and breath you make. Poor thing, he must've been beat on so badly.. And he is really sweet when he relaxes. We got him walking, trotting, and whoa'ing on command today on the lunge, with minimal jumps, fly-aways, and panting. We even got some chewing and licking, so.. We're doing something right. He'll even let you approach and catch him in the paddock now! I'm so proud of him!

As far as my own wee babe, she is starting to feel good! Still not the crazy mare I thought I'd have, but pretty good! We taped her the day after she came in, and yesterday- almost an exact week and... I'm not sure if we did it right, but it looks like she went from just under 900 lbs to 942! She doesn't act like she has ulcers and we figured out- after careful weighing in the kitchen with Roseanne- that we'd been gypping her about half the recommended food per day! I've been reading "Off the track: From racehorse to riding horse," and they recommend giving 8-10lbs of grain and about 15-20 lbs of hay per day to a retired racer so they don't lose weight, and after weighing her portions, we'd only been giving her 4 lbs a day! So... We fixed that. Now she gets 4 lbs of grain and 6 qts worth of hay cubes per feeding, as well as free choice hay all day long.

We've been working on grooming on cross ties, leading and basic giving-to-pressure lead line work, as well as lunging. We started cross-tying in her stall, so when there was no problem, I tried cross-tying her in the aisle today and... She was fine. Someone has done a nice job teaching this mare the basics, and I'm reaping the benefits. Yay for me! She dragged me across the arena yesterday, my boots left little skid marks from where I "skied" across the wet sand! Haha I was trying to get her to stop coming in on the lunge, so I pointed the whip at her shoulder and... Well... I went skiing! Today, I worked on desensitizing her to the whip, and I think she's now getting the idea of "out" as a command. Oh yeah! She also comes on command now, too! I wouldn't trust her to do it across the arena, but she's solid across 15-20 feet. I screwed it up once today when she made it almost to me and then stopped to sniff and I tried to pressure her- which then promptly scared her away, but lucky me, she's forgiving. So we got it twice more and called it a day. I let her loose for another 20 minutes then grabbed her for some grooming and dinner.

Already her coat is clearing up, some of the scabs coming off and looking much better. I keep applying vet cream every day and it seems to be working. I can also show sheen her tail without her flinching and jumping everywhere, so it looks like when it grows out too longer length, she's going to be one of those few TBs with a very nice tail- her mane is much thicker than most TBs I've worked with. Yay! Tomorrow we have the farrier out to check out her feet and recommend a course of action,  I'll make sure to take video and pictures for the record.