Christmas Suggestion

If you are looking for a suggestion for me for Christmas, here it is, and the pain behind it.

We have a great little coffee maker that we love.  In the last few weeks, we have had to press the start button on it twice per brew as it seems to be making only half a cup and leaving the other half of the water untouched.  I was fine with this, it really makes the best coffee.

Lee however, decided to "fix" it.

It now needs at least 10 presses of the button, or to be held down permanently.  I was lucky to wake up early this morning as it added an extra 5 minutes onto my very tight morning schedule.  My poor coffee maker.  Lee needs to stick to fixing golf clubs, not the thing that prevents morning crabbyness.

The problem now is that we are so picky when it comes to coffee.  Its like fine wine for us, and it has to be just right.  Here's the list of things my dream coffee maker should be:

• exactly like my current one, only not broken :(  We got it for $3 from value village, and its wonderful!  They just don't make these things anymore
• Double serve, not a full pot.  These tiny cups are perfect for me in the morning, 2 cups fit into my travel mug.  On days I don't work (those don't exist in the winter) the 2 cups are nice to share between Lee and I
• No garbage.  Nothing keurig or tassimo, it creates way too much garbage.  Frankly they should be outlawed.  This one had a reusable filter, even better!
• Plug in and drip. No stove top or french presses, they are far too messy and take up too much of my morning
• Can fit standard sized mugs, that's my only complaint about these little cups, I cant use my big mugs underneath it.

So if you are perusing the second hand stores and find something like this, please think of me and my poor caffeine deprived body!

Indoors only

Its hard to be motivated to ride when its raining out.  Not only do I have to walk through 75% of a paddock in calf deep mud to get to my horse, I have to convince him to go through all that mud to get to the gate.  He hates mud, really truly hates it.  We end up spending a lot of time playing tug of war in the rain as a result.  Yes the icing on the cake.

It doesn't get any better, since we cant go ride our fun trails like usual.  No we are stuck in an indoor.

Saturday I couldn't bring myself to do it.  However, Saturday my friends DJ, Dre and Paul moved their 4 horses to our barn, so instead of riding, I did have a good snuggle with a few 4 legged friends I had greatly missed.  Have yet to sync up schedules with their humans however!  I was a bit late at work anyway, one of the ponies I noticed was shivering and overall miserable when I went to feed dinner, so I brought her in and spent a good chunk of time trying to towel her off before putting a blanket on.  Ponies take a LONG time to dry!

Sunday, I was equally motivated as Saturday, meaning not at all.  It was still raining straight through and seemed to get even colder.  My lunch break, I had intended on riding, but I got home, had some nice hot leftover lasagna, curled up under a blanket and it was movies and naps until I had to go back to feed the horses dinner. 

Somehow however, after work I pulled myself together to ride.  Perhaps it was because I had already mud wrestled with the smallest pony to put his grazing muzzle on him, so the damage was done.  Swimming to get Bentley wasn't going to make me any worse.

He looked so miserable out in the field too, I think he was much happier to work in the dry arena than stand out in the rain. 

 

So we saddled up, tossed a rainsheet and made our way down to the lower indoor where we ran into Nicole and her mom.  We were the only people around, always nice and quiet on Sundays, but I appreciated having someone else there from a safety standpoint.

Again, we were having trouble picking up the right canter lead, of course he got all crooked after the first attempt and took a lot of time to correct.  Eventually, instead of asking gently for the lead (since it wasn't working, I gave a quick push from the inside and a kick from the outside and voila!  He got it!

It wasn't pretty, but it was correct!

We even did some jumping even though we were in the endurance saddle.  Over a small vertical several times and 2 or 3 over a small oxer.  He was pretty good, a bit difficult to calm after jumping (as soon as we turned the corner, he would pick up!) but enthusiasm is never a bad thing. 

As I had promised myself, I would do some work without stirrups.  Since I was in endurance saddle, I opted to just take stirrups right off.  Sitting trot for a while proved difficult, he was taking the sitting to be signal to canter and get rowdy, and I got jostled quite a bit.  I tried posting, but I kept hitting my thighs on the pommel and was worried my lower leg was moving too much and upsetting him.  We changed directions and was no longer going the direction that we were jumping (left lead, I didn't want to attempt right lead since I just want him to get it, not get it and forget it because hes excited to jump), he was much calmer going that way.  I took that as an opportunity to post and he was good, and I was able to work at keeping my leg still and back without worrying that if I moved a bit, he would take it as a cue to canter. 

Switched directions again and continued posting, slightly more excited again, but much more respectful (perhaps too the posting helped)  since he was being good, I took him over the jump twice so long as he waited for my cue to canter.  He was just wonderful!

Someone had turned off the lights in the barn when we went back up!  Yikes was it ever dark!  And of course, the light switch is at the far end of the barn.  I must have looked pretty funny leading a horse in the dark with my arms waving in front of me.  Good trust exercise I suppose!

Bentley appears as sweet as he really is

The suspense was probably killing you!

Here is Bentley and myself in our halloween costumes Friday.

Yes, he is cotton candy.  Our costume theme was "Fair Food"  Lee didn't want to be a hotdog however. 

Of course, it was super rainy and those furry leg warmers didn't stay like that long, nope, they turned into pink drowned rats stuck to his legs.  The earmuffs did survive and found a new home with our costume assistant.

Later, we rode in everything but the cone and the popcorn box on a barrel course.  Bentley proved himself flexible and put in a respectable round.  He then became a winner in the Simon Says game, with a very good player (Joanna) aboard, it was a 3 way tie, these kids are too darn good at Simon says!

Bareback is better!

Of course, if you live in the area, you know exactly how beautiful it was yesterday.  I didn't get to the barn until after dark, but it was still a nice night out which begged for an outdoor ride.

Bentley was a little difficult to get out of the field, the muddier it gets, the harder this becomes.  He hates walking through mud and just plants his feet and says "find me a better route!"  Of course, in the dark this is impossible for me and I ended up calf deep in mud and pee-poo water.  Perhaps next time I will just mount from off the roundbale and ride him to the gate haha.

Our ride started out really well.  We were walking and trotting nicely, I trotted him over some ground poles and a small crossrail which he was very happy to jump.  He was being super good so like usual, I let him pick where he wanted to go.  He took us over a mini course of all the groundpoles and the crossrail, just picked his own course and wanted to do it ahah. What a funny boy.  Then after the course was complete, he trotted straight to the exit.  Ahh, he wants to go home (is what I assumed)  but I was curious, and let him keep trotting.  We trotted down the laneway towards where he used to be turned out.  Perhaps that's home?  Nope, he trots right on by and out to the cornfields, he wanted to go for a hack.  What a cutie!  I let him go a little ways, but the coyotes sounded really close and active while we were in the ring, and I didn't want to take my chances.

The moon was out (maybe that's why the coyotes were howling?) and the fields were beautifully lit, with a touch of mist, very cool looking night!  I wish I could have continued along the trail, but it wasn't worth the risk.  Boy was he ever happy to go for a night ride and I actually felt very relaxed and comfortable with it too, perhaps next year I will be able to trust him enough to do the moonlit ride at Summer Solstice.

Back to the ring, and to do some canter work.  He hasn't been picking up his right lead recently.  We tried starting with it.  Nope, no luck with that.  Switched directions, praised him for picking up the left lead.  Switched again, still no right lead.  He was starting to get antsy pants and twisty again, as he usually gets in the ring after we have cantered.  Tried getting it a few more times, but he was just getting more worked up.  I think half of it is hes upset because hes confused (the other half I will explain later)  So while we were on the wrong lead, I tried something we hadn't done before, I took him around a circle (on the wrong lead still) over one of the ground poles with standards on the sides, while we crossed the poles, I gave him an extra kick with the outside leg and a good bend in and he got an auto change!  Wonderful!  I let him canter around a few more times to let him know he did a good job.  I think what might have made the difference was

1. It gave him a point of reference, knowing he had to do something different at the pole.
2. It gave me some security to make the inside bend as I had something to aim for and the standards to help keep him on the circle in that point.  Its a mental thing for me I think!
3. He may have taken a half jump over it as he was a little excited, which could have contributed to it also.

We cantered the crossrail a few times, and down the line of ground poles.  Of course, he started getting very excited and wanted to tear through the line at mach speed.  Lots of circling ensued and we went back to the trot and had a lot of half-halting to keep the trot.

Problem arose too that after he cantered, along the side of the ring close to the barn, he again stuck his head to the outside and locked his neck, making ugly trot and being difficult.  Few theories

1. He has canter brain, and nothing can happen until he gets his fix.  Once you pop, you cant stop?
2. Perhaps saddle slip at the canter is putting him off balance, I don't notice it being off balance, but its possible
3. I am expecting it, and doing the wrong thing with my shoulders and seat out of nervousness
4. I am crooked and being lazy about fixing it, using my stirrups as a crutch.

So after some frustrating figure 8s, I took off the saddle and mounted bareback.

As if by magic, all our trot problems were solved.  At first, he didn't want to trot with me bareback, it was one of those "hey up there, I feel you bouncing a lot, should I slow down until you are ok?" kind of things.  But a bit of convincing was all it took and we were trotting around the ring nicely.  No nasty outside bend or trying to run into fence posts.  Even had a good few laps of canter on the left lead (didn't try for the right lead, it wasn't our point there), and back to the trot and he was wonderful.  Took him over the crossrail bareback, and he didn't try at all, knocked over the jump.  Again, I think he was trying to protect me.  Sweet, but since it was the only crossrail in the ring, I wish he had just jumped it! I wasn't about to dismount and remount bareback.  Jumped a little over it's fallen remains to try and get the point across that I was ok up there and he needn't worry.

Still trotted around after that, and no problems.

Our issue must be mental or saddle.  We also don't have problems picking up our lead in the indoor (which is much smaller) or out on trail and in the plateau (which has no enclosures to psych us out).  I will try it with my other saddle and see if I can narrow down the problem

Bentley's halloween costume

I spent all last night working on our halloween costumes.  I burned both my thumbs with hot glue, some of which ended up on my pants, but I am pretty darn pleased with the result.

Heres some pictures of what will be going on us:

Haha... Like I was really going to give much away.

The show is tomorrow, we are totally ready!

Crazy

When I tell people I bought a half Arab, some people think I am crazy.

When I tell people the other half is Trakehner, other people think I am crazy.

When I tell them I bought him at 3 years old, unbroken and barely touched out of a field.  Yup... that girls crazy!

Stereotype crazy horse must therefore equate to crazy human.

Ok I may be crazy, but contrary to most prejudices, he isn't.  In fact, hes far more sane than I.  How far we have come in only 10 months.

Rain brings out the worst in Brampton

Have to get this rant out.

This morning I took the train although it was pouring rain.  My thoughts were to avoid the stress that comes with driving through Brampton in the rain.

Seriously, with the tiniest bit of rain, people there forget how to drive and either crawl out of nervousness, get into accidents, or just somehow find a way to double the commute time.  No thanks!

While I didnt have to deal with drivers, somehow all the train riders at the Bramalea station also lost their brains.  First, I coudlnt get off the train because people were crowding so much, and not offering space.  I thought the general rule is to let people off, then get on.  This rule was thrown into a puddle, and I had to fight my way out.

To top things off, after I managed to push my way through the crowd, I was about to enter the stairwell when a lady opened her giant umbrella right in front of her, right into me.  Yeah, I was hit square on from face to knees with an oversized pink, wet sloppy mess.  Who does that?  Even better, she was literally 2 steps from the train, so instead of apologizing, she just walked her 2 steps, closed her umbrella and got on the train.  Unnecessary AND rude!

Im going to wait by the entrance for her to get off tonight, hopefully I can open my wet sloppy blue umbrella into her face too.

Great ride on Sunday

As I alluded to in my previous post, Bentley was more like himself once under saddle.  We started out in the ring, which was even sloppier than on Friday night, one lap around and that's all we were prepared to handle.  Did I mention yesterday's weather was GORGEOUS?  I flew through my barn chores faster than the speed of sound, made it home for lunch (although I wanted to go right to Bentley, my phone was dead and needed to be charged, not that it mattered because I forgot it at home anyway)

As soon as we hit the trail, Bentley's eyes lit up and he walked more forward, theres the horse I was looking for!  I asked for the trot, and although it was the slowest trot ever, it was a happy and calm one, just out to enjoy the day.  We worked our way down to the plateau and ran into Linda Rick and Dave who were setting up a big grazing field with electrical fence.  I mentioned my concerns to Linda, she agreed his coat isn't what it should be, but also that he was moving fine and seemed happy.  He had a few bites to eat.

I trotted off back to the cornfields and did some laps trotting and cantering around.  He was being such a good boy, I really just let him pick the pace.  He chose a very beautiful canter and I was happy to let it continue.  He is also getting smart about the hills, coming down to a cautious walk before I even have to tell him.  Hence why I let him choose!  He was clearly having fun!

After what seemed like ages of trotting and cantering, I brought him back to the walk as he was getting a bit too sweaty.  He could clearly do more, but it was warm and hes a furball so I just didn't want to get too close to the line.  It was the perfect time to stop, go down to the valley, and take what might have been the longest drink ever from the creek. Actually he knew we were heading toward the creek and made a good speedy trot as soon as we were pointing that direction.  For a while we just stood there and looked around the beautiful valley.  He would just take a drink, relax and look around, drink again, and repeat.  The cold water must also have felt good on his legs.  We wandered around and went through all the creeks and inspected everything.

Again I let him pick the pace, and added the freedom to pick where we went.  He took us up into the big field of the valley and trotted and cantered around there for a while, not just around, but through, up, down and over.  Yes over.  He was feeling so good, he decided to go right over a few of the cross country jumps.  Its fun to feel him excited and also confident going to the jumps and knowing he wanted to do them.  They were just little of course, the smallest logs on course, but twice he felt brave enough to jump some rather large rusty barrels.  Had a good gallop up to them and cleared them beautifully (even though I was prepared for him to run up, decide last minute they were too big, and deek out)  He did change his mind last minute about the tires going uphill, that's ok!  This ride wasn't about trying to get him to go over big jumps, it was about trusting him and just having fun.

We attempted the big hill at the east side of the property.  I wasn't going to as I was worried about the mud, but the down trail looked dry, so we went for it anyway.  Perhaps it was a bad idea, the up hill was much more slippery than the downhill, and he went from bouncing up the base to walking, to slippery climbing.  We made it both intact, but what an effort!  What makes a struggle better?  Maybe the 2 giant deer that almost nailed us as they flew across the path the very moment we reached the top.  I don't know where they went, they were going far too fast to get down that hill in any safe manner, so I got off and walked.  That had been my plan anyway as Bentley was breathing heavy and we had to make it down the hill.

Down the hill wasn't so bad.  It was good to practice the walking downhill on foot, I assume there will be a point where we need this worked out.  It was a little slippery at the top and we both skied down the hill a few feet, but as we came out of the bush it was nice and dry.  I mounted at the bottom and walked him to the creek.  He was still blowing quite hard but came down after the creek.  Of course, as soon as he was, he wanted to go fast again, particularly as he saw the fallen log that makes a fun little jump.  Although I showed him the way around the log and told him he could do it and just walk, nope had to give me a lovely canter and jump again. 

After that I took charge and told him we were just walking and cooling out.  There was a few instances where he tried to convince me "It will be fun"  he said "Look how good I am being" he said, but we just kept walking.

I didn't mention either, the whole time, he felt so calm, relaxed and happy.  He was giving me quiet energy and although it was a slow pace for him, he gave a beautiful stride that just ate up ground.  He kept his head low and in contact/frame the whole time.  Absolutely wonderful!  Now we just have to translate that to the ring!

A little cause for concern.

Bentley has been moved into a new paddock with new paddockmates.  I don't think he is getting along too well with them and I will be keeping my eye on him for a while.

When I went to get him on Sunday afternoon for our ride, he just looked so sullen.  The 4 dark bays were standing in a row eating the hay, and he was off in the distance by a tree looking miserable.  It took a lot to get him to the gate, mostly because of the mud which he did NOT want to step foot in.  Once we were out he ambled along quietly.  I only got more concerned as I was grooming him and he just stood there, so quiet, and still with that miserable look in his eye.  His winter coat has already grown in, but it doesn't feel as soft as I remember it being last year, and just looks kind of pathetic.

I am not sure if he is sick, or missing meals because of the new paddockmates or just grumpy.  I tried to cheer him up with a mint, and while he accepted, he didn't turn into lipping mooch he usually does.

He turned back into his usual self when we hit the trails, and didn't give me any reason to assume hes sick or starving.  I will go into our ride later as it was a great one!

One thing that was peculiar however was he wasn't ripping through my hands in order to try and graze (such as his usual behaviour)  He ate when I offered it, but didn't seem desperate and ate slowly.  Not sure if that's a good or bad thing.

After our ride he was behaving more like himself, and was giving me snuggles. I offered him a small amount of grain and he was happy to have it.  Just checking to make sure he would eat!

When I went to turn him out, he just sat at the gate, trying to nibble me for a while.  He kept giving me the look as if to say "don't leave me here, take me out, i want to be with you not them!"  He looked so sad that there was a fence between us.  So I walked him over to the trough, he had a drink, and after some more pitiful stares at me, he got the message and circled around where the other horses were eating.  He slowly circled closer, and immediately they pinned their ears at him.  Tried again to get some hay by the edge, pinned again. He wandered off to the other side of the paddock again alone.  Banished!

Every time I drove by this weekend, he was on his own while the others pigged out on the hay.  Hopefully this doesn't last long!  Either way, I will have to pay extra close attention to what hes doing out there!

Any surprise Indy has a big cut?

This is what happened both days at work when I went to clean and treat Indy's cut.  Figures.

Standing on my horse

I was able to get out and ride on Friday night and Lee came with me to watch/help.  I was disappointed to find that my garmin had turned itself on in my purse and the battery was just about dead, but I wanted to ride outside anyway.  The outdoor ring was pretty sloppy from all the rain we have had recently.  Have I mentioned, Bentley hates walking through mud?  So a couple of leg scrapes against the fence later, I was making him go through the slop.

Everything was going well until we tried to canter going clockwise.  He doesn't like to pick up his right lead in that ring for some reason.  To make matters worse, as soon as I brought him back to trot to correct it, he formed an L shape to the outside from his shoulders and neck.  Just refusing to be straight or bend in.  Trying to correct it, we circled for what had to be 15 minutes.  Did I say circled?  I meant triangled.  Just couldn't get him bending in.  Poor guy had to trot for so long in that slop, he was getting worn out.  Of course, it was only a problem at the trot and walking work didn't seem to help.

I tried asking the question in a different way - figure 8s.  That seemed to help him out and after a few angular 8s, he figured it out.  Perhaps because he was only getting praise on the one direction, he put the 2 and 2 together.  By that point however, he had done more than enough work in the sloppy footing for the night.

We moved into the indoor where the footing was dry and the lighting was much better (it was dark for a while before, but we have an outdoor light... still isn't great however)  I took off his saddle and walked him around the arena bareback, giving him the option to pick where we walked.  With this freedom, he invented a new game.  Here is how you play.

1. walk up to jump.
2. Is the jump big enough to step over?  If yes, do so.
3. If no, act like you are going to step over it anyway so your rider giggles nervously.  Knock the jump over, if possible, press down on the rail so that you can also knock over the standard too.
4. Once jump has been demolished, walk over it.  Turn around a few times and keep walking over it.
5. Repeat. 

Start with the individual jumps, then go for the oxers once you are up to the challenge.  Step between the 2 jumps of the oxers and stand there for a while before completing steps 3&4.

Boy did he ever like doing this.

Since we were still bareback and he was pretty cool, I decided to try a short trot.  Something we have never done before because of his ouchy spine.  We trotted along and at first he was very confused, but once I convinced him he didn't need to go back to the walk to save me, he trotted along happily, perhaps more so than with the saddle on.  I also discovered that if I sit back and relax, it wasn't as sharp as before.  Yay! 

So we tried a little canter in his happy direction, he just loved it and so did I!

I had Lee take down the sheet of wood that we use to block the arena door and put it on the ground, so we could practice walking over "bridges".  He proved that this trick was far too easy, been there done that!

So the next step was to improve our accuracy, walk on, stop, square up, stand still and don't leave the sheet.  He was happy to just stand there.

So of course, I had to up it.  I dropped the reins and laid forward and back on him.  Still standing.  Good boy!  I swing my legs up behind me.  Still standing. Good boy!  I roll around a bit and do some weird sort of 360. Still standing. Good boy!  I get up on my hands and knees on his back. Still standing. Good boy!  Then, my riskiest move yet.  On my 2 feet, no hands, standing on his back.  Still standing. Good boy!

We called it quits there.  Looks like we may have to take up vaulting!

Getting a new car

I am fortunate enough to have an understanding employer, and took yesterday off to do everything related to my car in one shot.

First thing I had to do, was get everything in order for my new car!  I am buying my Aunt Nancy's Camry, my first time buying used, so it was a little confusing, but all the details got sorted out with the help of my mom.  After purchasing a UVIP online and having it not arrive in time, I started my day with purchasing another one from the DMV.  Figures, when I got home later that afternoon it was in my mailbox!

Then it was off to Hamilton to see Nancy and get everything signed.  Of course, it looked easy on the GPS, but the exit I needed to get off at was closed, and Hamilton is filled with one way streets and I got lost.  Still, I was on schedule!

Next I went to oakville to get the cheque from my insurance company, they made me sweat just a little bit when she thought I may have had to have Lee there too since the registration is in both our names.  They let me go with just me signing. 

Then a quick stop at the greenhawk warehouse sale to get some winter essentials!

Deposit the cheque, but of course it wont clear for 4 business days.  They also couldn't find my car loan on file so I will need to call nissan finance myself.

Then it was time to pick up my tires, I had just bought brand new summer and winter tires this year along with a fancy set of rims.  There was no way I was letting those things go to the scrapyard!  So we switched the old (punctured but still with tread, which apparently is the only thing that matters) tires back onto the old rims and I carted them to the collision shop.

Went to the collision shop and got to see my car again for the first time since the accident. 

He was actually able to drive it into the shop, it really couldn't have been that bad!  Just pieces of plastic and metal fell off as he went over a speedbump.

As I removed my mess from inside the car, he removed the tires.  He was actually able to remove most of the nuts on the wheels by hand.  It wasn't something that would be a result of the accident, it was that the dealer who put our new rims on didn't tighten them enough... or seemingly at all!  He informed me that the wheels could have come off the car literally any day.  I may have never known if I hadn't been in the accident.  I can also only imagine the type of accident I could have been involved in had one of the wheels come off on the highway or something.  Scary to think about!  Perhaps the accident was a stroke of good luck, not bad!

Once I had the plates and everything, I finished up by going to the DMV and getting temporary registration for the car and returned our rental.  I wrenched my back in the bad spot trying to move wheels down into our basement.  So I took it easy for the night.  Feeling a bit better today, hopefully that means I can get to the barn.

Bentley likes jumps... perhaps too much!

So as I mentioned before, I have started taking Bentley over some small jumps to get him used to the idea.

Last night after a hack in the fields with Heather, we did a crossrail out in the ring before we moved into the lower indoor arena where the footing is better and since it was getting pretty dark.  We didn't have a lot of time as a lesson was moving in there, but we wanted to try a little line that was set up already.  Off the top of my head, I am remember it as a 12" vertical, 3 strides to perhaps a 15" vertical.  Nothing to get excited about.  Or so I thought.

Bentley easily went over the first time but was starting to get that head-to-the-outside-stiff-necked-ignoring-all-commands sort of excitement.  Especially as we would turn in the direction of the minuscule jumps.  Liz was there and suggested some different circle patterns since we weren't having much luck circling.  Why?  Because when we circle in front of the jump, he would just ignore the inside rein and trot himself right up to the jump, resulting in my last minute attempts to snap him away (they were successful but never fun!)  Perhaps this is why my back is bugging me today.  It was slow motion calm bolting.  Never thought those words went together haha.

Eventually he cooled down about the jumping, and we walked and trotted over the jumps.  He did knock it down once, so I dismounted and put it back up.  As I remounted, Bentley decides hes going to walk off with me on his side, turn around and walk over the line of jumps.  Silly horse!  I couldn't help but laugh.

We got booted out of that ring for the lesson that was coming in, and made our way to what I am going to call the trot ring (because we aren't capable of cantering around the tight turns its so small!)  After about 1/2 an hour of trying to help Michelle get her new project -  "investment" as he shall be referred to - through the door, we were able to resume our ride.

I set up a jump down the centreline as a small crossrail.  And yup, as I went to mount... AGAIN he decides to practise walking over the jump.  We weren't even facing toward it, he just made a walking bee-line for it as I mounted.  Silly horse.

We jumped it a few times, raised it to a vertical which was maybe 2' or 2'3" to give him a bit more of a challenge (he doesn't really jump the little ones)  A short distance with a half stride the first time, then progressively better.  He started to get excited again so some circles before one more jump and it was perfect!  Ended it there and the happy horse stood quietly for the rest of the night while I cleaned my tack locker.

He is such a fun boy!

Shopping fun

My sister was around my work last evening, so she waited for me to finish work and offered me a ride home.  She had a bad day so we went for a little retail therapy and Bentley got the night off.

I got a nice bright emerald green sweater which I am wearing today, some earrings (long since overdue since I lost all my studs and have been without earrings for probably 2 months) a swimsuit and beach shoes for our upcoming cruise and a nice sparkly t-shirt.  Of course, Bentley is never out of my mind, and I was hoping to find some cute accessories for his Halloween costume.

It wasn't until the last store on our stop that I found inspiration.  I cant say what I got or what he is going to be, but the clerk asked me "Are you sure you want TWO of these?" And gave me a look that said I shouldn't even want one of these.  She seemed satisfied with my answer of "its for my horse" but I am sure she will be telling her friends about the weirdo.

Last year I won the costume contest with Fraser.  I go all out with my horsey costumes.  I plan on winning again this year! 

My best part of that costume?  Totally the shirt cuffs!  But the hat and bow tie is pretty darn cute too.

Oh and also at that last store, a bunch of jelly feeling watches that had stopwatch feature for $2.50.  I bought 4.  I can always use stopwatches.

Unexpected for our little town

While I was wrapping things up with my potential partboarders and leading Bentley out of the barn, my phone started ringing.  Its mom, she will understand if leave it and call her back, its probably just a reminder to pick up my mail anyway since I have forgotten after barn every night this week.

Then Lee called me, I did answer and he asked "are you going home now" "No I am going back to Halton Place to do my evening chores" but as I finished Lee exclaimed something about a bunch of ambulances and stuff "Don't worry Lee, its not me this time"

So I went back to Halton Place and finished up my chores happily as usual. 

On my way back, I remembered "oh yeah!  the mail, well I guess I should listen to the message" I certainly didn't expect what I heard on the message.

"Hey Sarah, you should probably come get your mail later today, the police have blocked off all of our road and SWAT is here"

Seriously?

I called back and found out that it had been mostly cleared up, and went right there.

So apparently this is what happened: http://www.theifp.ca/news/updated-neighbourhood-in-shock/

My family could all see SWAT with guns drawn just one house over pointing down the intersection.  Apparently it all happened 4 houses up from the intersection.

My sister caught a few photos of the mayhem (not the actual crime itself, just what our street looked like with all the officers around)  Here's the one she posted to facebook:

Very unexpected, we live in a town where our doors are unlocked, people are friendly with their neighbors, and the newpaper's police blotter usually consists of stories like "April - trespasser took down christmas lights on X drive, lights were left on front porch"  Yes, there was a crime committed when someone helped get the point across that lights shouldn't stay on through spring. I should have kept and framed that story!  Once a story made front page news of a rock being thrown through a window.

I tell you, people will be talking about this for a LONG time.

Bentley on Trial

I was delighted on Saturday morning to look at my blackberry and find an email from someone responding to my partboard ad.

I honestly didn't think that I would get any responses because what I want out of a partboarder is a difficult bill to fill.  Big things are that they wouldn't be able to show, have enough experience that they can handle him if he has a youngster moment and they won't take away from how I am training him, and lastly that they wouldn't be able to jump for a few months until I have schooled him enough to know that he a) wont be stupid and b) his leg can handle it.

I find most of the people who want to partboard want to do so because they want a horse to show, so I wasn't expecting much.

They were able to come that day on my lunch break, and Bentley behaved so well.  He did do that turning to the outside thing when he went to canter clockwise, but other than that and a lot of farting, he was a great boy.  They (like most people) cant believe how quiet yet responsive he is for his age and experience.

Of course, they loved him.  Anyone who gets on him loves him, its just the way he is.  I was happy to tell them that if they choose Bentley, I would be comfortable riding him.  Now they get to decide if they want a horse whose inexperience actually helps to point out if you have riding flaws (hes my best coach that way!) or if they want more of a packer.  It would actually be 2 people partboarding, mother and daughter if they do decide to go with him, which is nice because I am more comfortable with an adult always being present.

It also gave me hope that perhaps there is a market for him out there!  I guess I will keep him advertised and see what sort of attention he gets.  Just gotta get them out there to try him, hes so easy to fall for.

Little leaps of faith

Well its about time that Bentley start learning to jump again since his legs seem to be 100% again.

On Friday, we warmed up in the outdoor and then moved into the smaller indoor to try jumping a few small things.

Now, the upper indoor is very small, and we soon learned we cant get a canter around the corners in it.  Not what I wanted at all!  However, Bentley was responsive so we cantered down the "long" ends and trotted around the corners.  It all happened very fast but was good practise for our aids.  He was very good, so I had Lee lay out a ground pole on the long side for us to canter over.

We practised getting our spots over the ground pole, and moved it up to a tiny crossrail.  He cantered over it just fine and was listening to me making adjustments.  We turned it into a tiny vertical and again, he just picked up his feet over it without really jumping, but our distances were ok.

So we moved it up another 6" (probably only 18" or max 2" by this point) and tried it again.  He did kind of jump it, but our distances got off.  It didn't help that he started getting excited and would turn his head to the outside right before we would make the turn down toward the jump, making it difficult to get the correct lead.  A few fumbles resulted before the jump, breaking into a half trot or doing some weird steps (while ignoring my half halts)  We tried it 3 more times and by the 4th time he finally listened to my suggestions from above, and nicely corrected his canter stride, making a beautiful jump.  One more time, beautiful again!

I love when he figures out that working together is much better than against each other, he was so proud of himself after and walked around with his neck low and his chest puffed out.

I rewarded him by cooling out (however not a lot of cooling was necessary!) bareback.  We worked on leg yielding and he was great bareback!  Far better than under saddle.  I don't know if its my fault or the equipment's fault.  Unfortunately he has a super spiny back and I don't think we will be working on that outside of the walk!

My Cat is Weird

She enjoys fine wine.

She morphs into a raccoon.

 

She hogs the chair.

And finds strange and inconvenient places to sleep.

Sarah gets a new car?

Well, its official.

I heard from my insurance company this morning and our car was deemed a total loss.  

So now comes the decision as to what I am going to do for transportation.

I have gotten quite used to taking the train to work.  It takes me 4 minutes to walk to the station near our house, half an hour to get to the station near my work, and Tayla picks me up and takes me to work.  Yes, its pretty convenient!  Lee works walking distance in town, so that's good too!

However, there is no train to get to the barn or my weekend job, and come mid November Tayla is leaving for Maternity leave.  Do I want to do the 20 min walk down derry Rd in winter?  Then theres things like groceries, banking and other errands.  I don't exactly have lots of time to spend walking to the ends of town, I do plan my whole life down to the minute.

So alas, another car may be necessary, even if it just spends most of its time in the driveway. 

Question now becomes what do I get?  I always like new cars because I know nothing about cars and really rely on the warranty and peace of mind that a new car brings.  I know I can trust it.  With our altima, the transmission needed work last year and spent a week in the shop, the warranty really saved us on that!  Plus, I keep a strict budget and the payments for a new car is already planned for, so life wouldn't change at all, we could even save a bit more per month if I got a cheaper car or put a larger downpayment.

Of course, the idea of a used car also appeals for me.  While it brings about some uncertainty, the money we get back from our current car plus what we have in savings could mean we are able to purchase a (well)used car outright and the monthly payments can be re budgeted (to horse expenses maybe?!)

So some pondering still to do. 

More Oktoberfest pics

All photos taken by Wendy Webb. 

Catching up

Well I still haven't ridden Bentley since Oktoberfest.

I'm a bad mum, I know!

I just had too much going on with the Harvest Hack and mileage program at our barn to even consider riding last week, worked on Sunday, and Monday Tuesday were spent catching up on sleep, chores and getting ready for winter.

Hopefully tonight will be the night.  I am waiting to hear if Linda and I are going to have a lesson as per our usual Wednesday routine.

It may be an interesting ride since on Saturday he shook poor Heather S. off not once but twice.  The first time, he was ran into by a horse who at first didn't want to cross the creek, then bolted into Bentley once he decided that was the only way to get across.  This made Bentley bolt away and Heather just couldn't stay on.  The next time was when another horse went over a jump, Bentley bolted again.  Perhaps he was still shaken from the first incident.  Hopefully the troubles don't carry over tonight.

Back to work!

And couldn't be happier.

Something about working in a beautiful barn with wonderful horses feels so zen.  Its hard to believe one needs a second job to relax from the rest of life, but it really is my sweet escape.

No planning, calculating or analyzing, just breathing in the warm smells of hay and leather and some physical activity scooping poop and sweeping aisles. 

I'm sure some must wonder why I choose to do this on weekends instead of either relaxing at home, going for a weekend vacation or working something more to my strengths. 

They aren't horse people.

The Harvest Hack

Well its over now for the year, what a relief!

For the most part, things went according to plan, but I learned a few new things.

• Its hard to tell someone they aren't ready to enter the higher division.  Its especially difficult for me because I dont know some of the riders personally.  In one case, a girl had entered a division that Laura didn't feel she was ready for.  I got to be the one to break the news to her.  Its especially difficult when the parent isn't a rider and doesn't understand how horses can be.  We came to a compromise where she could complete the first lap as if in the lower division, and if she still wanted to, she could complete the second loop, boosting her up to the higher division (distance-wise).  Well, the trail helped explain it for me, the girl had a fall when her horse stumbled getting out of the creek.  She went on to finish and won the lower division.  Happy face!  It certainly made up for the rocky start.
• People at our barn go a lot slower than an actual OCTRA event.  The gobble gallop was designed to be the same as bronze level set speed, but I don't believe any of the riders met the minimum 4.04 mph.  So perhaps next year we will knock it down to 2 levels again and just keep the slower speeds.  Everyone had a lot of fun simply going around the property, speed isn't a concern!
• Volunteers make all the difference! (Ok I already knew this) but it certainly became further ingrained.  Marg was there to help us out, and what a help she was!  Cannot thank her enough, the girls loved her and she was so informative.  She even brought Desmil for one of our girls to ride with.
• Some things just cannot be planned for.  Cranky horses who don't want to leave the valley so you cant leave gates open?  Unexpected parking lot work being done?  Tremendous gale-force winds? Lame horses?  3 people asking for the same horse?  Spanky horses who turn good horses into ride and tie mounts so they can go back to barn?  Yes there was a lot of changes to be made as we went along and proved to only be minor speedbumps instead of total roadblocks.  Perhaps this will help us next year, more "what if's" to consider.
• Check the files!  Oops, I emailed myself last years harvest hack spreadsheet and lost all of my work calculating literally EVERYTHING out and the list of all riders.  Luckily I had all the forms with me AND had made the packages up in advance with good notes on them. 
• People like pizza!

Stacey and Maddy turned into a ride and tie team when one rider had a fall from her pony who just wouldn't cooperate!

Hitting the Mark

My youtube video of Waffles and Monti playing has hit one million views on youtube (actually this is Sunday's news, but I havent been at a computer to officially blog it.

The #1 question

I keep being asked what the result is on my car.

Only answer is no answer.

I am guessing because of the long weekend, I wont find out until later today or maybe even tomorrow.  Until then I will continue on with my rental car and try and stay as calm as I can.

Here is a picture of the damage if you want to ponder it yourself.

Barefoot horse = no horse shoes for luck

If you are on my facebook, you probably already know a bit about what I am about to say here.

Last night I was in a car accident.

Yikes!

2 theories here:
1) Bad things happen in 3's - My fall 3 weeks ago, last Friday I had my debit number and pin nabbed from a fraud machine, and now last night car accident.
2) Every 1.5-2 years I am in an accident.  Year and a half ago I was rear ended at a stoplight (luckily that was minor), 2 years before that an oncoming car swerved into my lane and head on collision.  2 years before that I was also rear ended at a light.  The 2 years before that I was just getting my license.

So what actually happened?

I had been marking trail at the barn for the harvest hack this weekend, crossing the creek in my rubber boots (which I had learned ARENT actually waterproof and quickly filled with water).  As soon as darkness fell, I set off to the dollar store to get gift bags for prizes.  On my way, coming up to a red light, I went to brake but my wet boots slipped off the brake immediately and in just an instant I hit the car ahead of me stopped at the red light.

We were both uninjured. A few people came over to help us and make sure we were OK.  Many more people yelled things like "Nice driving!" and "Idiot" from the side of the road (mostly teenagers).  Its nice to know there are so many caring individuals in this world.  I seriously cant comprehend what would make a person so mean. I think back to a few accidents I witnessed as a kid and instead of making judgements, I just dropped everything to help. 

A police officer was actually getting gas at the station right beside where the accident happened.  He was very nice and helpful.  My victim was also very compassionate and accepted my numerous sincere apologies.  They both actually couldn't have been any nicer, didn't say a mean word to me, just wanted to help.

So the good news is of course that no injuries happened.  The bad news is, we aren't sure what will happen to the car, it may be a write off.  Now we just have to wait and see.  I will be looking for an early resolution to my ticket, which hopefully can bring the charges down from careless driving to following too close.  I can continue to take the train to work (which I prefer anyway) and have a rental car to get me other places in the meantime. 

Now I just have to be patient.

How we re-habbed

So while I have talked about it endlessly, I think I need a summary of what I did with Bentley to rehab him over the last 2 months since his lameness recurred.

First off: Products/Supplements.
Put on B vitamin to cool him out a little in hopes to stop the field sillies so he may relax and heal.
Put on E/Sel vitamin as he doesnt have access to fresh grass and could use antioxidents
Ayurvedic supplement Re-Prieve from Neachai Equine (http://www.neachai.ca/products.php)
Pot-Of-Gold as a cream after each ride from Neacha (http://www.neachai.ca/products.php)

Weeks 1&2 - At the barn every day, alternated days of work 1 day massage, next day an hour of walking.
Week 3 - Added 5 mins of trot to our rides, down to 1 massage a week.  Hip Stretch, pelvis tucks, shoulder rotation stretches.  Stepping slowly over bales of hay (unmounted).  Tail rotations, Tail pull.  Backing up hill 10 strides.  Walk down paved driveway for 10 mins. Would pick a few of the previous to do each day.
Week 4 - Same stretches and exercises, 10 mins trotting total per workout (broken up into 4 2.5 min intervals).  Lateral work in walk.
Week 5 - Up to 20 mins trotting (4x5mins) per ride.  Lateral work in trot. Had my fall.
Week 6 - Back on for a lesson, walk trot and cantering.
Week 7 - I was not well enough to ride, Heather rode him once.
Week 8 - Tested to see if I was ok, I was!  We completed our 12 miles, FAST, and the leg held up wonderfully.  Heather also completed fast 12 miles.  So 24 miles in one weekend.  No swelling, heat, lameness.  Not even windpuffs.

Back's healing and back to work

Monday I went for post-ride massage.  It was a different RMT this time, I believe I must have arrived in their clinic right around the changeover period.

The RMT didnt really go deep this time.  She also stated that there was barely anything in there.  Apparently she too rides (although its jumpers) and of course agreed with me wholeheartedly about the benefits of riding when it comes to improving back and hip problems.  Still working on getting Lee in the saddle though.

Today I barely feel anything, I would say I am at 98% of my top shape.

This comes in perfect time because I will be starting at Halton Place again this weekend.  Can't wait to see them again and meet the new critters. I hear there are 2 new kittens and 4 rabbits that have joined the family since the end of April.

Also, my bank account will greatly appreciate the extra cash flow once again as it dwindled a bit throughout the competition season!

Sunday at Oktoberfest

So we had made the decision on Saturday that I would not be riding on Sunday, and that instead my sister would take Bentley out in the 12 mile.  Lee had gone home for the night and was scheduled to arrive with her at 10am so she could groom him and tack him up.  Linda was prepared to do her first 50 mile ride, so this worked well too as I could crew for her on most checks.

Linda started her day early and fed both the horses.  I slept in until a whopping 6:45 when I decided I should go out and about to make sure Linda got off to a good start and that Bentley didn't try and escape when Sable left camp.

 

I busied myself by tidying the RV and getting Bentley's scorecard copied over.  I kept checking on Bentley who behaved himself in his stall, but clearly wanted to go for another ride.  Every time he heard me mulling about the campsite, he would poke his head out and look at me as if to say "are you ready to ride yet? How much longer are you going to make me wait!"

Linda came in from her first loop in about an hour and a half.  Of course, a huge smile on her face, one of the many reasons crewing for her is almost as much fun as riding the trails yourself!

Heather and Lee arrived LATE.  I was starting to get worried because there wasn't much time to tack and clean up.  I ended up brushing him myself for the most part (and it didn't hurt as much as I expected).  While Heather finished the job, I gave her the lowdown on the rules, the trail conditions and his behaviour.  She was happy to hear he could be trusted for the most part.

By this point he was pretty darn excited to have that saddle on again.  While he was good to tack up, he got a little silly and wouldn't stand for mounting... or any point after that.  Heather did her mounted trot out for the vets (to make sure he hadn't gotten sore overnight) then she and Amber were off!  I dearly hoped she remembered all the instructions and tips I fired off at her.

Maybe half an hour, 45 mins after she hit the trail, Linda came back from her second loop.  Lee and I had used that time to muck the paddocks and prepare fresh food for both of the horses.  Linda did all her own electrolyting and vetting so it was pretty smooth overall.

Then Heather came in after about 20 minutes of Linda's hold and we raced over to meet her and get Bentley down.  He came down to somewhere between 56 and 60 almost immediately (they had walked in).  But again, the excitement caused him to stay there for a while until we said... ok we think its close enough and he passed about 8 or 9 minutes after their in time.  Both Heather and Amber were grinning as they came in.

"How was your ride Heather"  "Great, we had so much fun and its beautiful"  and then very quickly and quietly "oh and there was an unexpected dismount"  AS IF I WERENT GOING TO HEAR THAT!  "Were there other horses in front of you?" "yeah"  "was he acting silly"  "a bit"  "your reins weren't short enough were they?"  "Uhhhhh"  Yes he had given a bit of a buck, half a mile into the trail, just after the driveway where I had instructed them to walk.  Sounds like the same experience I had the day before, only I didn't trust him with his head until after the horses were clear.

Luckily Heather landed in the trail which is sandy and not a tree.  Her arm was a little sore but she seemed ok and had gotten through loop 1 and was game to do loop 2.  Also, Bentley didn't take off after those horses who seemed to bother him so much and other than walking a few steps away from heather when she got up, he stayed with her.  Very happy I didn't have to test that out myself, who knows what that would have done to my back!

They went out on loop 2, and for a while I got to hang out and catch up with Diane who was crewing for another 50 first timer.  Turns out her and Linda ended up riding most of the trail and finishing together (along with Tracey too)

Heather came in again before Linda (she was only riding a 6 mile loop instead of 12) as they decided to do a faster 2nd loop to get Bentley working (and hopefully tire him out!)  Well he did look pretty tired when he came in.  No heavy breathing and pulsed down very quickly, but was looking a little quiet and sleepy.  Good! He passed the pulse easily and after 10 minutes from her in time, Lee counted him at 12 beats per 15 second count (48bpm) 

Somewhere between the parameter pulse and the scored pulse Linda came in and I rushed off to help her while Lee and Heather took Bentley to do final vetting.  Of course Linda passed with flying colours yet again.

I asked Heather what Bentley got, and she was disappointed to announce 56bpm (which only earns her a grade 5 completion)  We had to remind her that she rode him, he met parameters (even beyond!) and that she did her job correctly.  If he got excited again during the final scoring and brought his pulse back up, she had done all she could and it wasn't her fault, just a reality of a young green horse.  Chances are it didn't help that Sable came in at that time.  I could hear him calling to her across the pulse area.  They aren't too attached yet, but enough that it could cause some issues for sure.

I asked Heather what her time was, and she remembered it being 2:05 so we looked at the sheet I had made up and she was a little disappointed to find out that at best she would have only earned a grade 3 after what felt like a speedy ride.  The slow pulse down at the hold certainly attributed to that.  I showed her the other times, and after she realized it was literally a minute difference between columns, she kind of got it.

Rick showed up about an hour after Linda had went out for her last loop, and waited around with us for her to finish.  We had moved Bentley into Sables electric paddock at that time and Lee put away the borrowed panels of Bentleys paddock.  At one point Bentley had discovered he could break the twine holding the panels to the trailer, open the panels up, and scurried over to sables paddock to get into her food bucket.  Escape one paddock to get into another?  Hmm.  Weird horse.

We continued to clean up campsite while we waited.

Linda came in and I ran over to greet her and help her cool down.  In fact, she arrived just in time for dinner.  So once she had vetted out, I immediately took over Sable so she could go eat. 

I think it was around this time Lee told me "I think Bentley is 007"  Oh?  Then Lee explained to me how Bentley was wandering around the electric paddock, looking for a place to roll.  Found a spot right beside the fence and proceeded to roll under the wire and onto the other side.  His second escape of the day!  And from 2 different types of enclosures.  Lee also was very sure that this escape was planned based on the way he analyzed each spot before he followed through with the roll.  Wait, didn't Sable just do that by accident at the last training ride?  Hmmm. They must be swapping stories in the trailer.

Lee became a horse post after that as Bentley could no longer be trusted anywhere.

Heather  came back from the awards.  She had remembered her time wrong by 10 minutes and was happy to know that she COULD have earned a grade 1 had the heart rate been 44 below, so the grade 5 wasn't so bad anymore. 

We then proceeded to horse post both the horses while Rick and Lee took down the paddock and the rest of the campsite.  Linda was still at dinner and awards so we decided to start loading the horses.  For those who read this that aren't horsey, here is a special treat:

Yes that's what a horse looks like when its ready to go in a big metal box.

Loaded Bentley first, who was being quite a brat.  He had gotten his second wind by this point and was likely disappointed that he didn't get to live in the Dufferin and ride on trails forever.  He planted his feet and wouldn't budge.  Lee got the whip out and gave him some light encouragement, gradually increasing because he clearly didn't care.  Then with a tug of the lead, he decided, nope, I'm not going, twirled on his hind, kicked out at lee and dragged me off the trailer with my sore back.  Grrr.  He did this one more time til I got mad, gave him a good growl and snap that head to me so he could see I meant business, then his usual punishment of disengaging the hindquarters.  I have a very scary growl.  I think I must have scared the neighbors even.  Who cares.  I walked him up to the trailer and could barely get out of the way fast enough as he practically self loaded.  Yes!!

Sable couldn't have been happier to get on.  After her first 50, the trailer was a welcome sight and she practically dragged us on with her.  Linda came back at this time and we were ready to go.  How smooth was that?!

Oh and we recorded our distance home, 85 km, only 5km farther than Linda rode!

Of course, the horses at home were very interested in the stories Bentley had to share and he strutted around his paddock like something really special.  I think he is too :)

 

Oktoberfest Saturday Ride

So of course by now you know, we made it to Oktoberfest!  Bentley was finally going to try his first ride.

We got him all dolled up with his rainbow denim shipping boots and his new black and red shipping halter.  We also tossed his birthday Lae on him to complete the whole rainbow look.  Of course, he loved looking so snazzy and stood perfectly still in the crossties as we got Sable ready too.  Linda showed up with the trailer ready and both horses loaded on pretty easily!

Off we went!

Once we got there, we left the horses on the trailer while Linda set up the paddock and I went to go tell Sue "oh by the way, I'm miraculously better and AM going to ride today, so pull that entry back out!"  Fortunately we found everything after a bit of confusion.  A little more confusion when I spoke to Marg, I had arranged with her to use her extra corral, but sent her an email saying I wasn't going to be coming.  I didn't hear back so I assumed she didn't get it.  She did, and she assumed I wasn't coming and the corral was promised out!  Yikes!  But thankfully she was able to spare a few panels, enough to make a suitable stall for Bentley.  OCTRA people's generosity and patience never ceases to astound me!  I cant thank her enough!

Lee showed up around then to help us out, in other words he became a post for an hour or 2 while we set everything up and finished all these last minute changes.    Everyone was really happy to hear about my improvement and how I would be riding again!

The Peciles were able to find someone to ride Desi in the 25 mile for Sunday, Laura's horse didn't pass vet check.  So with the exception of me not riding the 25, everyone who was supposed to ride got to!  And I was able to tell my sister the day before who she would be riding.

On to vetting.  Bentley was very good, all A's and his heartrate was 44 (not bad considering all the excitement!)  Good enough to start.  Ok, he did get one A- because he stomped his feet at Fred.  There may have been a fly, but I don't think he likes Fred to much (apparently he kicked a bit the following day!)  I also made it through vetting, wasn't sure I would be able to do the running, but I did and just barely kept up with my excited young thing.

He was very good to mount up but wouldn't stand still.  Not like that's a new behaviour for him, we just kept walking and walking and walking throughout the ride check.  Narrowly missing some red ribboned tails.  At least I have the setspeed rules down pat now.  All I need to know is "white loop, 40 hold white loop"  Good. 

I noticed someone on a pinto that looked new to the sport and introduced myself.  Yes, she indeed was at her first ride, also her horses first ride.  "This is not my first ride, but it is his, want to go together?  I know the rules and as long as we both don't mind each other schooling the naughties, we should be ok"  And that was the start of that!  Amber and I were trail buddies for the weekend.

We started at 1:20 down the drive, we walked it because of the concussion and the getting used to horses bunching thing.  Several of the riders behind us passed, which upset Amber's horse greatly.  Bentley wasn't happy, but behaved comparatively sane.

Of course, I start out with some questions about how she heard about the sport.  Turns out she has been the farrier on call for 3 years!  Wow, she has known about it for longer than me, but on her first ride.  Wonderful!  I also found out that her horse was a Tennessee walker and apparently the coloration is pretty rare.

Once we got off the road and into the bush, we were ready to start trotting (ok well after taking a good look at one SCARY rock that literally every horse i have ridden there looks at)  Horses were ahead of us and our boys just ripped off!  We came up behind them for a bit, but Bentley was still acting funky, on the forehand and just giving some attitude that I deemed "short rein" worthy.  Nothing bad happened and he really wasn't terrible, but man was he ever difficult to stop with a sore back!  Funny thing was once we were close (with Amber behind us) he still didn't relax.  Nope, turns out hes competitive and didn't want any living soul in his way!

We passed that group when we had a chance, only to have another group of bums to run up.  I passed, but Amber couldn't get by and told me to go ahead.  As soon as we passed Bentley chilled into a big happy trot in a long low frame.  I kept checking behind me for Amber wondering if I should walk (and risk the other horses coming up again) but after a minute or 2 she came cantering up behind me and the 2 of us settled into a very brisk trot with some very happy horses.

The rest of the ride, I practically rode him on the buckle.  He was so darn happy with his new job and his placement, I didn't have to worry about him at all. He was moving in such a relaxed state with a good frame, I know he will be getting a great topline if he keeps it up!  For once too, I could trust Bentley over terrain and he was easily trotting through roots, stones, up and down gentle hills and even down a gentle hill with roots causing step downs!  Usually he pays no attention to his feet!  Love this change!

Amber kept up well with us too.  Her gelding is about the same size and clearly a good mover also.  He was breathing a bit heavy after some of the bigger hills, but really we were almost perfectly paired up.  So lucky!

We caught up with Jess on Earl after a little bit and continued the ride with them.  I believe she was out 2 minutes earlier than us with Michelle and Solstice.  In fact, Lee caught her on her way out!  Apparently she had yelled to me as she passed the start line that she would meet up with us on the trail.  I didn't here it as I was far too excited and distracted.  I am glad we caught up anyway!

We walked in the last half mile, we knew it was that because of the CTR corner that we all remembered from Summer Solstice ride.  We were hoping to get the pulses down.

Well, I don't think it did much.  Bentley was so darn pleased with himself and excited for what he had just done that he was sitting at 15 beats in a 15 count, and we needed 14 to enter our hold!  Geeze! He pulsed down almost immediately, but just couldn't break that threshold.  7 minutes later and we were able to enter our hold.  That's 7 minutes added to our total time.  Another factor could be that we arent able to sponge Bentley yet.

For once, Bentley was too excited to eat.  He never misses anything edible, so this surprised but didn't worry us too much.  Vetting resulted in all A's but he was being a little brat.  The one time he actually acted like a 4 year old!  He was dancing and wiggling and rubbing his mouth all over me.   Then we got back to his food and crew area and he aggressively tossed over his food bucket, knocked over the crewing bucket, an array of my water bottles and then dragged us to other peoples crew areas to find more things to knock over.  He was much like when toddlers try and knock stuff off tables and laugh and laugh and laugh "what happens if I knock this over...."

Hold went by quickly with these antics, and saddle went back on and we were back out on trail.  Oh and Amber pulsed down only 1 minute later than us, so we just went with her!  This time there was no bunching of other horses in front of us (since we passed most of them on the first loop) and we settled into that wonderfully large trot.  Even decided to canter a bit in some of the straight wide areas on this loop as he had proved himself trustworthy when leading.  We caught up with Jess again (who had pulsed down faster than us) and the 3 horses happily continued their journey.

We took it a lot faster and Bentley was so professional feeling!  No trouble at all, and we were both having so much fun.  A few more canters all together including a good bound up a few of the larger hills (ok not all them needed it, but we were having fun!).  Instead of walking the last half mile, we let them canter in... victory gallop!

Bentley pulsed down under 56 really quickly this time.  He seemed to know he was done and I think the victory gallop satisfied him enough to not act up.  In my mind, that victory gallop was the whole ride, I feel like we just flew!  Oh and we did, our last lap was 7.3 mph.  Making up for our slower first lap and pulse down. 

Much better behaved for pulsing and vetting.  All A's and good behaviour.  Even after our fast loop and victory gallop Bentley wasn't blowing, no pink in the nose!  What a natural!

We learned that he may be the only horse in OCTRA that actually has his pulse LOWER when eating.  Unfortunately the pulse person we had on completion was different than the other checks and she couldn't hear when he was eating.  So instead we had to keep his head up and he saw everyone else finishing and got a little excited.  His heart rate was 47.  I really wonder what it might have been if he were eating!

All of that earned us a grade 2 completion.  What an incredible start to his career!  Better yet, we broke the curse and had a fantastic ride.  I cant even describe how great it felt and how much fun I had!

Oh and my back?  Yes, it was practically cured after.  It was tired, but the soreness is almost gone completely.

More pictures to come, I wasn't sure if Wendy (the official photographer) would be there, but I was so pleased to run into her not once, but twice on the trail and at the finish line also!  I will be ordering some of those for sure!  I am so happy she was able to capture our first ride and I cant wait to see what she caught (probably a huge goofy grin!)

Even more interesting, Amber finished with the exact same heart rate, and of course the same time.  So we tied exactly!  On both our first rides!

Here's a link to loop 1 http://connect.garmin.com:80/activity/embed/228943506 and loop 2 http://connect.garmin.com:80/activity/embed/228943489 from my garmin records in case you want to ride along with us :)

Testing testing - Friday night

On Friday, I mentioned that night I would test out my back and see how riding went.

First I had to visit physio and get through that.  Nothing nasty occurred, so the plan still was on.  I wasn't intending on asking the therapist if I could ride or not, I am used to doctors who like to say no.  BUT. A woman was there with her daughter and asked when her daughter could dance again, and since the topic was brought up, I interjected with my question also.  Surprisingly, she seemed quite supportive of the idea, and reminded me to book an appointment next week.  Either shes expecting lots more bills to come, or its an interesting science experiment for her!  Haha.

So I immediately rushed to the barn, tossed a saddle on Bentley and hopped up for a short test ride.  I rode around the arena for a little bit, walking and trotting.  I felt ok.  Not fabulous, but ok.  Maybe 60% or so.  I also tested a canter in 2 point to see if Bentley would take advantage and run or buck, but he didn't and although I wasn't riding very well (my legs felt like they were all over the place) I deemed it passable and that I would indeed be able to ride in Oktoberfest.

Emily was there, I told her she was my witness that I was ok to ride (but had asked her before I mounted to be the witness... I said she can tell everyone if I was good, and we mention it to nobody if I was terrible!  Haha)

One last test, I went out for a quick mile hack around the fields at a lively trot.  Legs still swinging away.  As we came across the far side of the field, I was holding back tears.  Not of pain or disappointment but of joy.  Bentley knew something was up with me, I was a little nervous, and he really took care of me.  I could feel it in the way he moved, he knew not just to behave but somehow managed to convey the message to me that he would help me through my challenges.  What an incredible discussion to have with him!

We stopped at the pear tree and I picked one for him while he nibbled at the ground.  He didn't take it from my hand at first, I wasn't sure why.  Then he dropped a pear (that he must have found on the ground and WAS perfectly acceptable) out of his mouth in order to accept the pear I offered him.  What a sweetie!

We trotted away and left it at that.  I came in beaming and bubbling and told Laura about it and how excited I was.  She was so happy for us too!

I went home to pack, and my story will have to continue later... with lots to say about Saturday and Sunday!