One Goal at a Time

The title of this post says it all. Focus on one thing at a time to improve upon instead of nitpicking at every little thing. All of the parts will become whole, eventually.
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This was my motivation while attending the SAFE show with Mercy on August 7th.
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We headed out alone early in the morning, arriving just in time to get groomed and dresses in preparation for our halter and showmanship classes. My family was up in Alaska, so I had to do things myself, which wasn't hard, but much more time consuming then I remember it ever being. This is what Mercy looked like straight out of the trailer:

It was misting heavily and she didn't get a bath the night before. This show was just a fun, schooling-type fundraiser for the rescue, so I wasn't too concerned about pulling out all of the stops for a few classes. She was actively shedding her summer coat and covered in a very fine dusting of sawdust, which, when mixed with the mist, made grooming very challenging. I curried her for quite some time and just started brushing her out when the first call for the first class was called. I finished grooming her by combing out her tail, soft brushing her coat, and wiping out her nostrils. Even though it wasn't sunny out, she glowed so bright when I was done:

I quickly cleaned up myself, threw on my exhibitor number, grabbed Mercy's show halter, and sprinted to the arena, where my class was checking in and lining up.
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First up was stock-type halter. I have seen halter lots of times but had never participated. The judge knew this show was for all levels of equestrians so she took her time explaining what was expected of us once the class started. When it was our turn we walked to the judge until she moved out of our way and then trotted straight ahead, turning left around a cone and continuing to the ring steward who instructed us to stand head to tail with the other exhibitors. Mercy decided during our trot that she didn't like the lead chain under her chin and threw her head in the air, even though no pressure was being applied. Shame on me for not putting it over her nose like I always have... I guess I just forgot. Oops.
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She set up nice and stood still during the line up. The judge looked over everyone once more and then made her placings. This class is based on a horses conformation and movement, both of which Mercy has faults in. I was surprised to hear when our names were called for third place! :)

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Next was our showmanship 18 and over class. The pattern was not that difficult: when instructed to begin, pick up the trot and weave between some cones, at the last cone break to a walk and circle the cone to the left, when lined up with the judge pick up the trot again and stop in front of the judge, set up for inspection, when excused back up a horse length and execute a 90* haunch turn, walk into line. Sounds like a lot, but really it's pretty basic.
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I practiced outside of the arena for a while, focusing on the weaving at the trot. When it was time to get started, of course we were placed next to the crazy draft cross that kept rearing and trying to lope out of the arena... Mercy handled it well, however, and eventually the draftX left the arena.
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It was soon time for us to set up at the start of the pattern. When acknowledged by the judge, I asked Mercy to trot off with me. She was really with me mentally, so it was no big deal there... until we needed to swerve for the cone. *sigh* She landed right on my foot at the peak of our turn. I don't know if she saw something and over stepped or what, but she came flying at me and my foot took the whole impact. I instinctively lifted my right arm to block her from coming further into my space, at which she threw her head and nearly knocked off my hat.
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My foot was throbbing already and it was killing me to "trot" the rest of the pattern. We rounded the cone at the walk and picked up the trot at a limp. I sure didn't care about a happy face anymore. I just wanted to be done with the pattern so I could get my foot out of my boot before it swelled itself in. Luckily Mercy had the same idea and set up perfectly. When the judge excused us she backed up feather light and pivoted like a pro. I was so glad to just stand in line waiting for everyone else to finish up.
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But oh no! That wasn't it! The main grounds speaker decided to blow as loud as it could from directly behind us and that's where Mercy had had enough. Someone finally started talking in the speaker, but that didn't calm her any. She didn't dance around or anything, she just wouldn't stand the right way, with her butt away from the judge... When it was all done she was still just not having any of it, and neither was I, so I chained her pretty hard and she quit squirreling around. She was still alert and looking around, but her feet were still.
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I didn't think we would place at all. The class had over 10 exhibitors and they only placed to 5th. But, then I heard our names called for fourth! I guess that we were just the best of the worst, since most of the people were off pattern or touched their horses during the back or pivot. After picking up our ribbon we slowly made our way back to the trailer. I used Mercy for support and we made it out there just in time to hear the announcement that the riding classes would begin soon. Great...
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I wasn't sure how my foot would look, or feel, so I took my time getting Mercy saddled. Here's what my boot looked like before I took it off:

My pinky toe was swelling already and turning very interesting shades of blue and purple. It hurt like hell, but I put my boot back on; not much I could do if it's broken.

The following pictures were taken by my friend A. She brought me some Starbucks and some moral support for the rest of the wet morning. My next class was walk/jog western equitation. I didn't have much time to get ready and warm Mercy up, so it was a "whatever" kind of class. Of course Mercy knew this too and for most of the class she had her head looking everywhere and held high. Luckily, A is a great photographer and caught many of the good moments. Plus eq. is based mostly on the rider, not the horse. So as long as I held it together, we should place.
I really like this first picture, and yet, it's so revealingly sad. Both of us are momentarily at ease, just plodding along in the arena. And then you see how she is taking that step with her left front. That right there is why she has bone spurs. With every single step she takes, she places all of the force and weight of her motion on the lateral side of her hoof, and thus her joints. The repetitive strain of those motions are what are crippling her so young. Dang.
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The judge had us walk and jog both ways, and then line up. I took my time getting to line so I could avoid some of the more *ahem* special horses and their riders...

Guess what?! We won! LOL! I thought we had a good chance of winning, but still. It's always nice to bring home that blue ribbon!

After this class we headed over to the indoor arena to get out of the drizzle and chat. I'm glad they decided to have the show in the outdoor arenas, because Mercy's shows better in them, but with the rain it would have been nice to not worry about your clothes, equiptment, and horse. Right before our walk/jog 18 and over western pleasure class we finished our coffees and headed down to the arena.

Mercy responded better than in the last class to my cues for her to lower her head and round her back. I thought we looked good cause we sure felt good!

Unfortunatly, the judge didn't think so. Both Mercy and I, and another gal and her paint, which were in my opinion, the most pleasurable horses out there, both didn't place. At all. But that's the way horse shows are. Each judge has an opinion and it's not always what the "judging standard" is or what we think is right either.

Before she announced the class placings, the judge explained the reasons for her placings. She said she had a hard time with this class because she would know her placings and then someone would break gait, and she would have to start over again. Then another horse would do something to make her rethink her placings.

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I know we didn't break gait. Not even once, so if that was her major consideration while judging, then I don't know what happened. She also mentioned that she was looking at the riders to see how much they were having to cue their horses; claiming that that made for an unpleasureable ride. True. I was having to cue Mercy multiple times throughout the class, but I wasn't constantly pulling or poking her. I don't know what she saw, but I wish she could have talked to each of us. Oh well. Wish they could have posted the judge's comments too, but they didn't. :/

With four classes out of the way, and two more to go, it became time to get serious. My one and only goal for this show was to enter a walk/jog/lope class and survive. I really didn't care if I placed or not. I just didn't want to have a bronc go across the arena and casue trouble for the other riders or handlers. So we headed over to the warm up pen. Good thing we had some time...

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As soon as Mercy and I walked into the warm up arena... buck buck buck buck... *deep breath in and out* The Appitude came roaring in with all it's glory! I couldn't get her to walk. As soon as she eralized she was in the arena she just got all flustered and couldn't walk. Not slow, not fast, not in a straight line. Nothing. I let her jog out as long as it didn't get too fast because that's when she wants to break into a lope. And then buck, buck, buck... after a few laps around the very large arena at a jog, she let down and asked to stop. Great! That's just what we did. In the middle and out of everyone's way.

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Now with her feeling more comfortable and confident in the arena, I did some bending exercises, making sure I had her hind and front quarters. Then it was time to ask her to lope again. We started to the left, because that is both of our favorite way to go. We are both just so balanced and in sync to the left. It gives her confidence and me a chance to collect my thoughts about my next move with her.

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It started out rocky. There were no bucks, but she just wanted to race around. I kept her in a circle, not letting her on the rail, and out of the way of everyone else in the warm up. After a few minutes she relaxed into a nice little lope. She was easy to transition down to a jog and back up to a lope. We circled for a little longer then I let her onto the rail. She did fine. We manuvered between riders and handlers/trainers and found the rail again with little problem.

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Coming back down to a jog I went back to the center of the arena to circle, but this time to the right. We started at a jog, striving to be round and fluid. When we got that, I asked her to lope. At the same time, another rider with her paint strung down in draw reins, cut in front of us and we missed the lead. Thankfully Mercy didn't seems phased and we tried again, this time it making it. we loped as big a circle at I could and really tried to hold my balance. Mercy flt really good actually. She was still a little off, not wanting to bring her head into the track we were following, but rather looking out.

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Of course, as soon as she get's it, my hat comes flying off. The rain had finally loosened the grips of the hairspray on my head. She held that track until I asked her to stop in front of my hat. A great place to call it quits!

She just really wanted to touch it!

"Hey! Has that always been where you keep that straw contraption?!? I wasn't done with it!"

A and I waited around and watched the other competitors for a little while and then it was "now or never" time for us. Our class, 18 and over walk/jog/lope equitation, was entering the arena. I was so excited that we started to the left, Mercy's good side! We walked one lap around the arena and then the judge asked us to drop our stirrups and pick up the jog! I was a little nervous because Mercy is quite sensitive to pressure on her sides and with my feet out of the stirrups I have to grip a little harder than normal. Bah, no big deal! She just kept jogging her normal speed. After having us pick up our stirrups, the judge asked for the lope. Lucky us we were on a corner and Mercy picked up the lead with no problems! Not only that, she was being quite lazy and I actually had to keep asking her to move out and not break gait!

A lap or two around and the jog was called out. She had us reverse at the jog and we made it only half way around the arena this time before she asked for the lope... after we had passed the corners and Mercy decided to notice something outside the arena. We totally missed the lead. Not only that, I couldn't get her to stop loping. She loped on the wrong lead the entire long side of the fence. We were doomed. I had no doubt. It was a battle to get her to jog, but luckily we were on a corner once she did and she picked up the lope. I continued to show as if nothing happened because that was all I could do really!

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And, we won!! I know! No way! The judge didn't see our mistake! The whole length of the arena and she didn't look at us during that time! Score! It's great being able to go to a show and win equitation classes. it means I am doing something right, even if my horse isn't.

Of course all of the spectators saw what happened, and probably most of the exhibitors in that class, so I got some flack from random people I didn't know. Well guess what guys, the judge didn't see it so it didn't happen! That's the other problem with only having one judge, they can't see what's going on 360* around them! Even if she saw the break, I would take a guess and say we still would have won, so what did it matter? It's happened to me too in classes, so whatever. Plus, really. It's just a fun show! ;)

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All that was left to do was to go to the trail course. Here's the pattern: walk through the 'L,' back through the 'L' until until you get to the flat board on your left and side pass over the board, pick up the trot and cover the ground poles, break to a walk and weave through the poles, walk over the bridge, go through the gate, carry a cone past a stuffed bear in a chair, walk over a tarp, walk under the 'waterfall', and finish by opening up the mailbox and showing the mail to the judge.

Our trip started out smooth enough. The 'L' was quiite wide, so going in and backing out was no biggy. I wasn't sure about the side pass though. We have sidepassed over the length of many poles, but never sidepassed literally OVER the pole. Well I had little to worry about. Mercy didn't touch it. At all. :)

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Jogging over the poles, however, didn't go great. She didn't obliterate the poles, but she wanted to scramble over them once she hit the first pole. I probably should have let her go, but her stride is so long that if I had she would have cleared one and a half at a time. We finally broke to the walk after that was completed and weaved the poles, which were really tight actually.

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The bridge was, let's put it nicely, homemade and humble. It was maybe 2 feet wide and a couple feet long. Mercy put one foot on it and jumped the rest. I think that's what she thought she was suppose to do with something that little. I could have left it at that, but I wanted her to do it right, so we circled back and completed the obstical.

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The gate, was, well... even more humble. It was a huge heavy steel gate held up with a few 2 by 4's. We opened it with no problem, even though the gate drug on the ground, but closing it was more challenging. When I tried swinging the gate closed the wood holding up the gate would sway and bend, making the gate really unstable. I had to let go to reposition my hand (to support the frickin' mess) but I doubt the judge saw that. I roped the gate shut and gladly moved away from that obstical.

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Next was the giant bear in the chair. The judge was lazy and didn't reset the course after the last exhibitor, so I got to go past the bear three times instead of once. Once to get past it and retrieve the cone off the pole, again to walk the cone to the original pole, and again to get to the next obstical. I hope she was impressed that Mercy didn't even look at the bear... three times! >:(

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Mercy smelled the tarp and procceded to walk accross it. She willing walks accross the tarps at home covering the compost piles, so this was really no big deal. Of all of the obsticals on the course, I thought the 'waterfall.' seen below, would be our biggest challenge. I guessed wrong.

The streamers meant nothing to Mercy. She was more interested in the pole holding the ribbons, LMAO! She walked straight through. And lastly, the mailbox, a no-brainer for Mercy.

And then we were done! I got to go home around 1pm and nurse my (most likely) broken toe. It was a great day! A little wet, but very nice. A great show, a great venue, and a GREAT cause!

Ricky Quinn Clinic~ Day 4

When I got to the boarding facility on the last day of the clinic it was threatening to rain... more. It had sprinkled a little overnight and I was glad that I had a light stall sheet on Mercy because what once was her wonderful skylight was now a leaking hole into her stall. Not big time, but it had a good drip in one spot. Oh well, she was dry! And ready for grain (supplements...)!!!!


Throughout the whole clinic she was very tidy in her stall. She generally peed while she was looking out her door, so at least it was all in one spot. And she pooed everywhere, but she was pretty careful not to stir it in. For being in this stall for four days, minus the few hours we rode or did groundwork, it really wasn't too bad! If I remember correctly, I think I only put 2 bags of pellets in her stall too. That was OK with me; I wanted her as comfy as she could be. She's not use to being a 'stalled' horse, although I don't think anyone would have guessed otherwise- she was so good!

Anyway, time to head over to the arena! When I went in to sit down for a bit before the colt starting started, I found the grey arab and his owner were doing some groundwork to prepare for their first ride. She wanted to make sure her arab was hooked on and paying full attention to her. And only her.

When she asked him to face up, he compied. What had taken Ricky over an hour to do the day before, the owher had within minutes. The arab still wasn't 100% 'there' with her (notice the ear facing backwards...) but it was a VAST inprovement from a day or two before! What a soft eye:

Ricky sat in the audience for a while answering our questions and sharing stories while we watched her work the arab. Finally he got up and we got started. He tacked up the arab and quickly checked him out. Then it was time to ride! The owner climbed up and was told to just enjoy the ride for a while. She held onto the night latch once Ricky started maneuvering the arab around, just in case anyone got off balanced. Ricky asked the arab to give his hindquarters...

...and then his fronts. This allowed the owner to feel what needs to be accomplished in the saddle once they are really riding.

The continued this for a while and then Ricky handed her the lead rope. He instructed her to just move the horse out. He has to be moving in order to ask him to stop. The arab was taking this all in stride. His face remained relaxed and his ears were focused on his rider. Perfect!

Once she had him moving out, she reached down the lead and asked for a one rein stop.

They did this to both sides quite a few times. They were doing amazing work! It was soft and smooth, like they had been doing it forever! This was the point where Ricky asked her to trot. It took a bit to get the horse moving, but once he did it was all business again.

They worked once again on breaking the hindquarters over and getting the feet to stop but from the trot, not the walk. Then they were done. Their first ride was a great success! What a great way for them both to end the colt starting clinic! Congratulations guys!

After a quick lunch, I grabbed Mercy and headed to the arena to practice hobbling before our last ride. As you can see, she was so thrilled! ;)

I put the hobbles on and off three times, all in different parts of the arena, and she next tested them. Yes! She was thoroughly bored with the whole hobbling business, but she participated like a champ! I can't wait to pick up a pair of hobbles soon so we can continue this training.

Once we were done with that, the round pen opened up for us to use. Mercy really hadn't had a chance to move around since being at the clinic, so I let her loose and asked her to trot or lope around for a while. Of course all she wants to do is hook on and stop. Normally that's great, but not when I want her to move! I kept it interesting by asking her to change directions and changing her speed. I finally asked her to hook on (no problem, lol!) and then I discovered an interesting issue. No matter what way she is going in the round pen, when she stops she always places me on her left side. If I tried to walk around to her right side, she would move her whole body to the right to keep me on her left. Hmmmm.

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So, I sent her out again and asked her to stop. The same thing. I worked her for a little to see if I could do something to help her, but I ran out of time. Ricky and the other participants were gathering and we needed to get going. I finished up by asking her to follow me and then breaking her over her hindquarters... all without her lead rope. She's so good with that.

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We all rode out into the arena and gathered around Ricky, ready to start. We all thought we would jump right back into our exercises and maybe do some more drill, but since there were only three or four of us left (it was Monday and most had to bail because of work, boo...) he said we could work on more individual issues for each of our horses. Each of the participants were going to get some one-on-one time with Ricky to work on what every we wanted. Here is what Mercy and I did with our personal 'Ricky time' the last day of the clinic:

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He asked me what I wanted to work on, individually, and I replied loping. So he sent Mercy and I into the round pen. I had been having issues with bucking (way in the past, but it comes up every now and then, briefly) and loping in general still isn't great... Mercy is VERY unbalanced loping to the right and sometimes it takes quite a bit from me to get her going. Once going she tends to take charge and not listen to me when I ask for speed changes or directional changes. Ricky told me to just make trotting uncomfortable for her; that eventually she would break into a lope... making it HER idea. I was not to guide her in any way at first, only hold on to the night latch and give her her reins. I would ask her to trot by leaning forward slightly and gently kick/urge her forward into a trot. Then I would ask her to speed up by gradually increasing my leg actions, making them faster and bumping harder as she got faster and faster into a trot. The second she took a lope stride I was to quit everything and pet, pet, pet her, all the way to the stop. Then keep petting. Ideally she would find the middle of the round pen- this could be one of her 'quiet' places. There we would sit for a while.

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Additionally, Mercy was having issues going from a standstill to just moving straight forward, even at a walk. She would immediately want to step to the left or the right when I urged her forward. I have no doubt this is from our reining training. She always thinks we are going to spin from the standstill, so she takes control and doesn't listen to my cues. This exercise helped her find the 'track' on the outside of the round pen. I worked going to the right, correcting her direction only if necessary but otherwise never directing her intentionally. Over and over we found the lope and the track. For over an hour, I urged her forward and pet her the moment she loped. She not only loped out with little effort from me by the end, she also felt incredibly balanced and round! That's where he had us quit for a short break.

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While we were taking a break, Ricky had me to maneuver Mercy around so he could evaluate her a little better. We did hind quarters, moving the front left and right, side passing, backing straight, backing circles, etc. I had never asked her to back circles before so she was pretty confused, but otherwise she was solid (to my surprise too!). He said next spring when he comes back to bring a bosal to fit her into! WHAT?! How cool! I thought she would be in a snaffle forever! I never imagined he would say something like that- at least not while I owned her. How neat! I can't wait until next year!

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When Ricky asked us to return to the round pen I made the mistake of assuming we would be right where we were when we left the round pen... so I asked her to lope with too much energy at first. She got really pissy and made it clear it was too much too fast- we were still just 'getting it.' After realizing I needed to start over, I asked very softly and again gradually increased the pressure. It only took maybe 5 minutes for us to be right back to where we were the first round pen session, both going to the left and right. That's where Ricky had us quit for good. My take-away message from this whole thing is that I was constantly picking on Mercy's face and never letting her 'just go!' She needs to realize that now I will not always pick up on her, she can move! Just go for the ride!

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What an amazing experience at the right time! I highly recommend going to watch or participate at any of his clinics, if you can. I will have Mercy ready to go for next year's clinic for sure! I can't wait!

Of Barrel Saddles and Warm-Up Pens

Earlier in February I borrowed my friend's barrel saddle to try on Mercy. Mine, a Big Horn brand barrel saddle, does not fit Mercy at all! It's too narrow and rides right on her shoulders... not good. Plus, quite honestly, it doesn't fit me either. I bought the 15" while in 4H; I just needed something to get going in. But really I need a 14 or 14.5" to stay in the saddle better. The saddle I borrowed is a Rico brand and it was supposedly a full QH bar. I compared the two, measurement wise, and they were the same... hummm. Well, I finally got it on and slapped on the breast collar. This is what it looked like:


The saddle pad is a full sized saddle pad, so it looks huge. I see a saddle that still isn't quite perfect. It isn't resting on her shoulders as severely as my Big Horn, but it still pops up in the back. I should try it again without the breast collar some time, maybe that would make a difference. I think I might have to just take her into the local saddle place if I choose to pursue this further. But first I have to sell my saddle. Boo.

Fast forward a month and we found ourselves at Donida Farm to practice or warm-up etiquette. There was a schooling show taking place this day so it was a perfect chance to figure out why we were having issues in the warm-up arena and how to fix them.

We got there around 9 or 10 in the morning and there was almost no one there! Maybe ten participants, if that! This was nice because then I have more room to work Mercy, but we came here to work on high pressure situations. OK...

As soon as I got Mercy saddled and into the arena she immediately tried taking off into a lope. Umm... no, that's not acceptable. I took hold and worked her into tight circles at the trot until she cooled down. It took quite a while, but she finally let up, for a while.

I finally got her to collect a little bit and asked her for the lope going to the left. Her circles got continually larger and larger. And when we got to one side of the arena she would shoulder out and ram toward the fence. I was finally able to realize that she needed more direction BEFORE the issue showed itself. So a couple of strides before that one sticky spot I made a point to direct her into the circle and voila! She didn't shoulder out! And she smoothed out:

She wasn't collected, but I wasn't worried about that because she wasn't fighting me, kicking out at other horses riding by, or trying to run off.

Better yet, when I asked her to reverse and some back to a jog, this was the result:

Dang she looks good when she gets it together! After a few laps jogging out I stopped her for a break (for me, lol!). I really haven't had good ground to practice spins in for a while so I took the opportunity to while I was there. It didn't go too well...

She was super touchy and she let me know it with her awful facial expressions. But as soon as I just let her rest again she was fine. I think she just wasn't ready to get back to work again:

After the good long break, I asked Mercy to lope again to the left. She took off at more of a gallop. I truly think she is race bred; this pic proves it to me:

She eventually found the nice controlled lope and we moved off to the other end of the arena to lope the other direction. The right lead is her worst. She is so incredibly unbalanced and feels the need to rush through every corner. Fortunately it didn't take too long for her to find a groove.

It still wasn't as nice as the left lead, but we found some balance and even though we were moving a lot faster than I would have preferred, I found a good place to stop her and call it good for the day. She ultimately did exactly what our goal for the day was: to enter the warm-up pen and behave around other riders! After walking a few laps around the super large arena to cool off, we headed home.