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!

Would I Ever Had Known?

Without those digital X-rays taken well over a month ago, I don't think I would have ever suspected that something was wrong with Mercy's joints. She had never taken a bad step, limped, or refused work. I most likely would have barrel raced and reined her until she broke for good, never realizing that something was wrong until it was too late. And at such a young age... But now I have a chance to keep her as healthy as possible, for as long as possible.

We took over 20 pictures of various angles of her hocks, knees, and front pasterns. Her knees are by far the worst of her joints. On the images below, you can see the sharp little points on the first articulating section of the joint.

You can also see how her knee joint does not "stack up" in a straight line. It deviates to one side or the other. This is what is most likely causing the strain on her legs, thus causing the bone spurs' growth.

In some of the other shots you can actually see some cartilage damage represented in lines and waves, where the image should be smooth. Unfortunately, those images don't show up without some digital editing, which I don't have right now.

Anyway, the game plan is to just assume she is an arthritic horse in order to prevent any further damage to her joints. The more quiet, low key rides we can go on, the more flexible she will stay and the stronger her hind end and back will get. Before and after any strenuous rides I am to bute her to prevent inflammation. It was also advised that I use liniments on her joints after longer rides to keep any swelling down and keep the joints flexible.

Also, after a lot of consideration, I decided to start Mercy on Adequan. It will help maintain the state of her joints as they are currently, as well as help them heal a little. We have had such great results with Star, who is also on it, so why not!? I did decide to try using it a different way thought. Instead of the usual 7 doses every 4 days, and then one injection every 30 days as a maintenance dose, I am going to do 2 loading doses a year; once in the fall and once in spring. This way, I can build her joints up before show season, and then I can help her repair any damage taken during the shows before heading into winter. Thank goodness she is so good with shots! It took me a while to get comfortable giving them, but now it's no biggie.

She still doesn't feel any different. As smooth as ever, really. I guess we will know if it's working if in a few years I get another set of X-rays for comparison, or if she happens to get a bone chip... :/ For now, I am doing what I can for now, short of not riding at all. Which we all know isn't going to happen, lol!

I did, however, get the approval of my vet to continue reining with Mercy. At low level shows, at least, where sliding stops and fast spins don't guarantee a win for anyone. Reining is a great sport to perfect cues and really build a partnership with your horse. So, as long as Mercy doesn't start resenting work or acting out in pain, we will continue to go to a show or two a year. In fact, we have another show tomorrow- the last reining show of the year for us, at least. It's going to be a hot one, but the show starts at 7AM, so it shouldn't be too bad by the time my classes are done. We'll see...

An Update's Coming

Hey guys, sorry about that long break. And thanks for the kind words. My computer broke and had to be shipped out if I ever wanted ALL of my pictures back... I now have a external hard drive and all of my pictures back! The joint x-rays will be downloaded soon and after a few classes at a schooling show on Saturday, I should be able to get up a new post.

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I Won't Be Buying a New Barrel Saddle After All...

I had my vet come out on Saturday to take some x-rays of Mercy's legs. She wasn't lame, but she does have some funky conformation in her front legs. They were just to have as a "baseline," should anything go wrong in the future with reining and gaming injuries. The vet, myself, and the guy from Emerald Downs met at my barn at 1pm. The guy from ED has digital x-ray equipment, and since I has having multiple joints done, I wanted the best images I could get.
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I am going to get right to the point with this post, because I am still devastated by the very unexpected findings: Mercy has bone spurs and cartilage damage in most of her joints. At 7 years old.
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Of course some are worse than others and although she is not lame, she must be treated like she is an arthritic horse.
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When I get the x-rays loaded onto my computer, I will right a more lengthy post. But I just can't right now.
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I hope you all had a fantastic 4th of July!
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NWRA Arlington Reining Show (May 16, 2010)

It was way too early in the morning. So early that it wasn't even light out. The sun's light was not even peeking over the mountains to the east. Fun.
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I had never asked Mercy to load in the dark, so I really didn't know what to expect. On a normal day, she can be difficult to load when I haul her alone. It can be done easily, but sometimes she just has to make sure that's really what I want, lol! So, I woke up extra early so I could make sure we hit the road on time. It was 4:30AM. And guess what... she loaded right up. I don't know if she was just really in a good mood or just happy to eat some hay, but she loaded up with ease once we had the trailer and truck all packed.
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According to MapQuest, it was going to take us approximately 2 and a half hours to get there. Anyone who drives a horse trailer knows, however, that it takes longer when you're hauling live weight. I added another half hour to our drive time to give us plenty of driving time. The show started at 8AM and since this was our first show with this organization, I didn't know how smoothly it was run normally. I wanted to get there with plenty of time to warm up my sometimes crazy mare if need be!
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Well, let's put it this way, my mom, Mercy, and I arrived at the showgrounds before 6:30. We were the first people to arrive. Of course, I pull the truck and trailer into the wrong area and am finally able to wave down the resident farmhand for help. He shows me where I can park, which is out front or out back in the field. I chose the field. Big mistake. I take one step out into the tall grass after getting the rig arranged next to an over-nighter and my boot is instantly soaked with the morning dew. It is cold out and now my feet are wet. And it's only 6:30 in the morning...
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I grab what little warm clothes I brought and threw those on before going to unload Mercy. I hung up a hay bag for her and offered her some water. Once I knew she was well taken care of I waddled my way back to the barn to see if there was anyone around. The office wasn't open yet and there was no one to ask. No breakfast, no potty, no help. It was only 6:45...
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With no luck there, I headed back to the trailer. My socks are soggy already, so I don't walk as carefully through the tall grass. Mercy hears me coming and nickers softly as I approach. The warm up arena was perfectly groomed and waiting for us, so I saddled her up and walked her over to the show area. I tighten her cinch, climb aboard, and take a deep breath.

It was still very cool. The sun was still not up. Dang it. The horses boarded there weren't even fed. Think we got there earlier enough?! Lol! I still wasn't convinced that there was even going to be a show there that day. No one was around and it was 7AM! Since I had the arena to myself I let Mercy just cruise around on a loose rein for a while. She walked over to see the boarded horses and then tried to stop and nibble the grass on the side of the giant arena. Once I was convinced she was bored I asked her to get to work... any work... of any kind... but first at a trot.

We took a few laps around the arena in both directions. She was getting less and less interested with the other horses and grass and more focused on me. For this show, I had already decided that I wasn't going to ask her to 'frame up' at all. I just wanted to survive the show and have some fun. It will be a long time before we ever get serious about this sport or competing. If we could get through this show without getting a zero, I would be more than thrilled!

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I tried asking her to trot some really big circles, but she was getting confused and jazzed up, so I brought her back to the rail and continued loosening her up there. Once she was feeling more prepared, I just asked her to lope as we came off the rail and into a large circle. It felt great!

I tried really hard to just relax into the saddle and give her the reins. We were working on our circles, but she was allowed to stray a little as long as she would easily return. We worked to the left first, our easy way. I wanted to boost both of our confidences before plowing the other direction. As you can see, she is very relaxed and moving out well. She carries her head and neck higher than a pleasure horse (obviously) but it is still lower and comfortable. Also notice the wet jeans in most of these warm up photos... *rolls eyes and shakes head in disbelief* :/

She really surprised me when we switched to the right circles. She was easy to maneuver and she held a constant speed. There was no fighting between the two of us and there was no panic. It was just another enjoyable ride!

Eventually the office crew arrived and more trailers pulled in. I few other riders joined us in the arena so it was good practice sharing the space. Once we had our large circles going for us I practiced breaking her down into a smaller, slower circle. She has a long stride, so I discovered that I need to ask her to start slowing down way before we actually need to.

Our spins were still not quite all together yet, so I really didn't want to practice that and confuse her more right before her first show. I just had her pivot both ways 360* and stop. When that was solid I returned to the circles and practiced a few simple lead changes. We had been practicing these at a friend's place and were having great success, but that morning she really didn't want to change from a right to a left lead. I never did get it before calling it quits. I still needed to get ready and checked in!

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On our way back to the trailer I noticed there were other people riding in the indoor show arena. I thought we weren't allowed to go in there, but it was only 7:30, so in we went. I just wanted her to be able to look around and get her spooks out now. We were done working, it was time to cool off and relax. After walking the rail a few times each way we moved up into a trot and did a few circles amongst the other riders. Once we could complete a circle without freaking out at the judge's chair, or the blue mounting block in the corner of the arena, I dismounted and loosened Mercy's cinch. She did good.

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After dropping Mercy off at the trailer to water up and continue stuffing her face full of hay, I headed back to the arena to visit the office. Mercy received a permanent NWRA number and I was cleared to show. The gal informed me they were running a little behind (noooo, really!?!?) and that the warm up class only had a few participants, so be prepared for class #2.

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Back at the trailer I quickly re-tacked Mercy up, this time with her show pad, attached her number to the pad, and got myself together. I needed to change into my western show shirt and slick back my hair. Next, I hair sprayed my head and my hat heavily. It was NOT going to come off! After a few minutes it felt secure (and crunchy...) enough to get Mercy's bridle and head back to the warm up arena.

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Our first class was class #2- Beginner Horse and Rider A. This is a pattern that was modified from one of the original NRHA patterns to give Beginner horses and riders a chance to learn. Here was the pattern: Begin facing the judge in the center of the arena, one left spin, one right spin, two large then one small circle to the left, simple lead change, two large then one small circle to the right, stop at the center of the arena, and back 5 feet. No penalties were received for simple lead changes or a correct 'walk around' spin.

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When I figure out how to get video on here I will post it, but until then here are my scores:
Left spin-0

Right spin-0

Left circles: -1/2 and penalty: -1/2

Lead Change: -1/2

Right circles: -1

Stop: -1

Back:0

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For a total of 66 1/2 points out of 70!!! Neat! We didn't zero out or go off pattern! On our left circles, Mercy just wanted to bolt for the gate, so she would shoulder in and instead of a nice circle, we made a "D"... completely flat on one side and then she would find our path again, lol! The lead change penalty was understandable because she not only took forever to get loping, we also almost plowed the judge over because I couldn't get her to go to the right! That dang shoulder was leaning to the left! I finally puled her head over and she got it, but still! :/

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I don't really know what was wrong with the right circles, but oh well. Our stop was way to late and once again we were close to clobbering the judge. Thank goodness she backed right up. In the end, I earned a 2nd place ribbon out of 4 contestants. Fine with me! I was still in disbelief that we had actually competed in our first reining show class! :)

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Class #3 was Beginner Horse and Rider B, another modified pattern but this time it was a REAL NRHA pattern (#8). There was once again no penalties for simples or smooth "spins," and the only modification was that instead of 4 spins in each direction, you had to complete only 2.

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Here's how we scored:

Left spins: -1/2
Right spins: 0

Right circles: -1/2 and penalty: 2

Left circles: -1/2

Left roll back: -1 and penalty: 1/2

Right roll back: -1 1/2 and penalty : 1/2

Stop and Back: -1

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Our total: 62. Yup, things sure did get much more challenging! This is the class where certain 'behavioral patterns' started to appear. For example, Mercy decided that spinning to the left meant physically moving her whole body to the left... toward the gate. In those 2 spins, we had moved a good 10 feet to our left. And now we were nowhere near the center of the arena. Oh well. I spun Mercy to the right right where we were. This actually worked in our favor because then it gave us lots of room to pick up the right lead. Plus she was already thinking 'right!' Unfortunately, once we got into the circles she was once again trying to shove her shoulder around. That got us 2 penalty points! Boo!

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We don't slide yet, so our rollback scores were low. Not only that, but as I guided Mercy to the second and then the third stop, she got harder and harder to stop. She just wanted to keep loping around! And since we were just there for the experience, I grabbed hold of the reins and hauled back after giving her plenty of cues to slow down and stop. That got her attention! Just because we are showing doesn't mean I won't correct you when you take it too far Missy!!!!

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After laughing myself out the gate to the bit inspection area, my sister showed up with breakfast. I ate quickly, but there was really no rush. There were at least 10 riders in this class and each run takes about 4-5 minutes. So after walking around for a while I got back on and we headed back to the outdoor warm up arena. I have no doubt that if they held the show outside in the outdoor arena, we would have had fewer issues. She just doesn't like it in there as much. She tolerates it, but that's about it.

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I loped her around for quite a while to get her to respond better to my 'whoa' cues. I didn't want to tire her out, I just wanted her to want to find or hunt for the release, and ultimately the stop. It worked. We loped circles for some time before she was slowing down and trying to stop on her own. I asked her to keep going. Just a little longer. And then I asked her to stop with my weight in the saddle and a deep, long 'whoa.' She slammed on the brakes! No reins necessary. Perfect. A good long rest in the middle of the arena, a few 180* spins in both directions and we were done. I got off and walked over to see my draw for class #5- Beginner Horse/Non-Pro Rider. We were draw number 2 of 8.

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This ride felt a lot more solid than the second one. It was a pretty difficult pattern, especially since we had just recently figured out simple lead changes. NRHA pattern #5 involves what is basically a figure eight. This is because you stop in the center of the arena between circles, so it becomes necessary to add the figure eight to show lead changes. This class does have penalties for simples; one point each. Ouch! Here's how we did:

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Left circles: -1/2
Left spins: -0

Right circles: -1 and penalty: -2

Right spins: 0

Lead changes: -1/2 and penalty: -1, -1

Right Rollback: -1/2

Left Rollback: -1

Stop and back: -1

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Our final score for the day was 61 1/2! The 2 penalties for the lead changes were no big deal for us. I knew we would get them because we don't know how to do flys yet! I don't know what was up with the right circles, but I do know that we completed every lead change! They may have been late, early, or prolonged, but Mercy never missed a lead change. That was WAY more than I expected because remember way earlier in this post I was describing how I ended up having to quit working on those during our warm up? I never thought she would get them in the indoor arena. She does surprise me every time I ride her! We ended up with a 6th place in this class, but considering the high score was only 66 1/2, we weren't doing too bad. Also considering our last 'schooling show' score (and our first ever scored run) was a 55 1/2, I am very pleased. If we can just keep competing and gaining experience, I know we will be competitive some day. Whenever that may be.

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We were contemplating staying for the working halter class, but I was mentally done and ready to go home. I think it was only around 9 or 9:30AM. Three classes all in one morning is a lot to ask a young, inexperienced horse. She physically could have kept going, but that last run felt amazing and I was perfectly content on calling it a day. A successful day.

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We quickly loaded everything up, let Mercy have a good graze in the pasture parking area, picked up my 2nd place ribbon, and headed back on the road. It took longer to get home because of course in was the middle of the morning on a Sunday. There was an accident on the northbound lanes so the southbound lanes were moving pretty slow for a while. We pulled in around noon. Whoa, what a morning.

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That whole experience was about as perfect as it gets. We had no major issues in the warm up arena, no one got bucked off, Mercy seemed happy and content the whole day, we completed and scored in ALL of our classes , and got GREAT scores for our first show. Considering we both have no professional training and I am the one who has taught Mercy the specific reining maneuvers required, I think we held our own in the show ring. Can't wait for the next one!

;)

Life...

Well, I am working on my next post, about our reining show from May, but it will be a while before I finish it. This is because I finally have a full time job. Over a year after graduating from college, I scored a great job as a vet assistant at an animal hospital just down the road from where I live. Now I have 40+ hour work weeks and I am still trying to adjust to it. I am going to try posting once a week so I keep up with all of my stories, but no promises at this point.
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Dang, I finally cherish and completely comprehend TGIF! Can't wait for the weekend!

:)

Wordless Wednesday

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!

Is That a Break in The Clouds?!?

Nope, just a brief break in the rain... maybe. Dang. And it really doesn't matter, Mercy has an abscess brewing in her right hind hoof. Luckily it doesn't seem very painful for her. Hopefully it will stay that way. Guess it will be Star's time for a ride if the weather give us even an hour or two.

BTW, I only have one more clinic post and then I will write up a post on our reining show From a few weekends ago! I was trying to wait so I could figure out how to get my video on the computer, but I give up for now. I have pictures at least!

Hope you are all having a great Memorial Weekend!

:)

Wordless Wednesday

Ricky Quinn Clinic~ Day 3

Ricky got started with the day by working with the grey arab. He was still waiting to see a dramatic change in his expression and concentration when someone works with him. The arab was still looking all over the place, even as he correctly went through the motions Ricky was asking for. He needed to put a little more effort into the relationship.


Just like the previous day, Ricky would release all pressure when the arab stopped away from the gate or looked in his direction. Otherwise Ricky was asking him to move out , applying pressure until he got an appropriate reaction from the arab. While this was going on, Ricky's friend Joel was working his paint colt in the arena. This little gelding is very sensitive and Ricky wanted Joel to rope him everywhere before getting on. Here, Joel had the colt roped by the flank. When he bucked Joel held the rope tight. The instant he just moved out flat and quiet, Joel would release the pressure in the rope and allow the colt to stop.

Over and over again, going both directions Joel continued to work with the paint until the rope meant nothing to him. Meanwhile, Ricky worked with the arab for a good 2 hours. He would offer to let the horse stop and when he did, would try to coax him off of the roundpen track, into the middle of the pen. The little gelding would a least face Ricky now and maybe offer a step or two into the pen, but would never fully commit.

Of course, the pony was paying attention! He was pretty patient waiting for his turn.

After a while you could notice the arab's attention slowly turning more toward Ricky than the outside of the pen. Notice how his ears are more alert toward Ricky than previously:

Ricky walked slowly, but deliberately, toward the arab's hip to try and entice him to turn toward his handler, thus moving toward the center of the pen. Ricky got a good try here:

Time was running out, so Ricky got a good enough try from the arab and called it good. He saddled up and jumped on. After checking him out, Ricky invited the pony and his owner into the pen to join them.

The pony's owner climbed aboard the pony and Ricky, still riding the arab, flagged them around. This allowed the little pony to carry his rider around without having to worry about being pulled on or banged around. She was just there for the ride. Ricky got them moving into many different gaits, focusing on transitions and then eventually the one rein stop. I was video taping for her, so no pics, but they did awesome!

Once they both dismounted and the horses left the arena, Ricky turned his attention to Joel. Ricky had Joel climb up and ride while he directed the horse from the ground. Joel just held on as Ricky asked for the hind quarters and then the front, waiting for the horse to face him.

The colt had quite a difficult time crossing over the hind when traveling to the right. He would start to cross over and then just stop. He got stuck.

Even when Ricky used quite a bit of lead pressure to help the horse move, it didn't really get it. After working at it for a few minutes. Ricky asked Joel a serious question, "Do you trust me?"

Ricky had a brilliant idea that would help Joel's horse understand pressure without using the lead. Use flags! I think Joel was quite nervous because Ricky was going to have him ride the horse loose in the pen while carrying two flags!

Using the flags he could direct the horse without adding any unnecessary pressure. Allowing his horse to move out freely and feel the rider's weight, while being directed by the flags, seems much less threatening to an already sensitive horse. Ricky stayed in the pen for support, but did very little to help.

Joel rode the colt around until he really let down... he was licking and chewing and looking to stop working. That was a great 'breakthrough' ride!

The afternoon horsemanship class started with very little ground work. I actually got into the arena earlier then we needed to because I wanted to hobble Mercy a couple more times before we started. I quickly roped her feet and slapped the hobbles on. It was quite windy that day and the siding on the arena slapped the framing pretty hard every now and then. Only once did it startle Mercy enough that she felt the need to move. Of course the hobbles grabbed hold and Mercy needed to figure it out. Her answer to the hobbles was to rear straight up, come straight down, and then stand. That's ok with me! At least she didn't try running off; I really didn't want her to fall down. I pet her once she calmed back down and stood there for 5 minutes or so. I took them off, did a little flag work with her and then put them back on. This time she stood stock still for a good 5 minutes, so I took them off and let her chill while we waited for the rest of the class to make it into the arena.

Ricky had us review our front/hind quarters and drifting to get started. Then he added something new: pushing the front quarters away after getting the hind, instead of facing up. This maneuver used to be so hard for me to even conceptualize. Now I get it and am not afraid to make a mistake trying to figure it out. Anyway, we didn't spend much time on that; Ricky just wanted to get going on the riding! :)

We bent our horses heads around at a stand still, then added circles and asked for the hind quarters. After we were all going well enough, he had us go to the rail of the arena and walk to the left. As we past in front of him we were to call out "now" as the left hind hoof left the ground. It took me one lap to get coordinated enough to even see it by looking down and feeling her hip move under my hand, but after another lap I could just sit there in the saddle and feel the movement of her hooves through my seat. Then he asked us to feel for the left front foot leaving the ground. I got that one right away because I can feel her shoulder move much easier than her hip through the saddle. My "now, now, nows" were met with "yes, yes, yes" by Ricky. Then we switched directions and did the same thing to the right for both hooves.

Not everyone 'got it' right away, but everyone did give it their all to learn. We were instructed to go back into our individual circles and now apply what we just learned (calling out each hoof) to our drifting exercises from the ground. In order to properly disengage the hindquarters, we were to press our leg on the inside of the circle to our horse's hip as there hind hoof was leaving the ground... all while reaching down the rein and bring the head around. We practiced this for probably close to an hour when we were told to take a break while he explained the next exercises we were going to do to finish off the day. Drill! :)

LMAO! I never saw that coming, even though I should have. When I rode Starlett at Ricky's last clinic here years ago, we did some drill type exercises to put our newly learned maneuvers to the test. The 'drill' we did this time was a little different from then. First we practiced maneuvering our horses in a figure eight using one hand and our seat and leg pressures by holding hands with a partner. I was paired up with a gal and her cute bay mare. Her mare was quite uncomfortable being so close to Mercy, so it was difficult holding hands. We also had issues going the same speed. When I would speed up to match her's, her horse would slow way down. Eventually all of his shifting in speed and direction was too much for Mercy and she kicked out at the bay mare. The bay mare was now afraid of Mercy, so we both just rode side by side with both hands on our reins. I thought that was a good compromise; everyone stayed in control and we were still participating in the drill and learning. Ricky did mention that I need to REALLY get after her if and when she misbehaves towards another horse again. I agree. It just took me by surprise this time. *sigh* Mares... sometimes... :/

Once everyone had had enough of the figure eights, Ricky had half of us start walking around the arena, a little off the rail, to the left. The other group was to weave between the 'circlers' while walking to the right. And both groups needed to keep their spacing, obviously! At first the 'weavers' didn't quite have the spacing down very well. I had to stop or speed up to coordinate with the other riders. We did this for a few laps and then Ricky had us all trot. This made the 'weavers' concentrate on getting to the hind, drifting around the 'circlers' and still maintaining a decent distant between the rider in front and behind themselves. I would be lying if I said it went perfectly. It was chaotic to say the least!

We began to run out of time, so he had the 'weavers' switch to 'circlers' and the 'circlers' switch to 'weavers.' Because the 'weavers' had witnessed the other group, we had a better idea of how to get things done quickly. We walked and trotted the weave for a few minutes and Ricky called us in for questions. What a way to end the day!