Riding, Racing Recap, and Random

I couldn't just post about one thing today, so you get a little bit about a few things.

I'm going to pretend that everyone is this excited about that fact....

Riding:

Beefs had laser therapy yesterday and he felt REALLY good today (thank you H). He started out much more relaxed and even though we didn't get those moments of huge impulsion, he was more consistently active in the hind end along with using himself better. The good moments are coming more and more frequently.

What I focused on today:
1. Riding the hind end
2.Getting him to reach for the connection more consistently instead of curling up
3. Transitions (however slight) within the gates.
4. Sending him more forward into my hands when he wanted to back off, hallow his back, and get above the bit.
5. Getting him to use his hind end, top line, and the base of his neck better.
6. Keep his neck from shortening in all three gates.





*I was too lazy to edit, so you get it all; the good, the bad, and the ugly. Feel free to judge, I ride better after I've been criticized :) Also, yes I know that shirt looks horrendous to ride in, but I'm trying to fix my polo tan.



Apparently my left wrist decided to join my left foot in being spastic. Whatever.

I'm not going to say I accomplished all of these things, but there was general improvement. In short, you can see a fairly good difference between the videos from a few days ago (click here) and today. He may look a little more inconsistent in the connection at times today, that is because I was riding him into the connection instead of messing with my hands to keep it (hopefully, that makes sense). I still feel the work was a lot higher quality.

I guess I should mention how well behaved this is for him being at the track. Especially since the bugs were really bad (he doesn't typically have helicopter tail). If he does this well here, he is going to really rock away from the racetrack.

Racing:

Harley and Dennis-win #2 at the meet

Harley won her second race in a row here yesterday. Everything has just kind of clicked with her these last two races. We drew to the outside for both, Dennis (the jockey) fits her really well and she relaxes well for him out there, and she is doing well as far as health and training in general. These last two races she has run very professional, doing everything Dennis has asked of her. Good girl!

Woody (#7) heading to the gates

Woody ran 2nd yesterday, out nodded and beaten by a nose. This meant that we were a nose away from winning our last four races in a row. Not that I'm complaining, but crap! Anyway, after having one mishap after another for his last three races, I was just happy that everything went smoothly and he put in a really nice effort. BTW, if you ever want to see a really pissed off jockey, go talk to them after they get beat by a nose. What mattered to me was that Donnie gave him a smart ride. He made all the right choices with where he put Woody in the (very weird run) race. Shit happens, hopefully next time.

Random (photos and video):

It's a man's world...

I'm not sure who is babysitting who.

"I think he's full."

Looks at his mouth

"Yep. He's full."

Kid is hysterical!

More dark clouds coming our way. Shocker.

H working on the mare we just claimed. I call her Gigantor or Sasquatch (the horse, not H).

Apparently Beefs prefers his lunch over grazing.

VCMBH: Travel bug

What is your best tip for traveling with horses?

Moving ten to fifteen (twelve to eighteen depending on how many dressage ponies go) horses three times a year is a giant pain in the ass and extremely stressful, so here are some of the things we do to make hauling go a little smoother. I'm going to go ahead and assume that everyone knows to do a safety check on the truck and trailer. (Sorry, I couldn't just pick one tip.)

My absolute favorite shipping company. If we're sending or receiving a horse or two and it's a long trip, this is our go to. They take PHENOMENAL care of the horses and the recovery time is not nearly as long when these guys haul them. *If we are hauling a bunch of horses to one place, we usually hire a whole van from North American Horse Transport. Otherwise, we have to make 2 or more trips. It cuts the price in half. Good if you have a lot of people going to a far away show.

• Always have a lunge/buggy whip close by before you even try to load. I'm not saying to beat them to death with it, but a tap the second they hesitate and before a fight can start will go a long ways. If they really don't want to load, treats and feed to coax them probably isn't going to work.
• We never tie/hook a horse up until the divider or door is closed behind them. Better safe than a vet bill from your horse pulling back and flipping over inside of the trailer.
• I think shipping boots are pretty much worthless (just my opinion). Standing bandages are great when they're put on correctly, which I'm completely anal about. I never ever use the cotton sheets with vet wrap to ship in. More likely than not, they are going to slip down. Putting a good pair of bell boots on is never a bad idea.

So, I guess that's it. Happy hauling!

get the InLinkz code

Hang time

*WARNING-boring dressage ride recap. I included pics to help with the monotony though. Hopefully. Unfortunately, there was no one around to document Beefs' awesomeness today, so you get random photos.

Picture from after the storm last night

Beefs was acting just a little inattentive today when I was tacking him up and I was thinking that today might not be our best. Visions of him being all like "SQUIRREL!!!!" and doing his best bronc impression popped into my head. He's an athletic little bugger and it's not easy to ride when he does that. Whatever Beefs, you're still going to get ridden even if you act like a spaztard (yes, new word). I did just a bit of ground work with him to get him focused on me. He stopped screwing around, let out a big sigh, and we went to work.

Beefs loves Gunner. I'm not sure the feeling is necessarily mutual.

In the video from my last post you can see that his trot work was flat. He was going through the movements, but not really using himself like he needs to (though it was better by the end of the ride). His walk and canter are really nice if he isn't unfocused. The trot work is definitely our weak spot along with being what will prevent us from moving up.

What Gunner really thinks.

Shockingly, Beefs was extremely good from the get go. He wanted to gawk at a couple of things initially, but listened once we went to work. He was much more relaxed in the trot today and even did some really nice leg yields.

After warming up, I went to sitting trot and Beefs , out of nowhere, was all like "Look what I can do!". His back lifted, he sat in the hind end, he reached into the bit. He stayed connected and in front of my leg. Then there was the suspension. Holy bounce!!!! Where the hell did that come from?! It shocked me so much that I about could have fallen off. Needless to say we did a couple of circles like that each way and then cooled out.

Who couldn't love him with a face like that?

Me getting high quality trot work from Beefimeus was going to get rewarded big time! Plus, using himself like that had to be more tiring than any amount of canter work would have. I truly believe if you get that moment you've been aiming for, the best way to get it more often is to stop for the day. Asking for more, after I finally got what I wanted from Beefs, wouldn't have been much of a reward. He knew he did well and that I was happy. Beefs is extremely smart and sensitive. He was pretty damn proud of himself after that and he's not going to forget how I reacted to his newly found dream trot. So proud of him!

Beefs and Gunner sending love from Arapahoe Park!

Just get over it and ride! (Beefs video)

I got off of Beefs today feeling pretty bad about my riding. He was being good, I just sucked. Then I watched the videos and decided it wasn't THAT bad. Yes there is a lot to fix, like the spastic left side of my body, but it could have been a lot worse. We're starting to get back to where we were. I don't always have to tear myself apart. We can do this. I just need to relax and enjoy the ride.

On another note, my little pencil neck is actually pretty damn cute! Even if he is wiggly and occasionally ADD.

O

Sorry about the cheesy music, it wasn't supposed to be on there.

WW: My cat hates me

Probably already posted this, but it made me laugh. So, here it is again.