Comfy Question

I rode Question!

Crappy pics, but I don't care. 

I couldn't take it any more, I had to sit on his back. So, I talked the fiancé into at least letting me ride him in the barn area.

All I can say is that he is one of the most comfortable horses I've ever set on. A flat saddle always feels super awkward to me, it doesn't matter how much I ride in one. It didn't on Question. Granted, I only had room to walk and trot, but I've never felt that secure in exercise tack. Like, I actually wanted to take him up to the track and gallop him. ME! 

I promise the trot was better than it looks in the pics :)

There is just so much horse power underneath you. He's so deep and broad, I didn't feel like I had to fight to keep my freakishly long legs on, felt 100% balanced. I really want to start riding him more. The fact that he could plant me any time he wants, and probably will, doesn't even bother me because I can guarantee that it would still be one hell of a fun ride even if he did. 

Lessons Learned

#1 Do not leave your phone unattended at a rest area, someone will steal it. Bastard.

The only good thing about having your phone stolen is that my new one is SO MUCH COOLER!

#2 I am too tall to sleep in front of a pick up. 

#3 I am too light of a sleeper to sleep in a fifth wheel with a low battery warning beeping all night.

#4 Making the trip from Phoenix to Denver in two days instead of one does not make it that much easier.

No worries, I was stopped, just getting ready to move again.

#5 No matter what time of the year I leave for Denver, it will rain and then snow. Every. Single. Year. This year tornados were added into the mix. All within four hours of traveling time.

#6 If there are tornados, they will inevitably be in the same area that I am in.

#7 I would much rather haul the house-trailer instead of the horse trailer due to said weather. If I kill the fifth wheel (I didn't), I can live with it.

#8 The drive from Phoenix to Denver still sucks.

#9 I still love it here. I think.

Travelling Horses

The meet is almost wrapped up here with just a few more days to go. We have a few more horses to run and then goodbye 2° above hotter than Hell Phoenix weather and hello snow/rain in Denver.

See ya, sunbeams of death!

What it takes to move:
One fifteen-horse van (our friend is using four of the stalls)
Three pickups
Two horse trailers (a five-horse and a three-horse)
One fifth wheel
Four people
Hours upon hours of packing/unpacking, setting up the barn, driving etc.
Probably a spare tire or two no matter what we do to avoid needing one.
10,000 ounces (give or take a little) of caffeinated drinks.
A crapload of time, money, and years off of my life.

americanhorsetrans.com- In case you ever need a whole van to yourself....seriously though, they do a good job and have good prices if you need a horse shipped.

Anyway, the stress and panic party of moving has commenced, so I may not be around much for the next week or two. I hope that y'all have a super great next few weeks and an awesome start to the show season if you're headed that route.

The only other thing I have that is new and exciting to report is that I picked up another Thermotex blanket. We didn't desperately need another one, but it's in very good condition (the cover is just a bit dirty) and everything works great. For $350 (new ones are $2,000+), I could hardly pass it up. It's a lot nicer than our old one.

The Ultimate Question

About that birthday present....

Cute, right?

So he technically wasn't intended to be a birthday present, but that's just how the timing worked out and that's kind of what he ended up being. Either way, he's mine.

Anyway, Question (by Whywhywhy out of a Dayjur mare) isn't exactly new to me. If you've read this blog for any amount of time, that picture probably looked kind of familiar to you.

Question before he was claimed last year.

We trained him off and on for an owner for a few years before he was claimed last year.
He's not a great racehorse, but he is (or at least was) a good mid-level horse. He's what we call a check-getter, meaning he has a high on-the-board percentage. In short, he's honest and rarely throws in a real clunker.

As a three year old, not filled out yet.

Most notable highlights during the times we had him:

Question's lifetime stats. They looked better before he was claimed last year.

2nd Colorado Derby 1 1/16 miles
1st Allowance 5 1/2 furlongs in 1:01.74 New Track Record
2nd Ruidoso Derby 1 1/8 miles
2nd Harvest Stakes 5 1/2 furlongs
*There's other wins and placings, but these are the most notable.

The current stats of the horse that beat him in the Colorado and Ruidoso Derbies

The stats of the horse that beat him in the Harvest Stake. At least he got beat by nice horses.

Anyway, being at the track, I've learned that you have to be willing to let horses go because you never know what will happen. When Question got claimed, I didn't cry or freak out, but losing him bothered me more than it should have. At the time, my fiancé said that Question would probably end up running for $5,000 or less (way less than half of what he was clained for) here next year (I'll explain that guess in a minute). He said that if he was, it'd be worth considering taking him back.

So how did my fiancé know? Question can be a real ass. He's not mean or anything like that, but he is a bit of a bully. If he can intimidate someone and get away with stuff, he will. He is quick and strong and can do bad things before a person even realizes it.

Let's see, this is hard to explain....

Best Example:
We had a jockey work Question a couple of times and warned the rider to never completely let his guard down. The rider thought we were crazy because Question is actually really nice to ride for the most part. He's not spooky or a runaway and he does everything right. He did everything perfect the first two times.

The third time was pretty much the same story, and the rider just had a loose rein as they were starting to walk off the track. Question, out of nowhere, lets out a squeal and does what looks just a bit worse than a crow hop. However, he was so quick and he is so powerful that he sent the rider flying. The poor guy was not only really high in the air, but he also landed a rather impressive distance in front of the horse.

This is where most horses would take off. Question just stood right where he was, the reins dangling, and looked at the rider like "Dude, I SO got you. Just because I could." That is his mentality. Keep in mind that Question had just worked a pretty decent time for five furlongs and should have been tired enough to not pull that crap. Obviously, he wasn't.

There are many other things that Question does to be a pain in the ass. He is absolutely horrible to get ready on race days. One time, the fiancé was gone and I had to get Question ready for a race by myself. I must have looked like I got hit by a bus by the time I was done. I called the fiancé and told him that if he EVER made me run that horse by myself again, I would quit (not really, but I was pretty pissed off by that time). The most annoying best part is that once you start to head for the paddock, the horse is absolutely perfect. *Question did get a little better to get ready eventually, but it took a hell of a lot of time.

Pigeon killer.

Question can be really pushy and obnoxious if you don't get after him, he can get wild jogging back after he gallops, and he loves to buck and play on the walker to set the rest of the horses off.

All of this combined with a long lay off and huge price drop (HUGE red flags) ...so why was I dumb brave enough to still claim him?

First off, we had enough current information to know that he wasn't completely crippled. We knew he could be obnoxious enough to make someone want to get rid of him. We also knew that he wasn't really fit and that he isn't an easy horse to get fit to run. However, for all of that, it was still worth the risk. I don't know, I guess I just have a lot of respect for this horse.

He may be an ass, but I still adore him.

"He's NOT a very nice horse!" *pouty voice*- Question's groom as I get ready to lead him away. At least the kid wasn't upset about losing him...like, at all.


Question is about the most athletic horse I've ever seen (and that's comparing him with Grand Prix jumpers at the farm I worked for in Toronto and Ocala). He may be an ass in the mornings, but when it comes to down to race time, he shows up. I don't think there has ever been a time when I felt like he flat out didn't try. If he got beat, I always felt like he had a legitimate excuse or it was a rider and/or trainer error or he just got beat by better horses. He has heart, he's athletic, he's powerful, and he's actually bold when it comes down to it. Okay, he's a little cocky too. On top of that, he is a very good looking and well built horse.

Anyway, for better or worse, I talked the fiancé into claiming him even though he had his doubts. Like I said before, Question wasn't fit, and he ran horrible. My heart about jumped out of my throat when he was eased even though he still finished the race (this is around the time that the fiancé decided he was my horse instead of "ours"). I figured that it wasn't anything too horrible when he was still putting full weight on all four legs. He walked off of the track and didn't look too bad. I felt a lot better when he went to jumping and bucking while he was cooling out on the walker.

There are some things to fix (mostly fitness and strength related), but he isn't lame.He doesn't need time off and we were able to continue with his training. I don't know if he will run well again after that race or not, sometimes they don't after that kind of experience. I think he will. If he doesn't, I will retire him while he's still sound.

It's always been my dream to have Question move onto a jumping career. I know that he can jump (you don't even want to know what makes me think so). He already has a solid foundation. He could easily do a training level dressage test correctly (as long as he doesn't get the urge to plant you), and it wouldn't take much to get him to first. He knows his changes and he isn't scared of anything.

I don't necessarily want to be the one to jump him (he would deserve better and braver), but I could polish off the flat work and then hand someone else the reins. I've always thought it'd be cool to own a nice jumper if I can afford to. If I can't, then I know a couple of people that could handle his shenanigans and would gladly take him (this is realistically what will most likely happen). In dream land, he would win enough money that I could retire him and afford to own him through his second career (almost 0% chance of this happening). In reality, I'll consider myself lucky if he can win a couple more races.

So, that's probably the most unromantic "I got a horse for my birthday!" story you've ever heard..... I still like my "gift"! (:

Anyway, I normally wouldn't go into this much detail about a horse we have in training. Since he's mine I can do what I want. Plus, I'm pretty sure I'm the only sentimental idiot dumb enough to claim him anyway. No one else on the planet is going to look at him, think he can probably jump if he can't run, and drop on him.

 Whatever, I have to play tough-ass racetrack, behave like the men, chick all of the time.  I'm allowed one moment of girly weakness right? #noregrets

On a good note, at least his name is appropriate.

Worth It

I went out late last night to ride Indy. It was just below 80° with a light breeze when I left for the barn and I figured that it would be a quiet and relaxing time to ride (plus, it was either ride then or not at all). It was an off night for the kiddie lessons and the loudest screaming riding instructor in the world. Yep, it was going to be perfect.

When I pulled up there were cars at the riding school (kiddie lesson) barn. Crap. Whatever. The vocals from the trainer and hyper children are good exposure for Indy.



I get out of the truck and realize that the wind has picked up. A lot. Eh, wind usually doesn't bother her too much.

As I turn Indy out (I like putting her out for about a half hour before I ride her), she is blowing and snorting. When I turn her loose, she takes off tearing around the paddock. No big deal. At least she's getting it out of her system, she'll settle in a bit.

Bringing Indy in, she is still blowing and snorting with her tail straight in the air as she prances next to me. That's fine, the Thermotex blanket usually relaxes her. She'll chill out when I put it on.

She was probably just really looking forward to getting a bath. Because you can see here how much she loves them...

The blanket is pulled off and Indy continues randomly snorting at things. We've spent most of the time the blanket is on helping her remember that she is supposed to stand politely in the cross ties (I don't tolerate my horses wallowing around in them). As I tack her up, I start to think that this could be a VERY ugly exciting ride. My hopes of her being sane quickly diminish. What the hell, if it's bad it's bad. Not the end of the world. She probably won't kill me.

On a happy blanket day.

On the way to the mounting block Indy continues with the snorts. She might not kill me.

I lead her to the mounting block and climb on prepared for her to feel like she's going to blow. I sit in the saddle and....

She drops her head, waits for me to ask her to walk off, and then proceeds with a nice forward and relaxed walk on a loose rein to the arena. Okay, now I'm just confused.



The second I got on, she was all like "Oh, hey human! Where you been? Nice of you to show up. Can we get to work now?"

Um, sure Indy....

We proceeded to have a really nice ride as the kids acted like kids do, the trainer yelled, and the wind blew (creating strange, moving shadows in the dark beyond the lighted arena). My horse was good through all of it. MY HORSE! The one that (literally) will sometimes spook at her own shadow. She lost focus for a couple of seconds here and there, but other than that I couldn't have hoped for better.

This probably doesn't sound like a big deal, at least not with most horses. Indy is another story.

Not long ago, I would have seen the kid lessons and been pretty convinced that the ride would have sucked. The yelling trainer would have helped prove me right. Add the wind and I would have assumed that the ride would be completely hopeless.

Not long ago, if she'd acted like that going to the mounting block, I would have been wishing that I had my vest (that I wear on the rare occasions that I gallop at the track) on. I would have been wishing this because I would have known that there was absolutely no chance of getting her brain focused.



Not long ago, riding on a night like this would have been Hell.

So, I'm proud of my horse. Indy had lots of excuses to act like an idiot and she didn't. She was just as focused (as Indy gets at her maturity level) with all of that as she is when everything is quiet. When it came to her job, she got right down to business. Dare I say it? Could it be possible that Indy is starting to show signs of professionalism?

She's come a long way since this was taken.

I know that there will still be bad rides ahead of us. She will have those days where she will answer the questions I ask of her with her way of telling me to piss off. That's okay. They're happening less often.

I've pushed myself to be patient, to try not to get frustrated, to just keep trying in general. I've done my best to push, but not force (it wouldn't work anyway), and to make it very clear when she gives the correct response. Sometimes it gets the results I want, sometimes it doesn't.

My other "birthday present", but that's a long story that needs to be told another day...

Indy is beginning to work with me instead of fighting me the whole way. We're FINALLY starting to build that relationship that it takes to be successful in dressage. I've certainly made mistakes along the way, yet learned from them. There is a long ways to go still, but the foundation is becoming sturdier every ride. Brick by damn brick.

Has anyone else's most talented horse also been the most difficult?

*I figured I should mention that Indy's "bad" isn't that bad. It's usually more of a hard-headed "I don't want to" or "I'm going to look for every excuse I can to lose focus and ignore you" type of thing. She's never done anything more than a crow hope and has only had a few major spooks. The difference between when she really spooks and when she is looking for an excuse to spook us pretty obvious. 90% if the time she isn't truly scared if something. Her bad behavior is rarely something that could get me hurt. There were/are times when she feels like a volcano ready to erupt, but she hasn't ever blown.  The things that were a little dangerous were just typical young horse stuff. The misbehaving that I talk about are mental blocks that keep us from progressing as much as I'd like to and take her longer than most horses to get past. Hence, the patience she has tested taught me.