leaving hunterlandia, entering paradise

So. Big changes in Charlieland: He moved to a new farm! Specifically, Charlie moved to OF - site of our weekly jump lessons with trainer P.

room with an unusual view!

I've been hauling in to this farm for weekly jump lessons since early 2014. It was never really a big deal from Isabel's barn, which was just ten miles down a country road. Plus after Brita and Wick started coming to lessons with us, the horses were usually together on the trailer - making it pretty easy for them too.

charlie's not used to seeing the world from such a low vantage point haha

However, Charlie's erstwhile h/j barn was 30 miles away, across two major highways. One of which was the Baltimore Beltway - meaning there's constant local traffic in both directions as drivers whizzed on and off and all over the place. Definitely..... not pleasant for those of us with very precious cargo on board.

his stall also has a weird little alcove section

Add in the fact that Charlie was always alone for this trip, and it became more difficult for him. The worst days were show days - when we'd pick up Brita (whose lease mare Bella lives at OF) in the morning, then take her home at the end of the day. Charlie would get pretty upset when his friend got off the trailer, while he still had another 40 minutes of travel.

but damn it's a giant stall - it's designed for foaling

More than once, other drivers would try to flag me down for my horse looking "freaked out" on the trailer. Bc.... well. Charlie weaves. And he would weave on the trailer. Which I guess is a pretty startling sight for those unfamiliar with horses.

hopefully charlie likes the visual variety!

It was becoming clear tho that something had to give. The travel was becoming unsustainable for Charlie. Meanwhile, I was feeling a little stymied in getting the full level of my desired training while boarding at the h/j barn, since they wouldn't allow outside trainers on the property.

subterranean pony! and look at all those other windows!

I loved that h/j barn very much tho - and esp loved that it was a mere 15 minutes from home. The care was top notch and I never worried about Charlie getting what he needed (even tho they could be a little alarmist at times, and occasionally slow to make changes).

plus he's surrounded by cute neighbors, situated as he is in the corner

Plus, with the demanding and occasionally unpredictable nature of my job, I was a little uncomfortable with boarding Charlie very far from home. But. I reevaluated routes and have come to the conclusion that it's better having me on the road vs Charlie.

looking down the aisle straight away from his stall

Obviously that also includes the benefit of reducing wear and tear on my truck and trailer - letting my more efficient daily driver sedan do all those extra miles. But there are actually quite a few more time and cost savings to be found in the change too.

looking down the other end past the cute neighbors and toward my tack locker

Time is the biggest immediate win when it comes to lessons. Removing the shipping from our weekly jump lesson routine cuts my time down by actual hours. Dressage trainer C also comes on site weekly for lessons - meaning I can see her without shipping now too. So right off the bat, I'm able to see two of my favorite trainers without my horse ever stepping foot onto the trailer.

he seems to like this door shape too - i haven't seen him weaving once yet!

It doesn't end there tho - the next big obvious cost savings is OF's onsite cross country course. Gone are the days of hauling to and paying schooling fees to work over xc fences. The facility here includes full courses from starter through training, and they're building out the prelim options. They host an annual USEA recognized event and a schooling HT.

plus he got his own stall sign <3

As a boarder, I can go out there however often I want, whenever I want, and do whatever I want. Whether that's just dabbling a little in the water here and there, or making ditches and banks part of our weekly (or daily!) routine. This is obviously a huge advantage.

Check out this helmet cam video of me and Isabel rocketing across the BN course there for a nearly-full tour of the cross country course.

yep. still the cutest!

Regular readers should already be pretty familiar with the rest of the facilities at this farm - even if you didn't realize they're all at the same place. For instance, basically any jump lesson recap (like this one) takes place in the large upper jump ring here. Tho I've never seen them, reports are that this arena has lights too.

solo turnout to start - but in a field surrounded by ponies and mares

Plus all the dressage schooling shows Charlie has done (like MDA's schooling show back in June) are held in the lovely outdoor dressage court. This ring also has lights for evening rides.

saying hello to a neighboring mare

There's also a modest but workable indoor, which you saw if you read the (hilarious) post about Charlie learning (and kinda failing) to free jump. So ya know. There are plenty of places to ride - and that's not even counting just hacking through the fields, woods, trails, and pasture lines. Options. We's got them now.

and the tack locker, omg!!
left side: getting dusted and sponged down with some murphy's oil soap. right side: all moved in!

Then, of course, there are the actual day to day living arrangements. Charlie's living in a stall designed for a mare and foal. It's legit the biggest stall I've ever seen. Plus it's got windows to look out, and is right in the middle of all the horses and ppl and goings on in the barn - something Charlie seems to like.

The construction of being built so deeply into the ground means that temperatures are fairly well controlled all year round too.

guys. i can't even explain what a dream come true this locker is haha

And for me, there's a very generously sized tack locker. I can even fit almost all my junk in there (almost haha). It was dusty and cobweb-y to start, but a quick wipe down cleared that out. Plus I went through the thing with a hammer, getting rid of any unnecessary pointy odds and ends bc ain't nobody want tetanus around here lol.

just one matted grooming area among many

Some LED tap-on lights are in the mail, and I've christened the locker with a berry-scented air freshener. Guys. This is legit my 12yo dream coming true (after, obvi, getting the horse haha).

familiar dressage court

The barn also sports a wide range of matted grooming spots, a deep sink with hot water, an outdoor wash stall (a bit of a down grade for us, but I can live lol), and two different farriers who come onsite weekly. One of whom, actually, was specifically recommended by Charlie's past farrier - who tragically could not keep us on after the move.

So while I am still feeling some trepidation about the change in farriery for my special needs, boat-shoe-wearing snowflake, I think it'll be ok.

and nice wooded walks between the rings and the barn!

Maybe the best thing about this place tho is that I actually already know so many folks here - a distinct benefit of having been coming onto the farm weekly for over three years.

there's a tiny stream crossing on this walk too - perfect for Mr Green About water

So right off the bat, I've had riding buddies who have been eager to show us around and get us acclimated, and show Charlie the ways to and from all the rings.

al fresco wash stall

Actually it was pretty hilarious - since I moved him in about an hour before our typical jump lesson. Charlie found it very surprising to go from a strange and new place (the barn) and within a few hundred feet, suddenly be back into familiar territory lol.

it's less fancy than the h/j barn wash stall - but it works just fine

Hopefully he'll connect the dots soon that those familiar arenas are all now part of his 'home.' Actually he's been settling pretty well - he likes the big stall and I haven't noticed him weaving at all in it. I'm sure that habit will persist bc horses don't usually quit it completely... but perhaps it'll be reduced?

plus there's still grass!

And especially once he gets fully integrated into the turnout situation, I expect him to continue settling more and more. Homeboy loves having friends!

and, of course, he's already got his friend Bella on the premises <3

Which, of course, I do too - maybe the #1 best thing about this move is that Brita and I are now boarding at the same barn again! Yay riding friends!

So that's the big change I've been mulling over for the last couple weeks. It feels like a pretty momentous shift for us, and it's not without its trade offs. But I'm very hopeful that it'll be a big change for the better as Charlie continues his development as an event horse-in-training!

schoolin' hunter-style

So I'd like to write about the jump lesson Charlie and I had at OF this past weekend, but I still haven't had a chance to edit or even watch the videos yet. Sorry.

And idk about you, but I can sometimes feel like my opinion and impression of a ride are somewhat unformed or half baked without actually watching the video too. Like I have to "review the tape" to study and fully understand what all went down.

his dopey face tho lol

All that to say - I'm still not quite ready to write it out yet. It wasn't particularly ground-breaking, but it was educational. And I think I'm finally starting to fully understand why.

idk about you, but i LOVE these painted boxes - plaster flaking off a brick wall. too cute!

Like we all already know Charlie's very green. And.... the laws or logic should say that he's less green now than when I first started jumping him, right? So why should his greenness now somehow shock or surprise me?

And I'm figuring out that it's just a normal function of his constant evolution. The fact is: Charlie can officially been deemed "Fully Started Over Fences" now. Like. He knows how to jump. He has gotten a sense for his own striding, his own eye. He can find a jump himself, but can also go long or deep. Certainly he's not anywhere close to "finished" (LOL) but the foundation is laid.

more brick!! with the quintessential hunter green standards

And? He honestly really seems to like it! He's pretty enthusiastic about it, and as a thinking horse, he's often open to experimentation. Or open to feeling like maybe he's got this whole thing figured out, maybe he's a pro (which, like, he totally isn't tho haha).

But now that Charlie's in a much more "forward thinking" place, I'm suddenly playing catch up with him. He's ready to be challenged, ready to to approach some fences that give him something to look at... and I'm maybe still mentally back in January where we just kinda bopped around everything and it was a big commotion if Charlie figured out how to actually canter a fence lol.

those are just splatters on this box haha. plainest of plain white fences

Furthermore, Charlie is developing fast. He's progressing in REAL TIME OMG. So like.. We might start off with a couple bad fences or some sort of problem, and I resign myself to thinking "Ok this is my horse today." But then Charlie's got it sorted and figured out by the next effort and I'm still kinda stuck trying to ride that same problem even after it's passed and Charlie has moved on.

more pretty stone walls tho!

So I ended up feeling like, "Christ when am I actually gonna figure out how to ride this horse?" But that's not quite fair, bc he's legitimately not only a different horse every week, but often a different horse throughout the course of a single ride.

That's a very good thing in the grand scheme of things - he's a good honest horse who is showing a taste and keenness for jumping. Not to mention an excellent sense of humor with a heaping dose of ammy-friendly forgiveness. No doubt about it, I'm grateful.

standards would be way cuter with requisite hanging ferns. also see the cute stone wall (with wind blown standards) in the background?

But it still challenges me, especially as I'm definitely someone who thrives when she knows exactly what to expect. And Charlie at this point in his training still kinda defies expectations. He's just a changeable guy in his way of going right now.

Our lesson this past weekend ended well, but it started rough. Again, I'll share the full details when I have the accompanying media.... Suffice it to say, tho, that it didn't really feel like a satisfactory last jumps school before our next show, even if that show is just over 18" fences.

more "flaking plaster" boxes! obvi this is actually a line, but i jumped them separately

So I decided that I would capitalize on the empty arena last night (no lessons on Mondays!) to school myself over fences. And it took everything I had to pull my big girl pants on and get it done, bc honestly I really haven't schooled myself over fences with any regularity in a long time. (Izzy and I usually had two jump lessons a week and that was plenty sufficient for keeping us tuned up.)

Plus all the jumps where set at a perfectly inviting ~2' height, but with fun configurations of boxes and gates and poles galore. I'd be a fool to ride around an open arena full of these fences and not jump any of them, right?

another line, and another i jumped separately. i like that they have all different size gates too. also would have jumped that full brick wall on the left but the standards and ground line pole were blown too much into the track, alas.

Therefore we just jumped right on around after an economical warm up. Trotted the first, and cantered the rest. Charlie asked to build in pace to our first canter fence, but held when I asked. Good boy.

We approached fences from loops across the center. From short (but easy) roll back turns. And also from longer straight approaches. And I tried to ride like someone's actually taught me lol. Legs down under me, short reins with hands forward, light seat (but not half seat, plz Emma) but actually sitting and with shoulders open and further back than I want them.

And for the first time in my riding life with Charlie? Not only did we not actually totally miss once, but I was able to see each fence from a more or less good going distance at about 4 strides out. It helped that the horse was very steady and rideable haha. Perhaps he was channeling his inner hunter? Oh and he even popped quite a few changes over fences AND ground poles!

One day, folks. One day we'll get there (wherever "there" is haha). Even if it means that occasionally I need to buck up and make myself jump the damn jumps. Do you jump often outside of lessons? Or only on an as-needed basis? Or maybe your ratio of lessons to self-schools is the exact opposite, with most of your jumping done solo with just the occasional lesson? Do you ever feel like there's a big difference, whether it's in how you go or what you tackle?

he's no isabel: a trail story in pictures

I've known for a few months now that there ARE actually little trails around Charlie's barn. And in driving by on the road and around campus (he lives on a school campus, remember), I've noticed through the trees things that look like trails and trail heads.

The story was that they're not extensive trails but you can probably eke out a 45 minute excursion. And it's reportedly difficult to get lost out there. All the same, I had hoped to get our introduction to the trails with the benefit of a companion, both for navigation and social purposes. 

Alas, convincing anyone to go out there with me has been tricky. My likeliest riding partner has spent the last few years working hard to maintain her elder statesman, who has a storied history of various lamenesses from which he should not have recovered but yet somehow continues to thrive. She's therefore very picky about footing. Also she's wary of the long stretches of the trail that are asphalt, as visible above.

Finally tho, I got tired of waiting. This past weekend was gorgeous. And Charlie was feeling a little off - seasonal changes with spring grass coming up, and apparently a new shipment of hay had his belly a little bothersome - so I didn't want to actually school him. Felt like the perfect opportunity for a low key trail outing! 

So I confirmed with mgmt where the trails began and ended, and whether I was likely to miss any important land marks, and off we went! Naturally I did in fact miss the first turning - incorrectly crossing the above bridge when I should have turned. Nbd - the trail just dead ended at a road, but I could see a much nicer (non-asphalt) trail just on the other side of a small creek and started looking for sections of bank that looked traversable by horse.

I found one - right next to a pedestrian wooden bridge - but Charlie showed his greenness and was ultimately unable to make the crossing. Isabel wouldn't have blinked an eye.... And I'm pretty sure Charlie would have followed another horse. But oh well. It's saved for another day. Pictures further down. 

Getting back to the turn that we had missed, i was a little worried that Charlie would be reluctant to turn off the path towards home again, since the attempted water crossing had upset him a little. Shouldn't have worried, tho. He was fine. And this new section of trail was much more pleasant - broad smooth earthen path. 

The horse was maybe a little unsure of what we were doing, but he mostly walked out pretty nicely. Tho a much nicer, marching walk when he thought we were heading towards home, and more of a slow shuffle otherwise.... But that's fine. He basically stayed on the buckle and felt quite safe.

So when we very quickly came upon the back of the campus residences (with the above gazebo!) and I thought our trail might be coming to another fork (one of which seemed like an end point), I decided to stay on the fork that looked like it would take us back to that path I had seen earlier on the other side of the failed stream crossing.

And that's where things went a little bit sideways (not joking - this picture shows that little tree in the bottom left corner just moments before Charlie ran me into it - knee, elbow, everything. ouch!). We had to go down a very steep section, which doesn't translate well on camera but you can basically see how narrow the trail is here, and that it disappears in vertical descent just behind that tree.

Charlie was.... very very reluctant. And not without reason! This was a VERY steep trail and he's a big awkward horse. Good soul tho, he made it work without getting us killed.

Then things opened back up again into nice friendly smooth trail. Ahh. That's better! And we were right where I thought we'd be - on the other side of the little pedestrian bridge we had seen earlier.

Other sections of the bank were very steep, but I had tried to cross right next to the bridge where it was flattest (tho still quite steep, hard to tell in the shadows). Charlie got allll the way down to the water's edge, but was very uncomfortable (snorting and head shaking) and started dancing around a little bit - including getting a hind leg a bit under the bridge in a way that I decidedly did not feel safe about. But he offered to shift into a controlled and purposeful reverse (actually turning his head to watch where he was going!) to pull back out of the area.

While I would have preferred that the horse cross the water when I asked.... I also did not feel like this was the right situation to insist. Especially since he offered to extricate himself so carefully and calmly. Oh well. We will handle the stream crossing issue in a more safe schooling soon enough!

Anyway tho. It was also right around this point that it became glaringly clear that we were on a trail designed for humans, and NOT horses. On flat sections all was well, but the more technical sections (think ascents and descents) were VERY narrow and VERY steep.

Shortly after passing that little bridge we were headed basically straight up and around the side of a hill, on a very narrow ledge of trail with a wooden railing that we barely fit within. It also had bonus mushy edges that Charlie's hind leg punched straight through in one harrowing moment. 

Charlie was a good sport tho and kept climbing. Phew, good pony! We got to the top of the hill and I let him just halt and take a breather, and regroup. This was turning out to be.... not quite the easy relaxing trail I had expected! While stopped, I took the above two pictures, which kinda give the sense of where we are with respect to the hill - ie, on top of it.

This section of trail was fairly good - not too steep a drop off to the left. Tho it was a bit steep up to the right. And Charlie showed that he doesn't quite understand "staying on the trail" yet and jumped the shark here as soon as I asked him to walk forward. He quite unexpectedly went sideways further up the hill on the more uneven ground, and managed to run me into yet another tree, the one indicated by the arrow. Ouch dude.

We righted the ship tho and got back on the trail just in time to see that what goes up must come down. Our trail would be very rapidly taking us right back down the other side of the hill.

And again - the camera doesn't do the steepness full justice, but you can kinda see how we're basically traversing a hillside, and the trail is very VERY narrow, on soft ground, only very shallowly carved into the hill side. That red arrow is pointing to our trail. Which is also about to rapidly descend. Gulp.

Charlie did it tho. And didn't get us killed. The above shows the path we came down looking backwards. This horse.... he's a very good boy. But he is neither comfortable nor confident going downhill like this yet. I can't blame him tho.... We just need more practice. And maybe a buddy haha bc I think he would have felt better with another horse around.

As it was tho, I was fairly sure we would be on moderately level ground from here out, just following the road (on our left) back to the campus. 

The trails are actually quite pretty - and this section had another little stream (maybe the same one as before? idk) running alongside it. Plus all around the trail were these interesting wooden railings. But again it was pretty clear these were people trails, and designed accordingly. 

Like when we got to this wild cut away section of a giant tree haha. Actually we approached this log from a turn, and I didn't immediately see the cut section. I thought it was newly fallen wood that was blocking our path entirely. I had zero confidence that I'd be able to get Charlie to bushwhack a path around it, but my heart absolutely sank at the thought of turning around to retrace our steps back up that damn hill when we were so close to home!

Luckily there was in fact the cut away section. And while it was narrow and I felt a little guarded about what Charlie might think about it all, he was fine. Scooted maybe a liiiittle bit through it, but didn't bash any of my body parts into anything in the process so I was cool with it. 

And finally, not very long after, we emerged through the above mini meadow type area behind some campus buildings. This section being particularly notable for not at all accommodating a 17h horse, let alone one with a rider. I got quite acquainted with the finer details and scents of Charlie's mane as I basically just had to lay flat out on his neck and hope he stayed on the trail lol. Which he did just fine, good boy.

And then, voila! Like magic, our familiar civilization materialized around us again. I can't claim to be entirely unscathed by the adventure, as my elbow and knee bore the marks of their brief but forceful encounter with a tree.... But for all intents and purposes we survived. And the horse was pretty fine.

I'm not sure it was as confidence-building for him as I had hoped, in that idk if he was thrilled to tackle some of those technical trail elements. Izzy was always such a beast out in the woods - it was like, the more complicated the terrain or brush or whatever, the better she was. Almost like she viewed it as a puzzle, and you could just sit back, hold the buckle and some mane, and let her figure it out. 

Charlie was good about the "letting him figure it out" part mostly, but he's no arab that's for sure. And I'm not sure he relished those moments or took as much joy in them as Izzy did. On the flip side tho - he really is a lovely trail partner. He's green and inexperienced and it shows.... but he was also totally safe and manageable despite being by himself.

In previous outings he's definitely shown what appears to be enjoyment of trails - so I think in this case it was maybe just a bit harder than either of us anticipated. Next time we'll try it with a buddy and see if that doesn't improve Charlie's feelings about the trickier spots. 

post trail snacks for a hard working pony

So. Charlie's first solo trail outing is a success, even with some qualifications haha. And now I have a pretty clear map of our trails at home. They're definitely not the most horse-friendly... but they're nice enough and we can get used to the bad spots, I think. So we'll probably try again, esp if I can get someone else to go with me haha.

Do you have a preference for solo or group trail rides? Does it depend on how experienced your horse is?

Do you even like trail rides? Does your horse? Is your horse more like Isabel or Charlie out there? Or are you a dyed in the wool, distance loving rider? If that's the case, do you have criteria or methods for how you introduce horses to trail riding? Or specific types of trails you seek out or avoid? Or is it more like, 'whatever falls upon our path works for me!'