what's up with Chuck (the third)

Fun fact: from high school into my first year or so at college, I dated a series of guys named Chuck. So when I told my mother last month that I was considering buying a horse named Charlie, my stepfather chimed in with "Oh, would this be Chuck #3?!?" Ah dad jokes lol...

all dressed up!! now he and Dino can match in their sparkly hats!!

Anyway I've been running around a bit wildly for the last week (was in Houston), thus explaining my absence in reading and commenting elsewhere... I'll catch up eventually! For now tho, here's a summary on what's been up with our favorite new be-starred bay face.

so handsome tho!

Basically most of our rides look very similar - we're definitely settling into a routine. And Charlie is figuring it out. Tho, sure, he's a very green horse and is a little different every day. It's almost like you can see him trying out different responses to see what works.

Charlie occasionally interferes in a.... weird way lol. these wraps are equally weird, but they work. good 'nuff for me!

I began carrying a crop with him after the first couple rides bc he'd occasionally get a little sour and stuck, sometimes even going into slo-mo reverse instead of moving forward. And the gate is often a sticking point (especially when tracking right. bc racehorse).

the olympics selection committee better be paying attention! 

But strategic use of ground pole exercises have seemed to help a lot - changing the conversation from me "driving him forward" to "giving him a place to go." He sees the ground poles now and understands to move forward to them. Plus obviously any ground pole or cavalleti exercise has the added bonus of helping him build strength through his back and hind end.

barn window vistas of Pig bc i wanna

He's never seemed to care particularly about ground poles and isn't averse to stepping all over them haha. But whenever I go through these exercises with him, I try to channel trainer P from OF, whose mantra is to "let them figure it out." Repetition is our friend. And guess what? He's figuring it out.

BONUS: Idaho barn door vistas at dusk!

He even tackled his first (itty bitty) vertical this past weekend (pictured above). Just trotted on up and over it again and again, generally knocking it down with his hind end every time. But nbd, we just kept trying, letting him figure out where his feet were throughout.

A couple times he figured out to jump with his front end but still trotted with the hind end (still taking the rail in the process) but he finally was able to trot it without knocking it down. And then actually jumped the thing (tiny tho it was) quite nicely for our final effort. Good boy! Obviously we're officially a force to be reckoned with lol.

it's static dust season, yo. ugh.

So that feels like a positive development. More than that, tho, I'm happy to report that Charlie seems to be moving away from that sour stickiness that colored his first week or two under saddle. He's becoming much more forward and accepting of the "GO" aids.

I strongly suspect that this is directly related to how Charlie feels physically. He seems to be much more comfortable now - decidedly less sore and much freer and looser through his back.

skinny tb is still happy tb :)

Lots to be happy about with that! Tho of course a more comfortable horse who is happier to go forward means that our issue with slightly dull brakes is a little more obvious lol. Especially in the outdoor on the left lead canter - this horse can really get on a roll lol.

ENGAGE; Giant Crazy Race Horse Mode!!

So far it's been ok tho - the steering still works even if the brakes aren't great. And he's not exactly "running away" with me so much as he's just.... going pretty fast lol. Let's call it a work in progress.

"haha just kidding, i'm a good boy" - Charlie

It's obviously a lot easier in the indoor bc it's a much smaller space and forces him to stay a little more manageable if he has any hope of making the turns. The indoor also helps rock him back off his forehand a little more (tho he's still VERY heavy up front for now - let's call that another work in progress) so he's sliiiightly more adjustable.

maryland is so pretty sometimes!

All the same tho, omg his canter. I just love it. Even when it's heavy up front (and he trips and I think we're both going to lawn dart straight down through the earth's crust all the way into China, and perhaps continue off into orbit on the other side....) it just has SUCH a nice rhythm and feeling to it. It's hard to describe, really. And in fact I didn't think much of his canter when I went to look at him.

But riding it is something else entirely. Like that feeling where I just want to put my heels down, get up in half seat, and plant my hands on his crest and just cruise forever. Plus, while we've only navigated exactly 2 ground poles at the canter thus far, he's absolutely nailed both of them (and one was quite skinny!).

So yea. No real groundbreaking updates - and still no more media of me riding him (insert infinite sad faces here). But we continue to take small but meaningful steps forward. And I continue to be very excited about where things are going!

a glutton for....

Ok guys - I'm interested in some groupthink today. Specifically, I want to hear all about your experiences, thoughts and opinions about the general feeding and supplementing of a skinny OTTB.

specifically this one

I have my own thoughts and experiences to draw upon, and obviously the guidance of the trusted professionals in my world (including multiple trainers, barn managers, vets etc). So have no fear - Charlie's fate will not be left to the whims of the internet!

big guy squeezes into a size M cooler (barely)

All the same, tho, homeboy could probably use a little attention. So for some quick history:

He raced through the second week of August, which presumably means he was consuming a fairly large volume of high octane feed. Then Charlie went back to his owner's farm for a couple weeks before moving into the adoption facility, where he continued to get a high volume of feed (tho less than when he was at the track).

Since coming home with me, his feed has changed yet again. And we're basically starting from scratch. Charlie's life has changed so dramatically just in the past two months that I've sought to stagger any further adjustments - giving each new change an opportunity to 'settle' before tweaking or messing with anything else.

skinny horse + barn door

It seems safe to say tho that Charlie is officially immersed in his new world, and has adjusted to his regular feed, turnout, hay and grazing routine.

So it feels like a good time to assess how to better support his physical transition from race horse to sport horse that I expect to unfold over the next months/year. Starting with putting weight on him.

With that said - I'd love to hear from you about what has and has not worked for your horses. And everything is fair game - from specific types of feed, supplements, combinations thereof, turnout practices, whatever.

Anything and everything is useful at this point!

2ptober Meet + Greet: The Contestants

Phew, ok! Happy Saturday everyone. Hope you all have fantastic weekends planned!!!!

  

In the mean time, I'm happy to announce the 2016 Two Point Challenge Field of Competitors!!

Megan and I scraped this information from the comments on our respective blogs, but it's an imperfect system so please let us know if we missed something or got a detail wrong!

More importantly, tho - take a close looksie through the following list. This is always such a great way to find new blogs, so click through to any names you don't recognize! I know there are a few here who are new to me too!

Rider	Blog	Baseline
Alli	PONY'TUDE	7:21
Amanda	Bel Joeur	0:47
Appydoesdressage	Musings from LogDog Acres	5:06
Aryelle	Horse Hack	1:47
Carey	Me Jump Pretty One Day	3:23
Emma	Walk, Trot, Canter, Banter	1:54
Grace	The Horseback Artist	2:20
Heather	The Graduated Equestrian	5:15
KateRose	Peace & Carrots	2:06
Kristen	Stampy and the Brain	3:27
L. Williams	Viva Carlos	2:53
Lindsey	Redheadlins	10:08
Liz Stout	In Omnia Paratus	1:17
LoveLaughRide	Grain Before Groceries	4:40
Megan	Howling Owl Farm	0:05
Monica	How to Train your Dragon	4:27
Nicole	Zen & the Art of Baby Horse Management	3:40
Olivia	DIY Horse Ownership	0:44
outofashes	One Bud Wiser	1:26
SarahO	Autonomous Dressage	2:25
Semi Feral Equestrian	Semiferal Equestrian	2:36
Teresa	Eventing Saddlebred Style	1:47
Three Chestnuts	Three Chestnuts	0:33

See the handy dandy histogram below to see how your baseline compares with the rest of the field. And remember there are TWO chances to win. Are you going for the longest time? Or the most improved? Or trying for a shot at either?!? 

  

Regardless of what you're hoping to win, you've got your work cut out for you, so get to work!!

***

For those of you competing in the contest, remember that your weekly totals / best times are due to either Megan or me in the comments at the end of each weekend (so, by end of day Sunday). Just commenting on your own blog (or texting me, Nicole, lol) doesn't count!!!

a good brain deserves a good foundation

I wrote not long ago about the preliminary ground work Charlie and I (and a horsemanship pro) began as a first step towards easy-peasy trailer loading.

Plenty of folks don't spend a ton of time practicing trailer loading before hitting the road with a horse. And many horses are totally fine with that. Especially OTTBs, most of whom have spent a not-insignificant amount of time on the road. 

Majesty! Thy name is Thoroughbred!

 There are a couple reasons why I want to go this route, though.

The most important (and most obvious) is that I need to know the trailer is a sure thing. When I'm juggling a schedule and squeezing in lessons here and there with my trainers (who themselves are juggling busy schedules), the trailer can not be a question mark. 

Additionally, the objective of some travel can be anxiety-inducing in its own right (think: the earliest outings with an unknown and very green horse; or, farther down the road, nerve-wracking horse shows). A consistent, routine, predictable trailering experience makes for one less thing to worry about. 

Plus. Ya know. Ain't nobody wanna be stranded alone with 17h of OTTB that won't load. 

There's more to it than that, tho. Upon further reflection, I'm realizing that our practice at this ground work is driven by a greater purpose than just trailer loading. 

does this count as ground work?

See, as many of you pointed out in that earlier post, Charlie seems for all the world like a good dude with a good brain and a good temperament. Which is exactly why I bought him - knowing little about him beyond that. 

And that's exactly the qualities about him that I want to continue to foster. 

The horsemanship pro confirmed in our first session that Charlie is incredibly good natured. But he cracks a little bit under pressure. Specifically - his inclination was to get defensive when he didn't understand what we wanted from him. 

Which is totally fine. This is horse training. He is learning. And I want him to learn that he doesn't need to be concerned or worried or defensive if he doesn't understand. That we will take the time to show him how to get the answer right, without him getting in trouble. 

Because that feels like the type of situation that will crop up in our training together again and again and again. Every time we try something new, I'm going to get something wrong. Charlie is going to get something wrong. 

So this slow incremental process (that in some ways is freaking me out bc omg I want to go to lessons soooooo baaaaad!!!) somehow feels like a very important learning opportunity for both of us. It feels like a really good opportunity to build trust and understanding in a very safe and low-pressure environment. 

That way, when we do inevitably end up in some high pressure and potentially ugly situation, hopefully we'll have laid the foundation such that Charlie's already prepared and practiced at putting his good brain to work. In an ideal work, it'll always be the easiest choice for him to just be a good boy.

At least that's my hope haha. I wanna do everything I can to bolster and buttress what is already a good quality in this horse (his brain), rather than run the risk of undermining it by pushing him when he's not ready to be pushed. 

does he not look cuddly AF tho?!?

We'll see tho. It's always a balancing act, right? 

What are some of your favorite trust building exercises with horses? Have you had more success just getting out there and getting miles or taking the path of slow and steady build up? Or some combination?

Does it depend on if they're green v broke? Young v mature? Do you prefer ground exercises or ridden exercises or both?

***

ALSO - stay tuned tomorrow for the official list of the October 2016 Two Point Challenge contestants and baselines!!! 

2ptober PRIZES!!!

First and foremost: Today is the final day to enter the October 2016 Two Point Challenge!!

All entrants must comment either here or on co-host Megan's blog with your baseline by midnight Pacific time, if you have not already done so.

  

Please refer here for full rules. Some clarifications:

- You do not need to be a blogger to participate!!
- You can two point at any speed, in any type saddle, under any circumstances.
- Your times must reflect an uninterrupted stint of holding your two point position.
- No leaning on the neck / holding the mane / or otherwise supporting yourself with your arms!

***

Ok, got that? Good. Get those baselines in STAT bc now we're getting to the good stuff:


The PRIZES!!

Thank you to the 2016 Two Point Challenge Sponsors!

 

**Straight Shot Metal Smashing**

**Nerd Horse - Equestrian Art, Coloring Pages and Photography**

**Annie's Equine Elixirs**

First Place Winners for each category:

- $20 gift certificate to your choice of online tack shop (Riding Warehouse, Smartpak, Dover, etc)
- 16oz bottle of coat refresher from Annie's Equine Elixirs
- Choice of coloring page from Nerd Horse
- Bridle charm from Straight Shot Metal Smashing


Runners Up for each category:

- $10 gift certificate to your choice of online tack shop (Riding Warehouse, Smartpak, Dover, etc)
- Choice of coloring page from Nerd Horse
- Bridle charm from Straight Shot Metal Smashing


And of course, we can't help but point out that, really, truly, everyone is a winner here. Growing stronger as a rider through fastidious two point practice is its own reward, right? Right?!? lolz...

 

So it's time to get REAL about this. Time to get to it and feel the burn!! 

getting the blues @ Dressage at Devon!

Which is to say - I bought some stuff. Blue stuff. Oooh boy. Tho actually I only have very poor / minimal photographic evidence of said new stuff as yet, so... sorry?

this dog has the blues too

Perhaps more importantly tho - I managed to head up to Dressage at Devon for the first time ever last weekend! Made even better bc Stephanie was there working The Horse Of Course shop! Austen and I had heard from Alli, who went up the day prior, that the shop had a to-die-for selection of breeches too.

Plus. Ya know. Stephanie. So obviously we made the trek up and were not disappointed.

despite it being a dressage show, i managed to only take pictures of the Lipizzan stallions. uh, oops?

We bee-lined immediately for the tack shop, which happened to have an excellent view of the warm up rings. Mostly tho, it was all about hangin out with Stephanie and trying on alllll the clothes in her shop lol.

ready for the show ring?

Esp Austen, who played with all things gray shadbelly (plus obvi stock tie and helmet and belt) for the eventual PSG debut. For my part I picked up a vest (it was cold and rainy out!) plus a pair of breeches to be discussed more in-depth later. Oooh and some other blue things too. Like for my hands and for the horse's face. Hint.

doing the thing!

Oddly tho, it felt like we watched very little dressage haha. After exhausting the shop's resources we caught the Lipizzan demonstrations (which included some pretty nicely schooled stallions like the above, and some impressive but maybe borderline out of control stallions like the below lol), then headed off in search of food and wine (and more shopping, obvi).

white boy jumping!

Guys. Seriously tho. Idk what it was about this dressage show. Somehow it felt like WAY more of a party than literally any of the big events I've been to. Maybe bc it was Saturday night? Who knows lol. But. Well. Let's just say we had ourselves a good ol' time.

we may have been shushed by a couple DQs in the process

Tho lest you think we missed the actual competition itself (since I apparently missed taking any photos of it, oops), we caught a few rides through the Grand Prix Special test, and then all of the freestyles.

sadly none of the real horses sported red glittery hooves

Stephanie and Austen knew way more about the horses and riders in the field than I do - but that didn't make it any less enjoyable to watch. There was so much atmosphere, coupled with a little bit of a drizzle, it was really interesting to see how the horses handled it.

Or, perhaps more interestingly, it was intriguing to see how well some of these horses could still score even with some unfortunate moments in their tests.

i like this picture purely for the Charlie nose factor

Anyway tho, it was a really awesome time. I'd highly recommend both Dressage at Devon AND making time to meet up with Stephanie should either opportunity present itself to you lol. Or. Ya know. Just getting shitankered at your local dressage show. That's probably cool too ;)

all of the blue things?

More to come on the actual shopping part later, after I've had some time to mess around with my new play things. So far tho I'm pretty pleased!!

What's your favorite part of going to big shows? Is it the shopping? Or watching the competition? Or are you more into the tailgate scene?

ALSO. Don't forget your 2ptober baselines are due tomorrow!!!! It's shaping up to be an excellent contest, don't miss your chance to get in on it!

the comfort of routine

I am what you might consider a change-averse individual. I like routine. I like consistency and normalcy. I'm at my best when I know what to expect.

That's not to say that I can't or won't 'fly by the seat of my pants' or take risks or be impulsive. But even then, there's a certain degree of calculation, a certain amount of expecting the unexpected. Does that make sense? Idk. Anyway.

here's an unflattering picture of the most handsomest Charlie, chosen specifically bc it's outside on a pleasant day after we've had SO MUCH RAIN OMG. all other pictures in this post will be variations of brown. kinda sorry 'bout that... 

All this to explain why this year has been a bit rough for me on a few different levels. As you may recall - I accepted a new job in April. That might feel like light years ago (esp in internet world where time is an entirely different speed), but it still feels brand new to me. It continues to be an adjustment. Positive? Yes. But still an entirely new rhythm.

why yes that's a big truck that pulled into the aisle behind charlie while he was cross tied. and that also continued to creep forward as it went through the stalls. in case you were curious, charlie gave no fucks. 

And of course, my entire life as it is reflected within the prism of this blog has changed dramatically over the past year.

From breaking my leg last fall, to getting back in the saddle in January to lay down some of Isabel's and my best ever jump courses together. Then suddenly the wheels began falling off in March, and everything basically ground to a complete halt (literally, ugh) in May.

same story for the leaf blower they use instead of brooms here haha. fun fact: this leaf blower was in full action the day charlie moved into the farm. he cared as much then as he did for this picture: ie, not at all.

And of course just a couple weeks ago I went through the whole litany of what riding looked like in a post-Isabel (but pre-Charlie) world. In a word? It was a hassle.

As a self-described creature of habit, it's been challenging, to say the least, dealing with this volatility and lack of consistency.

It's been a struggle to find that pure and uncomplicated joy in riding and horses, given how much energy went to just logistics and locations and lessons and all of the details associated with securing saddle time with someone else's horse.

sweet slobbery facec!

So. Enter Charlie.

some days it's quiet and empty (charlie happens to be staring directly at his stall lol)

It feels like finally coming home again. Charlie lives at a barn chosen for its merits of desirable facilities and care, and unbeatable convenience. Just getting there couldn't be easier.

other days it's busier! charlie's the same no matter what tho - even graduating to the babiest of baby cross rails!

Of course it's more than that tho. It's the horse. This horse, guys. He is just exactly what I need right now. He's not a prelim/training packer, nor is he eye-catchingly fancy. Ahhh but he is special.

I know it's right bc I spend my free time day dreaming about exercises to work on, topics to address with Charlie, how I might start laying down the fundamental blocks upon which I'll build a new eventing partner from the ground up. And then when we actually get to work, I can see the difference. I can see the partnership actually grow.

game for hay and game for extreme face hugging Austen-edition. 

It's not linear (is it ever?), and we've certainly already had bad rides in our 2 weeks together. But everything is settling into that pattern, that type of routine that I understand.

I don't expect perfection - I don't expect every ride to be rosy. It's going to be a slog sometimes, and maybe ugly other times. Charlie only has fewer than 15 rides post-track life, all done by me. That pretty much guarantees slow-going. This is horse training, after all.

and my barn has swans too. bc why not.

But dammit, this horse can w-t-c in both directions, including steering and turning and threading the needle through wayward lesson ponies. He might not be able to go clear in the ground poles division yet, but that doesn't back him off from trying his big heart out over ground poles and itsy bitsy cross rails.

And I leave the barn every day with a giant smile. Bc I'm finally feeling settled again. This day-to-day aspect of horses, the regular groomings and the tack cleaning and the hand grazing and all these little quiet moments - I've missed them so much.