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Monday, January 14, 2019

outgrowing Izzy's shoes

I don't need to tell y'all that Isabel was a very special horse to me. So many of my "firsts" were with her, so many milestones and landmarks. The first horse I truly actually got on the bit. The first horse I jumped 3'. And then 3'3, and then 3'6 (uh, once haha).

The horse who inspired me to buy my rig and dive head first into eventing. Who carried me through all three phases, and took me up a couple levels before I even quite realized it. My first ditches, my first jumps up and down banks, into and out of water...

All of it, ya know? That's a LOT of memories!

pardon the smudged mirror and 100yr old exposed plumbing lol, just look at dem boooooots!!!
For the first 18ish months with Charlie, in some ways it didn't really feel like I was learning a lot. Or at least, learning new things. Obviously every time you restart a new horse, you learn things. I'm not trying to claim otherwise.

But with Charlie, for a long time it felt like my own education was kinda stalled. That instead I was refining and improving the skills and knowledge I learned from Isabel while Charlie got up to speed, vs expanding my own horizons.

charlie thought they were O.K., would have been better with treeeeets plz!
That most definitely started changing in a big way this past summer. Mostly because Charlie truly settled into his job. He understands the parameters, and happens to quite like the game.

And his appetite for big jumps has quickly plunged me into a whole new world of learning lol. I like it!! It's exciting to feel like we've entered into this new chapter where I'm finally growing and learning again as a rider -- tackling new challenges and pushing my limits.

they match my saddle lol! also, E we see you back there tryin to hide behind charlie's brontosaurus neck!!
Which is a good feeling I'm clinging to right now haha, considering winter finally arrived in force last week. The ground froze solid overnight, despite having been rivers of mud for the last few weeks. Meaning some of the plans I hoped to squeeze in are now put back on ice (literally lol).

Which is fine, right? Off season isn't exactly the time for going balls to the wall.

d'aww, charlie does da trot <3
And we just finished our first full week of exclusively indoor riding. Don't get me wrong, I'm grateful for the indoor. Very very very grateful. But damn, it is small. It is the size of a small dressage court: 20x40m. Add in some other horses and a couple jumps and it feels about the size of a shoe box.

Considering the horses weren't really moving around much in turnout in the mud, and definitely aren't moving around now that the ground is frozen, it's really not enough space for the Charlies of the world who would like very much to blow off some steam lol.

still trotting. forever and ever in the tiny dusty 20x40m indoor
That's ok tho. Our schooling rides over the past week kinda got progressively worse and worse with each repetition, as Charlie seemed to realize that we're stuck in the indoor now.

But then this weekend when we were back in the same ring, but this time for our jump lesson? Homeboy perked WAY UP when he realized I wasn't going to be torturing him with ever more collection and lateral work lol.

oooooh but charles sees a jompy!! just look at those giant ass ears haha
We didn't do a whole heck of a lot - a simple two stride grid up one long side, ridden in both directions. A deceptively large hog's back oxer across a diagonal. A one stride grid of barrels on the other side. But Charlie ate every last bit of it up with enthusiasm, good boy!

so gung ho over the skinny barrel haha
And actually, about those barrels. While in many ways Charlie's training over fences has surpassed Isabel's now, there are still superficially some things she did that loomed for Charlie. Specifically?? Jumping those damn upright barrels haha.

oooooh but hey yo, check that big boy out!!!!
You might remember that Isabel and I tackled those bad boys the February after I broke my leg (three years ago now.... wow time flies!). And I was practically sick to my stomach about it. So nervous, but oh how Izzy sailed over the barrels!! Even when we biffed it the first time, she came right back on around for a second shot and was perfect!

flashback to 2/2016 when izzy jumped the barrels too <3 <3 <3
Stuff like that always kinda feels like a fluke to me. Like maybe we just got lucky, but that if I tried to recreate the moment surely we'd run into trouble.

third and final attempt, nice and tidy charlie!!!
But actually, this time around when trainer P mentioned bringing in the barrels, I was excited! Like, a little unsure about how Charlie would react considering the last time we tackled skinnies was.... not altogether convincing lol.

But he was easy as pie over the single barrel laid on its side, and then again for the one stride with both barrels on their sides. So when that second barrel went upright? I kinda figured we would just sail over. And he totally did!


We had to repeat it a couple times (all in the video) since we weren't straight the first time, and knocked both the guide poles the second. But each time Charlie felt eager and drawn in toward the big barrel -- like he wanted to jump it and wanted to get it right.

ha does he look happy??
Sure, we had guide rails plus the wall to help keep us straight and on track, plus a first jump to help us get to the right spot. Still tho, I was so proud of the big guy. It's a good start haha. He's such a professional about this stuff!

And while I'll always be grateful for the memories Isabel gave me, it feels important that Charlie is growing out from under her shadow.

Hopefully we can keep up those feelings of excitement and momentum through the wintry indoor season, ugh lol. Tho hey, has anybody else noticed how much longer the days have already gotten??? Just a matter of weeks until spring, eh?? Sorta kinda???

34 comments:

  1. I like the grid style with the barrel on its side to the upright one. Everytime we've done barrels it's goes from on its side to upright and to me, the size difference (height and width) has given me pause. But look at C go! You guys are going to kick ass come spring.

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    1. yea it's definitely useful to be progressive in building these exercises haha. for some of the other folks in my lesson, she kept the barrels on their sides, but put cavaletti risers underneath them so they grew a little bit in size, but still had more width and weren't quite so tall. it worked well for horses who weren't quite ready for the single upright!

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  2. Charlie really enjoys his life, look at that happy face!

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    1. he's such a good boy <3 i'm so obsessed with him and the fact that he really seems to love the job!

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  3. Charlie looks great those boots are gorgeous and I am jealous of your indoor :) HA!

    And yes it really dropped even here. They are calling for 20s this weekend? TENN IS NOT MADE FOR lower than 20s LOL...ugh

    I am glad you are getting to ride even if everything froze!

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    1. ugh yea the cold weather is such a bummer..... did you get hit by the snow storm too?? we got covered and i totally skipped the barn for it lol.... hopefully i'll make it out tonight, but yea grateful for the indoor but already so so so sick of it!! le sigh.

      but i make myself go and ride anyway bc otherwise poor chuck probably isn't moving around at ALL. just going from the round bale in his field to his hay net in his stall, poor guy.

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  4. YAY the upright barrel! Who makes those boots? I want!

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    1. i actually just wrote an entire blog post about them on saturday:

      http://fraidycateventing.blogspot.com/2019/01/tall-boot-shopping-euro-style.html

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    1. so far i'm really really happy with them!! they were comfortable to ride in, plus i walked around a bit in them, and no sore spots or rubs so far!

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  6. Look at you two go !

    Your posts really make me miss jumping. I need to sell both of my jump saddles to be able to buy one that fits first before I get back to it.

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    1. ugh saddle fitting, buying and selling is the absolute worst - hope you can get it all sorted soon bc yasss you need to get jumping again!!! :D

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  7. Love the new boots! And Charlie looks so friggen game!

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  8. Good for you guys! I haven't jumped a ton of barrels but they always make me nervous for some reason. So I feel you! Nice job making them no big deal! You two look awesome, and so do those fancy boots!

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    1. barrels definitely make me nervous too, esp upright. luckily tho my horse doesn't really seem to care about anything!!! sometimes that's a real asset haha

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  9. Very cute with his knees over that barrel!

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    1. right??? he really jumped the crap out of it haha

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  10. I hate skinnies... Having said that, good for you! I'm getting tired of riding inside already! And I'm spoiled with a decent sized indoor (75x200). But, you too seem to be doing a great job with everything! And all my guys are doing at home are standing around eating hay so...

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    1. on paper i love the idea of skinnies.... but i have such limited experience with them, they still kinda make me nervous. just needs more practice i guess.... and damn yea i'm jealous of your bigger indoor! those extra few feet (esp in width) make such a difference! but. yea. still just an indoor.... c'mon spring, we're ready for ya!!

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  11. You guys look great! Charlie was definitely all over that jump lolol

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    1. allllll over it haha!! i think the wall helped a lot - he definitely understand that he was supposed to jump it!

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  12. Exciting to hear that Charlie is stepping up, and damn do those boots look magnificent! Your shopping adventures are inspiring!

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    1. ha well considering i really truly don't do a whole heck of a lot of shopping, i guess i gotta make it really count when i do?? lol

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  13. Love to see a horse with a such a happy expression about his work, adorbs!

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    1. he's such a good boy, i'm so so so grateful that he really seems to like the game!

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  14. I saw a meme on FB that it was 6 more mondays to spring. And that was last week. I decided to not check if it was false news but to go with it!
    Charlie definitely enjoyed those barrels. I guess he is not a secret dressage queen. LOL.

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    1. ha no he's definitely *not* a secret dressage queen lol.... he's gotten a lot better and more tolerant of the dressage now that he seems to understand the role it plays in jumping, but yea the jumping is really what makes his heart sing haha.

      and re: the 6 mondays to spring.... eeeeeeeehhhhh it might be more like 8-9 haha. but still, countable!!! it will come eventually!!!

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  15. I hadn't realized the days were getting longer until I noticed a few hairs coming out of Scarlet. The days get longer by a few minutes and he starts shedding. lol

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  16. That looks like so much fun! I am gonna have to try that exercise someday . . .when my equitation is better. :P

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