friday foto finish

So legitimately I think this needs to be a real thing. Seriously. That feeling (all you bloggers must certainly know it) of knowing you should probably get a post out... but not being all that sure what the hell to even write about. So you start swiping through your recent photos like, wtf have I even done recently?

And so. Dear readers, friends, fellow horse ppl who maybe just kinda have lots of random pictures on your phones: may I present a Friday photo dump of lots of little things that will be forced into one single horse-shaped post.

For starters - let's see a show of hands here, who streamed the Olympic games while at work? All of you, I'd wager, at some point or another haha. Alas, I ran into the struggle of not having actual cable (bc of course I don't, I live under a rock, remember?) so Austen was kind enough to provide her mother's cable login credentials so I could watch. Um, thanks mama G! 

We also made another trip back to Olde Hope Farms for Brita and lesson director R's horse show. I mostly just played spectator and pretend groom (meaning: person who hands you cold water and beer), and not very sadly at that seeing as it was super hot out. Still tho - what a fun day. All horses and riders performed very well, with Brita and Wick even locking down their first dressage score in the 20s at novice!

Our show set up was aaaaalmost on point. Almost. So close. Except. Well. My canopy (the blue one) died a sudden and tragic death at its first outing at Plantation earlier this summer (Allison was there to witness lol). It still.... kinda? does the job? But... not really. Idk. It stood up for the whole day tho so I'm gonna call it a win - we needed that shade!

Especially bc Brita got a puppy!!!!! And this little puppy needed it's shade for naps!!

Seriously tho, how sweet is she? 

And then we found an EVEN SMALLER PUPPY OMG!

On a slightly less cute note, my ensuing week kicked off with a flight out to Memphis for quite the work-related roadtrip through the South - a region that I hadn't previously gotten to know. But we certainly got to see a lot of it on this trip, with plenty of stops along the way! (Tho, in all honestly, we didn't actually stop in Greenville or Greenwood, but they were notable landmarks along the way all the same).

My colleague roadtripping with me has actually lived in the Delta before, and knew all the history and all the landmarks and had very personal connections to everything. Including needing to make a quick pit stop at Miss State for a picture to send his daughter.

I gotta say - all that insider info definitely gave the trip a better shape than had I just gone through it all by my lonesome yankee self haha (nvm that Maryland is technically south of the Mason-Dixon line - we like to say that Baltimore has all of the Northern charm and Southern efficiency haha).

Once back in Baltimore, things continued on their hot August summery ways. Including the hatching of all our cicadas. Such crazy weird bugs. Kinda creepy actually, watching them emerge from their armored shells. But cool. If you're into that kind of thing... (which obvi I am lol)

Mostly tho it's always nice to come back home bc of the kitties. They haven't gotten too mad at all my absences bc it's been balanced out by working remotely for the first time ever. So even tho I am technically out of town and away more than ever before, they are actually still seeing more of me bc of working from home. So I guess the cats are the real winners in my life choices haha. 

I'm trying to fix that balance tho. #needsmoarhorses, ya know? I'm working on it. An intro lesson at a new barn with this elder statesman Remmy went a long way towards remedying that. Not an awful lot to share yet - but I'm feeling optimistic about getting back into a regular riding routine with actual full-sized horses who probably aren't neglected problem children lol. 

Like this poor problem child. Oh Krimpet, sweet thing. She was SO TIRED OMG before this ride. It's camp season and she's workin' her little butt off apparently. Which isn't the worst thing... except for some reason they decided to free jump her for camp - having her go pretty high for a pony (tho as you have seen she's actually quite a nice jumper).

Which. Well. She jumped that 3'6 fence no problem, and proceeded to jump right on out of the arena. Bc guys. This pony aint stupid haha. I'm not totally sure why they chose to take a sour baby horse with a poor work ethic and run it through a scope test... Especially when it resulted in teaching an already-naughty pony a new trick... But whatever. Nobody asked me and it's sure as hell not my horse, so I don't call the shots. 

So whatever. Greener grass beckons. In the meantime, my cats are kinda judging me for even considering life outside the walls. Well. OG is maybe still curious, but Martini knows. Ohh he knows. He's got it figured out all right haha.

What about you - what story would the recent photos in your phone tell?

"PONY" is a four letter word

It was JenJ who introduced me to that phrase back when I first wrote about Krimpet. And naturally she was spot on when it comes to this little baby pony mare. Four letter words. So many of them. Le sigh.

stinkin adorable tho!

Long story short, I took Ms Pony Thang xc schooling at OF last weekend. While it's entirely possible that this horse has successfully been out cross country before, perhaps with her previous owner, to my knowledge she hasn't made it through a schooling without tossing her rider at least once. (in fact her current owner is still on crutches from the last time Krimpet was ridden out in the open...)

Alas we did not break the streak this go round... but it was honestly still a pretty good outing!

a little peek at the candy cane, but up and over no problem!

And thanks to my intrepid videographer Brita, we've got all kinds of fun pictures haha. Ooooooh. And video. Omg. The video guys. Brace yourself - it's coming!

cantering through the open like an adult!

I was a little late to the schooling so we warmed up fairly quickly - mostly just checking on the steering aids since this pony is really terribly herd bound. Everything seemed to be in order, and she managed a couple quick canters without any sass, so we moved on quickly to little logs on the ground (with the aid of a lead horse haha).

pony actually looks somewhat confident out there!

Aside from getting left behind at the first little log, and having to take a peek at another (then proceed to step over at the walk), the pony was actually quite good and we were able to cut the cord with our lead horse for a quick circuit of all the little logs in the field. I gotta say - this horse is surprisingly easy to jump when she's going. The spots kinda just present themselves!

baby banks are nbd

Next up was the water, where we basically just went up and down the banks while the other riders schooled over bigger stuff.

#bossmare

Krimpet went up without hesitation but showed a little more reluctance to go down. It was fine tho - a couple passes through and she was jumping down like a seasoned veteran.

seriously tho, how cute?!?

I almost felt like we could be done with that, simple as it was. Especially since it was SO HOT OMG out haha. But no - trainer P took me to task for not actually taking the pony, who was FINE, over some more appropriate jumps.

clearly not impressed haha

So we did that too and Krimpet couldn't have cared less. Good baby pony mare.

mayyyyybe the nicest trot jump i've ever ridden

Tho for most of the "bigger" jumps I opted to use a lead horse, which seemed to work out just fine.

no problem with coops either

Krimpet was happy to go wherever the other horses went, so we enjoyed some fun little canters through fields and woods and streams and such.

so fierce tho

Then on to the ditches. Where again Krimpet seemed to warm up nicely to them after some initial uncertainty. Tho I got left behind once pretty good, and the next time after maybe was a bit behind too and.... well... pony is apparently not very forgiving.

going...... going..... gone

So that snotty little pony just up and bucked me right off. Ugh. Ouch. Talk about rude!

It was definitely not the most pleasant experience... maybe the worst of the year (physically, at least. my {multiple} falls at that jumper show with Isabel were definitely WAY worse on the emotional scale lol). But the good ol' tuck-n-roll served me well and I as basically unscathed.

she had been going so well!

The pony was maybe slightly chastened when I got back on and got her going again - back over the ditch again (not on the video) and then up and over a few more fences.

slightly looky fence

The next fence up was basically OF's version of a BN trakehner. There wasn't actually a true ditch under it, but it was dug out enough behind that log on the ground to give the idea. We flubbed our first attempt over it but then more or less got it right.

And of course I was taking no chances on the landing side any more haha. Pony had her trust privileges revoked!!!

good over the bench! and let's just ignore that my heels are dug so far into her sides that there's daylight between my knee and the saddle lol

She was fine tho. I was kinda sad not to get the last couple jumps on video but Krimpet was basically perfectly behaved.

video here

that slo mo tho!!!

You'll see it in the video - she actually looks like a pretty cool little pony. Very green and needs miles. And obviously that buck really fucking sucks (but is somehow oddly mesmerizing to watch lol). But cool none the less.

naughty naughty pony

So perhaps if nothing else, this post will serve as some nice mid-week comic relief lol. I've already had a couple friends tell me they had to watch that slo mo over and over again since it brought all kinds of childhood memories flooding back. Did any of you ever grow up with a pony that bucked you off all the time?

the little monster is growing on me

And by "little monster" I obviously mean the notorious Krimpet. And by "growing" ... well, she's not exactly getting any bigger haha. But I'm actually a little surprised by how much fun I'm having with her.

Which, well, I've been spending extra time (when possible) with her lately bc... uh... not long after my gushing post about our dressage lesson, she did her mother (my friend C) a real dirty. Naughty naughty pony. C isn't exactly one to give up easy, and she's eagerly plotting her return to the saddle (soon!). But in the meantime, Ms Krimpet and I have spent some quality time together.

she almost looks like a sweet lil thing from this angle haha

One ride was perfectly suited to entice herd-bound, easily distracted Krimpet towards naughtiness. I opted to school her in our medium-sized arena while a lesson of seven advanced students cantered and jumped around. It was very hard for Ms Thing bc she really just wanted to go where the other horses were. And she threw a little bit of sass into things like picking up the left lead. Not quiiiiiiite a buck - but definitely a threat in that direction.

Mostly tho she was pretty good. Never got really soft or straight-ish like she had in our dressage lesson. But never truly abysmally bad either. Plus we took the opportunity to pop over our first little cross rails together. I wasn't entirely sure which of us worked harder when it was all said and done, but it felt like a maybe some progress was made for the pony?

widdle ponykins!!!

I opted to hop on again earlier this week for another school - this time with only two other riders in the arena. That probably made it a bit easier for the pony to focus (she really is just a babyish 5 after all) and she actually really tried in the flat work!

She honest to god started testing out the contact and looking for the answer. Not always getting it right (she got a little bit dive-y when she figured out I wanted her reaching forward for the bit) but much of that is attributable to me. I was just pleased that she was participating and trying.

I shouldn't be surprised tho - she's a very smart pony and is perhaps unusual in her desire to really truly be a good girl (despite what her extreme naughtiness might imply). This is evidenced by the fact that I can somewhat mitigate my sins of timing by lots of positive praise. Saying "good girl" at the right time works nearly as well as a properly timed release (at least for now) - so I spend a lot of time talking to and verbally encouraging her. And she listens!

she can't decide whether she feels proud or like she might keel over and die haha

I did a bit of work on simple changes of lead across the diagonal bc it seems like a real sticking point for the pony is the canter depart. Which is odd bc she's actually pretty sensitive and will happily move forward when made to. So I figured the exercise might help sharpen her up a little bit to a regular canter aid.

And then, mostly for shits and giggles, I revisited the little cross rail exercise again. It's three fences set up more or less down the center line - so you can kinda just loop around them figure-8ing and changing directions and all that fun stuff. And whadya know, this little pony was on FIRE. Moving happily forward to the fences and nailing her lead changes either over the fence or through auto changes right after. Clever thing!

krimpet vs. cole. not exxxactly the same angles, but, uh, you probably get the picture haha

While the idea of jumping anything of size on this little thing makes me feel.... not exactly warm and fuzzy, I'm actually toying with the idea of trying her out in the xc field. Just little stuff. Logs on the ground and such. She needs work out in the open (there's a looong rap sheet where that's concerned) and I somehow suspect she could be a lot of fun once she learns the game.

Or maybe I'll end up eating dirt haha. Hard to tell!

It's funny bc she's basically the exact opposite of what I've been saying I need lately: a forward-thinking, full-sized horse that's gonna take me straight up and over some big fences like nbd. But she's accessible and kinda fun, and at the end of the day I need FUN more than anything else.

mysterious case of the ever-shrinking dressage ponies!

I'm about 93% positive that dressage trainer C thinks I've gone completely off the deep end. She's.... probably correct lol.

It's easy to see where C's coming from. I've got Isabel, right? A pretty fun and fancy dressage horse who can take pressure and will keep trying and has been incredible to learn on. Izzy is solid on all of first level and has some pieces from second well in hand.

But did I bring Isabel to my latest dressage lesson? Nope. Did not. Brought this ridiculously tiny 4-5yr old Welsh pony instead.

majesty, thy name is Krimpet!

You all remember Krimpet, right? She belongs to my barn mate friend C (let's try not to get confused with all the Cs now!), and is supposed to get used in the lesson program too as a means to supplement the board payment.

i like that she makes my trailer look so spacious

The problem is that... well, she's a baby pony mare. ALL of which are four letter words lol (BUCK is a four letter word too!). She's very smart and very athletic and very green. Kinda a tricky combination. She's a sweetie tho, and perhaps an anomaly among baby pony mares: she legitimately wants to be a good girl.

If you can put her in a nice place and tell her she is good there, she will go back to that place again and again. It's just that getting her to that place requires... a good deal of strength and timing. Not pro-levels obvi, and she's not exactly unwilling... but generally it takes a little more than the typical 12yr old lesson student can give.

Unfortunately, when Krimpet doesn't feel like she has that good place to go, she gets frustrated. And... erm... is adept at dismounting her riders. Usually with some fantastic bucks. She's also become a bit of a quitter, esp as she gets tired.

Krimpet can get a little herd bound (noisily so) but is actually pretty darn quiet at the trailer for a baby

So I've gotten on her a couple times to see what's what. And she's honestly not unpleasant to ride! And I figured she could probably benefit as much from a lesson with C as I could. My own agenda being the following:

I've never ridden dressage seriously on any horse beyond Isabel. Everything I know about dressage court-worthy contact, bend, balance, carriage, whatever, I've learned with Isabel. I've jumped literally dozens of horses and have a fairly clear sense for what's needed there (not that I'm always very good at it haha).

But dressage is more alien to me; I have less experience. Even when I've gotten on schooled horses (like Pig, Star, Rico....) I've felt tentative and like I didn't know where to go with the basics like contact. Noel is honestly the first horse not named Isabel that I could just get on her and put her on the bit.

Therefore I'd like to address this by trying my hand at legitimate flatwork on a greater variety of horses - both schooled and green.

i'm pretty sure she was either mid-whinny or immediately-pre-whinny in this pic tho haha

Krimpet was a convenient step 1 in this process, esp given barn mate C's recent very busy schedule. And so off to TM pony and I went to see how dressage trainer C might transform us!

The results? Actually pretty good! It took a while to get the pony straight (she's very wiggly, and pushy-barge-y with her shoulders) so we stayed about 2-3yards off the rail almost exclusively, even through the short ends. And didn't do an awful lot of circling - lots of long straight lines off the rail.

Trainer C reminded me not to let a green horse pull me out of my position, and basically wanted me giving Krimpet a clear channel through which she could travel.

but omg loooooook how tiiiiiiny!!!! (side note: can someone plz to find me a full sized horse to ride?!?)

Krimpet got praised for her regular gaits and actually pretty steady contact. She never really got round, but stayed very steady in the bridle and by the end of the ride had released her underneck completely. C encouraged me to play more, and reward even the slightest of gives from Krimpet.

The pony legitimately does not know what it means to go round - we first need to show her how to follow the contact. So whenever the pony would soften I had to be really quick to soften too. And every now and then C wanted me to push my hands forward just to see if Krimpet would follow.

FINALLY got to take advantage of the fancy wash stalls tho

For the trot work, C had me really pushing the pony forward. More. MORE. And then let her fade. Then push her forward again. Partly I think to sharpen her to the forward aids, and partly for her to learn (eventually) to stay in whatever gear I put her in. C wanted the trot to feel like we could move more forward or bring it back at any given moment.

It was most important that the pony felt even on both sides. She's not actually particularly strong on one side over the other, but she's never really been made to go straight or not motorcycle around turns so her balance is kinda crappy.

bc as you may or may not recall, Isabel simply does not do wash stalls. nope, no way, no how.

We only did a short bit of canter in each direction (mostly honestly just running into the canter bc.... pony lol) and the turns through the short end were particularly hard for her. Especially tracking left I really struggled to help her off that inside fore leg around the turns. The name of the game was just keeping her inside ear in front of her inside shoulder. She kept trying tho, never quit!!

Krimpet was just fine. obvi with her trademark hoof shaking tho lol

We took lots and LOTS of breaks, but then right back to work again. The benefits here are twofold: it was legit hot as balls out and I was basically dying riding this thing (omg she is so much more of a physical ride than Izzy!); but also, the mare is notorious for quitting when she's tired. Only one way to fix that!

We finished by playing a teensy bit with lengthening the trot down the diagonals - and lil' miss thang actually got a step or two on each diagonal in our first few attempts, then put together maybe 3-4 really nice feeling steps on our final attempt (before breaking to canter). I was really pleased with her effort!

And then some little baby leg yields from the quarter line. C said it was more important that Krimpet understand what I'm asking than that the leg yields were extremely correct. In other words, she didn't want me just getting stronger and muscling the pony over. Krimpet caught on really quickly tho - and actually got sharp enough to just do 3 steps sideways then immediately straighten again. Good pony!

good pony is tired pony back at the trailer

We called it a day after that. And I dismounted and immediately sank down lower than I thought I could physically go without toppling over bc my legs were absolute jelly lol. (And let's not even talk about how I was sore for three days afterwards...).

I honestly couldn't have been happier with the pony tho. She grunted and groaned through some of the work, and made some mistakes, and occasionally took a little extra encouragement via whip tickles. But she never EVER gave a single threat in the direction of naughtiness (even when another horse started schooling in the arena) and never quit.

These is all good signs for Ms Krimpet's future I think, very promising! Not sure whether I'll take her back to C's any time soon (tho I'm toying with the idea of taking her to a jumping lesson. maybe. haha. maybe not we will see) but would definitely not be opposed to hopping on her every now and again.

Tho. On the other hand. I really would not mind riding a full sized horse one of these days too lol....

you're not my real mother! (x2)

Today's post is mostly the media from yesterday's post that I didn't have time to edit before hitting publish... Uh. So I guess this kinda constitutes cheating maybe haha. Sorry?

Regardless, I wrote yesterday that Brita got in some saddle time with Isabel during my work-related absence this week. And omg she sent me pictures haha. Hahaha. Isabel's FACE, omg.

"who are you and what did you do with my step mother?!?" - isabel

By all accounts they had a blast, so ya know. That just makes me happy. But seriously. This mare and her expressions. Obviously I couldn't not share with you.

And speaking of expressions, here's another little pony mare who isn't quite sure what the fuck just happened to her and who authorized this abuse:

"i'm experiencing a wide range of emotions right now, mkay?" - krimpet

Poor Krimpet. She really had no idea what was coming. Sad long suffering soul. As previously mentioned, I set up four poles on a large-ish circle (thus not quite reaching 'death' levels, but somewhat close - especially given the high temps for the day).

We only stuck with it about 15min, just long enough for Ms Bend'nSnap to settle into the pattern and actually make an effort when asked. She was very honest about it all too. Seems promising.

also honest in saying it nearly killt her

Looks like she'll be getting a couple days off in the immediate future tho, as the vet was able to isolate some serious ouchy spots in her hind end that might account for some of that bend'n'snap behavior of late.

Regardless, it's been oddly exciting (in that bizarre feverish kinda way) to text and brainstorm with her owner about ideas for continuing to develop Krimpet's strength and muscling, as well as her work ethic. Something about green horses - I kinda just love getting to play with such a fresh slate! Very grateful that C has been so willing to let me experiment a little.

So perhaps (if the scheduling gods permit) there will be more coming later. In the meantime, C and Brita and Kaitlyn will all be heading out to Olde Hope for an event tomorrow and I'm so pumped for them!! Alas I won't be able to go - but will obvi be rooting them on from a distance.

That distance being from my seat auditing a Janet Foy clinic. Stay tuned for an approximate metric fuck ton of notes!

eventers ride in wintry mixes too

As hinted at yesterday, our little ship-in contingent of adult amateur eventers were mildly put to shame by the younger, more spry riders from OF this weekend. We arrived to the farm in the midst of rain and snow and temps hovering around the high 30s, and just automatically headed over to the indoor to start warming up ahead of the lesson.

"i disapprove of the general wetness" - isabel

So imagine our surprise when trainer P stuck her head in and chided us for it - saying everyone else was already up in the outdoor ready to ride. Haha, womp womp, I guess we went a little soft over the winter!

It was totally the better call tho. There were 9 riders in the lesson (I repeat: NINE crazy folk who braved the 20* drop in temps + precipitation for a jump lesson) working in three different height groups. The larger space of the outdoor was definitely more appropriate. Tho of course it also ended up being a nearly 2hr lesson due to the size and necessity of resetting all the jumps constantly. #totallyworthit

looking freaking adorable out of the grid

Anyways. Onto the lesson. Warm up was pleasant. Mare was sound and happy to move forward, and also happy to give a lead to lesson new-comer Krimpet (recall my friend's adorable black Welsh pony?) as she familiarized herself with the arena. We kept it pretty simple tho.

just out for an afternoon canter!
(plz to heels down, tho, emma!)

Jumping started with a very small trot jump to eventually build into an 18'-to-30' grid, vertical-oxer-oxer. I told trainer P about our recent issue of crashing into tiny fences, but that I thought we solved it via thrush treatment. This lesson reaffirmed that: Isabel never even considered stopping. Oooooh, except for that one time. Haha. Oops. I'll get there tho. (also it's in the video...)

isabel wants to eat these jumps for breakfast. fierce mare don't care

We continued the warm up over two diagonal lines, which I opted to ride off my eye vs asking trainer P for the measurements. Diagonal oxer to coop rode in a 5 somewhere between balancing and going - not quite a true 12' stride, tho (as evidenced by when we built it into the course and barely fit the 5 in... oops!).

a titch tight out of this line... good mare makes it work tho

Other diagonal skinny birch rode in a forward 6, which Isabel was quite happy to do every time. Fun fact: I've kinda obsessed over this skinny jump ever since its first appearance in the arena last summer (it apparently used to be a 12' jump but broke in half and was therefore repurposed as a skinny) but this was our first time jumping it. Fun!!

i LOVE this skinny birch jump!

The other outside line in the course was a bit shorter, so I DID ask trainer P for the measurements: 48' - either a very balanced 4 for us, or an open 3 strides. Naturally we went for the three, tho it still rode a tad long.

Other jumps on course included a single diagonal oxer with a barrel for fill and a single natural oxer. I got wayyyyyy too gung ho about the barrel jump - saw a flyer four strides out and gunned it... But it was still too long and then Isabel had no room left to adjust so we slid under it... Sorry mare, that was totally my bad! It was fine, tho, made it over no problem when I remember to, ya know, WAIT for the jump. Some lessons just don't stay learned, I guess...

cruisin over the final oxer <3

All was well tho. I mean, I was in a state of mild terror for most of the jumping. Somewhat inexplicable, really, since the jumps were all around 2'9" - theoretically a safe height for us. And Isabel was jumping beautifully and forward - happily taking me to the jump. My eye wasn't terrible either (barrel jump shenanigans aside).

"it's touching my eeeeeeeeears!!!!!!" - isabel >:(

It just is what it is tho. I haven't been jumping often, and that takes a toll on my confidence levels. Happily, tho, the fear didn't seem to affect my actual riding very much. My mistakes are the same as always, whether I feel on top of the world or like there's this hollow pit of doom inside my guts. So I just keep riding.

video here

also - call me twisted if you want, but i kinda get a kick out of all the horses jolting alive at the sound of isabel sliding into the barrels (fence 4 in the video)

Oh, and shout-counting out loud haha. When all else fails, especially when I'm really nervous, shout-counting is the way to go. It forces me to breathe and communicates a rhythm to me and Isabel. Listen closely and maybe you'll hear it in the video lol.

more evidence of snow as Wick winds around his course.
lots of familiar ears in the foreground too. L to R: Tillie, Little Foot and Krimpet

So ya know. We jumped the jumps. And it was pretty ok. I liked how Isabel went for me, and felt pretty solid in the saddle, even if the video shows some things I'd like to fix. Namely: extreme tension in my shoulders/elbows/hands in the last few strides to the fence (attributable in part to nervousness) and lifting heels. All fixable in time.

sodden soggy mare

I think my confidence will recover in time too. Just needs moar practice, ya know? Our first event of the season is coming up on April 10, and I expressed my uncertainty about which division to enter to trainer P. She had zero hesitation in telling me to go novice tho. The event is at Loch Moy - a familiar and inviting setting for us - and the perfect venue for getting our sea legs back.

Hearing that from the trainer is always reassuring too. Now to practice practice practice!!! OH and maybe school xc too haha.

Do you have any little go-to tricks for quelling your nerves mid ride? Like shout-counting or whatever?