Happy Friday, y’all!! It’s been a long week, and I’ve been out of town for most of it. Nothing new and exciting going on, so let’s close things out with a fun collection of some of my favorite Charlie videos, in no particular order <3 <3
a brief horror vignette
killer charles finally free after the heel grab from hell
killjoy charles, not participating kthxbai
Most Saintly of Charles
just charlie himself, playing with anything and everything
no blanket was safe within his reach
still steady despite a conditioning ride gone awry!
Learning to pull a truck and trailer was honestly revolutionary for me. Like, kinda blew my mind that… I was *even allowed* to do this thing. Keep in mind, I grew up as (and remain) a city dweller with efficient little sedans etc. that were easy to parallel park.
recent representative photo of “Mare At Trailer”
My first horse trailer experiences involved big 6 horse goose necks at the local hunter barn where I rode in college. Complete with saintly lesson ponies and side ramps, natch.
Everything changed, however, when it dawned on me that — actually — *I* could have a rig of my very own. On the strength of a sentimentally important, but long delayed, inheritance of a whopping $6K, I embarked on procuring the means with which to tow my (leased — hai Isabel!) pony around town!
Which, naturally, was followed up with the realization that… I knew absolute fuck all about aiding and abetting said pony’s transition *into* said rig.
And thus, my first lesson in trailer loading, courtesy of a local horsemanship pro that I’ve brought in time and time again with every horse since. His methods are simple, elegant and horse friendly, and I’ll forever be proud of that video above demonstrating two confident horses.
the current chariot itself, at the last barn
Because that’s the ideal, right? A horse that can be sent effortlessly into the trailer by somebody on the ground, without requiring said somebody to actually go with the horse into that vulnerably confined space. Isabel achieved self-loading prowess, and actually eventually so did Charlie too.
Charlie was a little funny at first, tho bc… Well. He was straight up too big (in every dimension but particularly nose to tail length) for my first trailer, a step-up bumper pull stock trailer. I ended up buying him this current chariot, specifically to fit his dimensions. And even then, he’d still get halfway up the ramp and kinda sputter out.
doozy’s first time aboard, circa 2023
Fun fact: I sorta sheepishly admitted to my chiro / acupuncturist that I’d been using feed buckets to assist with the trailer loading training for Charlie — but that our progress had stalled since he could reach the bucket without getting all the way on.
I expected her to chastise me for relying on food vs pure responsiveness to the aids… but instead, she just sorta gave me this dumbfounded look and said, “Emma, just hang the bucket farther back.”
still fine tuning the details with Early Charles
In other words, basically, if the method is working, make the method work for you. Which… was yet another iteration (one of MILLIONS for the average horse person) of learning that… there are so so so SO many “right” way to get a thing done, and honestly not all that many “wrong” ways.
another early ride, this time on the correct side for single horse transport
Thus, over time, I’ve slowly become a little bit less of a “purist” while still trying to hold true to those horsemanship principles first instilled with Isabel.
Doozy is a fairly straight forward horse to load — especially with two people. With one person, she had become (and is hopefully returning toward) reliable at just walking with me into the trailer, with me staying at her shoulder and then ducking under the chest barn to pop out the side to fix the butt bar and close the ramp.
preparations on the day of “Doozy’s first time,” with bonus Goose The Pig cameo
It’s not my ideal method, but it seemed to work. Since Thornridge, however, when the mare was in full meltdown mode, it’s been a little bumpier.
Truthfully, I didn’t even TRY to load the mare by myself that day to go home. There was a large and capable looking gentleman at the trailer next door, and I put my ego aside and enlisted his help. Natch, with that gentle but strong presence behind her, Doozy did what she always did and walked right on.
many months actual years now later, still #snackin
Since then, tho, well. I’ve been mostly alone. And have had to really be disciplined in sticking to the horsemanship principles lest I end up in a Battle Of The Wills with a red mare.
Rule #1: No eye contact, for the love of god.
Rule The Second: Be Thee Disciplined in The Timing of Thouest Release. Aka. Ask or do not ask. Accept a positive response, and accept not a negative.
Most Next Importantest: If the horse wants to sniff / investigate / otherwise interact with the interior of her chariot prior to embarking — cool! allow it! Attention straying toward externalities is cause for reinforcing the initial ask.
Fourth: Don’t be afraid to back up, reset, reapproach.
the tuna can and doozy’s future are uniquely intertwined, it turns out!
And ya know. Super secret Rule #5 — take advantage of extra help when available. Sure, it’s cool to be able to git‘r done solo… But in the long run, it’s so much better for the horse to just have easy drama-free streamlined experiences.
So ya know. That’s my personal gospel of loading horses. Subject to change at any time, obviously. And also recognizing that… Just bc my slice of horsey experiences has been somewhat reliable and consistent, doesn’t rule out that I’ve also just kinda been lucky. I KNOW some horses can… Just be challenging. Especially if they’ve been through strongly negative experiences.
Curious, with that in mind, if there are any other rules or ‘best practices’ you’d add to the list. Or maybe there are particular quirks you’ve had to learn to work around?
I'm easing back into a normal schedule again after a sad and tumultuous month and a half... And nothing soothes my soul more than quality time in the sunshine with my favorite silly biscuit.
the look of champions, folks
And as mentioned yesterday, the timing works well for Ms Mondeuse in terms of reassessing how she's feeling after a few recent veterinary and farrier related soundness interventions.
but oh no! we have encountered an unexpected error!
Verdict? Well. Lol I don't really know. There are a few different ways to interpret this most recent ride (which is captured almost entirely in the video below, so you can judge for yourself).
NOBODY SAID THERE WOULD BE CHAIRS
The good news? The mare seems remarkably steady and happy and established in the work -- despite having the better part of a month off. She clocked right on around quite pleasantly -- and I didn't even have the metronome running!
whew, made it past alive lol
Given how challenging I personally found it to get the horse going in the first place (compared to Charlie's earliest days), it feels like a solid win that the training is holding. It also gives me a really good feeling that, hypothetically speaking, I could pick the mare back up in a year again if it came to that and she'd still be the horse I love.
"that was a close call" -- the silliest mare ever
The next piece of "news," which could be a good thing depending on your world view, is that I don't think the fetlock was the culprit after all. Or at least, the injection we did doesn't seem to have 'done the trick,' so to speak. I didn't love the idea of a barely-7yo horse intended for a jumping career already having ouchy fetlocks so... I choose to see this as maybe a good thing.
annnnyway. ahem. brace yo'self for about a dozen variations of this
Obviously tho, that takes us to the, er, less good news. I still feel the same lameness in there. It was subtle in this ride, but there are definite lame steps in the video (even if only occasionally) while the feeling itself is pretty consistent throughout.
playing with the hackamore (set fairly loose with only padded leather straps) bc she goes so quietly in it
As of this writing I haven't had a chance to confer with my vet about next steps, and am assuming we may want to wait another week or two after we get the Equioxx going just to see where that plus more regular riding gets us.
it's a pleasant picture, no?
Will the mare get better? Stay the same? Get worse? It's all information, ya know?
grateful for the pics even if it's mostly bc we were getting video for the vet....
Realistically, she's been on and off now since about January. And when she's "on," well.. She's fine, ya know?
pause for applause snuggles
The ouchiness seems to either be there, or not be there. And when it's there it seems to get worse through the course of a ride.
pictured: a fucking fun horse
But there have also been days when she's been super ouchy one day, and.... maddeningly fine the next. Which, obvi, is also part of why it's been hard to pin down the main issue -- she hasn't always been entirely forthcoming with my vet lol.
we played briefly with canter too bc #yolo
All that said, tho, it doesn't seem like riding around has made anything worse, per se, this season. And actually, if it DID seem to start going in that direction, that might reasonably make it easier still to figure out where the main complaint actually is.
EL-OH-EL doozy it's just a ground pole omggggg
Sooo this is me rationalizing why I'm going to continue riding her. For now, at least, or until my vet advises against. And ya know. Another reasonable experiment is continued tweaking in her shoeing, for which the next cycle is still a few weeks away. May as well keep testing how she feels leading up to that, right?
unprepared emma is unprepared for mare's adorable efforts
Depending on how the next few weeks unfold, we may even do a lesson or two -- if the mare is up for it. I figure, at the very least it could help us get a fresh set of eyes and perspectives on what might be going on, ya know?
just casually fabulous
Tho at this rate I'm kinda just assuming that our spring competition season is a wash -- over before it started, womp. I don't usually like to compete in the heat and hard ground of July or August anyway, and it feels like stepping back from trying to do any calendar planning gives me more room to keep working incrementally on getting Doozy fixed up.
she was struttin' for the cute arab ring mate <3 <3
Or at least... Lol, that's the plan. Subject to change without notice, as always!
(or ya know. just one of those internet folks convinced maybe you can crack the lameness case!)
With horses, as with life in general, sometimes unexpected shit happens. That's certainly been the case for me this last month!
hangin out cool as a cucumber after we finished
But I've said it before and I'll say it again: sometimes hardship can be clarifying in that it helps us see more clearly what's really important. For me, riding and competing -- challenging myself, pushing my boundaries, expanding my education -- these are all critically important facets of my horsey experience.
"all in a day's work!" -- doozy, who is NOT ready to retire yet!
It's hard to do ANY of that, tho, without a good horse. And Doozy is a good horse <3
So for now, we content ourselves with tons of media from a pleasant ride in perfect spring conditions. Good enough, eh?
There’s nothing Doozy likes more than to make a liar out of me. This mare, she’s full of surprises. After all my whining and self pity about how far away we felt from just a month ago… Well, the mare would like to set the record straight haha.
sweet mare is tired for the first time in recent memory LOL
Well. Ok. Real talk. It’s a challenging environment for young hot blooded things like Mondeuse. It’s finally mild again, but the ground is still frozen under a thin layer of slick slippery mud.
There isn’t a whole lot to do in turnout other than commune around the hay ring and wait for sunnier days, ya know? Energy is going in, not working out.
lolol soooo close to express delivery!
Which is partly to blame for all her recent explosiveness. Well. That, and just who she is as a person. Ahem.
And it’s times like this where we benefit most from getting the ring to ourselves. We just need access to the rail, or ring mates who can occasionally yield the right of way or take turns doing stuff. It’s too unproductive to constantly be staying out of the way when what Doozy really needs is clear directions on Going Forth, Ma’am.
like so. well hello, mare who quite likes this bit!
So after yet another demoralizing attempt at productivity wherein we stole snippets of frazzled trot during the walk breaks of another rider’s jump school (bc Doozy was hellbent on *losing her shit* while said rider was in motion)… I made it my business to get out *before* work yesterday, and commit to a proper school with an unoccupied ring.
aaaand hello also to doozy’s patented scoot ‘n shoot move (the video has sound effects lol)
You know the type — where you set up intentional exercises in advance: 3 canter poles at 9’; 2 low bounce Xs also at 9’; skinny flower box between standards; 1 larger X with takeoff / landing poles at 9’; and low but built up oxer with trot takeoff at 7’.
PLUS! My favorite accountability partner: ye olde helmet camera set up on the wall to keep me honest.
go go gadget trot poles!
And bless her…. Doozy more or less just got to work. Like. Still explosively lol… Always explosively. And for your viewing pleasure, the video is mostly unedited so you can kinda see what I mean. Just these random little… episodes… little geyser eruptions, if you will. Then back to normal.
playing with flower boxes <3
I try not to indulge too much in the drama, ya know? Like, “Ok yes, duly noted, now let’s proceed…” haha. And that seems to work for Doozy, tbh. And is basically the main reason why it’s so valuable to have the room and rail to just get on with it.
the video is higher resolution but i swear these are bounces
The flat work for this ride didn’t start particularly fantastic… We’re not quite on that ‘4 Minute’ warm up game I posted about last month lol… But, eh, maybe not that far off either. At least for the purposes of this ride. In which my motto was, “Let’s get the “N” back on to the “FU” pls!”
our favorite pole-9’-X-9’-pole configuration
So we got on with it, and moved fairly quickly to the various exercises I set up. Doozy loves exercises. Something to look at, think about, contend with. Everything else disappears for her when she’s got a task at hand.
holy moley, i set myself an oxer and actually jumped it, yay me!
Like, true story: to get to this oxer, we had to follow the rail past the far door — a feat we haven’t accomplished in, ahem, weeks. There be birds monsters there, yo! Except while jumping. All is fair in love and war jumping, and Doozy happily cantered past the doors with nary a flutter.
look at how nicely she trotted to it!
Anyway. The exercises themselves? Went great!! The bounces felt a little optimistic when I prepped them, but actually Doozy was aces — even the first few times when she didn’t realize were were moving into Jompies Mode and *DID* get all silly passing by the open door… I just held my ground, held my line, and she figured it out.
Tried all the things lol — jumped them perfectly, jumped them sideways (bc #SillyAboutDoors), launched at them, and then finally tried the slow thoughtful approach. And each time was a breeze, good girl!
excited to be doing things again <3 <3
Same story for our pole-X-pole combination, which we jumped once each way, and then the little oxer to finish. It was like mare had run through all her explosiveness, realized it wasn’t doing anything except making the work a little harder, and so decided to just be civil instead.
a cookie for the biscuit!
Like literally just trotted right on up to the oxer polite as pie. Still did a little victory gallop afterward haha… But, eh, fiiiiiine. You do you, boo!
Video highlights for anyone disinclined to watch all 10min:
- 0:00 to 1:30 — Trotting, with some ground poles
- 1:50 to 4:25 — Cantering left, with ground poles + flower box
- 4:30 to 6:15 — Bounce drama
- 6:15 to 7:50 — Cantering right and more jumps
- 7:55 to End — Main jompies (other than the bounces)
related: lesson learned, Ms Thing just #CantEven when these loose straps touch her
All in all, exactly the kind of ride I needed for our first time jumping since, uh, December.
gotta be pony club approved, apparently
And maybe a good enough steam vent to mind her manners coexisting with lesson groups for the rest of our evening rides this week. A girl can dream, amirite?
stalker cats continue to stalk my trailer lol
So anyway. Here’s hoping the next 6 weeks of winter go a little bit better than the last 6 lol.. Maybe we’ll even make it to a lesson this month??
I virtually always low-key wish my rides were being recorded. I'm just that obsessed with studying riding media, ya know? Since moving barns, tho, most of my serious schooling is done alone, where the best bet for video is a camera set up on the wall. Which works... but means far away, unfocused shots that may or may not be framed super nicely.
With all the recent trial saddles, tho, I got more desperate determined and hauled out ye olde helmet cam, and was actually pleasantly surprised with how decently it worked! It's very sensitive to sun spots in the indoor rings (as you can see from the over exposed blobs in all these screen shots), but otherwise is #BetterThanNothing!
media is media, guys LOL -- we'll take our blurry screenshots and we'll LIKE IT
So I brought it out for our ride yesterday --- and am so glad I did! I wanted to keep working on the postural details Trainer C focused on during our lesson the day prior, AND I wanted to play with jompies yay!
look who can trot ground poles with only minimal disruptions to rhythm!!
I also fired up the ol' metronome app again! It's been a hot minute since we used it, for whatever reason, but guys --- it is such a valuable tool for us right now.
One of my biggest weaknesses on the flat is that I get pretty easily baited into fiddle-fucking around with the horse's face. And Doozy is such a slippery noodle that it almost feels like I'm kinda chasing her around with my aids as she bounces and contorts every which way.
turns out, she goes better when i stop fucking around so much LOL
But with the metronome, idk... It's like, there's just this steady drum beat (literally) that I'm either matching, or not matching. It's just one single thing to think about -- but in focusing on that tempo, everything else seems to click into place. To hold a steady tempo with my posting requires that I be very solid, stable, and deliberate in my position and balance.
And the result is that.... Basically all my aids stay in one place, giving Doozy the stability she needs to settle onto them.
very progressive set of exercises: 3 ground poles, spaced 9' pole-X-pole, spaced 9' 3 big X's (far side), spaced 21'
The key for me is being more patient. Waiting it out. Giving Doozy time (and the actual peace and quiet from my noisy way of riding) to kinda ease into it. Rather than feeling like, "I need to make a difference," or "She needs to listen now." For Doozy, those feelings are direct nonstop tickets to Tension Land, and she's more than happy to go there at the least provocation.
plus single jumps on the diagonals. everything can be jumped from both directions
So. Anyway. It's all in the video, if you want to see what I mean.
ALSO in the video --- the jompies, yay! Our first jump school since the clinic with Sharon White last week! I swear I have all these good intentions of doing jumping style exercises twice a week... But it always ends up feeling like I'm lucky if it's once every 1.5wks. C'est la vie, I guess.
look how good she's getting at grids!
There were already two nice singles set up on the diagonals, and I added a series of progressive gymnastic exercises. And Doozy was so good!
off both leads! actual video is higher resolution, i promise
I'm not sure Sharon would have totally agreed with ALL my choices lol... But I did trot into the singles just to keep reinforcing her lessons.
i let her canter the singles to finish up too <3
Doozy was great, tho, jumped everything super well -- and only knocked one rail! The grid obvi rode a little short for her (bc duh it was set short at 21') but that's honestly the point. To help her get a little more patient and compressed. The one single going into the far corner kept riding a little funny for us, but eh I think it was a little 'bottom heavy' (with the lattice gate practically on the floor) and going into the corner tends to inspire the chip vs the gap anyway, so I didn't dwell.
we are learning a lot from each other, i think
On one hand, these sessions can seem kinda basic or elementary... But on the other hand.... that's also entirely the point lol. It was only just this summer where even just cantering a ground pole was Very Exciting OMG lol. And now the mare is powering cleanly thru grids on short distances. We'll take it!
The video is less edited than normal -- and is almost our entire ride. I cut the first 4ish minutes of trot, where we were just warming up and settling in, and the walk breaks. So it's basically the full meat of our session. But for those of you who maybe don't want to watch 10min of wide-angle footage taken from a fixed position on the wall.... here are the key moments:
- First ~3min are our proper trot work, including passing through the ground poles
- Around 3:30 we start canter work, including passing through ground poles
- At 6:00 we start jumping, which lasts the remainder of the video
cookies and face scritches for a job well done <3
And idk about you guys, but for me? Rides like this are the stuff. It is so satisfying to just have a simple, pleasant school. Especially compared to some of our recent rides in the trial saddles -- where it felt like Doozy's tension only increased as the ride went on and nothing I did seemed to make a difference.
I'm thinking the metronome is going to make more regular appearances in our rides again. Who cares if the lesson kids we ride with think it's weird LOL bc it clearly is working for us right now!
Maybe that'll be my New Year resolution haha... Anyway. Happy almost 2025, y'all!
