my practical stud kit

Alrighty then, friends, how about something a little different today? I used to do all sorts of fun and varied posts about, "what's in my grooming tote" and all that, back in the day... So why not, let's go for it again --- but this time with maybe a more specialty line of tools!

behold, my stud kit

Anybody who rides fast on grass for long enough eventually might start thinking about studs --- specifically, the little threaded cleats that screw into a drilled and tapped horseshoe. 

I'm not going to pretend to be an expert on when studs are appropriate for you, that's definitely a conversation between you and your trusted team. Specifically bc there are implications on how the studs can modify and influence the way a horse travels - including by adding different stresses to the limb. So ya know. Do your due diligence. 

back in the day, when we used to do things
also omg can you believe i took him to a show in that halter???

But, generally, many riders -- particularly eventers -- who spend a lot of time traveling quickly across grass, while turning and jumping at speed, find that adding studs can give the horse that extra little bit of grip, confidence, and ability to keep his legs up under him and propel --- whether the ground is hard and slick, or deep and sticky.

one in, one out --- empty cavity filled with a Nunn Finer rubber plug

Charlie loves his studs. He's not the most steady creature on uneven (particularly downhill) terrain, and finds that studs give him the extra confidence he needs. I'm happy when Charlie is happy, so he's basically been drilled 'n tapped during competition months ever since 2018 (until, cough cough, this year, sob). 

said plugs, plus the stabby jabby tool (and accompanying wire brush) for retrieving the plugs and clearing the thread. pro tip: this wire brush is... insufficient

So here's the process. At his shoeing appointments, Charlie's farrier will drill and tap the stud holes into the shoe, two per shoe under the heel. Our longtime farrier would then plug the holes with oiled cotton plugs, a common choice for filling the cavity to prevent a bunch of dirt and debris from mucking up the threads. 

i have never in my life cleaned a stud, beyond the occasional pass with the wire brush on my tool

In my experience, the cotton rots over time, so I'd usually replace with little rubber pellets. These sometimes fall out, but overall, I've had good luck with them. 

Even so, just about everybody who has had to deal with studs has learned (the hard way, natch).... If it's been a while since you've tinkered with them --- don't wait for the day of your show to clear out the stud holes. Bc even with a plug, if it's been a couple weeks (or longer, cough cough), stuff can get hard packed in there. And plugs can disintegrate or fall out completely.

So clear out the holes, sharpen the threads, and insert fresh plugs the day before --- and congratulate yourself on show day for your prowess in preparation lol.

you are looking at possibly the most important tool of the studding business: the safety tap

I use a combination of tools to clean out the holes and threads --- starting with WD-40. Which might be controversial, idk. But everything with horses is controversial, so... suck it lol. Most stud kits come complete with a two-ended hand tool, wire brush on one end, metal spike on the other. 

In my experience, these tools are universally trash. They always bend and spin and I can never get purchase with them. Trying to dig out bits of rotten cotton that's been in there for weeks, as well as all manner of hard packed clay... It'll legit drive you to madness. 

So.... Second pro tip: Don't buy a pre-assembled kit. Just... Don't. Get good tools, and 1-2 sets of studs per your trusted team's recommendations. 

bionic wrench #4lyfe, and Distal Steel stabby jabby + thread cleaner is legit

I pounced last fall on this machined thread cleaner tool from Distal Steel, One end is a super sharp spiral blade that can dig into packed dirt and debris. It's curve is also the exact perfect diameter for stud holes bc... duh, it's designed by an actual farrier. This tool, for me, beats out the spikey point in all aspects aside from fishing out the rubber plugs.  

magnetic tray is a must. plus, ya know, various sorts of studs that you'll never use, and that one set you always use

The thread cleaner side is nice too, but ultimately, once each stud hole is essentially cleared of dirt and spritzed with WD-40, the ****Most Important**** step in my studding process is using the safety tap. I use this every time, no matter what, and always. And do NOT force it, tho, just back-forth-back-forth. Otherwise you'll legit strip your threads and too bad, so sad, that particular hole is wrecked until your farrier can fix it with proper tools. 

these, i always use these. ymmv. also, pls be advised to keep shoe on horse, yes?

For real, tho, the safety tap basically ensures all the threads are cleaned, cleared, and aligned, so that when you go to screw in the stud of your choice, it just.... goes. As far as your stud choices, again, talk to your people. Preferences vary by regional soil, terrain, and ground conditions. 

Generally, narrow and pointy is good for harder ground --- the better to pierce and hold. Chubby and round can be good for deeper soft ground. I often go for what kinda counts as a bit of a raised road stud -- kinda broad and not too tall, but with enough of a point to catch on what are often hard conditions around here. Tho I've also had very good experiences with more traditional grass studs too.

nice to have a proper adjustable wrench on hand for the occasionally hard-to-grip stud, plus a magnet-on-a-string for when you inevitably lose one in the grass

Anyway, to get the studs in, I typically use a bionic wrench. And I don't go crazy tight, guys, bc I'm not trying to twist my horse's hoof off his fetlock - let's be real. Just tight enough to stick.

all the better to get run the fresh fuck away with by your best friend
virtual cookies to anybody that remembers this old acorn

This overall approach and method has served me decently well -- I've never lost a stud, other than the pulled shoe above. And the studs themselves, which live a life of abject neglect (ie, no cleaning ever), get used until they're too worn down to give the intended grip. 

Actually, most of these pics are from this week --- when my kit hasn't seen action since Charlie won his CT at Thornridge last April. And everything is more or less how I left it. 

Hopefully maybe someday soon (dare I hope for this year?) we'll have a need again... But eh, in the meantime, we'll be ready. Have you ever had to deal with studs? Do anything majorly (or minorly!) different from what I noted above? Any tips or tricks to help folks avoid certain headaches??

ride 9: again but with a friend!

It's possible Doozy is reading my posts here, bc after two days being a bit pitiful on her ouchy alleged abscess, she recovered to normal walking soundness. Obvi still with the big leg from her cellulitis (by all accounts, that will be slow to resolve), but otherwise moving quite comfortably!

quite happy to stand around for a few quick pics at the end of the ride!! also look at that pretty sky
(and our chaperone, pretty Rosette!)

She got an extra couple days of just pleasant grooming and ground interactions to be on the safe side, but conditions were basically perfect to get back to our original agenda! 

If you recall, Doozy went on her first fully solo ridden adventure for Ride #8, wherein we used the mounting barn back at our lower barn, then traveled alllll the way past the sheep and shetlands and trailers, following the same route we've been establishing for weeks now, up to the dressage arena. 

Only differences from past outings were that 1) we were alone; and 2) I was riding vs alongside on foot. And the ride... was educational, with Doozy proving that confidence in me as a leader on the ground does not yet translate to confidence in me while aboard. 

"i'm not fired yet, right???" -- doozy, who absolutely is NOT fired yet <3

Before we were so rudely interrupted by the unplanned sore foot, I had originally hoped to get back on the horse (literally) the very next day to repeat the same exact process --- except this time, with a second horse. My idea being: We did the hard thing already, and it was hard. But let's do it all again immediately, but in a slightly easier way. Establish the routine, and prove that it doesn't actually have to be hard. Right? 

Best laid plans and all lol. Oh well, obvi it would have been nice to get on the "daily" train, but at this point we'll take what we can get. So about five days passed between rides, but we did eventually get our outing last night! 

replaced one KK for another, this time Izzy's old silver alloy with the smaller rings intended as a bradoon snaffle. makes the slightly-large bridle fit a little better overall

And? It was good! Really did exactly what I wanted it to do. Doozy was immediately more confident in company, and we arrived at the arena with zero hiccups. 

And were able to loop around the whole thing, including both ends, and turning in both directions, without any noticeable changes in rhythm. By which I mean, no sulkiness turning away from the gate, and no bolting toward the gate. Bingo!

better living thru bribery

This included moving around in opposite directions and lines of travel from our ring mate, basically without issue. Now don't get crazy, tho, we didn't do anything wild like trot - nor, god forbid - did our ring mate haha. Hahaha, not yet. 

But we did have one maybe really productive issue. Some horses passed by in the driveway, as is common on our farm, and Doozy got pretty riled up and repeated a few of her dance moves from our solo ride. 

at least one of us can cheese for photos!!
also, when i say "gate" in this ring, i just mean... that wide open space behind us lol, none of it is fenced

Notably, however, when she had her 'proceed at speed' moment, it.... oddly wasn't really in any direction --- or at least, not so single-mindedly aimed at the gate as to be hard to steer. It also was a bit slower. Like I had time to think about which rein was in which hand, and which hand could more easily tug on the neck strap, but, darn it.., I twisted my reins trying to put them in one hand...., gotta fix that, oof, ok..., left rein is kinda long...., better shorten that, hm, oh, wait a second, Emma, have you even asked the horse to stop yet? 

At which point, I asked her to stop, and she did lol. Which gives the distinct impression that at least one lesson from our solo ride 8 stuck: she knows I can stop her, so ya know, maybe just go on ahead and do it. No need to overthink it lol.  

how it feels sometimes tho lol

I'm sure we will have moments again in the future when she's a bit more committed to whatever she's trying to do, but last night... Eh, she did her little dance, grunted her little grunts, and then kinda just went back to doing what we were doing. 

Sure sure, we repeated a few more laps in closer proximity to our ring mate again, and tested out turning back toward the gate at the far end off both reins to see if that inspired any sort of reaction in her. It did not, so we deemed her recovered, and proceeded as we had been -- riding in basically separate spaces in the ring, doing our own little things. Walking over the pole, turning this way and that way, practicing figures. 

and michael, of course

Then, naturally, stopped to snap some photos before executing another choreographed (but simple and uneventful) exit from the ring. Mission accomplished. Now to repeat this like 8,000 times between now and when the clock changes and we lose sunlight. 

Seems a bit unrealistic to think she'll be ready to ride in the darkness in the next few weeks.... But I definitely want to make progress on riding in company, especially company that isn't catering to my every stressy whim. Bc ya know... Some people are just coming to ride their own horses and do their own thangs. 

So... Traffic school it is. Like, yes I want to canter and jump and all that stuff, but I gotta be realistic in prioritizing the skills that will to allow us to continue developing without needing to rely on perfect and accommodating conditions all the time. 

Whatever it takes, it's honestly just exciting to have goals again, stuff to work toward! 

doozy's 30 day performance review

Monduese, aka Doozy, joined us just about a month ago. The conditions under which I decided to purchase a second horse were... pretty specific. So. Let's see how things are shaping up, yes?

cute? check

The short story is.... Doozy flunked her 30 day review. Bc... Well, soundness. Recall her left hind limb exploded into cellulitis about 2wks after coming home. And now, even as that issue subsides, she appears to be working thru a run-of-the-mill abscess in the same leg.

easy to handle? double check

As far as I'm concerned, my second horse -- this lovely sweet red mare -- has basically one job: be rideable. And so, with 8 rides in the first ~30 days.... That's not quite good enough.

sittable = can do!

There's a longer story here, tho. Obvi, lol. First off, the "8 of 30" isn't totally fair bc I was away a couple days, some days we did non-riding activities intentionally, plus I take days off too. So it's actually closer to "8 of ~18" of rideability. Still not good enough for "second horse" material, but not so dire either. 

ooooh, trottable too!

More importantly, tho, I'm not actually making any decisions about Doozy based on a 30 day timeline. Bc she's a horse, and cellulitis happens, and abscesses happen too. 

driveway walkies with the bestest chaperone in the whole wide world

So ya know. Cons to keeping the mare: alarming pattern of not being sound very early in the relationship. 

Pros? Ya know, I kinda like her ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

curiosity -- check!

I'm finding it really really valuable, however, to constantly pause and take stock of what I'm actually doing, or trying to do, with this little lady, tho. Bc I keep consistently running into the same mental road block. 

can hack in company!

She is without a doubt going to be a more complicated and challenging horse to "get going" than Charlie was. BUT. That statement also remains true of.... virtually every horse everywhere. Bc Charlie really was that easy. 

yep, still cute!

Except for when he fucking was NOT. But see --- these are the memories long forgotten, right? Bc once a problem is fixed and finished, it's forgotten, right? So I have these insane rose-colored glasses from Charlie, that... are kinda telling me lies. 

arena work??? hmmmmm
fun fact: after this 'periscope up' moment in our first lap of the ring during Ride 8, i hurriedly shoved that phone right back into my pocket bc mare was coilin up for a maneuver lol

So when Doozy does things like spin turn around and bolt proceed at speed back toward the in gate on our first solo + ridden exploration of the dressage ring... My mind immediately goes to.... 'Well shit, what now?' 

Except... Actually... I can (on occasion) sit through unplanned dance steps. And, despite my general and varied neuroses, in a moment of intensity, I usually focus. Plus, turns out, while Doozy is capable of quite literally retracting the full length of her neck back into her shell in a bolt moment of speed, thus rendering the reins laughably useless, neck straps are one helluva a drug haha. Literally. As in, drag that lady back down to earth, and now. While seated, natch.

soundness??? double hmmmmmmmmm

All of that to say, ride #8 was.... educational. And it takes me kinda a lot of forced perspective to recognize that it was a net positive ride. We both learned a lot about each other. The ride resolved positively. 

We stayed in the dressage ring walking purposeful figures despite occasional interruptions via interpretative dance moves... until I was satisfied with the level of focus and softness to allow an extremely choreographed exit from the ring. 

And then we stayed (mostly) flatfooted the long walk back to the barn. Sure, I had to keep a hand on the neck strap the whole time, including occasional tugs to return Ms Thang back to walk, but we did it. First fully solo ride = accomplished. 

enjoys spa days? 1,000%

And ya know, that's the stuff, right? Like, that's the puzzle, that's the game play, that's the day in, day out type situation I want to unpack, pick apart, analyze, experiment, all the things. I don't need the horse to be a carbon copy of Charlie, bc ya know, he was challenging in his own ways (who remembers the "dinosaur-stuck-in-tar-pit" routine??).

and also, michael

Except, ya know, my training methodology basically relies on "routine consistent practice" to account for whatever I might lack in actual skill. 

And, UGH, go figure, the next day, when we were all set to replicate our adventure from Ride 8 with a Ride 9, But This Time With A Friend, (Punky + Amy, bless them), Doozy presented with a shockingly sore foot that by all accounts is likely an abscess in her unshod hind foot. 

ok lady, you know the rules! 

So. Ya know. Yea, she flunks her 30 Day Review. And I told her as much. 

At this moment in time, my idea is to have another check in around the 90 day mark in November. Ideally, I'll forget all about it bc we'll be too deep into all the things of young horse development. But ya know. If we're only at ride 16 or 17 by that point.... This a reminder to my future self to stay focused on what we're really trying to do here. 

Anyway, tho, idk, maybe some of this comes off a bit flippant, or harsh. I hope not --- hopefully you can read between the lines to see my humor and fondness for this sweet little mare. But it is also a serious subject, and one that makes a lot of horse people uncomfortable. 

And I KNOW some of you have had to confront the question of, "Is this the right horse?" Which often leads to uncomfortable, unkind, or even insidiously mean questions of, "or is it me?"

So I'm curious if you've ever come up with any sort of rubric or decision making about, what makes a fit, a fit? 

chuck-a-doodle-doo!

Guys, life with Charlie has been such a roller coaster for the last few months year. Full of moments where it felt like we finally got everything just right for his soundness --- when he started on equioxx --- and moments where he was in the most pain we've ever seen in him --- while in the throes of that catastrophic subsolar abscess. 

This pattern repeated into the spring, too. We got a bit of a, hm, false sense of closure from the abscess when the horse seemed sound, started back into work, and even won his first horse show back at Thornridge. I started getting really excited, more excited than I've been in years. We booked lessons, lots of them, and I even entered a full HT. 

the big boys (and spirit), blissfully ignorant of being called down to breakfast all the way down the hill...

But, Charlie wasn't holding up to the work. In.... kinda surprising and extremely worrisome ways -- he was way too footsore for what we were doing. 

Then a few more pieces came into focus, learning that maybe his latest farrier wasn't the best fit, and, more generally, his hooves had changed and overall degenerated significantly in health and shape throughout his months of intense lameness.

charles stands in this certain sort of way behind that makes us all feel a certain sort of way

And we've kinda been stuck in this rut ever since. He's generally a little foot sore when coming due for getting shod, and a little sore right after getting shod. The hooves just aren't super happy right now. But we got new rads, the new farrier is committed, and I'm doing my best to be patient. 

Charlie, however, has not been super helpful. He loses at least one shoe per cycle, often more. Particularly his hinds -- the perfect storm of lost muscling, overdue hocks (bc other more pressing issues), and general compensation, results in him stepping all over himself behind -- frequently twisting off those shoes, and stepping on the clip in the process. 

how many times have we seen this hoof bleed at this point?? whyyyyyyy.....

Just about everybody at our barn has had to pull a shoe off this horse in recent months. It's legit insane. He just keeps stepping on the clinchers on the inside of his hind hoof walls, wearing them down, then poof!, twisted and stepping on the clip. 

Last week was a real mess, too. My farrier has been trying to tighten his clinchers more often mid-cycle, but it's a double edged sword bc he still twists the shoes, but now they're harder for us mere mortals to pull. This time, when I arrived he was in a significant amount of distress, and all the clinchers were pulled straight into the hoof. 

red = unfortunate nail jab; blue = where the clip inserted
luckily does not appear to be as nasty a clip location as charlie implied by his extreme distress. 
will probably still abscess in 7-9 days anyway, tho! 

It took a team effort to get the shoe off, and in the chaos Charlie stepped on one of the loose nails - puncturing his sole soul (literally and metaphorically), and spurting blood everywhere. UGH. Not gonna lie, I cried a little bit. It just seems... so hard. Why is it this hard? Why?

But ya know. Horses. I took care of him, cleaned it up, soaked it with betadine and epsom salts, wrapped it up carefully, and tucked him into his stall for the night. And believe it or not, he was hale and hearty and sound as an (unshod) dollar the next day! Whew.... We don't call him "King of the Dings" for nothing -- in all his drama, most of his oopsies are just... ya know... dings. 

we love you, charlie <3 <3 <3

The shoe got replaced within a day with no issues, no lingering tenderness or soreness, and so... Ya know... We're otherwise in the middle of his shoeing cycle right now, the golden ~2wk period where he's been pretty comfortable.... so... Maybe let's go for a sit, yes?? Yes!!

Charlie was happy to volunteer as chaperone for a barn mate's 4yo TB, while she evaluated a new trial saddle. She wanted to go to the jump ring to give the saddle a proper test, so... obvi we'd go wherever! 

ermagerd we really love you tho, esp when you trot sound omg! 

Mostly when I've ridden Charlie in recent months, we've stuck to the xc fields for pleasant low pressure wanders... And ya know, while out in the fields it's easy enough to squeeze up into a trot or canter around whenever Charlie has wanted to volunteer it... 

But I legit do not remember the last time I trotted this horse in an actual ring.  

might not look like much, but to me this is everything!

And ugh <3 <3 <3 he was so good. He's just such a good horse. Like, I always want to make excuses for us --- "ignore my position, I'm out of shape!"    " he's overdue for his hocks!!"   "we were just playing around, nothing serious!"

ok possibly actually getting a bit trotted away with at this point <3 <3 <3

But the feeling.... Maybe just because I know this horse so well, and he knows me, but I can just tell when he's showing off, when he's struttin' his stuff, ya know? And I LOVE that feeling!

perched up there, probably drooling like a gleefully dazed idiot, cantering for the first time in god knows how long 

It doesn't have to be perfect, it doesn't have to be correct, bc.... seeing him go this way tells me everything I need to know. It's like, sitting there, cantering him around for my first canter in probably months, it took every ounce of will power not to point him at any of the little jumps. Every. Ounce.

d'awww charles, legit tried to pet him down from trot to walk, and he burst off into canter again!!

We trotted a lap or two in each direction, then cantered a lap or two in each direction just to sorta do it, have fun, and see how he felt.... and I legit could not get him stopped for another lap or two bc he just wanted to keep going and going and going. Ugh <3 <3

meanwhile, in Dooz Nooz, everyone hated the turkey leg fauxtoshop, so how about something a little less.... cooked? my vet lol'd so basically idc if you hate this too haha

It would be so easy to get greedy in these moments. Bc he feels invincible, would do --- wants to do anything. But, eh... Maybe I'm trying to get smarter. Trying to think about tomorrow, ya know? 

squeezed in a party with the whole family, Chesapeake style, for mama's 65th!

Like, this cycle has repeated often enough that I'm simply unwilling to actually put the horse to proper work until he can trot off sound right after getting shod. That's my metric. Based on... Well, nothing, actually, except that it kinda seems to make sense to me. 

kittens are nice but michael is better lol

So. We continue as we are. I'm hoping to get on Charlie again today, actually, one day after trotting and cantering around briefly, just to see if it feels any different, any less gung ho or willing or forward. Anything that feels like maybe his feet are paying the price for yesterday's exuberance, ya know? 

We'll see. I'm willing to be hopeful. But maybe not willing to rush. Cross your fingers for us lol. Hope you all had a wonderful weekend too!

rides 6 + 7

I'll undoubtedly lose count of our number of rides sooner rather than later, but we did pass an interesting and slightly unexpected milestone this weekend. 

hacking out in moar company!!

We have officially completed more rides just hacking out vs in an arena doing 'work.'

learning about gates via observation

This wasn't really intentional, to be honest. Like, let's be real, I've been almost exclusively hacking out with Charlie (our "active sits" when he's sound enough) for months now... Didn't really need a second horse for that pursuit, ya know? 

lol technically from Ride 5... we'll take our pixels and we'll like it, dammit lol 

But with Doozy's cellulitis and resulting need for rehabilitative walkies.... That's just kinda how it worked out. 

not gonna lie, it was kinda nice to leave the gates to other riders since charlie usually ends up doing them all!

We learned during her first "hack," when she refused to cross the stream under saddle, that she's still not super confirmed in normal riding aids (like the "Go Forth Ma'am, And I Mean Now" aid). Realistically, that's something we'll have to establish under better conditions -- when she's already inclined to go forward (ie, when there's not a stream or other obstacle in her path), and when she's not mildly lame from her cellulitis. 

do we look like we're having fun?

So for now, we stick to conditions and situations that are likeliest to be 'easy.' There are still challenges in these rides, obvi, but they're more on the mental side vs physical. Like, wandering out into open fields among increasingly larger and varied groups of horses. And learning to be patient while waiting to pass through gates that must be opened and closed.

looks like an (almost) normal leg after riding around the fields for an hour!

I'm not going to act like this doesn't stress me out, either --- taking a new-to-me 5yo OTTB out into wide open spaces on her 6th post-track ride, while being quite out of riding shape myself... Ya know, it makes me feel a certain sort of way lol. Which may or may not result in occasionally struggling begging my buddies not to stray too far away from us. 

some of the scabs split open from the original enormous swelling, but everything looks basically ok

But it's honestly been really good. Doozy continues to be a more forward thinking animal than I'm used to, but she also seems equally quick in comprehension. She's quickly getting the hang of hacking out -- to the point that it doesn't bother her to march out ahead of her slower-walking company. Bc everybody walks slower than Dooz, apparently lol. 

happy to see definition around the tendon

She also figured out the rhythms and ways of gate crossings too. Which, well, we have a LOT of them at our farm. Any given hack is likely to include 4-6 gates that must be opened and closed. I don't insist that Doozy stand still while we wait on either side of the gate, but the alternative to standing is to wander within a fairly small-diameter zone in proximity to the gate (it's illegal to wander away from the horse handling the gates!!!!). She often prefers to just stand, thanks!

and happy to see charlie ears!!! <3 <3 <3

Things have also been on the "easy" side considering how extremely dry our region is at the moment. Areas in the fields that are usually spongey or marshy are bone dry, as are most of the little stream crossings plus the xc water complex. 

not sure grooming + tacking in a stall counts as a meaningful "first", but we did that too

Doozy is still a bit squicky about the mud or changes to footing, but mud is maybe less imposing than water. Plus, it tends to have less clearly delineated edges, which helps with reaffirming that, 'actually Doozy what I really want is for you to proceed, and we'll figure out the details later!' 

moar gates with friends!!!

In other words, I don't care if she follows a sacrosanct line of straight travel or whatever, but just that she keeps going forward (if occasionally slightly sideways) when we get to a mucky spot.

slowly but surely ticking off first-time visits to all the big fields 

But ya know, mud aside, it feels like we're accomplishing a lot even while doing... very little. She's learning to carry me and all my imperfections across varied terrain, with basically zero expectations other than "proceed." 

our chaperone was brave / confident enough to accompany us despite not having a saddle

And for my part, I basically keep my hands anchored on the front of my fluffy sheepskin halfpad. Which helps in a few ways --- 1, my hands maintain a predictable and consistent connection for Doozy, who is herself learning to travel with a longer and more horizontal neck. 2, any time I feel the urge to be reactive or grabby --- the halfpad is there for me and protects me from getting all up in the mare's face. 

#JustHackingThings

And this played out in kinda the perfect way in our ride 7, when while headed toward home, Doozy pulled kinda a bizarre little dance move. Sorta a flung head + grunting + striking out hoof + a sidestep too.  A weird short little move that was over before we quite realized it had begun.

Possibly related to being headed toward home, but maybe likelier triggered by a nasty fly bite. But then the movement was completed, while meanwhile my hands were right where they started -- on the halfpad -- and we all just kinda proceeded as we were before.

she's good, guys <3

In other words, literally none of us reacted to the dance move, including Doozy, and there was no reason to believe another move was imminent. Which is just the way I like it --- my training approach is to basically just... Not make a big deal out of things. Not to look for trouble or poke a sore spot. Not to dwell on mistakes, but stay laser focused on rewarding a desired behavior. 

A caveat to this philosophy is that it can be tempting to rationalize low-key disobediences -- like when I sorta complacently let Charlie get increasingly behind my leg, rather than risk rocking the boat. So ya know, there has to be a clear firm line on what I expect from the horse.

and always with the michael 

But for right now, these rides feel like the perfect way to establish that sort of "shared vocabulary" we'll need to actually be clear in communications and expectations. Or ya know. Maybe we're just wandering randomly around some fields lolz.... Eh, at least it's something!