Fall Show October 15th, 2011 and Trail Rides

Since Flatlands, we have spent the majority of our time out on the trails. We have gone here there and everywhere. If you don't already know, I used to own Jet when he was three/fourish but then we sold him because I couldn't train him to canter. The last ride I had on him before we sold him was a two-hour trail ride down some streets to fields after fields that led to great trails. This past week, I re-rode the same trails with Jet.

It was such an awesome time. The trails were amazing and the fields were gorgeous. Mom took Elsa along for the ride. It must have been the first time in months that Mom rode Elsa for this long. It must have been nice for her. We rode for two hours and ended up with two very happy horses. They both enjoyed the ride. A few days later, Mary-Kate and I rode the same trails and had just as great of a time. Here are some videos:

Attempting to gallop Jet...

Off into the Sunset

Anyone have any ideas what his "hitch" in his hind right might be? He always does this with this leg...

After our trail rides, Jet and I had a show at my school. We have our annual "Fall Show" where every major puts on some sort of display, competition, educational demonstration, etc. For Large Animal science majors, there are shows that allow students ro learn how to show various animals. This year we had a horse show, dairy cow show, beef cow show, and sheep show. At the horse show, students can use the school horses or bring their own. I decided to bring Jet.

There aren't a whole lot of classes offered but we managed to find three out of the eight that we could do. We did Open Fitting, Open Showmanship, and Limit Walk Trot Canter Equitation. Yes, our first canter class!

The morning of the show, Jet was all jacked up. The show was on a Saturday and I hadn't ridden him since that previous Monday due to rain and poor timing...so I had a bad feeling he would be all prancy. It took a few people to hold him and help me get his shipping boots on and then get him on the trailer. He usually loads himself on just fine..

Anyways, we got to the school and I opened the doors on the trailer and just let him chill. I checked in, got my lunge line, then brought him into the indoor arena where the classes would be held. To my amazement, he calmed right down and was really lazy on the lunge line. So I went back to the trailer and tack him up and warmed him up. He was great! I couldn't get him to pick up the canter on the right lead (his bad lead) but I was thrilled at how he did besides that. I knew going into it that the canter would stop us from placing well but I went anyways for the experience.

The Fitting and Showmanship classes came around and I was worried he would get bored and aggitated in the middle of the class. It was a huge class (16 people!) so we woudl be in the ring for a long time. Each horse was on the rail standing then got called individually to the center to have the judge evaluate the horse and then the handler would have to perform a pattern with the horse.

Jet was a little spooky with all the other horses in the ring and the HUGE crowd on the sides. After a few time around, he was fine. Thankfully, when he was spooking, the class wasn't being judged because some of the school horses were being passed off to different handlers. So it worked out to our advantage.

By mid-class, he was falling asleep. We were in the middle of the pack to get evaluated. He was great except he wasn't perfectly square. I had been fitting him all day long on the rail to get him square. Most of the other kids didn't even know how to swuare a horse so I figured that I'd just let it slide and let him be. He was great for the pattern too!

We placed 3rd of 16 in fitting and didn't place in showmanship. I am guessing it is because he wasn't square all of the time, the fact he was falling asleep, and that the teacher was talking to me on the rail during the class lol Woops. Oh well! I still had fun

Doing the pattern. The draft paint X in the back is the horse I ride for drill team (:

He's a 3 yr old named Finnegan. He's green but is willing to learn!



Not quite square..

Pretty boy!

Then we had the wtc class. There were only 3 in the class thankfully...the other classes had 10-17 riders in it. I was riding against one of my best friends, Julie, who was on the buckskin you see in the pics. He is cleverly named Buck. How original!

Jet was great in our class! He was PERFECT walk trot. I was so proud! He even got both canter transitions and kept the canter WITHOUT bucking for about three times around each direction! His right lead was a mess but he still did it! We were racing around like an idiot that direction and I knew we blew our class but I didn't canter. He got both leads and kept them for as long as I asked!

The judge came up to me after and asked if he was a Standardbred. She went on to tell me how she went to Maine and judged a big Standardbred show up there recently! She said that I have him going very well and to work on the canter a bit more but in no time he should be a star (:

Obviously we placed 3rd out of three. The other horses are school horses with very good riders that deserved to do well. I felt like a winner because Jet was a superstar and proved me wrong that day. Even though it started out iffy and I thought it was going to be a disaster, the show ended up being great!

After the show was a drill team performance...that ended in disaster and an ambulance ride (not from me though!). More on that later...

Flatlands Pics

Dressage

Cross Country

Stadium

Flatlands Mix and Match Horse Trials Oct. 2nd

Today, Jet and I took a whirl at eventing. This is something I have really wanted to do for a while and since there is a place within spitting distance from my house, I figured I'd give it a shot.

One thing I was somewhat concerned about was the fact that we were also taking our other horse, Elsa, there so my sister could do a dressage test. This meant that Elsa would go there with him but leave part way through the day. I personally think it is pointless just to go for a dressage test but oh well...

We got there a little later than I wanted to so I got on right away. Luckily, my test was at 12:08pm so I got to sleep in this morning ;) We decided to stick with Walk Trot for our first dressage test so we chose Intro B. It is a simple test that I freaked myself out over. I thought I was going to forget it but surprisingly I didn't.

Our warmup was great! He was paying attention and I got him into a really nice, forward, straight, stretchy trot and a few moments of collected trot. I guess they were running early and they asked me if I wanted to do my test early. I thought everything was going great so why not get it over with?

The dressage test was in an indoor arena complete with doors, windows, mirrors, and a barn attached to the longside where B is. Stalls were being picked and horses were being shuffled in the barn as I did my test. Elsa was also not in his sight...But I got in the arena and got his attention on me. They are supposed to give a 2 minutes warmup but I didn't even get to make a circle of trot before they rang the bell. I started my test by making a great square turn onto the centerline, stopping square right at X,  and saluting only to have them ring the bell and call me over. The judges asked if I was doing Intro B or A for my test. Nowhere did I ever write down that I wanted to do Intro A so I have no diea why they asked. But I started to freak out since I thought somehow the show committee mixed it up and I would have to memorize a new test on the dot. Luckily, the judge just rumaged through some papers and allowed my to restart my test. Unfortunately, that whole mix up completely screwed up our test. I don't know what happened but it everything we had going for us completely fell apart. I got to circle him once at the trot then start my test. He way over shot the centerline and was buldging the entire way down. He wouldn't stand still long enough for me to salute. From here on out we didn't even trot the test, we racked it. WTF JET?! He never racks and he decides to in a dressage test?! swell... Our circles were not circular and our transitions plain ol' stunk. We got the highest score of the day: a 48.something%. Woo! Needless to say, after dressage we were 12th out of 12 in our division.

After dressage, I took him back out to the warmup arena to canter him a bit. Elsa's test was the test right after ours so when she was done, she got untacked, loaded, and left to go home. Jet had a meltdown. He was bucking and spooking, and racked some more! I finally got him sane enough to feel safe to canter him with some little walk trotters in the ring. His canter was actually amazing! The best canter I have ever ridden on him. Going to the right (our bad way) he did a little buck but that buck really got him stretching his back and using his hind end so I didn't mind it. I walked him out while I waited for my Mom to get back with the trailer so I could get ready for Cross Country.

The trip to take Elsa home and come back with the trailer should have taken no more than 15 minutes. 45 minutes later...they still weren't back. I began to think we were just going to have to do cross country in our dressage gear. I was supposed to be up and walking him around by 1 and they finally pulled in the show grounds around 12:55. I got my cross country stuff out of the truck and trailer and whipped it on me and Jet. Thank god my friend Ashley was there to hold Jet, who was prancing back and forth non-stop while whinnying like an idiot, for me while I got him ready. By 1:05, I had somehow managed to make my way to the cross country warmup wayyyy at the back of the facility. after walking him around a bit, we picked up the trot only to have up spook not even 5 seconds later. What a great sign...But I kept moving him forward with a smile on my face (did I mention I was laughing at him during dressage?). Gotta love my idiotic horse. We warmed up over a crossrail and some logs and he was superman-ing everything. A crossrail quickly turned into an imaginary 3' oxer. I felt like I needed a cape so I could be superwoman. After a few times going over the jumps, he settled down so I made my way down to the cross country course.

The cross country course is an enclosed field with about 15-20 jumps. You get to design your own course by choosing 10-12 of the jumps in the field. You can jump 10 different jumps or you could jump the same one 10 times. I really liked this for his first cross country course because a.) I can pick the jumps I want to do b.) Its in a field so if I fall off I don't have to worry about a runaway pony and c.) My friends and family can watch and laugh at me. We went into the start box, had a count down, then off we went! He was flyingggg the entire time. I literally had to bring him down to a walk at one point so I didn't blow my next fence. The ground was a bit slippery from the rain we had the day and night before so we almost ran into some trouble coing off of our 5th fence. We jumped jumps ranging from little logs to Beginner Novice Fences. He absolutely LOVED it! His ear were up the entire time and he just wanted to keep going. There were some fences that I thought he would be spooky and look at but he never gave any of them a second look. I did get left behind on most of the fences since he was still superman-ing them but the few bigger fences we did, he took them really really well. He bucked a few times and almost got me off once. Silly horse. We went clear for cross country and we both has a blast! It was probably our favorite part.

I had a two hour break until I had Stadium so I put him on the trailer to chill and eat hay for a bit. He was whinnying non-stop. About 40 minutes before stadium, I got him off and walked him around then tacked him up. I had plenty of time to warm him up over some crossrails in the indoor (he was fine in the indoor this time...) They called my number earlier than I was expecting but we were ready. We went in to our first ever crossrail course ever. The bell rang and we were off yet again. I decided to keep it at a trot for stadium because of our crazy cross country and because it was a course with some tight spots. The first fence had flowerboxes but he went right over it, no problem. The second and third fences formed a line. The first part was a rainbow railed crossrail with a groundline and the second part was a somewhat intimidating plank crossrail. He went over both no problem. I really had to keep him straight after our third fence to get him deep in the corner for out fourth fence, a yellow and green railed fence with a rolltop as wings on the side. The fifth fence, combined with the fourth fence, formed a broken line. The fifth fence was a grey fence with a wall forming wings on the side. The sixth fence was in the corner and was a friendly natural looking crossrail with groundlines. The seventh fence was a two stride line that he handles perfectly. We rounded the corner to come to our eigth fence with had blue barrels as wings to the side and finished the course off with a friendly fence. He handled it great! Iwas extremely proud. By this point in the day, he had settled in and gotten over the fact that Elsa had left him.

We finished the day 8th out of 12th riders and got ourselves a brown ribbon. I showed it to my dad and said "I got a poop colored ribbon." He replied by saying, "yeah, its because you did a shitty job. HAHAHA" Obviously, he was joking and it made everyone chuckle. It was more than I was expecting since I had no vision of even getting a ribbon. I didn't really care about the ribbon. I was more happy that Jet had a good time jumping and we went double clear in cross country and stadium. Eventing is defintely something I plan to do in the future and something I can now cross off of my bucket list.

Pictures and videos coming soon!

What In The World Have I been Up To?

Jet and I have been doing pretty well. After the last show, I was worried that I had pushed too far to fast lameness wise but he has been perfectly fine since then!

We have really been working on his canter. Going to the left, he has made noticeable improvements but unfortunately I can't say the same for the right lead canter. Any tips? He will pick it up but he leans in, counterbends and is fast. I know all of it is due to him being extremely unbalanced and I know he is tighter on his left side making it harder for him to stretch it and bend to the right. I really try to encourage his right hing leg to move forward and underneath himself but I don't seem to be getting anywhere. In a field, he is much better and balanced but my tiny 70x80ft "riding ring" is not giving him the same oppurtunity to stretch and balance on a straightaway.

We have also started jumping again. We started out with crossrails at the very beginning of September and have managed to work our way up to 2'3" at my friend's house (she has a much better set up for jumping than I do). We have even started working on lines! He seems to be enjoying it or atleast putting up with it. I don't see him ever going much higher than this but I guess time will tell. Here are some videos:

X-rail

2'3"

X-rail to 2'3"

Cantering 2'3"

Best Vid!

And a few pics (:

2'3"

MK riding Jet

 The boy himself (:

Our competition schedule for the rest of the year looks like this:

October 2nd: Flatlands Combined Test or Horse Trials, haven't decided yet

October 15th: Fall Show at my School

October 23rd: Last Haskins Show

October 30th: Apple Knoll Halloween Hunter Pace

We have a busy month coming up! I hope we are ready!!

Two Shows in Three Days

August 12th, 2011- Rehoboth Fair

So I decided to give Rehoboth Fair a go. After weeks of trying to convince Mary-Kate to go, she finally decided to go so I felt obligated to also go. I didn't want to push anything too far so I only did the in-hand class and the 3 w/t flat classes for my age division.

He was fine until he saw Katie (Mary-Kate's horse) there. When he saw her, he became obnoxious. Kicking, bolting, rearing, just plain being rude and difficult. I put him in "timeout" (in the trailer) for a bit. when I took him off, he had more of a brain.

We went into the in-hand class and he lost his brain again. I don't think he stood still for more than 10 seconds. He was moving back and forth, kicking, and whinnying like crazy. There were about 20 horses in this class too....greaaat. Just what we need...a bunch of horses in a ring. NOT. I was going to just excuse myself from the class but I decided to work through it and not let him win. It was a good learning experience over all. Out of all 20 people in the class, I was the only person who knew how to move around the judge in an in-hand class. Thankfully, Jet stood reasonably still when the judge was looking at him too. Somehow, we ended up placing in the class. Out of some GORGEOUS horses that stood still, we placed 6th. I guess knowing how to move around the judge really does have an effect on scores.

After the in-hand, I put him back on the trailer to chill. Hours later, I took him out and tacked him up. By this time, Mary-Kate had already finished her classes and took Katie home. After 10 minutes of Jet frantically trying to look for Katie, he calmed down. We went into our classes and showed what Standardbreds are capable of! We ended up with 1st in Equitation, 2nd in Pleasure, and 1st in Horsemanship. So throughout the day and the many horses we showed against, Jet pulled through in the ring (somewhat) and showcased the breed well.

Here are two of our classes:
Jr. Walk Trot Equitation- Rehoboth Fair
Jr. Walk Trot Horsemanship- Rehoboth Fair

August 14th, 2011- Haskins 4-H and Open Horse Show

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD! It was Daddy's birthday this past Sunday. I also had a Haskins show that day. Dad was working 7-3 anyways so I didn't feel to bad about going. We got there surprised to see very few trailers there compared to what is normally there. I looked around for people who were usually in my division and didn't see them.

Jet was all jacked up for some reason. Not sure why. He was spooking, whinnying, and such. I walked him around, then brushed him and tacked him up. By the time we got in the ring for warm up, he was perfectly fine. He felt great in the warm up. Moving straight, forward, and underneath himself. I felt like we had a good shot in our classes for the day if we could ride like that in them. My first class is called and I go in the ring. I turn around and see....nobody...I was the only one in my classes!!

Needless to say, I won them all ;) The judge didn't cut the class time short. He even threw in some unexpected things for us that we usually don't have in our normal classes. this included: changes of direction at the trot, extended trot, backing up, trotting twice in one direction, etc. I was very thankful he didn't cut the class short because I was the only one in it. I thanked him several times for it.

Trail was interesting...Jet wasn't himself...He usually nails trail but that day he just wasn't in the mood. He paced when we went to weave the cones at a trot. WTF JET?! You're not even a pacer!! You are a trotter! Grrr pony... He was difficult.

I know the trail judge personally and after the show she came up to me and said that he was moving funny. She noticed him pace (obviously) and that he was taking a noticeably shorter stride in his right hind. I've always known he does that but when it was extremely noticeable to a judge and they point it out to me, I think about it more. I asked her to watch him move and she pointed it out again.

I started to freak out. What if i re-injured my horse because I pushed him too far to soon? I know it is only walk trot...but still. In the last class I had (Discipline Rail) I really felt it. He felt off in his front end too..he didn't feel this way in any of the other classes. He actually felt extremely lame for about 2 strides in the class. The judge didn't say anything though...

I couldn't smile throughout the class. I took my ribbon and jar of candy that I was disgusted  to have at that point in time and walked out of the class. Why did I do this to my horse for a lousy $2 ribbon? I was so upset. I was crying. I got off immediately, loosened the girth and thoroughly felt all of his legs. I didn't feel any swelling or heat or anything in his hooves. I took a deep breath and just sat there for a second. I couldn't comprehend it. Why did he feel so different in such a short amount of time? He was fine until we did trail... I walked him around and watched his legs and I saw it. It was worse than how he usually moves. He usually doesn't engage that leg as much (you can see in the video from the Fair) but this was just horrible.

I left the show, still crying, and texted my Aunt. We decided to give him Monday off and do a light stretchy ride Tuesday and re-evaluate then. We finally got back to the house after what seemed like a 3 hour car ride (it was actually only 20 minutes). I got him off the trailer and he was fine. He was moving 10x better and was in a great mood. Again, I texted my Aunt. We agreed that he was tired, sick of being stuck in a trailer for a while, and the footing was crappy (it got SOOOO deep by my last class, he probably had a hard time moving in it.) I wasn't convinced that that was the reason though. I still, to this moment, feel like I broke my horse and I am a terrible owner. In a few minutes, I am going to go ride him and see how he feels. *Fingers Crossed*

Back At It

Jet is sound again! For the first few days, we kept it to a short 30 min w/t ride with mostly walking. He is now back to his normal workout. We have a lot to work on and fix but I am surprised at how he is doing for having 2 weeks off. Hopefully we will be ready for the Haskins Show this weekend. We were supposed to do Rehoboth Fair this Friday but I think ti would be overkill for a horse that just had 2 weeks off and the trailering is a lot on his legs so I think we will pass on it for this year. There is always next year! We also have backed out on the Breed Demo we were supposed to do the 21st. Mary-Kate decided not to bring her horse so I wouldn't want to waste a 15 min demo on just one horse. Instead, we will be going to a little jumper show at Clover Valley on the 22nd and *hopefully* we will do ground poles and x-rails!

Videos will be coming soon if this rain stops!

A new definition to accident prone

*knock on wood* It looks like Jet is sound again. I have had quite the hectic time trying to pinpoint what exactly he injured. At first, I saw the swollen, cut up knee. The swelling went down and then I saw the swollen cannon bone on the other front leg. That swelling also went down. Finally, I noticed a bit of swelling on his right hind near the fetlock. That is all cleared up too. Fingers crossed that he will actually be rideable again soon!

I swear this horse is trying to hurt himself. In the past, he has managed to get all sorts of cuts and scrapes in unusual places. He has even pulled a suspensory, broken his nose, and ripped half of his face off. He sure is unique!

Since he was unrideable for the Haskins show, I took my Mom's horse instead. I rode her maybe 6 times in the week and a half before the show and that was the only work she has gotten in months. I was worried about her being nervous in new places (like she usually is) but horses never cease to amaze me. Elsa was PERFECT! We ended up with three 1sts and a 2nd, which landed us champion Green Horse of the day and also matched me and Jet point wise for year end awards. I plan on finishing out the season with Jet as long as he is comfortable.

My discovery in Elsa's showing capabilities has rubbed off on my little sister. She had an unusual sudden interest in riding 24/7 and planning for shows with Elsa after I showed her. Funny how things work. It benefits everyone though. I got to ride Elsa (who I enjoy riding) and brought her to her first off farm show and it was a HUGE success, and now she is in regular work and will be out in the show circuit. My sister is actually taking her to a dressage show this weekend. I was planning to go with Jet but I'm not willing to push it so soon after his injury.

My Aunt is coming tomorrow to take a look at him and hopefully give the OK to ride again. I'll update soon!

The Lame Game.

So Mr. Jet decided to bang up his knee on Monday. At first, I didn't really think much of it. All I saw was a small cut (not even a cut, just the hair was removed) on his right front knee. I trotted him out and he looked fine to me. Tuesday rolls around and the knee is swollen, with no heat. I trotted him out on a straightaway and again, he looked sound. Wednesday the knee is still swollen, no heat and he is still sound.

Thursday, a little less swollen, no heat. I lunged him a bit to see him go both directions in the morning. To the right (his bad way) he was completely fine. To the left, he looked slightly off on him...left front...what the heck Jet?! I felt that leg up and down and there is no heat, swelling, or anything.

Throughout all of this, I have been hosing his leg ATLEAST 2x a day for 20-25 min each time then putting Like Ice on it. Thursday I hosed both legs a few times during the day then lunged him again at night. He looked almost perfectly sound in both directions and only showed a shortness of stride around sharp turns in his left front. There has been no head bobbing, ouchiness on any types of terrain, lack of putting weight on it or anything like that. I attempted to give him a bit of bute but the fella can smell it from a mile away and won't eat anything with bute in it. I tried mixing it with grain, apples, carrots, maple syrup....nothing worked.

I am praying he will be fine tomorrow. We have a show *planned* for Sunday but if he isn't better by tomorrow, I will call it off. It isn't a big show anyways (just a few w/t classes) so its not much to fret over. If he is sound tomorrow, I will let him have that day off because the heat index will be around 110 degrees (he has had since Monday off but is the type of horse that doesn't have to be worked every. single. day.) then ride him Saturday and see how he feels undersaddle. If all is good, we will go to the show. If not, I won't be too upset over it.

I'll post again tomorrow with an update and a video if I can find the dang camera charger.

SPHO Awards Program

If you own a Standardbred, please consider joining  the SPHO of MA and participating in our Awards Program. Joining the SPHO of MA is free and the Awards Program is free unless you would like to send a donation to help get it started (but it is completely optional). Whether you show or not, there is an award for you! Please consider!

Please visit www.standardbredhorse.com for the forms and more info

Riding updates!

Jet and I have been working hard while dodging raindrops and the heat. We have taken a few lessons lately with my Aunt and there has been lots of improvement.


The first thing she picked up on was that he is constantly bending to the left. He braces and balances on my left rein. He uses it to hold himself up in both directions. So how are we fixing it? I'm basically riding without it. I have more contact with my right rein so I can send energy from my left leg and catch in in his right jaw. Now, I can feel him moving much straighter in both directions! Instead of holding the left rein when I turn him, I apply pressure on it, then give, then more pressure if needed, and then give again. I keep the contact with my right rein and leg therefore keeping his neck and head centered.


We then did an exercise where I changed my diagonal several times down the long side of the area we were working in. At first we did the exercise going left.,I could easily tell that I was on the incorrect diagonal. Why? He was bending to the left so it when I changed my diagonal as if I was going to the right, it felt weird. He isn't straight going to the right but since we were going left, it just made everything feel so off balance. As we kept doing the exercise and worked on getting him straight, I felt that both diagonals felt correct. Why? We were moving straight! 


Next, we noticed that he anticipates things. For example: when we are going to turn. The solution? Change things up. Turn earlier, turn later, surprise him, keep him waiting, etc. Basically getting his attention on me. He would start bending to the left before we would turn going left so we brought him slightly to the right before asking him to go around the corner. It worked really well.


He got a massage this past lesson and the masseuse noted that his left side was tight and his right hind leg was weak. Everything made sense. He isn't engaging his hind right since I had been blocking him in his left jaw. His left side is tight because he is always contracting it when he bends to the left and doesn't extend it since he has a hard time bending to the right. We are working on loosening his left side and now we have his hind right getting engaged. I am pushing him forward, asking him to come underneath himself with my right leg. I constantly have to keep asking him or he gives up. But he is improving!


On a different note, I pulled him mane today! I will have pics soon! And for those of you that do not know, I have a little Hackney pony named Biscuit. This little rescue has spent his recent days doing nothing. I have tried lunging him before but all he would do is swing his haunches around and keep his head facing me at all times. I tried several times but I gave up. Well I have been determined to fix this and I have! He now lunges w/t/c and over ground poles! It is extremely cute. Maybe I will have someone video it for me soon! 


That's it for now!

Long Mane vs. Short Mane?

I will have a riding update tomorrow! For now, which do you like better:

Short Mane:

Means hunter braids for shows or I could leave it down and not braid at all.

Long mane:

I can do running braids for shows, gives me a handle when I ride bareback but it gets in the way sometimes and gets caught underneath the saddle pad.

Your opinions?

Stb People I'd Like to Meet

I follow a lot of people on Blogger and there are a few people I would love to meet in the Standardbred world. I don't follow that many people on here that are Standardbred people, but the people that I do follow are great role models that I look up to. Each of them is devoted to the Standardbred and are excellent riders. I hope to one day be as much of a horse-knowledgeable person and great rider. In no particular order, they are:

First there is the most active blogger out of the three, Dom. "A Collection of Madcap Escapades" (http://harnessphoto.blogspot.com/) follows the journey of Ozzy (her Standardbred), Herbie (the famous barn dog), Dom and her crazy adventures, and oh so much more. Dom is part of the Standardbred Retirement Foundation which helps place Standardbreds in pleasure or companion homes after they retired from the track. She gets to play around with Stanadrdbreds all day long and I am extremely jealous. She is also an endurance rider and competes around New England (her most recent adventure was in Maine!). Unfortunately, she is not using Ozzy right now due to him being in a bit of a funk. I look up to Dom in many ways. She is a helpful person who is always willing to lend out a hand to those in need, but she doesn't take crap from anyone. She definitely stands up for herself. She is true to herself and others and has quite the sense of humor. If you could describe her riding in a few words, it would be 'non-stop adventure.' She is constantly galloping across fields,sinking her horse in mud, trail riding, skijourning, riding bridleless, and just plain ol' having a good time. Everyone should be like that! She writes extremelyyyy well and reading her blog is like reading a story and it is complete with pictures! She is a fantastic photographer as well. I hope to one day be as great of a photographer as her aswell as the amazing rider, trainer, and all around horse person that she is.

Next is Dom's partner in crime, Erin. "Now THAT's A Trot" (http://nowthatsatrot.blogspot.com/) follows the training and lives of Erin's TWO Standardbreds: Willie and Jabby. Willie is a bit older and is slowing down but her new horse Jabby is filling in for the lack of work on Willie's behalf. Erin is also part of SRF which is just a bag of jealously for me right there. Getting to play around with Standardbreds on a beautiful facility WITH your best friend? I'd take that any day. Erin is an extremely nice person and knows how to have a good time. I am truely amazed at how far her horses come in just a few short months. Jabby is now already jumping! Her great riding abilities are shown in the progress of her horses and the in the pictures Dom occasionally snap of her. I wish I could be able to have two Stanadardbreds and ride and love them like she does. Erin used to show more in the past but with Willie slowing down and Jabby speeding up, she isn't all that active in it right now. I love reading her blog and seeing her 'Wordless Wednesday' pictures! She tells everything from riding logs, feeding schedules, etc. and I have learned a lot from reading it. Willie's story has really touched me. He raced over 200 times under the name "From One to Sixty." After his racing career, he was able to become a successful riding and showing horse just like I want Jet to be. Erin has made him the wonderful horse is today and I hope I can have a bond with my horses like she does with hers. She truly loves and cares about them so much. Just like Dom, I hope to one day be as great of a horse person and rider as she is.

And last but not least, I would like to meet Elizabeth. "Standardbred Excellence" (http://standardbredexcellence.blogspot.com/) follows the training and showing of Elizabeth's two Standardbred mares Dreamy Starlet and Revenue Stream. Dreamy is a well known Standardbred and I actually knew of her before I even found the blog! To be quite honest, seeing Dreamy's dressage capabilities gave me hope and drive to get Jet to where she is. Her story is amazing. After being started undersaddle so later in her life, she has come so far. Reva is her younger mare that has just gotten her showing career started this year. She is sweeping up in the shows in Maine right as we speak! I hope that someday Jet will be able to be as calm as Reva in new places. Elizabeth is a teacher, mother, and yet still finds time to ride, train, and show her horses. When I grow up, I want to be able to be successful in my career, be a mother, and still ride and show horses just like she does. Her amazing riding is shown through her horses. They are as close to ideal Standardbreds as I can find. I wish I could become as active in the show world (and as successful) as she is. I admire Elizabeth's desire to showcase the Standardbred as a riding and pleasure horse. She has done everything from showing, to clinics, to marshaling at the racetracks, to being part of the World Equestrian Games! She is also part of both the SPHO (in many states) and the SPS (Standardbred Performance Society). I hope I can be able to juggle my life and still be doing what I love just like she is when I am an adult.

These people are my role models because they are living, breathing examples of who I want to be when I grow up. I want to be true to myself and other and be part of the Standardbred showing and pleasure world. I want to be able to get Standardbreds after their racing career and convert them into the wonderful riding horses that they are. I hope that someday I get to meet all three of these people, but honestly, I don't even know what I would say to them. I'd be in plain and utter shock and overwhelmed at the moment. It would be like meeting Taylor Swift. They are people I look up to and will continue to look up to. I read their blogs every single day, even if they didn't post anything. I have read the majority of their blogs from start to current and watched the horses progress over time. If you are questioning getting a Standardbred, look at what these girls have been able to do with theirs. You will want more than one after you read their blogs!

SPHO of Massachusetts

To all of my fellow Standardbred owners, I have news! The SPHO in MA is quite inactive as of now. I connected with the vice president today and I am hopefully going to try to get it back up in running. As of now, I am putting together a Year End Awards Program. Details should be posted within the next few days at www.standardbredhorse.com

For those of you who have been part of other SPHO's, what do you think are the most important awards to give? Considering there are few members in the SPHO of MA now, I don't think having a bunch of different divisions to have to buy ribbons and awards for would be economically smart. As of now, I have the following categories:

• Two Gait
• Three Gait
• Eventing/Combined Training
• Dressage
• Trail/Hunter Paces/Fox Hunts
• Driving
• Gymkhana/Games
• Hunter/Jumper
• Pleasure Horse
• High Point Junior Rider
• High Point Senior Rider
• High Point Standardbred (based on points)
• Standardbred of the Year (horse that shows the most versatility and showcases the breed the best throughout the year)

Any comments, tips, ideas?

It would also be fantastic if you joined! Membership for the SPHO of MA is completely free for 2011, so why not? You have nothing to loose. I am asking a $10 donation (optional ofcourse) if you would like to be part of the awards program to help pay for the award fees at the end of the year. Membership info is currently up on the website (www.standardbredhorse.com) and the awards program info will be up in a few days.

Concussions, Lameness, and Run Aways. What Fun!

This past month has been quite interesting to say the least. Where to start...


The week after the show, Jet had some time off. I rode him Wednesday, then decided to hop on bareback on Thursday. He was perfect Wednesday and was willing to do anything I asked of him. Thursday went the same way....mostly. I did walk/trot over ground poles and he was doing great! We cantered the poles bareback to work on picking spots and lining up for jumps, etc. All was wonderful. He listened to me, waited when I told him to wait, went when I told him to go. 


After we did that, I decided to work on transitions. Jet started anticipating and got ahead of himself. In one corner, I asked for a walk to canter transition. Instead of going straight and engaging his hind end, he booked it to the side, leaving me hanging on to him sideways. After going around a quarter of the ring, I let go and ended up landing on my head and back apparantly. How? I'm not sure. 


I cracked my helmet pretty good and had a huge gash on my back. I was out for a few seconds and didn't move for a while I was told. My sister watched the whole thing. Instead of coming to see if I was even breathing, she sat there for about a minute and just watched me laying there...then she got my mom. About 5 minutes later, my mom came out to check on me and I was back on him...bareback....cantering...over ground poles....as the sun was going down. I don't remember the fall, all I know is from what my sister told me.


I got a concussion and a nice battle scar. I had a headache for several days, even weeks, afterwards, but I'm no worse for the wear. I rode a horse at school the next day and was in excruciating pain afterwards. Since I have no commonsense, I went home then rode Jet at Hobby Horse with Mom. Yet again, I was in serious pain. Did I learn? Nope. I rode again the next day. Finally, after riding three times and being in serious pain and on the verge of passing out at the end of each ride, I took a week off from riding at home, and two weeks off from riding at school.

This was the cut a few days after the fall. I couldn't wear jeans for over a week because it is right where my pants lie on me.

So after that fiasco, I rode Jet a few times. His feet were getting long, and I brought that to the attention of my mother. Our usual farrier was unable to do their hooves due to family reasons, so mother decided to try a new farrier. Abby had a show with Elsa that weekend and Elsa was in desperate need of her feet being trimmed. Well, the man came and talked to mother and brother. He talked about how each of the horses move and how this and that could do blah and blah. I wish I was there to hear what this guy said, but unfortunately I was at school. He did all of the horses feet. I got home that day to ride, got tacked up, hopped on, and was sadly surprised to see my never-been-lame-in-his-life horse gimping around with me on him. It wasn't obvious from the ground so I didn't take much notice to it. However, when I was picking his feet, I noticed a HUGE change in them. Every thing was extremely different. His feet were all different shapes, different angles, not level, and his toe was filled down at an angle leaving his sole hitting the ground instead of the hoof wall. 

Poor Jet was extremely uncomfortable. Elsa was also lame in her right front. We called out farrier a few days later and she came as soon as she could to see what she could do to fix them up a bit now that her family issues were a bit more settled down. Mr. Farrier took soo much off in all of the wrong places, that she didn't have much to work with. She managed to fix Elsa up a bit, though. With Jet, she decided to put shoes on with a leather cushion. This took the pressure off of the sole of his foot and placed it more on the wall where it should be. He instantly looked more comfortable, but not quite sound.

Three days later, he was sound enough for me to put around on in the trails. We kept it slow for a few days just to make sure he was ok. We are still working him back up to where he should be right now, but atleast he is ride-able.

A few days ago, I decided to go for a bareback trail ride. He was being an angel like usual, We walked and trotted around a bit. We were trotting around when all of a sudden, he stopped, squealed like a little filly, did a 180, bucked, and took off. He put his head in between his legs and had the bit clenched. I tried doing a one rein stop...didn't work. Circles? Nope. trying to atleast bring him to a reasonable canter or trot? Nope. Run him into a tree? Nope. So there I was...useless on my runaway horse. I let him have his head for 2 strides, then with all of my effort I sat back as far as I could and just yanked back. I am quite aware, this is not an appropriate thing to do, but when I am picking between staying on the horse or falling again and risking another concussion, I chose the act of desperation. He threw his head up and finally started to trot. We trotted all the way home through the trails. He jumped every log that was fallen, wove through all the little trees, and was still being a brat. So I got home, and worked him in the ring bareback. 20 minutes later, I got off....then lunged him. By this time, I expected a tired, sweaty horse but nooo. He was still full of energy and not even warm. I ended things on a good note and put him away.

I have had work after school so I haven't been able to get back on, but I am planning to if the weather allows it tomorrow. Fingers crossed!

-Em and Jet

Oh, by the way, please follow me on Youtube! I post new videos frequently and I have recently discovered the powers of windows movie maker! Here is my most recent video of me and some of the other students at my school riding in class:

The Results Are In!

If I said that today was amazing, it would be an understatement. I'm not sure there is a word that sufficiently describes the day I had. It was the best day I have had in a longggg time.


It started in the wee hours of the morning...5am. I woke up, took a shower, then marched on down to the barn to groom and braid the boy. I did a running braid in his mane only to have him shake it out a few minutes later... silly horse. I got Jet all set to go, made sure I had everything, packed and put everything where it needed to be, then waited. My fried Sara came with her truck and trailer to pick us up since our rig is not usable in its current state.


We got to the show right when I wanted to be there. I let Jet get off the trailer and walk around. We walked around the ring, around the trailers, warm up areas, everywhere. I let him munch on some grass, then brought him back to the trailer where I braided him while my amazing friends/sister/brother-in-law made my horse look like he was ready to enter a Grand Prix ring. He was spotless! We tacked him up and I warmed him up.


He was great in warm up. He was better than he has been at home! We even had a bit of an interruption...a miniature horse (one of sixteen that were there) got loose and was causing havoc around the farm. Eventually, the mini was tackled and pig pilled on and brought to control....only to have it get loose again a few hours later.


Ok...lets get to the classes! The first was equitation. There were four horses in my division and everyone of them deserved to be in the Green Horse division. Jet was amazing! We did have one mishap when they decided to test the loud speakers in the middle of my class. It was down for most of the classes before mine and they just haaad to test it right as I was going past the judge... Jet bolted and galloped for a few strides but was easily brought back under control. Right then and there, I thought I blew the class (which I was fine with because I was happy how we did besides that). Little did I know, every other horse in the class did the same thing and some were a lotttt worse than  Jet. We ended up placing FIRST! HECK YEAH! I was ecstatic to say the least. I almost cried. I got off of him and put him in the trailer so he could chill for a little bit and munch on some hay.


The next class was pleasure. I failed to realize how quickly the classes were going and this snook up on me a bit. We only got about 3 minutes of warm up. Throughout the day, Jet had many mini-meltdowns. First he spooked at a branch on the ground and he started rearing, then we took off a few times, reared a few more, etc. At least it added some entertainment to the day! For one reason or another, Jet clicked into 'racehorse' mode right before we went in the pleasure ring. He just wanted to go. But as soon as we stepped into the ring, he calmed down and listened to me. We were very forward in that class and counterbent at a few times when he was in the 'spooky corner', but he was better than he has been before. WAY better. I think we may have broke once right before they called for a walk, so I booted him and he took a canter step but the judge didn't really see it. We ended up placing second in pleasure! I was super surprised considering we never place well in pleasure! By this point in the day, I felt like some sort of God. I was ontop of my world because my horse was actually tuning into me in the show ring.


Next we headed into the trail ring. I don't think I have ever had such an amazing trail class! We had to walk into a back through, then back through it, walk half way over a pole(front feet on one side, hind on the other), walk over 5 poles, do a 360 turn to the right in a box, trot around some cones, then walk over the bridge. He was PERFECT! He didn't take a wrong step in this. I did, though. We went over the bridge and to me it felt like he scooted off to the side of it so I did it again...but when I went back and watched the video, he just took big, awkward steps over it but he did go over it the first time. Oh well, we did it an extra time. We won this class too!!


Last, but not least, was our favorite class: discipline rail. Discipline rail is basically a command class where you don't get 'out' if you don't follow the command. We rocked this class! Our transitions were spot on, he stood still, backed up perfectly, and even sorta kinda did an extended trot! I felt that this was our best class because it kept his mind busy, and my body busy. We won this too! 


If you didn't already guess, we got CHAMPION in our division! I can not believe it! My horse was a super star today. I'm so proud of him! Its not about the ribbons, its about the experience. It was a great experience for both me and Jet. I had a great time with my friends, saw some people I haven't seen in a while, and learned a lot. I still can't believe MY horse did so well and is smart enough to switch from play mode to show mode so quickly. I love him<3 

First Show of the Season

When the weather cooperates and the homework isn't too much, I have ridden pretty consistently. Some days it will be a short 20 minute walk trot ride and others will be 1 hour+ walk, trot, canter rides. We haven't jumped yet and probably won't for a while until he is back in shape. However, we have been doing lots of ground pole work.


This past week, we have been preparing for our first show of the season! We are doing the 4-h show series at Haskins again this year. Since it is the last year we qualify for it, we are doing the Green Horse Division again. Might as well take advantage of it while we can! 


I made the decision to not pull Jet's mane for this show. His mane is helping him in keeping the bugs off of his neck and I didn't have anything to pull it with...so we will be *attempting* a running braid for this show. I already know it is going to be a disaster...oh well! It isn't about the braids, its about the experience.


I'm not expecting much for this show and my goals are simple:
1.) Get there on time
2.) Be safe and controlled
3.) Go over the ground poles in trail like a normal horse
4.) Not break from the trot or go into a canter during the classes
5.) Not kill anyone before, during, or after the show.


Basically, I was a nice, calm, relaxing day and a good experience for Jet. I could care less if we won 4 blue ribbons or not a single ribbon at all. I will definitely take pictures and videos for everyone and let you know how we did!

Rides

Jet and I have been hard at work. We have been doing w/t/c under saddle in the ring recently with trail rides thrown in here and there. He has been really good about cantering lately. He picks it up great and can keep it all the way around the ring with out bucking. When we are trotting, he knows hat he should do and he tries but he's lacking the muscle to get him all the way there. It hasn't been all work, work, work though...I have decided to introduce Jet to a rope because I hope to do roping, penning, barrels, poles, etc in the future and we have to start somewhere.

So I got the rope out, let him sniff it, touched him with it all over, swung it around....I was totally expecting a melt don when I started swinging it above his head but this was the result....

Yep. He's definitely going to be a roper!

Back in Work!

The snow has finally cleared which means we are back in work!

I have kept the riding fun and entertaining. Jet has a lot of excess energy built up! What does that mean? Trail rides. Lots of trail rides. We both absolutely love the trails and would rather be out there then stuck going in little circles in the ring. We have done three trail rides so far, and each one has been better than the one before it.

Three things that summarize the trail rides would be: bucking, bulging, and no brakes. Each day, these all improve. In fact, we ever did out first ever flying lead change! We were cantering in a field, he wanted to go home and I wanted to circle so I picked him up on the outside and asked for the change and surprisingly, he gave it to me! I was SO proud! After that, we called it a day.

We have had our fair share of fights as well. There is this one corner where he always bulges, bucks, hops, or does something. It gets quite interesting....but I have won the battle! After going by it a few times now, he is a good boy.

Today Mary-Kate and I rode him in the ring. He definitely needs a lot of work! With time everything will be put back together and I will get into more detail about exactly what's going on later. We both rode for about 30 minutes on him, totaling up to an hour. I warmed him up, she cooled him out. In the middle, we both did lots of trot work and short canters. Its great to be back in the saddle!

In case you didn't notice, I changed the design of the blog a bit as well as the top picture! And here it is again:

My Handsome man<3

Well, that's it for now!

-Emily and Jet

A lot of nothing

Lately, a lot of nothing has been going on. I am on school vacation and yet...I can't ride. Why you might ask? ICE! The past two months have been snowing almost nonstop. We had atleast one day off from school per week for five straight weeks in a row. Now with the warmer weather coming about, the snow has melted a bit during the day, then it refreezes at night.

Therefore, not a lot of riding has been going on. The only place I can ride is on my street which is not ideal in any situation. I don't do a lot with Jet, but it keeps him sane. I have been doing a lot of bareback riding, riding in just a halter, etc. Jet seems to enjoy the bonding time but boy....he is ready to get back in work. I have been keeping his mind busy with teaching him tricks. I will have to get some pictures of them!

This is how he keeps himself exercised.

Yipee!

Even though he loves to bounce around like a maniac, when I get on him he takes great care of me and goes into riding mode

I love my boy<3

Hopefully the weather will rally start to warm up and all of this now disappears. When that happens, I will be sure to post more often (:

-Emily and Jet