Well Done!

I got the chance to see Cassie work with the trainer yesterday! I had a few odds and ends to bring up to her prior to my departure so headed up there. The trainer waited to work with her so I could watch. Prior to, she got treated to another beauty day which included another bath (she's definitely not yellow anymore!), and a hair cut! She already looks like a million bucks (hmmm...maybe buck is not the right word when used in a sentence describing Cassie, LOL)

Anyway, she did great in the cross ties- stood very solid for polos, and for bridling too. They saddled her in the roundpen- and yes, she definitely was nervous. I think she holds herself tense, and while she is still for the saddle, she blows once she can get away. Once she becomes more comfortable with the trainer and the assistants (a new one yesterday, which rocked her world again), she'll be fine for that initial saddling. All the same, I'm very proud of her because she's come far enough to allow others to work with her.

Trainer was great- btw. Very patient, and rewarding. So was the assistant. Cassie had nothing to fear, and soon calmed down. And gosh, when she calms and moves in a relaxed way- she's beautiful.

Trainer did mounting exercises from BOTH sides(so happy to see a dressage trainer do mounting from both sides, hanging from the saddle while being walked around, touching her all over- she did everything I did with Cassie, which is great reinforcement). She finally mounted up and had her assistant walk around. Trainer asked me if she knows halt, and I laughed and said take a deep breath and sit, Cassie stopped dead. Over and over again. Trainer then tried trot while on the longe, and practiced halts- had a good laugh- halt is Cassie's favorite. She sits on that bum. Must be the western horse in her coming out. Trainer eventually walked and trotted off the line too. Cassie got nervous a few times with the new rider on her back- but trainer was very good, patient, light, and balanced- everything you want for a young, terrified equine.

I think she's perfect for Cassie- she's everything I was looking for in a dressage trainer- the perfect balance of what Cassie needs. I'm so excited for us! Cassie is going to turn out great. What's even better- I had the pleasure of watching Trainer work with a more advanced horse- and she's an awesome rider. Beautiful. YAY!

Training Update

So, I got a call from the trainer yesterday.

Me: "Hello?"

Trainer: "Uhh, Allyson?"

Me, heart in stomach: "Yes?"

Trainer: "Hi its Trainer. I'm calling you about your mare, Cassie."

Me, heart sinks further into stomach: "Oh Hi, how are you?"

Trainer: PAUSE...."Good." Another long PAAAAAUUUUUSSSSSSSE, "I've been meaning to call you but I figured I'd give her another day of work before I do."

Me, to myself: O Crap in heaven...O no O no O no

Trainer: "She's doing really good, actually"

Me: PSYCH!!.... then *sigh* ...outloud, "Oh really?"

Trainer: "yes, I can see what you mean about her sensitivity and need to bond with someone. She was pretty darn scared of me yesterday, and she didn't like the girth too much- she bucked a lot in the round pen and zoomed around in circles."

Me: "Yea, that sounds like a scared Appy Mare. She'll come around, she just needs to trust you first."

Trainer: "She's already doing better today. She stood rock still for the polos, was able to walk at the end of the longe line, and I got on and walked her around today. She also got a bath, so she's all cleaned up."

Me: "Awesome!"

Trainer: "I'm going to take it slow with her, if we're walking and trotting by the end of the week, I'll call it success. I don't want to lose her trust."

Me: "I'd do the same thing- gain her trust first, and stay safe."


So, pretty much what I expected would happen, happened. Cassie needs to know you before you attempt any acrobatics with her. IF she doesn't know you, she will act like a complete idiot- zooming everywhere, total wild horse-OMG-I-don't-know-how-to-do-any-of-this, type drama. The second she realizes you dont have a fork and knife in ur pocket ready to dine on her, she calms down and will give you some try. If you work with her fairly, then she'll really start to give- like 200% I can't wait for the trainer to call me and tell me what a change she's made. It'll happen, I predict, next Wednesday. :)

I'm going up there today to bring some belongings up to her- I can't wait to see how she is doing!

Fat Boy: Perspectives

So with Cassie gone, I needed to find Cabo an equine companion for the next couple weeks until the new horses arrive.

A friend of mine just got a new horse. New horse is skinny-ish. Not emaciated, but definitely needs groceries.

Decided to turn Cabo out with new horse in the arena to check compatibility. They were fine. the sniffed noses. they explored the plexiglass windows together, they rolled. All was good.

Except while watching them, I realized Cabo is HUGE. You know, I must have a complex- i think of myself as too huge, and think of the horses as never-too-huge. They take a breath and I see a rib and I go "OMG" WTF? Forest or trees?

So it was on Monday when I dropped Cassie off the trainer says "well, it looks like she hasn't missed a meal in awhile"...and then watching Fat Boy aka Jelly Bum next to Slim Mare I saw him for what he is: FAT. The comparison was shocking. He looked like a war tank next to her. I think he is still a hunkalove, but c'mon...not that much love!

The boy gets hay, super supplement, and bioflax ultra. Time to cut back on the hay, and increase exercise. Sorry, dude, party's over.

First Day of School

Yesterday we brought Cassie to meet her trainer, and her new farm. :) She did really well- loaded great, unloaded (though took about 200 baby steps backwards to the edge of the ramp, LOL it was really funny to watch- so cautious)

Went in her stall and happily started munching on the hay. School starts today- muhahah :)


I'm going to go up there on Friday ish to check in on her and to bring up her fly sheet and other things she may need while I am gone.


Good luck, Cass- be a good girl!!


As a result- Cabo also got "worked" yesterday- I had to take advantage of the weather. So we walked around the track and in the arena- just putzed around the farm. He's fat- the boy needs a job.

What's with the Cold?

So frustrated. Junk for weather. Junk for time. BUT getting stuff ready for Miss Cassie. Like today- I resisted the urge to buy new brushes and washed the ones I have. Man, new brushes would've been really fun. I also washed her groom tote. I consolidated Quik Silver shampoo into 1 bottle since I had 3 half filled ones laying around. I wiped off the show sheen bottles, and grabbed some mane n tail for more frequent washin's. I washed her solo comb, but i think I need to attack it with a grime buster and a toothbrush- that one is particularly gross. But expensive, so no getting a replacement.

In a little bit I'm going to wash the plastic tote that will carry all her stuff.

I also managed to find SafeChoice and started her on it today.

My friend had a new sheet that she let me buy off her- perfect so now I can send La's to get cleaned, waterproofed and repaired.

I even cleaned her bridle. Still have to clean the bits. If anyone is looking for a rockin' leather conditioner, use Effol Leather Balm. It smells weird- sort of like powder, which is out of place in an environment that smells like shit. And they dont really mix well. But you get used to it- and then the smell becomes addicting. And the balm does an awesome job. Way better than leather therapy. Compared to this Effol stuff, Leather Therapy is junk. How do I know? The other day I used it on my new-ish western saddle- still creaky and dry leather, needs to be broken in. But the leather was really thirsty. So I used the balm stuff and today checked in on my saddle and WHOA MOMMA! Totally different saddle- super soft and loffly. Product approved.

Ok that is enough rambling for now. Nothing else is new or exciting.

Preparation Station

So, Miss Cassie- La is definitely going to training on the 20th. She's got to bring with her polos, her bridle & bits, grooming brushes, show sheen, shampoo- all the stuff to bring out the fancy show horse that she is inside, LOL.

So yesterday during my errand running, i picked up some of those things that she will need to bring with her. This weekend i'll be assembling her "overnight" bag, LOL. Why is it that i have several sets of polos that are missing a wrap? Is that like the equine version of losing socks in the dryer?

Anyhoo- I also had a hot nut to condition my saddles- so got some more supplies, and last night, when about tack cleaning and conditioning. my hands, despite scrubbing, still have the conditioner smell on them.

Cabo also got braided last night. his mane has gotten unruly- flip flopping from side to side, mostly at the top. So I plaited them...and he looks like a child's pony right now, LOL.

Other things to do prior to the 20th:

• slow transition to Safechoice, as that is what she'll be eating.
• clean and fix her turn-out sheet so she doesn't look like the Slumdog of the barn.
• more conditioning work
• wearing tack
• maybe even hop on a couple times to remind her of her pre-training skillz.

Lots to do!

Ponying 101

The last of the beautiful weather was yesterday. What a depressing thought. I hope it comes back soon.

In any case, I decided that I still needed to do something with the equines, and myself- and I really didnt feel like going for another jog. So I decided to teach them how to pony and be ponied.

I dont know if Cabo has ever ponied before- but he did yesterday! LOL All that rope twirling and flinging paid off- because he didn't care at all when the rope was hitting him on his scary right side.

Cassie, I think has been ponied- probably when she was with Jon, because she knew what she was doing. She didn't take too nicely to swapping sides and being led from her right- something to work on because I think she should follow from both. In all fairness, I really dont lead her enough from the right- so she'd be equally as stiff on the ground too.

All in all, I think it was a great exercise for both horses. Cabo seemed to really like being boss man- I had him going walk/trot- and he really liked to go withuot too much attention being paid to him. Cassie liked to follow along- so it suited her as well. It suited the rider because she had so much to think about that her riding, based on the mirrors, was actually pretty good, LOL.

The great news is that my western saddle fits Fat Boy pretty well. Nice even sweat, no pinching shoulders. I need to ride in it more to break it in.

The not-so-great part of ponying was that Cassie is the bigger horse. Technically I should pony off of something that is stronger than her- but oh well. If she were really rank I wouldnt have tried it. Cabo was funny though- at one point, during our attempt to pony her from her right side- she stuck, and Cabo couldnt figure out how to go forward. So we had to go around, effectively disengaging her hinds and fronts a little for her to unstick her feet, rewarding when she moved. Just took a little creativity- not pure muscle.

After our 101 session in the arena, I took them out and went for a walk outside, right where we jogged the day before. It was getting chilly by then, so we went for one lap- but both horses did awesome. Had to cross water, pass barking dogs and a dude weed eating- no issues.

Tonight they won't get any work because I have to work late and go to a dinner- so it'll be all I can do to run up there to do chores.

But Thursday is another day!

Jogging Partner(s)

Another gorgeous day yesterday. Definitely needed to take advantage of it- which was easy to do because when I got to the barn i found my stalls cleaned thanks to my friend- what an awesome surprise! So...what to do? Build off of yesterday, I guess.

I know some people won't like this, but I don't care. I took my horses jogging with me, LOL. I'm sure its unsafe as heck, but they both lead well, and I felt relatively safe, so whatever.

So we went for 3 miles or so. Cabo thought he was dying. He didn't want to keep up. He thought it was dumb, and a waste of a lovely day. Cassie, on the other hand, loved it. I mean really, really loved it. Like if horses could be jogging partners, she'd sign herself up for that job. She didn't want to stop. And afterwards, she was all sorts of engaged- waiting for the next thing to do. It was very cute.

Today I am going to get on Cabo and see how he feels about ponying Miss Princess. Sorry Cabo, you DO have to get exercise. Sorry, bud. LOL.

Learning To Dance

This weekend was gorgeous in the PNW. 70 degrees and sunny- it just convinced me to stay a little longer.

I got to witness inspiration on Saturday at my friend's dance competition. Even though I laughed at her, dance competition is a lot like horse shows- so as funny as it all was, I got it. There was one thing I did see, though, that I haven't seen at a horse show in a long time.

At the table directly to our right, was a woman instructor who had 3 young girls with her- ages 7-12 I'm guessing. Her name is Lynn and she's from Dance Workshop. I sat there in awe of her all day- as she took each of those girls into their dance heats- between ballroom, latin, american rhythm-spinning and twirling- laughing and smiling- making the experience so positive and fun for those kids. Honestly, the woman must love her job- and if she doesn't- she sure fooled me. She's everything you'd want in an instructor and more- her passion and genuine love shone through every single move. The kids lit up, they had a great time. It wasn't about competing, it was about having fun out there.

How many instructors in the horse world emulate that? Seriously, they may SAY they do- but at the show- do they really walk the walk? I am reading Temple Grandin's book Animals in Translation- and in it she reminds us that real horseback riding is much like dancing- its a relationship. That rung really true for me this weekend. How many of our instructors are dance instructors like Lynn? Maybe they have to be less jovial and more powerful because of the risk of adding a few 1200 lb animals into the mix- I don't know. But if I were a parent, I'd sure try to find an instructor as close as identical to Lynn O. from Dance Workshop. Heck, I'd probably send my kids to her just for the experience of having someone so influential in their lives- who cares about the subject matter. Learn to dance right from the start.

Anyway, that was my Saturday. The horses didn't get much TLC that day- but they did enjoy the weather- and got to get their new summer coats nice and dirty. So much for having a white horse.

Sunday started off with dress trying-on and my MIL's. Punjabi dresses- Sari's, etc. very complicated stuff, and I had a good laugh. We're going to Canada this coming Saturday to get my own outfits for this wedding- I've never been to Canada, so I'm excited. On that high, I took the horses out for a mile walk in the sun with the fiance- it was so nice!!! Hopefully I got a little tan, gonna work on it again today, LOL.

The Trance, and What To Do About It.

Over the years I have learned to adapt my style of working to whatever horse I have in the moment. As a kid, I used to ride other people's horses and be a crash test dummy for the schoolies-in-training. High school and college was very much the same. Even though I didn't recognize it, I knew how to adapt even back then.

Now that I am older, I can realize those adaptations. I first started recognizing it with Faith. Then Frank. Then Cassie. Then Cabo. The woman of many faces-doing what the horse needs in that moment. And sometimes, missing the mark. By a long shot.

One thing I have not yet figured out how to solve is Cassie's sleeping quirk. I learned she had this the hard way. She's always been pretty good about giving to pressure- and there was relatively low drama when teaching her how to tie. Except when I experienced her Freak Out of 2008. Basically, it goes something like this: I tie horse, I groom and fiddle around with horse. I stop and chat with barn folk. Horse goes into trance like sleep. Some outside factor wakes horse up. Horse panics & pulls- breaking anything and everything in her path. Yikes.

I didn't see the situation properly the first time. I thought she woke up, found the end of the rope, and then panicked because she was trapped. But the second time I witnessed the same scenario I was paying more attention and found that the order of events were out of whack. She wakes from the trance, panics, moves around- forward and back- and then finds, in a panic, that she's tied. Then she breaks it.

The thing is, when I keep her mind engaged- which means I jiggle the halter every now and then to keep her awake, she's fine (this is something I have to do when I groom her- because grooming puts her to sleep). She finds the end of the rope, she gives. If she's awake and something scary pops up, she gives. She panics coming from out of her trance.

The more I get to know her, the more I see it even when she's not tied. If she's in her stall and she's snoozing- she wakes in a low grade panic- which usually involves her head flying up in the air- and if she's not careful, she'll bang it on something.

In the pasture- she does the same thing.

So what does that mean? Is the trance a medical condition?

Seeing as I haven't found a clue how to help her, I've made the concession to use the tie-blocker ring when I'm working with her for long periods of time. It is just safer, and less expensive in the long run as I really don't like having to replace hardware at other people's barns

But yesterday, I was explaining to a friend, who was with me, Cassie's issue. We got to talking for a good period of time with Cassie "tied" with the blocker ring. Cassie goes into trance mode. And sure enough, when I woke her- a gentle finger tip on her shoulder- she woke startled. She must not have been in a very deep trance because her level of panic was pretty low-grade, and she came to with less fear than I've seen in the past. But, at that point, my friend saw it with her own eyes.

Then it dawned on me- can I help her by allowing her to go into a semi-trance and then gentlty waking her up each time, like I unknowingly did yesterday...the idea to slowly condition her out of a panic response? Or is this just a quirk we have to live with?

20 Days and Counting

31 days from now I will be married. Yikes. So much to do, plan, buy, and avoid. These past 6 weeks have been a complete blurr. A lot has happened, both good and bad, and I'm sure the next month will reveal even more.

But this isn't about me...or is it? Well, it is. Because I am her own worst enemy. She thinks she can only work with me. I can't work with her right now. Little things, yes. But big-push yer button stuff...not a chance. I will not risk going to Las Vegas in a body cast, which will most likely be the case if I press on in this half-arsed fashion.

Yea, I don't believe I can teach her much at 1-2 times per week. It's like asking an illiterate kid to go to school on the weekends and grasp learning how to read. Sure, the kid may get it after a couple years of attempting to learn only 2 days a week, but it could be done much faster, and better. And so it is with horses.

In the midst of planning mehndi night, rehersal dinner, and dress shopping, I've also been trainer hunting. And I think, as of yesterday, I found one. A really good one. One I like. One I can afford. The stars have aligned.

So, in 2.5 weeks Cassie shall be going into dressage training for a couple months. My goals for her: more solid foundation at w/t/c. Rhythm. Balance. Accepting the bit, the beginnings of contact.

That's all for my goals for the horse. She'll be in full show-training. So she'll get better at clipping, bathing, wrapping, etc. All the skillz the pony-kids need under their belts to keep 'em in good graces with people.

I'm excited for her. Its better than sitting in a stall and pasture for the next 2 months while I sort out my life happenings. Last year I put her on the back burner after backing her. And I regret doing that. I had a great experience that summer, and some horses got really good experience. But mine did not. And seeing as they consume the majority of my income, this year I am putting my focus on what is my responsibility.

I am excited for me too. I know I am doing the right thing for her, and for me. While I do my thing, she'll be doing hers, and when I get back, we'll learn together. Lessons. Oh thank goodness. The wheels are off my bus and they need be put back on. I will kiss the ground the trainer walks on if she can help me fix my wandering left leg. I wish I could say I aspire to be the strong rider I once was- but I know that is ridiculous. Baby steps.