Back in Work

I longed Barokko today, the first day of work after his week of vacation after moving. He was all decked out in his new Thermo Master Walker Rug:



I've been annoyed at not having a good waterproof blanketing option with good shoulder freedom for outdoor longe and in-hand work, so when I saw this one at Hööks today I just had to have it :D

I'm going to start riding him again tomorrow, so I just wanted to put him on the longe first, to see how his movement was, and whether he was super fresh ;) He started off very fluid in his movement, tracked up at the trot from the very beginning, none of the stiffness and lack of forward he showed on the longe at MAK. Also, no bucks, jumps, fake spooks or any other sillyness ;) He seems very content, both physically and mentally :D

He tired pretty quickly at the canter, but he's also still on maintenance feed levels, and had been playing a lot in turn out today. He was very willing to go forward, very attentive to my signals.

Interesting...

Today is Barokko's 4th day at AG. In those 4 days, several things have happened.

- the dew poisoning on all 4 fetlocks he arrived with is gone. It's not just better, it's completely, 100% disappeared for the first time in several months.

- he doesn't call for me every time he sees me or hears my voice. He'll nicker when I arrive at the barn, but at MAK he neighed loudly every time he saw/heard me.

- he doesn't hesitate when I lead him out os the stall. At MAK he'd plant his feet solidly for several seconds before slowly stepping out of the stall, now he just walks right out.

Settling in

Yesterday Barokko and T (the alpha) were turned out together. In the beginning, they were both very on guard, T wouldn't let Barokko even think about approaching the horses in the adjoining pastures. After a couple of hours they relaxed, started grazing next to each other, nuzzling, and T even let Barokko say hello to the other horses ;)

In the afternoon I took him for a short walk, but he was very tense, and didn't want to go away from the barn. When we started going back he couldn't get there fast enough, and as soon as we entered the parking lot in front of the stable he sighed deeply and relaxed. I'm going to let settle in better before taking him off property, he was clearly stressed by it, but I was glad to see that he realxed when he got back to the barn, he feels safe there.

This morning they were both calm when we turned them out, T just indicated that he was still in charge by putting his ears back once or twice, and then they settled down to grazing within a couple of minutes.

I'll have to get used to letting him get dirty now he's outside all day - I spent about an hour today cleaning up his mane and tail, and added lots of Cowboy Magic Detangler hoping that it'll help keep just some of the mud off :P

He loves the hay at AG, both today and yesterday morning he left breakfast in the manger, and was eating hay instead when I got there. I was a little worried at first, Barokko is not a horse known for being a picky eater, but then I noticed that every few minutes he'd go over to the manger, grab a couple of mouthfuls, and then go back to the hay ;) He still prefers beet pulp over hay, though, probably because it's more messy - he grabs a mouthful, sticks the tip of his tongue out between his front teeth, sucks the liquid out, and then chews the fibers that remain. In the process quite a bit of it runs out between his lips, and onto the floor, wall, manger, me, everywhere! *slobber and drool* :D

He's going to get a week or so without work to get settled, I'll try to get some rides in on other horses in the meantime so I can start getting back into shape - in the past 4 weeks I've been in the saddle a total of 10 times, 5 of them included anything faster than a walk, and only 3 would be considered real rides.

I thought I'd be back to normal in a matter of days, not weeks :/ There are indications that I may actually have had a fracture in the left transverse process of C4, despite it not showing up on the X-rays taken at the trauma center (has to do with the angles the X-rays were taken from). It doesn't make any difference in treatment at this point, whether it's fractured or not I'm not at risk of exacerbating the injury by continuing normal daily activities within pain limits and mobilizing the muscles in the neck/throat/shoulder region through physiotherapy. But it's actually kind of a relief to have a likely explanation for why it feels the way it does - if it's been fractured the bone should be healed after 6 weeks, so there's an end in sight (injury was 4 weeks ago yesterday).

New Home

We moved Barokko from MAK to the new barn, AG, today. M rode him, and I biked alongside. We've taken several long trips together before, with one of us riding, and the other on a bike, and he fully accepts the bike as a leader and companion. Throughout the ride he kept a very close eye on where I was, accelerated if I accelerated, waited if I fell behind, crawled in behind me if something worried him etc, exactly as he would with a steady-eddie equine companion ;)

The ride went very well, he was a little tense at the beginning of the ride because there were a lot of people in Dyrehaven (Easter vacation), but as soon as we got away from the crowds he relaxed. We completed the 9 km ride in just over an hour, which was considerably faster than we had expected. Barokko was very nicely forward the whole ride, in all gaits, and we didn't have any problems along the way.

At AG we let him settle in in his stall with a warm beet pulp meal and a full hay net. He was a little restless initially (all the other horses were still in turn-out), but not overly stressed.

After a while we introduced him to his new herd. First he was alone with the alpha for a while, and then we let in the other two geldings also. Unfortunately, when the two other geldings came in, the alpha wanted to keep Barokko and the others apart, and ended up chasing Barokko away and biting him a few times.

We've decided that the next few days we'll turn out Barokko and the alpha in one pasture, and the two others in an adjoining one. Then we'll turn him out with each of the other two one at a time for a bit in the evenings, so they each get time to get properly acquainted, without the dynamics of the full herd. The 3 other geldings have been together for several years, so it's not easy for them to accept a new horse just like that, but I think Barokko will fit in well once they've each had a chance to get to know him and realize he's perfectly happy being in the bottom of the hierarchy ;)

We each buy our own feed, so I'll be putting Barokko on a completely grain-free diet of hay, lucerne, beet pulp, oil, vitamin/mineral supplement and electrolytes.

Bits!

Barokko's bit is getting a little worn by the rings, so I'm looking to exchange it before there are any sharp edges that could bother him. He doesn't seem super comfortable in this bit, so I'm considering if I should get a different type.

I've tried a few different bits on him, and he reacts very differently to each of them. He's worn a single jointed loose ring, double jointed loose ring (2 different thicknesses), double jointed 2-ring elevator bit (trail rides only), soft hackamore (trail rides only), and a French link Boucher.

Out of these, I've deduced (by amount of resistance to the bit both on the ground and under saddle, soft chewing vs irritated chomping, head tossing etc) that this is how he'd rank these bits:

1. Thin double jointed
2. Thick double jointed
3. Single jointed
4. Boucher
5. Elevator

I'm not sure where to place the hackamore, I've never actually ridden dressage in it, only on trails, and by far most of the time on a loose rein. It's not competition legal, so it isn't a bit I've considered using for regular training. On the few occasions that I asked for a bit of contact he did take it willingly and fairly steadily, and seemed comfortable in it. Maybe I should test it in the arena one day, just to see what it feels like to ride with connection in it.

The elevator I've only used on trails, and with 2 reins. I used the lower rein a few times when he grabbed the bit and ran through my aids, just to check his acceleration, and then rode off the snaffle rein the rest of the time. He got very upset when I used the lower rein, tossing his head and chomping on the bit. I thought his irritation might be because I stopped his naughty behaviour, so I carefully tried to see how he reacted to me riding him off the lower rein in a relaxed, controlled situation, and he still reacted very negatively to it. I got the subtle message that he doesn't like the way it feels, and have only used it a few times.

I had hoped the Boucher would be a good fit for him, but he gets very tense if I ride him in it and resists any rein aid, also from the ground.



Dressage riders here are very conservative when it comes to bits. Snaffle bits are either single or double jointed loose rings, that's about it. You might occasionally run into an eggbutt snaffle, but that's only the very adventurous riders who would dare try something so unconventional ;)

The following snaffles are competition legal:

- Single jointed loose-ring
- Double jointed loose-ring (center joint must be rounded)
- Eggbutt snaffle (single or double jointed)
- Single jointed D ring
- Single jointed Full Cheek
- Single or double jointed Fulmer
- Single jointed half cheek
- Single jointed Boucher
- Unjointed snaffle - mullen mouth and eggbutt versions also allowed
- Snaffle bits with rotating mouthpiece
- Single jointed rubber snaffle
- Unjointed rubber snaffle

But no-one takes advantage of the range of options. This also means that the only dressage legal bits that tack stores bother to stock are the standard single and double jointed loose rings.

I'm thinking it would be interesting to see Barokko's reaction to a Mullen mouth bit, or a Myler Comfort snaffle - but neither are readily available :/ We're going to the US this summer, so I could buy a few different bits there, but I don't really want to wait several months. So I guess it's online shopping, here I come!

ETA: I ordererd the two bits from a British online tack store, an eggbutt mullen mouth and a Myler Comfort wide barrel loose ring snaffle. Both bits that are quiet in the mouth and with no nutcracker effect. I hope he'll take a liking to one of them!

Moving time!

The stall is available at the new barn :D We've cleaned out the stall completely, and checked that there are no sharp edges or other hazards, it looks to be a solid, safe stall. We'll go out there tomorrow to clean the windows, make him a nice soft bed, and fill up his hay net so everything's ready for his arrival on Sunday.

The weather has turned the past few days, we'd just had warm, sunny, spring weather, but then all of a sudden it's winter again >:( Monday afternoon it started snowing, yucky heavy wet snow. Barokko and Sofus got a chance to play in it in the outdoor arena, but after a while Barokko tired of it and just stood at the gate wanting to come in.



I had just bought a light weight blanket for him to wear in turn-out when he moves. He's been wearing it over a fleece blanket the past few nights, but I'll be putting on the heavy weight again tonight:



At least the cold on Sunday will mean the snow won't get packed in his hooves, I just hope it won't get icy. M will ride him, and I'll bike alongside them, while DH drives up to the barn with the stuff he'll need when we get there - blanket, halter, feed etc.

Moving unfortunately means F won't be continuing his lease :( He understandably doesn't want a lease at a different barn from where his wife's horse is stabled, as they want to ride together. I just wish I had thought of getting him involved earlier ;) it's been really great for me and Barokko, and F has enjoyed their rides a lot.

I had the vet out on Wed. to float Barokko's teeth. Before the vet got there, I lunged him a little in the arena, and then got on for a short ride. While I was riding, the vet showed up, half an hour early. I pulled up, but he asked me to ride on for a moment - he wasn't in a hurry, and wanted to see Barokko when he wasn't sick ;)

After untacking I lead Barokko out into the yard - the sun was shining for once, and the vet thought it would be nice to work outside :) There were a few little edges, so the vet sedated him lightly and floated the teeth. His teeth looked good otherwise.

We carefully helped him back into his stall, me steering the head, and the vet holding his tail to keep him on his fet (he just got a teeny tiny dose of, but he's very sensitive to sedation). I sat in his stall with his head in my lap while he slept off the meds, major cuteness factor :D

I got a call the other day from the barn I want to move him to. There's a horse there that's for sale, and once he's sold the stall will be mine :) We could be moving very soon! I'm looking forward to him getting the turn-out he needs and loves. Also, I'm looking forward to being able to have my time with Barokko separate from my work - even though it's very practical for me having him at MAK, I'm never just a boarder/rider there. I'm always an instructor and employee, even on my days off. The new barn will be almost like having him at home, it's just a 10 minute walk away - we already plan to walk down there every evening before bed to tuck him in, which will benefit the dog, too (who usually just gets let out to do the necessaries before bedtime) ;)

Weekend Report

Friday evening J had a jumping lesson on Barokko. She hasn't jumped him since the fall, where unfortunately U pushed her way out of her comfort zone with him, and made her feel like she was completely hopeless at riding him :(

She was a bit of a nervous wreck before the lesson, but H is good at adjusting the lessons to suit each horse/rider pair. They did very well, worked quite a lot with series and combinations - he tried á tempo series for the first time, too :)

Saturday M rode him out with our intermediate trail lesson group. They had a really good ride, all the students did well on their horses, so she decided to try a few jumps. He handled it like a pro, confidently leading the string of lesson horses over the obstacles!

Yesterday F and his wife went on a trail ride. Both Barokko and F's wife's horse were very fresh in the spring-like weather, and they decided not to canter, but instead rode some long trot passages.

This morning I did some Phillippe Karl type basic ground work. He wasn't as focussed as usual, and leaned heavily on the bit whenever he felt like not paying attention. Later, I took him out to the outdoor and longed him. As soon as I let him go out on the line he ran off in a series of bucks - guess he was still fresh!! We did get some really nice work at times, but also quite a bit of young horse craziness.

I lead him to the indoor arena to cool him out afterward. At one point he stopped by the door and wanted to go out, and wouldn't budge. I flicked the end of the longe line at his hindquarters to get him moving, and he leapt forward in a quite impressive capriole :D

F will ride him again tomorrow, I think I'd better make sure to let him out in the outdoor before he gets there, just in case there's residual sillyness ;)

Patience is a vitrue...

...that I don't possess!

I trotted a couple of rounds of the arena on Sofus yesterday. That wasn't too bad. So I figured I'd trot a bit on Barokko today. Nevermind that Barokko's trot is much bigger than Sofus'. Anyway, I warmed him up on the HorseGym, threw on a saddle, and off we went. The HorseGym worked a treat as warm-up by the way, will definitely be using that again in the future!

He was a bit lazy initially, and when I went at him he resisted, so I had to be a bit more authoritative, and suddenly we were cantering, and then I felt like I ought to ride a bit longer, had to "finish the job," and when he calmed down and relaxed he was actually very steady on the bit, so I wanted to enjoy thatfor a while, and all of a sudden I had ridden about 15 minutes of trot and a little canter, and I was nauseated and a bit dizzy and my neck and upper back hurt A LOT :/

I put Barokko away with a promise to come clean him up properly later, and then went looking for somewhere quiet to lie down for a bit - M was riding Sofus, so his stall was empty, and it looked very clean and soft and inviting, so I spread out his fleece blanket on the straw and curled up ;) I usually try my horse's food to see what it tastes like, but this is the first time I've tested their bed - it's pretty durn comfortable, actually :P

Fun trail ride

M rode Barokko out on a trail ride today. Just as she was mounting, an advanced lesson group were getting ready to ride out, too, so she decided to tag along with them. The group is a jumping class, but the outdoor arena has gotten too muddy to ride in (again!) so they were going on a trail ride instead, and were going to see if they could find a few jumps out there.

Barokko's used to being out with lesson groups, but usually we ride in front, so being at the back of a large group was a new experince. He handled it well, M said the horses in front had bucked and jumped around sometimes, but Barokko had been on his best behaviour the entire time.

Another first was jumping in a group, I've jumped him alone or with one other horse, but this time there was a line of horses ahead of him, but no problem, he didn't get silly or strong at all, just kept a suitable distance, and guaged his spots perfectly, and didn't over-jump a single time. Good boy!

OUR Horse

In stark opposition to the attitude toward my previous horse Coco, Barokko is always refered to by DH as "our horse" - he has also been known to volunteer to lead him to/from the arena, clean his hooves, prepare his feed etc. and when he comes to the barn to meet me, he'll usually go say hi to Barokko before finding me.

He came with me to the barn the other day, and while M and I were grooming, he and Barokko had a bonding moment :D

Interesting ride/lesson

As I mentioned in a previous post I've been working on training Barokko more in the style of Phillippe Karl the past couple of months. I'm doing it on my own, without a trainer, so it hasn't been a super smooth transition, and of course I don't have a 100% understanding of the system yet, but I'm doing lots of research, and trial and error. It's hard to guage progress when you're in the middle of things, but now I've been taken out of the loop involuntarily I've had a chance to look at it from the outside.

M has ridden dressage on him twice last week. She was aided by a very experienced rider at the barn, who's trained very classically in the German school, and of course this was the method they worked with for Barokko. They both felt they got some good work out of him, and I was curious to get on him yesterday and see what he felt like afterward.

Well, I definitely felt a difference! There was a hardness in his mouth that hasn't been there, and a sense that he was trying to fight my hand to evade contact (different from the "normal" instability issues we've had). He was also more resistant to bending aids from the leg. M isn't an unbalanced or insensitive rider, this wasn't a case of "bad riding," but it was very clearly a departure from the work I've been doing and the direction I've been taking Barokko recently. I was actually very surprised to be able to feel such a clear difference, partly because the system change is still new to us, and also because it's only been 2 rides!

I did his 35 minute walk warm-up myself, getting him lighter in the hand, more responsive to bending around the leg. My neck didn't enjoy riding, though, so when I had him loosened up to where I felt it was time to start trot and canter work, M got on. I tried to explain the difference in feel that I had experienced, and how what I'm working toward feels.

Throughout the ride I stopped her every now and then, we talked through the different issues that came up and how to work with them, I gave her some exercises I've been working on with Barokko, some of the ones he's done lots of times before, so he's familiar with. Toward the end of the ride, she got some really good moments, he was through the back, steady, soft contact, rhythmic trot, and she lit up in a proverbial Eureka moment - oh THAT'S the feeling you're after!

I'm so glad she was able to experience the sensation, so she got a better understanding of why I want to do in this direction with him. She understands it intellectually, but actually feeling it on the horse is different ;) But also hard work, she trains with a very German trainer, on a horse trained in the German school, so it was difficult for her to adjust. I think she'd like to try again with me teaching her, but she'll stick to trail rides when I'm not there, because now she (and I!!) realized how much of a difference there is in what I've been doing, and what she's able to do when she's riding on her own.

It was a really cool experience, and strengthened my conviction that I'm on the right track. I've just ordered PK's 2nd and 3rd DVD's despite not being able to afford them right now, I can't wait for them to get here!

I was watching some vids on youtube, and came across a few rides with AWESOME expression - this is the kind of thing I'd like to aim for with Barokko:

A BEAUTIFUL passage - and those jambette things are pretty fun, too: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fs7UXTUX3YQ&NR=1

The same horse showing passage & spanish passage: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iiS-GciTz5E&feature=related

Spanish walk, WOW: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lpCvQBALBX0&feature=related

Non-riding

I'm not adjusting very well to not riding :(

Barokko's being cared well for by M and J. I have a hard time not checking up on them all the time, I hope I'm not too annoying ;)

They'll be riding him all of next week also, and I'll graually add in as much ride time as I'm capable of, and hopefully I'll be OK to handle him myself in the following week, but we'll see how everything progresses. I'm very grateful to have them to help me out, I can trust them completely to take good care of him, I honestly don't have to worry about anything. Great friends = priceless!

Tomorrow I'm going to do his walk warm-up before M rides, and then teach her some of the specific exercises I've been working on with him, to give her some more material to work with on the days she can't ride him out on trails.