I gave M a jumping lesson on Barokko today. We worked on some low gymnastic series. It was really fun seeing how he bascules over the jumps, even the little ones :)
He's been a bit of a goof recently, very looky and spooky on trails, and I've come to the conclusion that the schedule he's been on is too undemanding. I've worked him in-hand a lot which is challenging for him, but still mostly in walk, so he doesn't burn up excess energy through it. He does sometimes play in turn-out, but he's been spending more and more time in the grass pasture, where he mostly concentrates on grazing rather than running around ;) So there's more work in store for Mr Pony!
M rode him in his new Mullen Mouth eggbutt, and shared my feeling that it's a better bit for him than the others I've tried, so we'll stick with this one for now.
Monday, April 28, 2008
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Grasping at straw :P
When I got to the barn this morning, Barokko had eaten a lot of his straw bedding. I guess he was trying to tell me he wasn't happy about not having been in the grass pasture the past few days... So we remedied that, turned him out with T for four hours today ;)
We plan to put them on 24/7 pasture in 2 weeks if the weather complies, taking a little extra time to get them up to full days of grass before then.
I got a Mullen Mought Eggbutt bit for him, tried it out Tuesday. He seemed marginally more comfortable in it than the double-jointed loose ring, so I'll try using it for our trail rides. I am going to stick to my plan of doing dressage work in-hand in a cavesson and leaving riding (and bits) for trail rides.
Speaking of trail rides, I went on a fun one on Sunday. I rode out alone about halfway to EGE, where we met up with 2 friends, and then rode on as a little group. When I left AG, T stood at the top of the hill in the pasture, and whinnied until we were out of sight - didn't exactly make Barokko more inclined to leave :/ Then we met a group of fishermen and their dogs and fishing gear, and he just said "Bugger this for a lark", and tried to spin-and-bolt. He succeeded in the spin 5 or 6 times, but not the bolt ;) And as soon as I got him past them he behaved marvelously the rest of the ride, indicating that it had nothing really to do with the "scary fishermen" and everything to do with his bestest buddy back home.
We plan to put them on 24/7 pasture in 2 weeks if the weather complies, taking a little extra time to get them up to full days of grass before then.
I got a Mullen Mought Eggbutt bit for him, tried it out Tuesday. He seemed marginally more comfortable in it than the double-jointed loose ring, so I'll try using it for our trail rides. I am going to stick to my plan of doing dressage work in-hand in a cavesson and leaving riding (and bits) for trail rides.
Speaking of trail rides, I went on a fun one on Sunday. I rode out alone about halfway to EGE, where we met up with 2 friends, and then rode on as a little group. When I left AG, T stood at the top of the hill in the pasture, and whinnied until we were out of sight - didn't exactly make Barokko more inclined to leave :/ Then we met a group of fishermen and their dogs and fishing gear, and he just said "Bugger this for a lark", and tried to spin-and-bolt. He succeeded in the spin 5 or 6 times, but not the bolt ;) And as soon as I got him past them he behaved marvelously the rest of the ride, indicating that it had nothing really to do with the "scary fishermen" and everything to do with his bestest buddy back home.
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Pony's getting FAT!
Barokko's up to 3 hours of grass pr day, which = one big belly! I've taken off his rug now the weather seems to have stabilized itself above freezing, so he can really show off his grass gut :P
I'm having to re-evaluate my riding plans, as my recovery is going slow slow slow... I am riding regularly now, almost daily, but I need to put in some of my riding hours at work rather than on Barokko. I can't handle two rides in a day yet, and some days I need to stay out of the saddle entirely. :/
Instead of having a guilty conscience because I can't ride him every day, I've decided to plan for it. So for now his week will have 3 days of riding and in-hand work 3/4 days. I'll allow myself to give him up to two (not consecutive) days off if I need them. The physically most comfortable gait for me to ride in right now is canter in a light forward seat, so most of my riding will be on trails. His dressage training will be primarily in-hand for now.
I'm going to cut down his feed a bit to account for increasing amounts of grass and the planned lighter work load.
I'm having to re-evaluate my riding plans, as my recovery is going slow slow slow... I am riding regularly now, almost daily, but I need to put in some of my riding hours at work rather than on Barokko. I can't handle two rides in a day yet, and some days I need to stay out of the saddle entirely. :/
Instead of having a guilty conscience because I can't ride him every day, I've decided to plan for it. So for now his week will have 3 days of riding and in-hand work 3/4 days. I'll allow myself to give him up to two (not consecutive) days off if I need them. The physically most comfortable gait for me to ride in right now is canter in a light forward seat, so most of my riding will be on trails. His dressage training will be primarily in-hand for now.
I'm going to cut down his feed a bit to account for increasing amounts of grass and the planned lighter work load.
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Wednesday morning Barokko and I went for a short trail ride alone. He was a little hesitant to go away from the barn all by himself, but after the first few minutes he stopped trying to turn back, pricked his ears forward and off we went exploring ;) Every time something spooked him a little he stayed tense for a while afterward, but in between he relaxed nicely, and seemed to enjoy being out.
Thursday I longed him, and got some very nice round trot work from him. We practiced transitions, he wasn't quite attentive enough to my signals with the other horses out in pasture right on the other side of the arena fence ;)
Friday I gave him the day off, with a couple of hours on the grass pasture. In the afternoon he was playing with M, and somehow got caught in the fence, snapping 6 fence posts and breaking the electric tape :-O Amazingly, he didn't get a single scratch! I hope he'll be a little more careful in the future, might not be so lucky next time :-/
This morning we had our first lesson with our new trainer M, a student of Bent Branderup. I told her I wanted to start over with the basics, I've realized (several times actually, this time maybe it'll stick ;) ) I can't hurry things with this horse, and now that I've accepted that I just want to do it right.
Today we worked in-hand on getting him to lower and stretch his neck, flex and bend left and right at the halt and walk, and gradually send him away from the handler while retaining the bend at the walk. He was slightly less willing to the right than the left, but during the lesson he loosened up, and ended up working eaqually well on both reins.
She said he was a natural ;) I like to get all of the explanations from the bottom up. We'll move forward faster in the beginning than completely green students, but I want to make sure that I get all of the building blocks in place along the way.
After our lesson I put him in the grass pasture with T for 3 hours, have to get him ready for going out 24/7 in a few weeks :D
Thursday I longed him, and got some very nice round trot work from him. We practiced transitions, he wasn't quite attentive enough to my signals with the other horses out in pasture right on the other side of the arena fence ;)
Friday I gave him the day off, with a couple of hours on the grass pasture. In the afternoon he was playing with M, and somehow got caught in the fence, snapping 6 fence posts and breaking the electric tape :-O Amazingly, he didn't get a single scratch! I hope he'll be a little more careful in the future, might not be so lucky next time :-/
This morning we had our first lesson with our new trainer M, a student of Bent Branderup. I told her I wanted to start over with the basics, I've realized (several times actually, this time maybe it'll stick ;) ) I can't hurry things with this horse, and now that I've accepted that I just want to do it right.
Today we worked in-hand on getting him to lower and stretch his neck, flex and bend left and right at the halt and walk, and gradually send him away from the handler while retaining the bend at the walk. He was slightly less willing to the right than the left, but during the lesson he loosened up, and ended up working eaqually well on both reins.
She said he was a natural ;) I like to get all of the explanations from the bottom up. We'll move forward faster in the beginning than completely green students, but I want to make sure that I get all of the building blocks in place along the way.
After our lesson I put him in the grass pasture with T for 3 hours, have to get him ready for going out 24/7 in a few weeks :D
Wednesday, April 09, 2008
I want these!
Look what Nike did :D
They are totally cool, I'd so love a pair :D Buuut I'd be a little hesitant to wear them at shows, and I can't afford 2 pairs of tall boots, so I think I'll be buying a pair of Ariats instead like I originally planned.
They are totally cool, I'd so love a pair :D Buuut I'd be a little hesitant to wear them at shows, and I can't afford 2 pairs of tall boots, so I think I'll be buying a pair of Ariats instead like I originally planned.
Tuesday, April 08, 2008
New Farrier
The new farrier came out today. I'm impressed :D He's super professional, nice, friendly, and good with the horse, what's not to like ;)
I got a bunch of before pics of his hooves last night. This is 6 weeks since the last shoing, and the right front shoe was lost Thursday evening.
The new farrier hot sets, which Barokko has never tried before. He did the front shoes hot, but Barokko got a bit worked up by the sizzle and smoke, so he decided to cold set the hinds. When he's more used to the sounds and smells he'll hot set all four.
He put him in concave breakover shoes as his conformation could lead to long term stress on the deep flexor tendon in regular flat shoes. He also worked on correcting the flare on the inside of the left fore. Other than that he said the hooves were strong, frog is wide and healthy, and not a horse he expected to see hoof problems from.
I'll get some after pics while the shoing is still fresh and upload for comparison.
I got a bunch of before pics of his hooves last night. This is 6 weeks since the last shoing, and the right front shoe was lost Thursday evening.
The new farrier hot sets, which Barokko has never tried before. He did the front shoes hot, but Barokko got a bit worked up by the sizzle and smoke, so he decided to cold set the hinds. When he's more used to the sounds and smells he'll hot set all four.
He put him in concave breakover shoes as his conformation could lead to long term stress on the deep flexor tendon in regular flat shoes. He also worked on correcting the flare on the inside of the left fore. Other than that he said the hooves were strong, frog is wide and healthy, and not a horse he expected to see hoof problems from.
I'll get some after pics while the shoing is still fresh and upload for comparison.
Monday, April 07, 2008
Infallible timing...
Friday morning I was going to hop on and take Barokko on a long walk in the woods. I fed the horses, got all of our gear ready while they ate, led Barokko out to the outdoors grooming area, and - wait, what was that sound? Gah, no shoe on the right fore :(
So instead of riding I gave him a head to tail thorough grooming, and then turned him out - luckily the pasture's nice and soft after a few days' rain :/
I called the farrier, he doesn't have phone hours on Fridays, so I left him a message, and resigned myself to a weekend without riding. He called back first thing this morning, and will be coming tomorrow.
So the one week planned vacation has turned into two ;)
In the meantime I've been looking into Bent Branderup's training philosophies, I borrowed his book Klassisk Ridekunst at the library. It's interesting to compare Branderup with Phillippe Karl, a lot of things are formulated differently, but when you dig deeper it turns out the principles are quite similar to each other.
I also stumbled across Allegè-Ideal "International Dressage & Equitation Association for Lightness." There are links to some interesting articles that I'm working my way through :)
So instead of riding I gave him a head to tail thorough grooming, and then turned him out - luckily the pasture's nice and soft after a few days' rain :/
I called the farrier, he doesn't have phone hours on Fridays, so I left him a message, and resigned myself to a weekend without riding. He called back first thing this morning, and will be coming tomorrow.
So the one week planned vacation has turned into two ;)
In the meantime I've been looking into Bent Branderup's training philosophies, I borrowed his book Klassisk Ridekunst at the library. It's interesting to compare Branderup with Phillippe Karl, a lot of things are formulated differently, but when you dig deeper it turns out the principles are quite similar to each other.
I also stumbled across Allegè-Ideal "International Dressage & Equitation Association for Lightness." There are links to some interesting articles that I'm working my way through :)
Thursday, April 03, 2008
Endoscopy
Yesterday morning I woke up Barokko, lead him outside in the sun, and gave him a good grooming while he slobbered beet pulp all over the place. After cleaning the bp off his front legs, chest and forelock I braided him, smacking hungry mosquitoes every 5 seconds >:/
At the clinic I longed him briefly for the vet, where he showed off a nice swingy trot and no coughing ;) His lungs sounded good. He was given a light sedation, and then lead into the exam room for the endoscopy.
The clinic had just gotten a DVD recorder hooked up to their endoscope, but it didn't work, bummer :( Would have been really cool to get a vid of his trachea :D Luckily, there wasn't much to see! There were signs of a recent infection in the throat, but other than that he was clean as a whistle. Good boy for getting rid of the infection on his own without meds, probably the week off in pasture helped.
So the treatment is just to work him lightly without closing in the throatlatch (= trail rides) the next week. He also suggested he could wear a muzzle net to keep bugs and irritants out of his nose while he's still sensitive.
At the clinic I longed him briefly for the vet, where he showed off a nice swingy trot and no coughing ;) His lungs sounded good. He was given a light sedation, and then lead into the exam room for the endoscopy.
The clinic had just gotten a DVD recorder hooked up to their endoscope, but it didn't work, bummer :( Would have been really cool to get a vid of his trachea :D Luckily, there wasn't much to see! There were signs of a recent infection in the throat, but other than that he was clean as a whistle. Good boy for getting rid of the infection on his own without meds, probably the week off in pasture helped.
So the treatment is just to work him lightly without closing in the throatlatch (= trail rides) the next week. He also suggested he could wear a muzzle net to keep bugs and irritants out of his nose while he's still sensitive.
Tuesday, April 01, 2008
Sunny Day :)
I've rented access to a grass pasture across the road from AG, and today was his first time over there (and the first blanket-free day in months and months, yeah spring!!). The weather today is perfect, 15 degrees, sunny with a slight breeze - and mosquitoes!!! Bit early for that :( I just let him graze for a hour to let him get used to the grass, and will get him over there a few times a week gradually increasing the amount of time.
We went on a trail ride today, first one at AG :D An hour and 15 mins, with 3 good canters - one of them actually turned into a gallop, he told me he needed to stretch out and GO ;) He was checking out his surroundings the whole ride, stopping up every now and then to get a good look at something, as though he knew that he might as well hurry up and get familiar in the new surroundings :D He felt good in his movement, and was very steady and accepting on the bit once he'd warmed up and his nose wasn't bothering him as much - gave me some very high quality trot work, the best I've ever felt!
Our ride took us past EGE, where he was boarded in July-November last year. The path we came by was one that I had used for interval training whil we were there - I called it "The Racetrack" ;) The footing was always good, and one of the only longer paths close to EGE suitable for canter/gallop work, so Barokko was very familiar with those 1.5 kms.
At EGE I'd often warm him up in walk/trot away from the barn, and then do our fast work on the way home. One day I just let him be in charge when we turned home, to see what he'd chose to do if left to his own devices - he started at a steady canter, accelerated up a slight incline, went down to a walk down a hill, canter again at the bottom, up to a gallop on a long flat stretch, down to a walk where a path crosses the riding path, looked both ways before crossing (seriously!!), canter again, and then a good gallop on the last stretch which was a slight incline. Down to a walk when we reached the first pasture, and he walked himself home on a long rein :D
When we got to that path today, he perked up a bit, he clearly remembered it! We walked/trotted the first section (past the crossing path), and then I put him in a steady canter. He asked if he could accelerate on the last incline, but I kept him nice and easy. When we got to the first pasture, he put on the brakes - hey mom, we're supposed to walk here! ;)
On another note, we're taking a trip to the vet's tomorrow. Barokko's had a cough for a while, it began before he moved from MAK, and he's still bothered by it. I talked to the vet this morning, and he wants to endoscope him to see what's going on, he's had several coughs throughout the fall and winter.
I don't know if it's related, but he seemed bothered in his nose today, wanting to rub his nose all the time, twitching his head every now and then - very similar to Sofus' pollen allergy induced headshaking symptoms :/ I'll ask the vet about that tomorrow, it bothers me that there's a new pattern...
We went on a trail ride today, first one at AG :D An hour and 15 mins, with 3 good canters - one of them actually turned into a gallop, he told me he needed to stretch out and GO ;) He was checking out his surroundings the whole ride, stopping up every now and then to get a good look at something, as though he knew that he might as well hurry up and get familiar in the new surroundings :D He felt good in his movement, and was very steady and accepting on the bit once he'd warmed up and his nose wasn't bothering him as much - gave me some very high quality trot work, the best I've ever felt!
Our ride took us past EGE, where he was boarded in July-November last year. The path we came by was one that I had used for interval training whil we were there - I called it "The Racetrack" ;) The footing was always good, and one of the only longer paths close to EGE suitable for canter/gallop work, so Barokko was very familiar with those 1.5 kms.
At EGE I'd often warm him up in walk/trot away from the barn, and then do our fast work on the way home. One day I just let him be in charge when we turned home, to see what he'd chose to do if left to his own devices - he started at a steady canter, accelerated up a slight incline, went down to a walk down a hill, canter again at the bottom, up to a gallop on a long flat stretch, down to a walk where a path crosses the riding path, looked both ways before crossing (seriously!!), canter again, and then a good gallop on the last stretch which was a slight incline. Down to a walk when we reached the first pasture, and he walked himself home on a long rein :D
When we got to that path today, he perked up a bit, he clearly remembered it! We walked/trotted the first section (past the crossing path), and then I put him in a steady canter. He asked if he could accelerate on the last incline, but I kept him nice and easy. When we got to the first pasture, he put on the brakes - hey mom, we're supposed to walk here! ;)
On another note, we're taking a trip to the vet's tomorrow. Barokko's had a cough for a while, it began before he moved from MAK, and he's still bothered by it. I talked to the vet this morning, and he wants to endoscope him to see what's going on, he's had several coughs throughout the fall and winter.
I don't know if it's related, but he seemed bothered in his nose today, wanting to rub his nose all the time, twitching his head every now and then - very similar to Sofus' pollen allergy induced headshaking symptoms :/ I'll ask the vet about that tomorrow, it bothers me that there's a new pattern...
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