Welcome to the land of Pain!

Well well...Lets catch up on horsey-goodness news, shall we?
My boss rode Beary for the first time! It was very very exciting!! I warmed miss Beary up and she was being great, So we switched riders..She was nervous at first to ride Beary but fell into things quite nicely! And I must say Beary was an excellent student, and they walked around the arena together and did figure eights. It was a beautiful sight. Made me very proud! I took video proof! Sorry for me shouting VIDEO! in the middle....I forget my phone has noise.



So yes. Fantabulous. Ok, so then yesterday we decided to take the horses for a trip to the fairgrounds so we could get them into a nice big arena to really move. I practiced loading Beary in the trailer, and got to the point where she will get in, no big deal...But backing out?! Insanity! It's asking her to kill herself-backing off a cliff like that! Haha, its almost bizarre how weird she is about it. She will back all the way to the edge of the trailer, then just back up her front legs. She ends up standing so close together that I'm not sure how she is staying balanced. She would maybe put one back foot down, panic that there was no ground there, and shoot back forward. After mucho time of this, I just asked her to turn around and walk out. And no problems there. Huh. I will need to be creative and figure out how to solve this.

So yes, we didn't actually bring Beary to the fairgrounds, we took Cheyenne for me to ride, and Troy and Bliss for the other girl who works there to ride. And Cheyenne was so good! She was such a good girl, and wasn't doing her strange canter thing so much. Okay, I changed my mind, I don't think there is something wrong with her hocks, she just has an attitude. And I don't think she likes cantering in such a small space as the home arena. So yes, I got her to do a lovely little jog-trot nice and slow, and we did canter work. Yay.

But that does not explain my title for this entry blog thing? I will get to the pain now.
BeauD, or however you spell his name, got trailered to the fairgrounds as well. He is the big warmblood 4 year old that is owned by my boss's friend, if you recall. I have worked BeauD twice, once only on the ground. He is a good boy, but doesn't know much, and is a little hot. I am training him now because I guess he bucked off the crap out of his papa. Okay, well cool. So I tried my english saddle on him, it fits great. Perfect. It is a crime to put a western saddle on this horse, trust me. His build just screams DRESSAGE PLEASE!!! Oh, he is so so pretty and warmbloody and beautimus. So anyways. I was walking him around and he was being a great dude. We try trotting, and he is a little wobbley and funky, but in general is good. Then somebody flipped the switch...
He wanted to speed up when we were heading down the long wall towards everybody, and he picks up a canter. I tried to bring him back down, and he just exploded bucking! At first I was pretty sure I would stick him, but nope...I ate dirt, big big time. I jumped up, caught him and plopped my butt back in the saddle. You boogery little boy. I ask for the trot again, and again, he tries to canter and goes into bucking-mode. Oooh, you can fool me once BeauD, but not twice. I was ready for him so I doubled the crap out of him, and I am proud to say he didn't manage to buck me off the second time. We walked around and chilled out...worked a little bit of trotting slowly back in, and by the end we could trot the entire circle of the arena both ways. SUCCESS! :D
Sooo, I woke up this morning [the adventure being yesterday] and my body pretty much did a big fat groan. Oh, am I sore and stiff and icky. I am for sure feeling it today. But I had equestrian team practice this morning and it went SO much better than last week. I was doing things right, I felt in control, it felt good. Ester is a good girl.
Gypsy...well, haven't been doing much there. Shame on me... I feel slightly bad. But, last time I rode her I worked her pretty good, and she did great. I got a walk-canter transition in both directions! Excitement!

Riding Beary Video

HEY LOOK! A video! Apparently blogger likes the school internet and computers way more than my own crappy laptop, so here for your lovely viewing pleasure is a video of beary. She is coming along fantastic. Here she is under english tack [which I can't lie, Im pretty biased] but she performs lovely in. We are just walking around in this video...kind of boring, I know, but I didn't end up trotting in it because my dad, who is videoing, said it was too dark to see anything. It was dark out, so things are kind of hard to see, I apologize. But perhaps the real reason for this video is to make fun of my dad, when he makes his nice little commentary at the end. Haha, he will love that.

Another Beary note, we trotted outside for the very first time! I saddled her up, took her out and we walked all over the place. Across the bridge, through the water, the works. And then we trotted down the driveway, walked back, then trotted back down. And repete one more time. And she was perfect! I'm so proud.

I was less proud of miss Cheyenne who decided to be very naughty outside. She kind of wanted to take off when we tried trotting. It is starting to be Beary who is more behaved than Cheyenne. I am ashamed of my old training pony. Sometimes I really think there may be something wrong with her hocks or something. No, really! Not just an excuse. She even gets upset now when I pick up her front feet [which she never did before] as if it hurts more to have all her weight on her back legs? And she still is doing the weird angry-faced grouchy canter. Sigh, who knows.

And Gypsy...oh Gypsy... She was a total snot for her ride the other day. And yet the two times I worked her before and after that ride, I lunged her with side reins and she performed beautifully! Perfect frame and consistancy and it was a lovely sight to see. And then proceed to be a cow under saddle. What a booger pony.. She is on my bad side right now. So maybe today I will try riding her again, but go bareback. I know, shame on me, avoiding the problem. But whatever, I already had one bad ride today, my poor brain can't handle another.

I had equestrian practice this morning and it went awful. I rode my [previously favorite] warmblood gelding but oh god it was terrible. I felt like I didn't do a single thing right. He was being herd bound to another horse in the ring, and I was a mess and all over the place. A bad bad ride for me. Ugh.

Add in the fact that I haven't been sleeping well at all, and I got a killer migraine yesterday for the first time in years....and I'm not having a great week. Happy Thanksgiving everyone, god knows I need it. Going home on Wednesday and staying until Friday. I am glad to have a vacation. I need one. School is getting to be a major chore and it's only Fall term still. Problem.

RIP phone....again?

Yes...alas...I have killed my phone yet again. This time, it was victim to a party at my friend's house and I think it got stepped on or something. Sad day. That was Saturday. It is now Friday. I feel so alone and phoneless, ha. It also means I can't take pictures of my ponies to decorate this blog and make it less boring, and it also means I never know what time it is, which may be the worst part. But I should be getting my new phone today, so the torture will be over. Ha. I think I need to get like those strings you put on your glasses so they can't fall off....but for my phone. Yes.
So anyways, been riding. More or less. I rode Gypsy yesterday and it was fabulous. Her canter transitions are getting soo much better, yay. AND! I got a lovely lovely walk-canter transition in both directions! SUCCESS! It made me rather excited. And I rode my friend's little 3 year old breeding stock paint filly, because she couldn't get her to canter on her right lead. Problem! So she asked me to try, and gosh dang it I could not get that filly to canter on the right. She picks up the left lead every single time. Hard inside bend? Nope. Ok....counter bend to force her to two-track and step under herself? Nope... Ok... Get a crop and give her a tap on the outside rump? Nope.. Ok I am out of ideas. Haha, and she was really hard to get to canter anyways, she didn't want to go. So I felt rather defeated. But thats ok, not my horse.
Rode Cheyenne at work the other day, and she tried to buck me off?!?!! WHAT?!?! I trained her better than that! She was 'afraid' of one entire side of the arena, and when I was going to MAKE her go over there, she got real pissy and went running off bucking. That was fun, except not. But by the end of the ride, she decided it might be better to just walk nicely on that side, instead of trying to launch me into oblivion. Success. Somewhat. Also rode Sage- their BLM mustang. She is so nice. Lovely western pleasure pony. She is smooth smooth smooth and slow and lovely. She makes me like western more. High Five Sage.

Beary Muffin

Hello...writing this from back home. I came home for the weekend to visit my friend for her birthday. But back home, I've been doing my pony things as usual. It's so hard to update and put pictures up and things without the internet at home. So annoying, you have no idea. None. Zero. But, I have been working with Beary at work, and she is doing great! She still only really walks, trotting is hit and miss. But the other day I braided her mane and tail up all pretty [for no apparent reason] and threw the dressage saddle and english bridle on her. This was only the second time english, but I took her outside first off, and hopped on! First time I've ridden her outside without an arena ride to prep. And she was fabulous! We walked all over, in the grass, along the driveway, across the little bridge thing...awesomeness. She was calm and easy and great. I'm so proud of her! I know it may seem like she is so...not broke, so not going anywhere because she doesn't have that trot down. But to me it feels like I'm finally getting somewhere with her. The trot will come in time, trust me, if you saw this horse in person you would realize just how NOT built for riding she is. I cut her some slack. And she will trot for me now, we just need to hone the directional steering and control part. But yes. Not alot of excitement with the others. Had a little scare that Gypsy might be sick, but I think her belly was just hurting from deworming her with Quest...note to self; don't use that stuff again. It's like the atomic bomb of dewormers....not quite necessary. And I guess...I left my boyfriend in charge of bringing Gypsy into the barn last night if it was super rainy...and he shirked his duties and forgot about her. So I guess she was outside in a monsoon all night getting soaked and cold. Lovely. And somebody random brought her in for me. Slight good news, I suppose. Anyways, heading back home this afternoon.