Day 18

18 Feb 2012
Lots of focus on suppleness and straightness today.  Spiralling in and out on a circle, falling through and then having him pick up his shoulder (an exercise that I've found very beneficial... you push them out through the shoulder and then pick the shoulder up.  I think it explains what you want to the horse in a way they can clearly understand) and being responsive to my aids.  I didn't want to push it too much, so we didn't do a ton.

Day 17

17 Feb 2012
After Arty's big night out, he had today to relax.  I contemplated goiing out to brush him after my shift at the clinic was over, but didn't end up having the time.

Day 16

16 February 2012
Arty hasn't been in an arena for at least 6 years, and probably hasn't been in one before that.  So today I trailered him over to my barn to get him used to the indoor & for a ride on decent footing.  When we arrived I took him straight into the indoor and free lunged him.  He was pretty chill about everything, and so we headed into the barn.

(Video Coming Soon)

I had to ride my mare as well, so I decided that I'd do her first so that I could give Arty my full and undivided attention when I rode him.  I left him with his hay and some water in the spare stall in the interim, and he settled in nicely.
My mare was fantastic, and we ran through everything I'd set out to do in 15 minutes, so I called it quits early since she was being so fantastic.  However, I guess that wasn't enough work for her because as I was putting up her stirrups she bolted.  After 10 minutes of watching her gallop & buck I left her in the indoor with a set of eyes to make sure she didn't hurt herself, and I went to tack up Arty.  Some probably criticize this decision, but I didn't want to reward this attention seeking (because that's exactly what this was) behaviour, so by ignoring it completely  and not acknowledging it she can't get her desired results.  By entrusting someone else to keep an eye on her I knew she wasn't going to be hurt, so I still feel I made the appropriate decision.  She meandered into the barn not long after I brought the pony out, and was fantastic after that.
Back to the pony.  So I simultaneously untacked my mare and tacked up the pony, while watching them make weird faces at each other.

(Photo Coming Soon)

Once in the ring, Arty was a little spooky but good over all.  The new setting and scariness of the indoor exacerbated all of his issues, and in a way it kind of felt like we were back to square one again.  With some work though, we still managed to have a productive ride.

(Video Coming Soon)

Day 15

15th February 2012
Today I got on the pony, and we had a lovely ride.  His right lead canter seems to be improving, and the straightness is phenomenally better.  In addition his bend is more consistent, and while he tends to over compensate in his neck and not bend quite as well through his body, we're still getting bend through the body... just more in the neck than the body.
After having such a good ride, I did something silly.  Actually, it was more than just silly.  It was foolish, somewhat pointless, a little dumb, and completely & totally exciting.  What did I do?  I entered Arty and I in a dressage show.  Why, you may ask?  Because I miss showing him.  Because I want to test his progress.  Because... I felt like it.  There really isn't a rational explanation, but the entry forms are off and we're officially signed up for w/t A and B.

Day 14

14 February 2012
The poor pony was once again booted to the back of the priority line today.  I was riding another horse at his barn for the mare's owner, and didn't have time to ride da pony after I was done.  Instead I put a lunge line on him and just spent 5 minutes walking and trotting him on the lunge to see how he was going.

Day 13

13 February 2012
I got to the barn quite late.  Not wanting to disrupt those who live around the barn, I had to make it quick.  After switching Arty's bit from a D-ring rubber snaffle (single joint) to a happy mouth double jointed loose ring snaffle. He seemed to go a lot better in it, and we had quite a nice ride.  He was a lot better with his bending & straightness.  So much so that I began mulling over the idea of taking him to a little dressage show on the 19th.  While he's by no means ready, it'd be fun and is the only local one this month...

Day 12

12 February 2012
The pony had the day off today.  He wasn't supposed to, but some family dropped by and before I knew it, it was 9pm.  Oops, no riding now!

Day 11

11 February 2012
Today was supposed to be cold.  -20 degrees Celsius with the wind chill... Brrrr.  So I dressed up warm with heat packs in my toes and hands.  By the time I got to Arty I'd already ridden my mare and Miss L, the reining mare.  I figured both the pony and I needed an escape from the arena, so I popped on his trail gear and we tagged along with two others for a short (1 hour) trail ride through one of the local conservation areas.
Arty hacks in a hackamore (the type with a shank & curb chain) due to his poor trail training, his love of running and leading, and his immense pony strength.  Through the 10 minute walk down the road to get to the trails, he was bent right and drifting left.  Correcting this in a hackamore is more challenging, but I opened my right rein, asked for some left bend, and pushed HARD with my left leg. It sort of worked, but was better than anything else I tried.  He seemed to have lost all his arena training the moment we started down the road... not a good thing.
The ride itself was fun.  We walked a bit, did a tiny bit of trot work, a fairly long hand gallop (one of the horses [naturally the retired one] threw a bucking fit and took off) some more walking, and then some trotting & cantering through snow in fields.  It was gorgeous... perhaps more running and less trotting than I would have done but I was just along for the ride. (being a self-invited tag along and all)
I put my mare's old cooler (which I'd brought out for da pony) on arty when we got back as he had some sweat underneath his saddle area.  A 75' cooler on a pony who wears a 68 looks pretty damn cute.  I wished I had a camera for that one :)

Day 10

10 February 2011
It was late when I got home from riding the mare, and I was cold.  But the weather man said tomorrow was going to be worse, so headed out to the barn to ride the pony decked out in 6 sweaters and coats, a few pairs of long johns, and heat packs for my hands and feet.
The pony stood gamely in the cross ties while I groomed him and attempted to detangle his mane.  Every time I do this, he rolls and knots it back up again.  Oh pony...  We flipped on the arena lights and made our way out into the cold.  There was about 2 inches of snow, maybe 3, when we entered the arena.  The top layer of footing broke up and mixed in with the snow quite nicely around the rail to create near perfect conditions, but only a small area of the center of the ring was ridable.  So, we spent most of our time trotting around like a lesson pony.  Arty wasn't quite as supple as he was the other night, nor was he quite as straight.  With some work though, we attained an acceptable level of straightness in the walk and the trot. 
We did a few laps of canter for muscle building, and it was the same- great left (more supple and bendable) and a challenge to the right.  Time to kick our canter buts into gear and get the muscle/balance exercises out!

Day 9

I got home from my mare too late to ride the pony, so he got the day off.  Lucky beastie!

Day 8

8 February 2012
Today we were back at it.  I rode the pony while the mare I was riding next had her farrier appointment.  I love it when timings just work out like that.  I realized I'd gone about my previous ride in a bit of the wrong direction.  Arty didn't fully understand the bend and release in the walk, so it would be ridiculous to expect him to get it in the trot.  He had the general idea in the walk, but not quite enough for it to translate into the trot.  Today I set about perfecting the bend & release in the walk, then moved to the trot.  He was still a little resistant, but that's definitely to be expected.  Overall, it felt like wonderful progress.  He's come a long, long way in just a week.
The footing was awful, so I only had a really small area that met my footing requirements.  Issues with riding outside in the middle of winter.  I did however manage to fit in a wee bit of canter, and his left was good but the right was weak.  I plan on free lunging him to do a quick examination of how he picks up and carries each lead at liberty.
Our next week will be centered on muscle building, responsiveness, and maintaining our bend/straightness work.

Oh, and there was a little cavaletti left in the ring, so I hopped him over it  just out of curiosity.  It was... awkward.  He stuttered, came in deep, and popped it. Lucky it barely made 18"!  He's always required a fair bit of setting up to get his spots right, so mehaps if I can pop some muscle on him, allowing him to find his spots without my help will  be another thing to work on.

Day 7

Arty had his day off today, as did my mare, which was wonderful because I spent the day sick & in bed.  I had to reschedule another mare I was supposed to be riding, and a lesson.  At least school wasn't busy which left me with a day to sleep away my fever & not worry about catching up on missed work.

Day 6

6 February 2012
Today was a challenge.  While the pony's awesome, he can do a great impression of a bulldog when he wants to.  He bears down, and charges through anything in his way.  I know this from personal experience- that's his favourite trick out on the trails when he wants to run.  After a few rides he quit doing that with me, but apparently it makes an appearance every now and again with others.

This bulldozer technique made an appearance again when I asked him to halt in front of the mounting block.  He halted, then walked a few steps forward.  I corrected him and asked him to back up and yield to my reins.
We eventually moved a step back, then he charged again dragging me halfway across the ring.  I naturally corrected him, but I felt awful as his eyes were rolling & his nostrils were flared like he feared for his life.  I tried to reassure him, then we walked back to the mounting block and hopped on without incident.
I'm not a fan of controlling horses through fear, power, and aggression.  Just like when you control people that way, eventually you'll get an uprising.  This does NOT mean that you should never correct a horse; when a horse does something wrong they need to know that its wrong.  It's all in how you communicate the message.

With Arty, his past experiences make it difficult.  He always fears pain.  To this day, he shies if you lift a saddle pad too high, if you wave things, etc.  So how do you correct a horse who is running right through you without frightening him?  If anyone knows the answer, I'd love to hear it because I sure don't.

Anyhow, the rest of our ride didn't improve much.  We had decent bending going on in the walk, though the left bend still requires a fair bit of inside leg to prevent him from falling through that shoulder.  His straightness was good too, and we could walk straight down the long side of the arena with only a few corrections.  The trot however, was a bit of a disaster.

It started out alright- we trotted around and managed to not fall in through the corners left and right.  He was rushy, but not awful.  From there I popped him into a left lead canter... which was passable, then took a quick break.  When I popped him back into the trot, calm was no longer a part of our vocabulary.  First I tried to attains some softness in his jaw with the hopes that from there, rhythm would come.  No such luck.  Then I tried to slow his trot (which was semi-successful) and worked on bending from there.

My main goal was to get him to give and soften.  I'm never fussed about frame as I don't really see the point in having your horse's neck all tucked up just for the sake of making the horse look pretty.  If a horse is bends, is soft, and is balanced all without ever tucking their nose then wonderful- let it hold its head however it likes.  The fact is, most horses do come into a frame and carry themselves like that when their neck, jaw, and body is soft and yielding.  So my sole goal for the pony was to get some give.  I couldn't tell you how long we spent just trotting with me asking him to yield to my inside rein and leg.   Instead he threw his head, tried to rush, threw his head some more, impersonated a giraffe, and tried to walk.  I had to drop my stirrups to gain full control of my leg and seat, so I could use them effectively and give some really strong half-halts.

I have a half halt strong enough to stop a 17hh percheron cross in his tracks, but it is rarely used.  Arty did get some pretty good strength half-halts though... anything less and he just rushed through it.  Eventually, he gave. We switched directions, and he was much easier to the left.  I think the fight had just gone out of him.  We cooled out, did some carrott stretches, and I showered him in treats.  Hopefully next time will be easier.

Day 5

5 February 2012
Arty's straightness was much better today.  We managed to make it down the wall without falling in at any point in time.  It was gorgeous and sunny out, and the kind of weather that just makes you happy, and I think the pony was feeling it.  He was relaxed and content to just follow along with whatever plan I had.  I tried out his canter, and it was better to the left (his bad direction) than it was to the right.  Stiff and unyielding, but more balanceable to the left than the right.  Transitions were awful- did some work on them but not much.  Once he's not requiring so much leg to stay straight we'll buckle down on the transitions.
It was so muddy out that Arty didn't want to move his feet at all when I went out to get him.  The mud was probably a solid 4-6 inches deep at least- deeper in some spots.  Thus, I decided to leave him in his stall after I rode.  It was mid- afternoon and they would all be coming in for the night in an hour or two.  I had to muck out his 'already mucked' stall though.  Thankfully some new shavings had been added, and you could only smell the ammonia when you bent down versus smelling it the second you set foot in the stall.  A horse's stall should not smell worse than my chicken coop... even if my chicken coop doesn't stink.

Day 4

4 February 2012
I intended on doing sometihng more exciting with the pony today, especially considering that it was sunny & the temperature was above freezing.  However, this meant that the fields were just big pools of mud that swallowed you whole if you stood still for too long, but proved nearly impossible to navigate.  So instead, I brought him into the barn, did some carrot stretches, and groomed him up a titch before mucking out his stall.  A horse's stall should not smell worse than my chicken coop...

Day 3

3 February 2012
I planned on just grooming and spoiling the pony after I was done work at the clinic, but that plan went awry when the clinic was so dead that the only thing I did was groom the horses up.  I headed home early (it was either that or sit around watching YouTube videos and the clock) and stopped off to see the pony.  Since I had some time to kill, I hopped on him bareback and we worked on bending left and right as we meandered our way  into the arena.  Once in the arena, we picked up a trot and aimed for riding as straight down the long walls as possible.  I only rode for about 10 minutes before hopping off, picking his feet, and kissing him goodnight.

Day 2

2 February 2012
Today's ride was more of the same.  Started with some lunge work; he was lazy and much less engaged compared to yesterday evening.  We did a 'circle' exercise where we spiraled in to the center of the ring, but it was more of a box shape than a circle.  I made square turns and moved the shoulders over on each one (almost like a reverse on the haunches) to travel in, then leg yielded smoothly out.  This was a fantastic exercise for Arty, as it showed him what I wanted when I asked his shoulders over.  Did this in the walk and the trot.  He is still bending his shoulders in around corners, but much more balanced on circles and serpentines.  Still wants to fall in while working on the rail.

The ride was again very short.  I tacked him up in the arena, letting him stand free while I put the saddle on.  He was again not keen on taking the bit, and getting him to open his mouth was a challenge.  When I first started using a bit on him, we had this issue.  Then, I started placing a mint in my hand with the bit & the problem was solved.  Apparently though, others haven't been keeping with this tradition and he's regressed back to his old ways.  Feet look a little wonky, & I think pictures are in order.

Tacking up in the arena

Ignore the pink rubber boots and concentrate on the fuzzy pony

Day 1

1 Feb 2012
I went to the barn twice yesterday.  The first time was to speak with Arty's owner and confirm my month of part board/lease.  When I went to see my baby, he wasn't even interested in coming to the front of his stall for treats. It made me incredibly sad.  I went in and fed him some anyway.
When I returned later, it again took some convincing for him to come and check me out.  This isn't the pony I used to know.... lots of treats and a quick groom later (he was half black and half white) we headed out to the arena- a small outdoor sand ring that has never seen a harrow. They don't even own one
I started off with some free lunging to get a base line for the next month of work.  He was hesitant at first, but once he got into it he actually threw a few bucks!  I've seen this pony buck a grand total of 3 times before this, so I was impressed.  His trot opened up a bit, and the canter became more fluid.  Very crooked, and counter bent for large portions.

He looks like a polar bear... but fatter

Next, I popped him on a lunge line and used my own version of the pessoa system- a set of reins attached to each D-ring on the saddle that sat perfectly behind his bum.  The goal being to engage his hind end.  Fantastic improvement in the walk, trot wasn't much different.  Did some coll/ext. work on the lunge.  No canter, not enough muscle.
Then I hopped on just for a quick walk to see what he felt like.  Very crooked (constantly bent right) and wanted to push inside shoulder toward center of arena on every turn.  Did leg yielding in and out on a circle to help control shoulders and lift outside.  Breaks are awful, & no half halt.

Why We're Here

Yesterday, the first of February 2012, I was given one of the greatest gifts I could ever receive- one month with my pony.  Arty is probably the greatest creature that has ever set foot... er, hoof on this planet.  To better explain the situation, here's an excerpt from my other blog-
I found Arty in July 2009.  He was a trail horse who had been given to his owner as he couldn't be ridden at the previous owner's schooling barn.  When ridden, Arty would grab the bit in his mouth and take off with his nose in the air.  The solution? He was ridden in a hackamore, and his head was kept in check with a martingale.   Problem solved!  Not.  The first time I rode Arty, somebody held onto him while I hopped on (from the ground... he was afraid of mounting blocks).  Immediately, I was holding him back.  It took a lot of work, solely arm muscle, to keep him from breaking to trot.  After making sure he had steering (kind of) and something resembling breaks (not really) we trotted.  It was similar to riding... I don't really know.  I've never really ridden anything like that.  His trot was short and quick, very quick.  After maybe 20 minutes he finally started to relax, a little.  We tried the canter, and he picked up the proper lead despite not having been ridden in an arena in over three years, and having little arena experience priorto that.  After that first ride, I'd fallen in love.  
I spent the next few months instilling brakes, steering, and trust.  He was quite the nervous little pony- tense as a wire the moment you hopped on his back.  If you patted him, moved your arms, carried a whip, he freaked.  The poor little guy couldn't even tolerate a scratch on his neck.  Other things were missing too.  He didn't like to pick up his feet, would shy away from saddle pads, blankets, etc. and to this day has never totally overcome his fear of water. I remain the sole person to successfully forge a stream on him.  He did howeevr, improve.  A year after I started riding him, I started showing him.  Just fun little low hunter stuff.  He was far from perfect.  We needed to have a bit, but he still wasn't quite comfortable with them so I'd warm up in a hackamore, pop his bit in, and go in & jump our course.  He'd never canter too fast, and I'd just circle a lot to stop!  We didn't do flat classes... for obvious reasons.
It was through Arty that I met my coach.  I'd spent a year training this runaway trail horse into a solid riding pony, but I needed help.  With the help of my coach, I improved his straightness, responsiveness, and contact/frame.  He was doing spectacularly.  Then things changed- I got my own mare.  My girl is amazing, and I love her to death.  I left my pony in loving hands with the knowledge that I could come visit, ride, and play with him any time.
At first, all was well.  I'd go feed him treats, and every now and again his owner would offer me a ride.  But eventually, I started hearing stories- this person did this to him, that person did that.  The light in his eyes went out.  He no longer nickered when he heard my voice, no longer greeted me with perked ears at the front of his stall.  Two instances snapped me: In one a girl who has been riding him attempted to gallop him in the arena.  At this point in time (I know this because I'd ridden him a week or two earlier) he didn't have the muscle or condition to canter a circle.  The girl spured him into a gallop, and when he couldn't turn, he hit the fence and she was thrown.  Another time someone took him on a trail.  They galloped the whole way, in a western saddle that (without a word of exxageration) covered his LOINS going right to his croup, and threw him in his stall soaking wet without grooming him or putting on a cooler.  I arrived and groomed away the icicles that had formed on his chest.  It broke my heart to see my baby in this condition.  Thus, for the motnh of February, he is mine.  It is my attempt to save my pony, even if its only for the time being.  I hope to rebuild some of his muscle, regain his lost straightness, and put the spark back in my pony's eye.  One month's better than nothing.