Happy New Year Everyone!
I have a lot to share in my latest update! This past November, 4star and I attended our first clinic since his abscess from stepping on the clip of his shoe. I was a little nervous as between his injury and lack of time riding due to the cold (our trainer does not allow us to ride when its under 15 degrees), we had not been training as much as we typically do. The clinic was at Larkin Hill in Chatham, NY with Eric Horgan. My barnmate and her OTTB attended as well. Since it was a two-day clinic, I decided it would be best to board 4star and we arrived early to get him settled in. The first afternoon we focused on our Dressage. Since he was just getting back into work, we struggled to encourage him to work, especially to move forward more freely and willingly. At first, we were both frustrated as this is something that we could do well just a few months ago and now we were struggling! 4star showed his frustration by kicking out a few times, but when he realized that I was not going to allow this type of behavior he accepted the work and we regrouped. I tried not to get discouraged, but it was a difficult emotional battle because it was cold, I was a bit under the weather, and I wanted to progress with our Dressage not work on the same things we had been. However, I am happy to report that the rest of the lesson went very well. The next day was an early stadium jump lesson and it was not our best ride to date. 4star seemed tired and had not enjoyed stabling and neither did his barnmate. Afterwards my trainer and I realized we should have been more careful in timing our rides, we realized we made a management error with him! We should have given him a longer rest period between lessons because he was just coming back into work and each lesson was 1 1⁄2 hours. Plus, I was still under the weather and was unable to support him properly as he fatigued. That being said, I was happy as we had some good bending lines which is something I had been struggling with last season. I just cannot always find the correct aids for steering him and fall prey to too much hands. I think the trip was good for both of us because we enjoy traveling off the farm.
In December, my trainer Lillian Becker consolidated two barns into one. The facility with the indoor had flooded and it became unsafe to ride in. At first, I was worried because I wanted to continue to improve and was not sure how I would do this without an indoor. I know that many people do not have indoors, but it has been so great to have one. I tried to be positive about the sudden change, but I had a hard time adjusting at first. I do not like to be cold so I was reluctant to ride outside. Fortunately, we have had a warm winter so far, so it has not been too bad. Plus, my trainer found a barn 10 minutes away that will let us ship there for practice almost anytime we want. The most interesting change is that 4star has been much better behaved than he usually is around this time of year. My trainer and I talked about it and we feel he must really enjoy the trail rides and working outside more than we realized. I guess he just needed some time off from the indoor. My trainer tells us that horses communicate with us, we just need to figure out how to listen and then it will all come together. Our new location has great trails and has cross-country schooling. I will be helping to make new jumps for 4star and I am excited about that. Also, we need to work on building muscle behind so walking up and down hills and faster hill work will be great for 4star. I love galloping up the long hills! The really good news is that the new barn is 1 minute from my house. This means that I can go almost any time I want just to say hi or give him a treat. There is one more positive thing about the move. My trainer has also arranged for us to ship over to train with Adam Gershberg at Apple Hill Dressage Hudson, NY instead of him coming to us. It is close enough that we are able to go over after school andI always enjoy working with Adam.
Recently, we shipped over to Apple Hill Dressage and 4star was up to his old tricks that he pulls out in winter; spooking in the corner and trying to dart out of the arena. He can be a bit tricky that way and I always have to be prepared for something. Adam was patient with us and we had 4star walk slowly to the corner he did not like and then moved on. After that we had a good lesson. We worked on bending and suppeling and having a consistent rhythm. I tried small spurs for the first time and that went very well. During the lesson, it was interesting because he was not bending well to the right, which is usually his better side, but I did not think much of it at the time. I just thought it was because we had not been focusing on Dressage recently. Afterwards, Adam noticed his bridle was twisted on the right side! I was so embarrassed and we all felt badly for 4star. We all wondered how we missed that! I blame myself because I was in a hurry when I was getting ready. Needless to say, I learned my lesson – there are some things you need to always take your time with and double check.
Unfortunately, a few days before Christmas, one of 4stars pasture mates became sick and passed away suddenly the day after Christmas, after a 4 day battle. This was very upsetting to all of us since we all tried to help save him. I was surprised how it upset 4star. He is at the top of the pecking order and became anxious when his friend passed and he started chewing the fence apart for a few days instead of eating. That caused some changes in his weight. As of now he is back to a good weight, eating well.
In addition to riding, I have been training for a 5K. I have never done anything like this before but I feel like the training has been helping me with my riding. My core is getting stronger and I feel better overall. I am proud of myself. In January, my 4-H group took part in horse bowl and hippology. I was so surprised how little I actually know about horsemanship. It was a real eye opener for sure. I volunteer at the barn 10 hours per month at least, which is required by my trainer, attend workshops, seminars, ride, read, and watch videos about all sorts of horse related topics and I still have to much to learn.
On January 25-26, I will attend the Dressage4kids Weekend Equestrian Program. It is a two-day event filled with interesting talks, lectures, and seminars. This year they have even included a few eventing and cross training talks which I am super excited about. I highly recommend attending to anyone who has not before. It helps with those winter blues! We all can agree that in Area 1 the winter can be fierce, long, and boring. Attending something like this can keep you positive. That being said, I have so many fun things lined up and goals to reach that I cannot wait to share with all of you. I am very positive about 2020 and 4star is going strong and has been in a great mood.
I would love to know what everyone else does to keep busy on and off their horse in the winter months so please reach out and let me know.
