Four Days

Consistency has always been hard for me when training. I blame it on the artistic mindset that got me through college with a music degree and although I enjoy jumping around and working on different things all the time it's not very helpful when working with horses. Especially young horses...

That is why I decided to work with Katai every single day this week and hopefully this month. That doesn't mean training every day. In fact, on Monday I just groomed her in her pen and fed her an apple core :) yesterday though went really well. She's getting used to coming into the barn and being tied like a big girl and she behaved excellently while being ground driven. I also took her out hand grazing which didn't go so well but it did need to happen.

Today now it was cold and raining so all I did was put her in her stall and give her a nice large armful of hay. I would have groomed her too but she was all wet and shivery so that wouldn't work.

I'm hoping that tomorrow will be nice enough to work with her a little but I'm expecting it probably won't be. Based on how well she did with ground driving I'm planning on riding her on the next warm, tiring :), day. Hopefully that's sooner rather than later.

One Horse Girl

It's so nice to just have one again and I feel like I need to record this so I'm not tempted to purchase another anytime soon. I'm just not in a place in my life right now to be comfortable with having more than one horse. Between renting month to month and not having a ton of disposable income it's just not comfortable having two.

Now if I need to move and start boarding I'll be able to afford to take Katai. I can absolutely afford a pony and a dog even if I have to move or have an emergency but I can't afford to board two.

The best part is that now I have more time to work with my problem child. Katai is really a very good pony and has made a lot of progress just over this winter which impresses me because I didn't have that many days where I could work with her because of the weather. However, with Myshla here it was easy to make excuses and just take Meesh out. She rode so nice and listened well and was easy to trailer so instead of working to train Katai it was all about Meesh. Finally, Katai won't be "easy" for a long time. She is fairly hot for a pony and can be a handful. What she needs is miles, lots of exercise and regular firm but fair handling.

With that said, she is going to be fun and an excellent little dressage pony. I was seeing that even more today now that her feet are feeling better and she was really striding out nice. She has a wonderful, rhythmic relaxed stride that will do wonderful things in a dressage arena. Now I just have to bring her to her full potential :)

All Kinds of Change

Weather: we finally had our first day over 50 degrees since October. It's been sunny and most of our snow is gone. The arena is dry enough that we can do some riding although it does need to be raked and de-rocked again.

Myshla: She found a new home! It's right in the area and they are going to keep me updated on her progress. It is a 4-H home where two teenagers are going to get her tuned up and ready for a kid. She is an awesome pony but they do have their work cut out for them if they want her to be kid ready which I did mention to them. Luckily they do have a couple of small adult friends who may be interested as well. She just left today and was a good girl hopping right on the trailer even if she was very up with the windy day.

Katai: is learning to be a big girl. I decided to work with her every single day for a month as long as the weather cooperates. She's been pretty much left alone all winter and has gotten kinda wild again so regular handling would be good for both of us.

Today after she'd had a chance to calm down I took her out to lunge her. She wore her saddle and bridle and was a really good girl on the lunge despite the windy weather. We have a storm coming in tonight supposedly and all the horses are on edge so I was very proud. Other than dancing a bit when she was tied after I worked her she was excellent. I worked with her a lot on the lunge on her stiff side getting her to flex and bend in the direction she was going. She was more flexible and moving better today than she has in a long time and her feet were doing well too. Proof that the proper trimming does make a huge difference :)

Quiet

This is why I've been quiet recently. That was late last week and now just as it was melting we're getting another snow storm tonight.

The new job has been taking some of my time as well.

The Great Name Debate

In a previous post I explained how Katai got her name and was mistakenly named Katai, which means stubborn in Japanese, rather than Kitai, which means harmony in Japanese. I kept the spelling of Katai for several reasons including the fact that I had already named this blog and didn't really want to start it all over to correct the spelling.

I explained all this to my mom and when it came time to ask for Christmas presents the only thing I really asked for was a show sheet for her with her name embroidered on it. I spelled out exactly how I wanted her name spelled and somehow it still got spelled incorrectly on the sheet. I was, and am, disappointed since it was my only present and I really love it in every way other than for the misspelling.

Now it's left me trying to decide if it makes more sense to just use the sheet as it is and risk confusing people on the spelling of her name or just having a new sheet made while using this sheet as a backup. I have toyed with the idea of letting the spelling of her name be sort of optional and if there were ever a time for it to be spelled Kitai rather than Katai it would be at a show where she would be wearing her sheet.

Still haven't really decided...

Myshla Update

So, Myshla is still here and doing very well. She's at a great weight and just needs to shed out her teddy bear fluffies and gain some condition for the summer. This blog was initially going to be about both girls but I am having the exact issue I was worried about. Namely that I have a favorite.

I have a small OCD type issue that no matter how many I have of most things I always have a favorite and that's the only thing that gets any use. All my clothes are this way, I only ever wear one bra or sweatshirt etc., my electronic devices are that way, I only ever use my iPhone despite having an awesome computer and tablet, I always use the same food storage container and so on. It's the reason I try to only have one of each thing because I know it's the only one that will get any use and it's the reason I have tried to only ever have one horse.

Myshla is an absolute sweetheart and I adore her and everything about her. When I first went to see her I initially thought that I had no interest but when I rode her I couldn't stop smiling. I would ideally keep her forever and love her like she deserves. The issue becomes Katai who I found by accident and is basically the horse (pony) I've dreamed about since I first dreamed about having a horse. Of the two she has better conformation for Dressage, she's a little bigger, a little younger and has the personality and attitude that I adore and that would make her an excellent performance horse. I can't sell her.

Even if I emotionally could sell her I don't think I could give her away right now with her lack of training and current behavior issues. Myshla on the other hand would be easy to find a home for.

I know that while I can afford to keep both for now one of the two won't get nearly enough attention and that's just not fair. I also know that when I do need to move I will need to start boarding and I'm just not sure that I can afford to board two horses.

The plan for now is to see if the one person who knows Myshla might be for sale and who I would love to give/sell her to wants her. He still needs to come out and see her so I'm waiting for that to happen and my plans hinge on whether he wants to take her or not. If he doesn't I think my plan is to keep her for the summer and maybe event her :)

When I was in my teens I did some eventing and actually attended a couple of really cool eventing clinics including one with David O'Connor, which I didn't ride in but thought was wonderful and still have notes on. I loved eventing but my horse at the time was spooky and tripped a lot so I started doing more work in the arena and that is actually what led to me doing Dressage.

Since then I've concentrated on Dressage for various reasons but I really do miss a lot of eventing and with Myshla it would be incredibly fun to try out again. I have the money now for all the equipment that I would really need and have more contacts and access to better trainers including one who was just about drooling over Myshla. The last important thing to add is that kind of by accident I learned that Myshla jumps really well, at least with low jumps, and Katai does not. With some more conditioning and practice Katai could possibly be a decent jumper but with her current reluctance to jump at all I can hardly imagine that she would be a good candidate for eventing so this narrows my options down to keeping and possibly eventing Myshla while training Katai who would focus on Dressage or rehoming Myshla and focusing just on Katai.

Big Girl

Today it was windy enough that I wasn't comfortable working outside so I brought both girls in the barn for a second time to groom and have them practice standing tied. Neither one of them has a problem with the wind but I do and days like today make me want to curl up inside with a blanket and watch a movie.

I did have Katai wear her bridle with the new bit for the first time since I got the NS bit and it was a success. She was much less fussy and much more relaxed. I spent a bunch of time grooming both her and Myshla including brushing out tails and clipping manes so they look like neat English horses again rather than fuzzy ponies.

Katai did way better at standing tied today and actually figured out how to eat around her bit which was a huge thing since it means she is starting to relax her jaw a little. It's not something I would normally encourage a horse to do with a bit in their mouth but in my opinion its not bad for them to know they can either.

I did get a couple of pictures of her today so this blog finally isn't as boring. Doesn't she look like a big girl?

Better Equipment

I was excited to get my recent bonus and so far Katai and my credit cards have been benefiting :-)

Today my Neue Schule bit came from Cheshire horse and I am very impressed and can't wait to try it with her to see what she thinks. Here is a picture comparison of the new bit with the old which was a Korsteel JP.

The JP isn't a bad bit but I've been unhappy with it for a pony that has a low pallet and this picture is a good example of why. The joints, which sit in her mouth the tall way, are almost the size of a quarter and with the large gap I've felt there is a really good chance that she will at some point get her tongue pinched.

 I should also say that I am still not sure whether a bit has a place in my tack box or not. I swore that I would never use a bit with Sora again a few years ago and I'm still trying to decide how exactly I feel about them. They are obviously not natural to a horse but neither is a lot of what we live with on a daily basis and just by asking them to carry us we are asking them to do something very unnatural. I do feel that there are many people who balance bit and bittless riding very well and I do see that they do have their place. However, with all that said I am very sensitive (over sensitive?) to fit and type.

Mostly I am very happy to have a bit that am more happy with and more comfortable having her wear and ultimately if I'm more comfortable with it it can't hurt :-)

Ick

Tonight we have a -5 windchill





Nough said........

My Little Pony

Look at Katai's new duds!!!

She is going to be fully outfitted in her pony appropriate tack soon. Now I just need a cute matching saddle pad but that needs to wait until I get another good sized paycheck. All this came from the leftover money I had from my bonus after I finished paying my bills and credit cards.

Now I just need a clippers so she doesn't look like a Yak ;-)

Alone Time

The past week has been pretty quiet and not much has been accomplished with Katai. The temperature has dropped again to below 30 and that's pretty much my limit for training so she's been sitting ie. running around like an idiot playing with Myshla. Last weekend though I did bring her into the stall and tie her for some alone time/standing tied time. She is very clingy and while she walks away from the herd perfectly fine she is not good when she realizes she is alone or if she has to watch them leave her. She has started to look to me when she is on her own which is a huge improvement but it certainly needs some more improvement.

After her initial 10 minute freak out she was quite good and I was even able to make some more progress on her hooves. We are on a 1-2 week trim cycle right now so that I can continue to get her heels trimmed properly. The space of time in between is important too though since she needs time to adjust to her new feet each time especially on the foot with the steep heel angle because while her living sole would suggest that that foot can be around the same angle of the other there is still a reason that she grows more heel on that foot and I would guess that it's because of an issue higher up in her shoulder. The time in between gives her body a chance to adjust in small increments to the different angles.

My barefoot trimmer has been quite impressed with the progress I've made so far. She is from southern Minnesota so I just take a lot of pictures to send her but she has been a valuable resource and is great at critiquing my photos and letting me know if I'm on the right track.

Goal Recap:
I completely failed at meeting my goals for last week but I'll blame it on the weather. I'm going to set a couple of very reachable goals this week in case it's still cold like its supposed to be.

This weeks goals are;

To get some more pictures of my adorable pony so this blog isn't as boring.

Work on her feet again on one of the warmer days

More alone/tied time in the stall

I think next week is supposed to be getting warmer so hopefully we can get back on track with more real training goals then :-)