No, It's More than Disappointment

I forgot to mention in the last post that Willig has a new set of hives. They're not that big, and there's not that many, but they are kind of interesting, in a historical perspective. One on his neck "burst" - there's a big raw patch of skin, and it was obviously weeping. A few others look like they wept a little too, which is weird since they weren't there Sunday but by Tuesday wept. He has some edema along his belly, which is visible, but not huge, but not that much up on his body. No leg swelling.
My hypotheses: Sunday he stayed in because of the rain, which was a change in routine, and presumably, stressful; new hay came - Saturday I think; Saturday I made him cross the 6" drainage creek; and/or he got the low dose bags of the skin & allergy which is about to run out.
What's discouraging is each of those are pretty mild events, in my mind. I think I am not doing a good job "getting" what a young horse needs to build confidence. I'm going to try to find some books on it - or articles.

The second thing, which is a bit of a rant, is this. Here's what a trainer/instructor sees when they look at me:
Someone with years of experience riding, but still pretty much an "advanced beginner";
an attorney with disposable income dedicated entirely to horses;
no other hobbies, no husband, no kids, and nothing on the horizon that looks like I'll quit riding anytime soon;
Two horses to be boarded, one who needs training, and weekly lessons;
Clinics and shows with a trainer;
Willing to pay for the trainer to show the "fancy" horse;
hard working at lessons - rides 5 times a week, takes lessons regularly, and practices what's learned in the lessons;
doesn't know how to train and needs lots of work, which means lots and lots of time in lessons and training;
on her ex-fiancee's beginning trail horse, placed 1st-3rd in every show entered after 10 years of not competing;
and very willing to learn and improve and set goals, so lessons aren't totally boring and the same thing every single week for years.
I can see why a trainer wouldn't want to keep me by driving 15 miles twice a month for lessons where he gets paid for his travel time, at a barn where at least 3 other riders might be interested in lessons with him. (That's sarcasm, and the very, very mellow version of the rant that is in my head right now.)

Two interesting articles in March 08 Practical Horseman

I should say, two especially interesting articles, since I tend to enjoy the entire magazine and I usually skim it once, then read it thoroughly the second time. And since I am just now doing the skim of March '08, I'm a bit behind.
For those of you who don't subscribe, well, first of all, I think it's totally worth it. But, you can still access a bunch of their articles online: http://www.equisearch.com/practicalhorseman/
The first interesting article was in Cross Country with Jim Wofford, which is my favorite part of the magazine. And the article was about whether you're ready for the next level, not just qualified. And it had a "rate your riding" chart (charts are one of my favorite nerdy things), and at first, I got all upset because I was a solid Level 4.0 on a scale of 1 - 10.
A 4 in dressage: "Introduced to bending and flexion. Can effectively apply aids for simple transitions. Knows basic geometry of lower-level dressage figures."
A 4 in show-jumping: "Jumps safely without stirrups over low fences. Cantering 8-10 fences at an even rhythm is still a challenge. Does not yet recognize distances." (For the record, when I was young, I was much better.)
A 4 in cross-country: "Introduced to simple xc combinations. Beginning to influence the approach on a familiar horse. Comfortable at 350 mpm."
And a whopping 6 in horsemanship: "Drops back one skill level on an unfamiliar horse. Able to develop own feeding chart and conditioning schedule. Knows requirements for worming and teeth floating. Safely administers IM and IV injections."
Then I read the sidebar. Level 9-10 riders compete at 4*; Level 8 at 3*; and "so on down the scale." So a Level 7 is a 2*; Level 6 is a 1*; and Level 5 - where I'll be next year - is the little local shows. Perfect! It's taken me 15 years, but I'm in exactly the right place to really start moving up. Because I'm never going to a 4* and probably never a 3*.
For example, a 7 in horsemanship was 1,000 hours of riding instruction. Now that doesn't seem like so much until you consider 1 lesson per week 50 weeks a year would take you 20 years to meet that requirement. And had I ridden consistently the past 15 years, I'd sure be a lot better than I am now.
Anyway, I thought it was a really interesting and useful way to look at where you are, where you want to go, and where you've been. Where you've been helps me stay focused and positive about the future, instead of depressed over how I'm not ever where I want to be.

The other interesting article was by Jessica Jahiel, and it was about learning style. There's three styles: visual, auditory, and kinesthetic. I've always assumed I was a visual learner because I prefer reading over listening, but I realized with the little quiz, is that I'm pretty solidly a kinesthetic learner. It was a surprise, and then really, really clear. Neat.

Finally, Alice finally emailed back and said Bob is not willing to travel (15 miles) to give me lessons. I'm extremely disappointed, but it's what I expected. I think I can do ok for a couple more months on my own, but then I'm going to need to find a new trainer. There are several trainers at the new barn, but they appear to be mostly for beginners, except for one show jumper guy, and I don't want to go back to that focus right now. I hope that by next spring I'll have sold Mercury, so I can get a truck and a trailer, and then I can travel for lessons, but for now, I'm going to need to start asking around to find a trainer I work well with who is willing to travel. It's just discouraging because I totally respected Bob, and worked really well with him as my instructor. He is hands down the best trainer I have ever had.

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Next week Willig will finally run out of his Platinum "skin & allergy". That will be the second (hundredth?) test of his hives.
He was really great on Tuesday. We cantered more than I've ever cantered on him before, and I was riding him outside while the horses went in for the evening, and he was almost - not quite, but almost - blase about it.
I can't find my other bit, so I ordered two more (with some biotin), and they finally arrived today, so now I can start switching bridles and not have to use Willig's bridle on Mercury.

Thanks for the comments!

Thanks for the feedback. I agree that Willig is quite possibly too much horse for me, and I have been suspecting that since he arrived. I had a very sinking feeling each time I saw Bob struggle with him because if Bob struggles, that means he's way out of my league.
I just want to make sure I rule the other options out though, and one I haven't mentioned explicitly is because of his hives, he has basically only been lunged for three months. I'm wondering if that is part of the "attitude" about being ridden and new things. His seller told me that he was a clever horse who got bored easily, and I'm wondering if he got "spoiled" by the lunging while we were trying to figure out the hives - like how horses get pasture sour.
I'm thinking he'll get another month or two to see how things are going, and if he's still beyond my skills, then it'll be time for him to find a home where he can be more properly utilized. If it is just an "adjustment", I don't want to give up on him too soon because he's such a joy to ride when we're working.
It's just frustrating to be in the position where I don't have the experience to be able to tell if it's "too much horse" or if he just needs some patience. It seems reasonable that a 6 year old who hasn't been shown or turned out would be overwhelmed by an active barn with daily turn out.
When he arrived, I couldn't even trot on him. I actually couldn't even make him trot on the lunge line. So we've made a LOT of progress when I step back and look at it, and I actually had some similar issues with Mercury (who is now a reliable, if slow, angel), and that makes me think it might just be a patience/trust thing.
Any other suggestions or experience you've had, though - I would love to hear it! One person posted very early on that he sounded like too much horse for what I needed right now, so if anyone has had a similar experience and found that it wasn't just "patience" that was needed, I would really like to know about your experience.
I'm so glad someone other than my mom, dad, and sister read this blog!

Willig : Stampy :: Mercury : Odin

I don't want to sell Mercury because I would never, ever get rid of Odin (my beloved dog on my other blog). And I wouldn't hesitate for even one second if someone drove up and knocked on my door and said they wanted Stampy.
And Willig is apparently trying to follow in Stampy's footsteps.
Today, after a bout with the stomach flu, I went out to lunge Willig since he got two days off. And both arenas were being used for lessons, and Willig is a bit too much horse to be lunged in the same arena as another horse (esp. with a total beginner who is still working on steering), so I decided to give him another learning opportunity, and take him out into the big pasture on the way to the trails. (There's actually two big pastures, but this one was more like being on a cross country course.)
And, just as I expected, he freaked out. Fortunately, we weren't unlucky and when he tried to kick me in the head (more than once), he wasn't close enough, and when he jumped over the lunge rein and got it tangled around his leg he didn't break it, and when he pulled really hard, he didn't get loose. And so he cantered and trotted around and around and around, and got mad and switched directions and kept going and going. It was almost an hour before he walked. And once he walked, I let him quit and we went inside.
- After we made three trips back and forth over the bridge because he wouldn't quit jumping the very last step -
And then he stood in the cross ties and pawed for another half hour, so I just put him in his stall instead of back outside so the staff wouldn't have to deal with him tonight. If I'm lucky, he'll be sore tomorrow so that will make him easier for me to ride (of course, after I lunge him).
I really, really don't know if it's a) his age, b) his inexperience, c) his lack of trust in me, or d) a messed up personality. But the clock is ticking. He's got two checkpoints, and if he doesn't pass both of them with some progress from this constant "learning experience in a new situation" that we've been doing for an entire month, then he's up for sale.

Mercury is Available for a Partial Lease in Olympia

16.1 hand Thoroughbred; 1994 Bay Gelding
Mercury is a sweet horse who doesn’t refuse, is easy to handle, well-behaved, good-natured, trailers, and bathes.
Suitable for a beginner with some experience
Must provide your own saddle and take two lessons per month
Partial lease includes 3 days/week of riding for $175/month; farrier, vet, and other care provided by owner
He must remain boarded where he is now. There's a link on the side to the barn for more information. They have great facilities - trails, an outdoor arena, and an indoor covered arena.

Please post a comment if you're interested or would like more information and I'll email you directly.

Solo Lesson ... in Patience

Ask anyone who knows me, and I will probably top their list of least patient people. I will certainly be in the top 5. And yet, most of the things I do seem to require all I've got in patience (quite possibly because it takes so little to use up my patience stores).
So tonight was another "opportunity" (aka challenge, aka patience exhausting) with Willig. With the light changing, and a couple days without rain, I've been able to ride outside in the evenings after work. Today I took Willig out to lunge him (he was fine), then ride him (he was fine as we started), but as the horses went in for dinner, he got increasingly agitated. So I lunged him again (less fine, but got tired) and then rode him at the walk for what felt like an hour but was probably only half an hour, talking to him and trying to help him realize the other horses can go places, and he's still ok.
It's great for us to get the opportunity to work on this before the first show, but it's frustrating that he has so many things he needs to work on. It feels like we don't ever get to work on actual riding, just on him being calm and listening. There's always something making him agitated.
I don't know if it's because a) he's young (still 6), b) had a sheltered life, c) his personality, or d) a little bit of all of the above. After living in a stall his whole life, turn out is a pretty big deal, and I think he's doing really well. It's just hard with Mr. Sedate Mercury who was the last horse in, presumably because he's such a sweet angel he doesn't cause problems.

Rough, rougher, roughest

Mercury has been a little sensitive on his feet, but he's been getting turned out, and I rode him yesterday for the first time in two months. He was an angel. I didn't even lunge him first. I took him on a walking only trail ride, and he got a little nervous (especially because there were two horses cantering around), but he was totally sweet. He is such a good, reliable horse.
In contrast, Willig's hives came back, he was jumping up and down in the cross ties, he got moved to the closest turn-out (which means, I think, that staff is still having trouble leading him), and then, just to keep me on my toes, he was totally calm and good when I lunged him and then rode him.
The hives are along his side and lower neck - not under his belly, but on the lower half of his belly/side. They look just like they did before. There are more than a few, but not so many that they're touching.
I bought him yet more herbs, because apparently two horses and two dogs and three cats are going to drive me broke this year. This time I got him the "relaxation" blend. He just doesn't seem like a high strung horse to me (ignoring the jumping up and down in the cross ties) - a thoroughbred (ignoring the paragraph about Mercury at the top) is a high strung horse; not a warmblood.
I really - after relaxation herbs - I have no more ideas.

Sally Swift's Centered Riding - two tips

I watched the first DVD on Centered Riding (I loved the book years ago when I first read it), and it had two pertinent tips for me right now.
First, Sally explains the human skeleton, and shows how when you roll onto to the front of your pelvis (by rounding your lower back - sticking your stomach out in front of you and rounding your shoulders), how you "scrape" the horse instead of letting your hips absorb the motion. It was really excellent to watch the skeleton to see what your body is doing.
Second, keeping your hands steady at the trot. Because in the trot you move up and down while the horse stays still, that is when your hands move up and down with you. What she suggested is that a person stand on the ground and you hold their finger with your reins. Then you rise and feel the difference between pulling their finger up with you or leaving your hands steady on the finger. When you leave them steady, the motion is in your elbow. But it is an up and down motion, not a chicken wing motion. It's the same idea as looping a finger around the front of the saddle (like the saddle pad straps), so that you can hold them down and feel how they feel still.
Mercury got his feet done today (finally!) and I learned a lot about shoeing and abscesses from the farrier. He is going to be turned out again starting this week, so he'll be a happy horse, and then next week I'll start riding him again. I'm thinking about leasing him instead of selling him once I've got him working again.
Willig was terrible yesterday, but really good on Saturday. I feel like we're making some progress, but it's a long road ahead and it's kind of scary to face it without a trainer.

What Life Looks Like Now