The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

The Good: JJ has adjusted very well to his new home in the paddock and is quickly making friends with his neighbor, Scribbles. It's only a matter of time until I find JJ's halter torn off his face and lying somewhere in Scribbles's paddock!

Also, riding JJ just keeps getting better and better. I tried a German Martingale on him for a few days, but didn't like how restricted it kept him so I decided to forgo that. I am sticking with the standing martingale for now, though, to prevent a broken nose. Honestly though he trots around with his head in a natural little frame (much lower now) and I can walk him around on the buckle. He really is going VERY well under saddle - Sue says we can try cantering soon... EEP!

Videos from Sunday:

The Bad: JJ has suddenly become quite the little devil when it comes time for me to climb aboard, so that's fun. This started Sunday, though was significantly worse on Monday. On Sunday he just wasn't interested in standing still while I tried to mount, which had not been a problem previously. Monday I tacked him up with every intention of doing all groundwork and getting him comfortable standing still again. I began teaching him to "ground tie" - i.e. to stand still unless I told him otherwise, even if I was walking away. He did not pick this up very quickly at all, and I literally spent about 2 hours with him in the ring. I did switch it up with some lunging between the ground tying exercises so he wouldn't get too bored. Finally I asked him to stand next to the mounting block while I walked around (I had him on the lunge the entire time in case he decided otherwise). He stood nicely until I approached either side of him. As soon as I came near he lifted his head and pinned his ears. That's different, was all I could think. JJ is the kind of horse I cannot yell at or he completely loses it, so I tried comforting him instead. He relaxed at that, and I climbed the mounting block. Ears pinned, mouth wide, head tossing, back legs flying. BUT, he wasn't moving. So.... progress? Erm... I petted and comforted him more and he relaxed again, but as soon as a touched the saddle or girth area the ears went back. More petting, more soothing tones, and I called it a day. He had stood still anyway, and I really didn't know what to do about the aggressive behavior.

On Tuesday Sue was in the ring to help me, and though JJ still showed discomfort and aggression at the block it was immensely helpful to have Sue holding him and I mounted without too much difficulty and had an excellent ride.

Awesome little man!

The Ugly: I'm really just going to vent about the weather. This weather sucks. I want spring NOW. It's been close to freezing for four days and when it FINALLY warms up this weekend they're calling for three straight days of rain. #$@$%)(@#$*#$(%)!!!

A Transformation

Oof. A week and a half of no updates - sorry guys! This post will be more like a video blog because, believe it or not, I actually have THREE awesome videos, IN SUCCESSION, that show MAJOR PROGRESS in the past 11 days. Oh but can you handle it?!

VIDEO 1: Saturday, March 15th 2014. 

OK so here I was CLEARLY way off. Nervous. JJ had been something of an idiot on the lunge before I got and I had a hard time letting go of that. Of course, being the amazing little man he is, he was fine under saddle. I stayed on the lunge anyway.
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Video 2-A: Tuesday, March 18th

On Sunday the 16th, something changed. We had been at a show all day (where I was helping out, not riding), and when I got back to the barn in the afternoon I was pretty exhausted. Still, I had to work with Holly who had been out of work for a few weeks. I tacked her up and brought her down to the ring to lunge her, and to say she was a nutcase would be an understatement. She seemed PISSED to be asked to work again, and gave JJ a run for his money even on his worst days. Except Holly is STRONG and wanted to break away. Though she is the same age as JJ, she's half percheron (i.e. some of the largest draft horses out there), so she's probably nearly twice his weight. When she decided she was getting away from me, you better believe she was getting away from me. She dragged me around the ring for about 30 seconds before I gave up and let go. Frustrated and exhausted, I retrieved her from the corner of the ring where she had taken refuge, lunged her until we were both worn out, and put her away. After that episode, lunging JJ seemed like a dream. He might throw in a few bucks and crowhops but he's always seemed more interested in playing than getting away. (A side note - now in consistent work Holly is back to her old self!)

So what changed? I DID! After dealing with Holly's antics I was totally relaxed in dealing with JJ, and as a result we became a significantly better team. Videos 2-A and 2-B were both taken a couple days after the Sunday revelation.

Video 2-B: Tuesday March 18th

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Video 3: Friday March 21st

Ah yes - the best one yet!! JJ **almost** getting into a little frame! High head - yes. But I am SO IMPRESSED and proud of this little man!!! Not even two months of training and only off the track since December - how amazing is he?!

Another non-training related update: JJ got turned out in a paddock for the very first time today, and did so well he will be staying out tonight like a big boy! Thanks to Tricia I can share with you an adorable photo of JJ meeting his new neighbor :)

JJ, only accustomed to spending time with goats, isn't quite sure how to
handle this new situation... (And as a result he somewhat resembles a cross
between the Loch Ness Monster and a thestral from Harry Potter).

Off the Leash

If you follow this blog you likely know that I first sat on JJ's back on Saturday, and sat quietly while Sue held the reins and walked JJ around. Sunday and Monday I had short lessons on the lunge, during which I had my very first experience trotting on JJ's back. He is, of course, very hollow and his head was in the air most of the time, but when his head dropped he felt AWESOME. He seems very agreeable. He does not show any negative reactions to my leg pressure or rein aids, and he puts up with my nervous, tense position very well. ;)

I should explain - I'm not always the most confident rider. If I trust a horse, I'm golden. But I don't trust JJ yet which means I hold a strong, tense position. This is pretty much the opposite of what I should do and I'm trying REALLY hard to be more balanced and relaxed, but trust me, when you're pitched atop a 1000 pound animal with a baby brain, it's HARD!

He was fantastic both times on the lunge. He did nothing bad and showed no inclination of being mean. He is green as grass, of course, but sweet as pie! Since I have been lunging him for the past month or so he's gotten very good at verbal cues and trots with a simple cluck and walks with a "ho", so controlling him that way was very easy.

On the lunge I really did very little in the way of steering JJ, rather I was just up there for both of us to get used to the upgrade in our relationship ;) Video below:

Today, I got my first chance riding him off the lunge line - i.e. all on my own for everything. It was awesome! I started out just walking, and asking JJ to stretch his neck around and touch his nose to each of my toes. He's pretty good at touching my left toe, but of course is a bit more stiff to the right. After a few flexing exercises, it was time for a trot! A simple cluck and slight squeeze of the leg brought him into a trot. I began steering him in figure eights, trying all the while to BREATHE and RELAX. I think I did a little better today, and JJ was an absolute super star. Video below - sorry about the quality but enjoy!

I know this probably all sounds pretty generic or boring to most of you, but to me, riding JJ is a HUGE step. Like climbing over an enormous wall that I had always just sort of assumed I would go around, somehow. Of course I bought JJ with the intention of re-training him (and thus riding him by default), but once he came and we started working on the flat I fell into the comfortable routine of lunging everyday. The whole riding thing faded into this distant obstacle that I just sort of figure would be there for a VERY long time. Now that I've ridden him several times, I feel like I'm on cloud nine. IT FEELS AWESOME!

Ridin' JJ!

Two lunge sessions today, followed by... A RIDE!!! You could call it that, anyway. I'm certainly going to ;)

Really Sue just led me around for about 5 minutes, but it was awesome! Video below!

After the ride I let JJ loose in the ring. He started out that same as always - wandering around and munching snow and plant life. About 20 minutes later though JJ bounced into a springy trot for a few strides before bursting into a canter, building and building faster into a sloppy, unbalanced, falling-over gallop. Oh great, I thought, here's where JJ kills himself. He ran himself into the gate and flailed over snowbanks, dodged the jump standards at high speeds and nearly lost his footing countless times. I almost whipped out the camera to video, but I was too busy laughing at his antics. Another barn rat commented something about his potential to majestically leap over a jump, and my only response was "really, I don't think there's anything majestic about that horse!". Don't get me wrong - I'm really starting to feel some affection for this horse - he's just a bit dopey! He finally came to rest in another corner where he could stretch over the fence and reach more vegetation through the snow. I brought him back up to the barn, cleaned out the nicks he managed to inflict upon himself with his thrashing legs, and "tucked him in" in his own stall/playpen.

Anyway, more fun to come tomorrow!

Jumpin' JJ!

Two awesome days in a row - can't beat that!! Except maybe with three awesome days in a row, but we'll have to see how tomorrow goes for that.

Yesterday was a repeat of everything we've done so far - tacked, lunged, set him loose in the ring for half an hour. All awesome.

JJ on lunge Thursday.

Today I tacked JJ completely. That means stirrups on the saddle, reins on the bridle, and even a makeshift standing martingale to see how he would react to his head being restricted. Sue has encouraged me to use the standing martingale on him, at least in the beginning, so that when I do get on him he is less able to rear. The martingale (er... my rendition made of clothesline and duct tape) didn't seem to bother him at all, so that's promising.

Trotted in both directions on the lunge, then I set up a crossrail to keep things interesting. Had him trot over that a couple times and he was perfectly unenthused about it (video below!). Good. Then I stood him at the mounting block, climbed up, and put all my weight in the stirrup. I did this several times, laying over his back at the same time. He stood fine for all of this. There are no more intermediate steps now - there's nothing else I can do but climb aboard! Soon enough, soon enough...

I then untacked JJ and let him roam the ring without a blanket in the balmy 32 degree sunny weather (no really though - today felt really warm. How sad is that?!). He enjoyed rolling in the sand, eating snow, and nibbling on what little plant life exists in the corner. I can't even call it grass anymore because I looked closer today and really there's no grass. There are some weeds and a couple little shrubby looking stumps which he likes to chew on.

MM I love ring sand in my coat!!

Oh yea, and Al fixed the fence in JJ's "playpen" - put a whole new board up where the broken one was. JJ's reaction? After a good week and a half of not chewing wood, he went straight to this new, untouched board and began a-muchin'. Well-played, JJ.

Pegasus? Is That You?

OK I confess: School is on vacation this week and as a result I've been a complete slacker about keeping up with the blog. I offer you all my most sincere apology ;)

Anyway, here's a little recap of the last several days:

Kate Babetski Photography picture from 2/16.
I swear I'll get new pictures soon!

FRIDAY: I brought JJ down to the ring with every intention of playing with the tarp again and taking it easy (recall that he was off for a couple days). The tarp was old news at this point and JJ pawed and sniffed it and when I threw it in the air he looked at it with boredom. I put the tarp down and began leading him around the ring. I was assuming, at this point, the he was still feeling sore and would be more comfortable just walking, but JJ had other plans. Poor thing was so bored at this point after only walking for four days in a row that he decided to take some time to work on flying. Up into the air he went. Front feet off the ground. Back feet off the ground. All four feet off the ground. For the next 45 seconds or so (OK, probably not quite that long but when your standing next to this flying creature he seems to carry on forever) he spent more time in the air than on the ground. He may have been trying to emulate Pegasus, and his leaps were actually pretty impressive. There may be an eventer in this horse yet! It took me a good 15 seconds (again, my perception of time may be faulty) to process what was happening and react. Thank god I had him on the lunge line instead of a short lead rope, and thank god I also had a whip (only a dressage whip, but better than nothing) in my hand to encourage his flying back feet away from me. I got him moving in a circle around me and he settled into a nice trot pretty quickly. Clearly if he is feeling good enough to fly, he can at the very least trot around. He behaved himself for the remainder of the workout. We even worked on changing direction on the lunge since it was only attached to the bottom of the halter

SATURDAY: I went ahead and tacked up JJ with the saddle, bridle, and pseudo-side reins. I took him down to the ring and sent him into a trot on the lunge. He was a perfect gentleman in both directions. BORING!

SUNDAY: The farrier finally came!! I was visiting family in Massachusetts so wasn't actually present for the visit, but I am told JJ stood very nicely for the application of four shiny new shoes. Yay!

Up he goes!

TUESDAY: I had been away Sunday and Monday which meant two days off for JJ - you know what that means! Fortunately so did I. I was ready for his attempted take-off: Part II and ignored his shenanigans. He carried on for quite some time and was actually quite entertaining, especially to the lucky barn rats who happened to be around at the time (Note: Barn rats are actually fellow riders who spend an inordinate amount of time at the barn. The term "barn rats" does not refer to actual rats). Eventually he wore himself out and maintained a perfectly nice trot in both directions. At this point I decided to take a risk. I really want to be able to turn JJ out but with sheer ice covering almost every surface I'm afraid he would kill himself. But  it kills me to see him cooped up all the time, so I decided to risk letting him loose in the ring. I brought him to the gate so that I could escape very quickly once he was loose, should he decide to be a crazy man. I unclipped him and slipped out quickly. He stood still for a moment, then... THEN.... HE WENT OVER TO THE PILE OF SNOW and started eating it. Yup. My crazy OTTB got loose and decided to spend his time eating snow. After a few nibbles of the snow he wandered around the ring until he found the only grass in existence right now - a little area of yellowish brown hidden in the corner. And there he stood for a good 10 minutes, enjoying every bit of it.

Kate Babetski Photography picture from 2/16.
I swear I'll get new pictures soon! Also, he
 is looking much better now!!

WEDNESDAY: I had lots of time at the barn today so I decided to work in two sessions with JJ. I started him out in the ring without tack but wrapped his front legs in polos and put bell boots on his front hooves. He looked so good! He trotted around nicely to the left, but had a little too much speed to the right and broke into a canter a few times. This, to me, is SO MUCH BETTER than any rearing and bucking BS. When he settled down I once again unclipped him to allow him a few minutes of wandering around the ring. He was really good again, and only trotted when he was spooked by an absurdly loud truck on the nearby road. After about 20 minutes I brought him back into the barn to give him a break while I rode another horse. I was picking out his feet when I noticed a barefoot left front. WTF?! This horse definitely had four shoes an hour ago!!! I put him in his stall and spent the next 15 minutes wandering the ring in pursuit of a little metal shoe. Cinderella's slipper, if you will. I found it in that damn little yellowish brown (and overly muddy) corner. Well, that makes a grand total of TWO DAYS that JJ kept all four shoes on. Bravo, JJ. Bravo. He had about an hour long break in his stall before I took him out again, tacked him up with psuedo-side reins, and brought him to the ring for another lunge. To keep things interesting this time I set up trotting poles and incorporated them into the lunging circle. The first time around, JJ broke from the trot into a walk and basically tripped over every single one. I couldn't help but laugh at him, then brought him back to the trot for a second attempt. He was good in both directions. We then spent some time working on standing at the mounting block while I lay over his back. He's getting better at standing still.. A little bit...

GOAL: GET NEW PICTURES!