He's learning so fast!!!

 OMG. 

Proud Mom moment. 

That damn awful stream from the last post? WE went again the next weekend, and it was Noooooo problem. He looked at it, pawed it once, and walked across like a champ. 

So this weekend, we hit another set of new trails, and there was a similar question. A VERY steep bank (more like a very wide ditch- 5' across?) to a small stream running down the middle. No rocks, better footing, but.. still a little scary. 

Andibug looked at it, asked if he should jump, and when I said no, walked calmly down, across and up like a seasoned pro. B jumped it, Mo followed Andi's example. B got to be walked back and forth, then ridden back and forth like a novice. I'm pretty sure Mo was laughing at her. Andi was just happy he could rest and be patted. 

We knocked out 15 miles this weekend! This whole endurance idea is coming along.. I definitely think we could tackle the GMHA 30 miler in October. 

OOH!!! We're taking Andi to GMHA in August!! THey're actually holding it and we are GOING!!! So exciting. Yay GMHA!!! Maybe COVID has not completely ruined this year. 

Also, check out this crazy exercise Jess had us doing in our lesson. Holy crap, I thought the oxer was going to eat us, but... we made it!! 

The scary creek

 I am so proud of my little red Beast of the East.

He's made it fairly clear he hates XC. I mean, I've never met a horse who walks out into a field fine, gallops around fine, goes through water and up and down hills, but as soon as he sees a recognizable XC fence, tenses up, starts grinding, and clearly thinks, "Oh shit. Not this again." Never. I mean, I only really have Sherwood to compare him to- and usually I have to ride sideways all the way down and in the field, hopping and bucking and being an asshole. Then she sees the fences and it's the exact opposite. The BS goes away and you can legit FEEL the game face come on- head comes up, she takes a deep breath, and you can hear her- "Oh, Mom, you know the deal. Point me at the biggest fences here, hold my beer, and no one has to die today."  

IN any case, Andi has made it clear how he feels. So, Shelby and I discussed it and think that maybe he was rushed? I mean, he was competing Novice within 2 years of coming off the track, and he is scared of EVERYTHING. So.. it's fairly likely. Hence, the thought went that maybe just taking it a step back and getting him out in no-jump-pressure environments but still challenging him out of the ring, might let us kind of... side-step back into XC. 

We've been trail riding. twice weekly, alone sometimes and with Jess and Shelby others, for a couple weeks now and he really seems to like it. We've gone to a couple different places, and every time he goes out, he gets more confident- he even likes to lead the group! 

I found this new trail system- I'm not telling you where it is, because I don't want to see anyone else there. It's too amazing, too close to my house, and just no. Figure it out yourself. LoL I'm a Greedy Gus.

So, in any case, Jess took B, Shelby on Mo and me on Andi, and we all went to this brand new spot none of us had gone to before. All was going well- great trails, good footing, challenging parts but nothing too crazy.. Until the Creek of Doom.

Picture this: You have a fairly steep bank down into it, with about 5 feet of crossable space, 3 feet of stream that's... a foot deep? Just deep enough to make your feet REALLY wet, with a small stone walkway to the left that if you're careful, you could lead a horse through  the water while not getting your own feet wet. Then it gets tricky- there's a large boulder on the other bank which leaves you about... a horse-width to cross- all the way to the right. Oh, and the stream is full of large flat shale-ish rocks- one to the left that rocks pretty hard in the water- you just know will move all around if you go any faster than a walk through it. Bahaha.. And as if that wasn't enough, there's a DAMN SNAPPING TURTLE the size of a full dinner plate just over the side of the little stone walkway. 

We should have turned around.. Seriously. But.. we're all experienced trail riders. We've crossed streams, gone down way steeper banks, and hell, our horses are all EVENT HORSES!! We're the baddest of the bad in these woods! We got this. 

We so did not have it.

So.. Andi walked down the bank and firmly planted his feet and thought about jumping this insanity- and I hopped off. Quickly. I started walking on the little stone walk and... he clearly thought that it was made for him, too! Nope! So.. some coaxing, head rubbing, lots of backing up and restarting, (we both almost died when the rock rocked under his feet) and he walked. Calmly. Across. Only took 20 minutes of me standing ankle deep in running water nervously eyeing a snapping turtle to get this feat done. 

The other two? You know, the experienced horses? Yeah. Let's just say calm was not the word I'd use to describe it, and one of them appeared to be trying to actively kill her owner. Mares.. 

So, after everyone made it across, Andi and I walked back and forth across this stream several more times, then I hopped back on and he walked through it both ways another couple times. Calmly. Happily. And I was (AM!) so proud of my Sally Boy- who is learning that it's okay to not be okay, as long as you keep listening to me and thinking, and try to figure out what I'm asking. Good job, Andibug!

XC issues

So... I've been workig n getting a better schedule together- ride on the days I have off, lunge after 24s and after 12s if I get home in time. So far, it's been working for Sherwood. LoL Andi's still being neglected, but hopefully that will be changing soon, too.. THe contractor will be back Friday to give me an estimate to add on to our shedrow complex a tack stall and regular 12x12 stall for Andi- to give us the necessary separation of the ponies so they don't lose their minds, and a place for the farrier to do his work if it should be raining/snowing. Win win!

We've been working on some XC with Andi, and.. it was not progressing the way I was hoping. We were sniffing every jump, stopping dirty, being a butthole, honestly. So... I put front shoes back on him just in case he was reacting to his feet maybe hurting on landing, and I took him to Jess's on MOnday, where we worked on some gymnastics. It went super well. So, we're going to work on those until we get our mojo back. Then we'll head back out to the XC field. 

Sherwood has been working under saddle- I took her to Jess's last week and she got the seal of approval to continue working under saddle- not lame, canter looks weak to the left, but manageable. So... Now we lunge more to the left than right over poles, and I think maybe we'll try another round of shockwave to see if we can get her moving completely comfortably.

Some videos!