Thursday, April 21, 2011

Its greek to me....

I've been riding since I was 7 or 8 years old... that's 22 years if you really want to do the math. I've even taught some young kids the basics up through walk, trot, canter, posting, diagonals, two point ect... So I know I'm not a horrible rider, but I've never really had self confidence either. Not being able to take consistent lessons has not helped my self esteem any or my leg and core muscles which seem to have disappeared & refuse to work anymore!  Its easy to look at someone else and tell them what they need to fix, but not always easy to look in the mirror and fix your own issues. 

Anyways, I promise this blog does have a point! Rio & I took our first lesson tonight with our friend Lizette. Prior to moving here my lessons were mostly general equitation and I eventually went down the path of dressage and got stuck in that rut. Lizette's training has been in hunters and let me tell you the two disciplines could not possibly be more different from each other. Hence the blog title... it's all Greek to me lol...

Where in the past I have been taught to ride with a wider lower base to my reins tonight I had to be constantly reminded to bring my hands up and together... though I have to admit I did get a positive response to the change from Rio. I also rode with stirrups much much shorter then usual, but had a better support base that way.   Though I think if we keep this up I'm going to have to switch to a hunter/jumper saddle or my all purpose saddle. Holding the more forward position in my dressage saddle was not the easiest feat. He was less figity when I left his mouth alone and just used more body position to communicate with him. As his top line develops more I'll work on getting the nice head set that we used to have back. The less I did the more I got out of him which was nice. He even picked up his left lead canter which is sometimes a struggle for us so I was very happy.  

The only downside to the night was that I pooped out 40 minutes into what should have been an hour lesson. The tendons in my ankle just did not want to hold up under the pressure.... I have a long way to go to get us both back in shape. Its so easy not to push yourself when it's just you and your horse schooling, but now that we are back in a lesson routine (hopefully!!!) If I don't really challenge myself between lessons I'll look like an idiot during lessons so I have some intensive to do the work on the in between days.  

More cool than anything else that happened to night was the fact that I voiced my goal of doing a horse trial with Rio and did not get laughed at! I've been stuck going in circles for so long not moving forward with my riding that I'd kind of given up hope of that goal every happening. It was really nice to hear someone I respect tell me that I wasn't crazy and that it was a doable goal.

We finished the night with a short trail ride around the neighborhood with Lisa & Maverick. I have to say I love my horse! He'd never been outside the main property since we moved two weeks ago and he pretty much took it all in stride even going along a busy road with cars. This weekend will be another first for us... a trip to the beach! He LOVES water so if we can get past the fact that the water is moving and making noises we should be good. Its looking like quite a few people are coming so it should be fun!... If you don't hear from me with a blog update... send out a search party! Hopefully he will be a good boy and it will be another fun and uneventful first experience for us!

Until next time!...

XOXO Rio & Sam



Sunday, April 17, 2011

The Birthday Cake Massacre...



My spotted pony turned 12 today! Twelve, I cannot believe it! When I first met  him just over 6 years ago he was a green little baby and now he's 12 years old. Time flies when you are having fun I guess.

We celebrated his birthday with Friends, Ginny & Jill, and the other kids at the barn today. Yes, I am one of those crazy people who celebrate their "pet's" birthdays & dress them up (much to his dismay). Since I don't have any kids of my own Rio gets to play substitute. Plus the kids at the barn loved it and had a blast.  I always had to celebrate Katie's (my old mare) Birthday on mine since she was a rescue and I had no idea what her Birthday even was so I take full advantage of having a registered Appaloosa with a none birth date. 





First we went for a short ride, and he was so on and so ready to go it was a blast! We even tried a few small cross rails, this time with me riding... no longe line and I felt like I was flying... even if they were only a foot or less! Ginny got on and went for a ride too. I was super proud of her for riding in the big ring with the other more advanced kids... I know it can be intimidating to her! She did great. 

 He was, of course, spoiled rotten with hugs, carrots, apples, granola, and even a piece of carrot cake made especially for him (more on that in a minute).  He got the spa treatment thanks to Ginny who gave him a bubble bath and a massage with the curry comb. And, he is currently enjoying a well earned nap in his stall munching on hay. 

But, what about the title...Birthday Cake Massacre I am sure you are asking...? Back to the cake as promised... this horse eats just about anything! Do you think he liked the gourmet carrot cake I made him with real raisins and carrots....?  

Here's your answer....




Oh well right! We had fun and he deffinitely knows he's loved! Happy Birthday to my spotted pony!


Until next time...


XOXO Rio & Sam

Thursday, April 14, 2011

Jumping For Joy...

I am always a fan of happy surprises so when I showed up at the barn to feed this morning and the horses had already been fed... small mis-communication...  I took advantage of my unexpected extra time, the quiet, and the cooler morning temperatures to enjoy some quality time with my boy. 

 Ready to ride... not a very enthusiastic look though...

The birds were singing. We had the place all to ourselves... I think he'd rather have been snoozing in his stall, but hey I enjoyed it!

We did our typical 30 minute workout on the flat working on bending and stretching, and transitions. He was going great. I could have ridden for hours... except for one little issue. I have a really weak right ankle which almost always cramps up or wants to give out on me half way through an hour ride... especially when I haven't been riding regularly the way I should. Needless to say the ankle interrupted our progress today. But, I wasn't ready to call it quits... especially since he's been cooped up in his stall more then he's gotten ridden this week, so I got a bright idea... why no longe in the big front jump ring? It would give me a chance to get him used to the bigger ring... and all those horse eating jumps. 

Now in order to tell this story properly I have to back track a little for those of you who don't know my horse's entire history. I bought him as an almost six year old with minimal training, and in the beginning I tried him over small jumps. To say the least he either had no clue what to do with his feet over a jump, or he didn't want to. He repeatedly refused even small cross rails, and I had not done very much jumping prior to buying him. In part because lessons were always in consistent. Something always interrupted my progress and  right about the time I started jumping lessons for the umpteempth time during college my mare started to get arthritis. Then we made a big move, and the money for lessons just wasn't there.  So to say the least I wasn't going to be the one to push him into jumping. 


So for several years now we've focused on flat work, low level dressage, trail riding, and giving beginner lessons to kids. I've wanted to push up to that next level of training with him for a while now... lateral movements, and maybe trying some jumping, but that's hard to do when you don't have the time or money to work with a trainer.  I'm a decent rider, but when it comes to teaching the horse these new things I tend to lack confidence. 

When we moved to Orlando last year I decided to let one of the teenagers at our last barn do some work with him... she had a ton of knowledge and experience with hunters, but no money to lease or own a horse, and I needed someone who wasn't afraid to break her neck if he refused a jump... yes that would be me... its true you really do loose some nerve when you get older and things just don't heal as quickly if you get yourself broken. 

So for a few months Mackenna worked with him one or two days a week, but usually when I wasn't around thanks to a crazy work schedule. I never got to see her jump him, and I only tried jumping him over a very small cross rail myself maybe once or twice. I never really tested him out...

Until today anyways. I started longing him over trot polls which I knew he could handle. The nifty thing about being at a decent size barn mostly focused on hunters is that unlike my last two barns they have a decent set of jumps and equipment including stackable plastic jump standards which make longing a horse over a jump much easier because there is nothing to get in the way of the longe line... 

So bright idea number two... set up some small jumps and see what happens of course!

 Unfortunately being the only person there means no pictures of us jumping, but here are the pictures of the jumps...Ok I know... small... maybe a foot if that, but it was a huge step forward for us & I am excited!

To my surprise and delight he handled them easily & actually seemed to be having some fun! I did not get on to try jumping them in saddle... figured I would save that for a day when other people were around the barn just in case I manage to break my neck, but I was really really happy with the little experiment today!

Where we currently board I have the opportunity to work off part of my board and some lessons so you can bet we will be getting back into the swing of things... maybe stop going in circles and actually make some progress this summer! I am excited about the possibilities and of course we'll share the new experiences here! Hey look at me I'm actually keeping up with a blog for a change!

Until next time x0x0

Rio & Sam



Thursday, April 7, 2011

Home Sweet Home... I think...

If you board your horse I'm sure you know how hard it can be to find the perfect barn... one where you can ride with friends, no drama, great & safe facilities, and super great care at a reasonable price. Until I moved to Central Florida I had that in the form of Spoon Blue Stables in GA.... I always appreciated my Spoon Blue people, but I think I appreciate them even more after the last year! I wish I could pick them up and move them here!

Lets just say horse boarding in the Central Florida area is lacking... Every barn (ok most every barn) thinks that they can charge you an arm, a leg,  and your first born child no matter the shape of the facilities or care given because of supply and demand and the number of show barns that compete against each other. Then there's the lack of turn out pretty much anywhere... I'd have to drive an hour from home just to find a place with any kind of pasture! We recently moved out of Seminole estates because of crazy drama at the barn that I just could not put up with any longer... that seems to be a theme at a lot of barns here too... ugg!

We finally settled on Tanglewood Equestrian Farm/Twelve Oaks. Two barns run out of the same facility. I had to settle for paying more to give Rio what I feel he deserves, but I'm able to work off a chunk of that board making it doable, and so far I love all the other people at the barn. Lizette (the barn owner of Tanglewood has bent over backwards to help me make things work despite some unexpected complications... if you read this Lizette <3 thank you!

Rio, who spent most of his life out on multiple acres seems to have settled into life as a stabled horse with turn out at night in a small paddock... I think he actually likes being able to come in a way from the flies & the heat of the sun. I also have to say that I can turn him out with ANYONE and he doesn't bat an eye... he even gets along with Maverick who apparently can have an attitude sometimes, though I haven't seen it yet! Tomorrow marks one week post move so we will see how this new place works out.... hopefully okay! I am so tired of having an ulcer over making sure my horse is safe, and that I can continue to afford him... But, then I can't imagine life with out him either. The crazy things we do for horses!

An added bonus I'm doing some extra work for riding lessons so I can get back in shape, and there are other teachers at this barn so that is nice! And, I am really enjoying the nickers I get when I walk in the barn, all the barn smells, the fresh air and exercise, and the fact that I see my boy everyday!

I hope and pray we've settled at least for a while... still looking for permanent teaching jobs for next year though... which will be the deciding factor so if you'all could say a little prayer that I get something and that my teacher friends keep their jobs... (teaching is so hard here right now!) I would appreciate it!

Pics of the new place are below! Until next time... 


xoxo Rio & Sam 


Outside of the barn


Inside the barn



Tack Room



 Bath time in the grooming area...