Do I go for it?

The big question. My first venture into big time barrel racing, (for me thats where more than 20 barrel racers get together :-) did not go so well. All sorts of reasons and excuses, accept and move forward. Next weekend is another big race and I am going should I? or shouldn't I? Is the horse healthy and sound? Yes, Am I healthy and sound? Sort of LOL. So the thing to do is layout an exercise plan for the week, (don't skip any days) and see if horse is healthy and sound before the race. At the end of the week, do a recheck, is the horse healthy and sound? if yes then go. The reason this is so important is that if your horse is not feeling good and is hurting then it makes it hard for them to perform at their best and it creates a big distraction for you. Going to your first few Big events is not easy. Takes a lot of guts to try so give yourself a break and plan a few tries :-)

Busy Summer

Hi

Did lots of construction style work this summer, great for fitness not so great for riding. Had to really push myself to ride after a day of work, even on the weekends had to push. The consistent riding helped my relationship with both horses, Tessa and BabyDoll. We put in lots of arena time (okay so it was raining so often, about the only place to ride out of the rain was in the arena :-), the positive side of the arena time is it helped Tessa remember that turning a barrel is important. It helped BabyDoll really get the basics down, so the few trail rides we went on where much calmer nicer affairs. More later.

Long Trailer Rides

Successfully Traveled from CO to AK up the Alaska Highway. Traveling 3500 miles gives a person lots of time to think. Its a wonder all long haul truckers are not poets.

Traveling with horses has its own set of extra tasks. First teaching the horses to drink when you offer them water. The old you can lead a horse to water but can't make it drink, can't hold true when traveling. No water equals compaction colic. What do you do? First offer water at every stop, if the horse takes a good long sip, give the horse a treat (food is good) a hay bag is great. Always offer water first and if they drink, great give them their hay. Only give enough hay so that at your next stop the horse is not eating and is ready for some water. A few times of drink up and you get a hay bag. Once the horse realizes a good drink equals hay, they are much more interested in drinking.

I have had one or two try the well I am not thirsty right now, how about my hay trick, don't fall for it. The first time they turn their noses up at water, I consider how much hay the horse has already had that day, and if they have had breakfast, I may wait (not give hay at that stop) till the next stop. If they don't drink and I am concerned about them missing a meal I soak their hay. Nothing liked soaked hay to help a horse decide drinking from a bucket is better.

Traveled Alaska to Florida with a picky drinker, and by the time we reached Florida she was doing great drinking at every stop. I will totally admit my yearling who drank up at every stop helped the horse realize that drinking when offered was the way to lots of treats and praise.

BabyDoll on a trail ride

Sharing about BD's first trailer to trail ride. Every 4-5 days I have been taking BD on a block ride, then when we come back we spend a few minutes in the arena refining basic maneuvers. Decided she was ready for her first trailer ride to a new area trail ride. Invited a friend over and she rode Tessa, BD's dam. We saddled up and trailered to a spot just down the road. BD was calm and easy going about the trip. Because of the ground, I walked her for just a bit. When we got to the nice sandy ground, hoped on and started riding. We basically walked with a little bit of jogging here and there to stay up with Tessa. She did very well on her first creek crossing. I was very happy with her calm attitude about being in a completely new place. And even better (yep it gets better) She showed a bit of understanding that I desired her to walk in a straight manor with light rein contact to change her direction.

She was a little tired toward the end of the ride and the creek crossing coming back I had to get on her case a little to get her to cross, which upset her. Then the puppy unexpectedly rustled some brush behind her and she tossed in a crowhop :-(, so I got on her case lightly again. Now you can think negative or think positive. I would rather think positive, took a deep breath and let it go. Encouraged and allowed her to go back to a positive state so when we arrived back at the trailer she was in a happy to have gone trail riding mood.

The think to take from this is that a bad moment can be let go. Allow yourself to come back to a positive mood will allow your horse to find their good feeling again also.

Need arena time? think outside the box

Sometimes you just have to think outside the box to get something done. Tessa needed arena time to move forward. She did great getting in basic shape by going down the road. It was time to do more cantering and turning, which wasn't working so great going down the road. With winter still lingering, I looked hard for some indoor arena time. Talked to more than one person :-) and came across the information that during the barrel races both local indoors offer a $10 30 minute ride time after the race. Doesn't sound great does it? Except you are allowed to start riding when the arena opens, about an hour before the race, stand around and watch the races, then you get another 30 minutes of ride time. For around an hour and a half of ride time for $10. Actually pretty nice :-). So started hauling Tessa to the indoors on barrel racing nights and days and we are getting our arena time in.

and a side benefit? Tessa is getting used to different arenas, she is much better about walking in a new arena and paying attention to her rider.

Talking of Horses

Was at a really neat meeting the other night, a Mustang Support Group. These folks are putting together some people to help and support mustang owners. While at the meeting one of the people talked about her 2 mustangs, move out down the trail, ready to go, ready to spook at the twitch of an ear, good moving cattle, boy she could have been describing my 2 quarter horses. She also talked about a quarter horse a friend gave her, steady, stops to look at spooky stuff, good moving cattle, a real match for the mustang of the person setting next to her.

Turns all breeds of horses have horses of all temperaments. Just because a horse is a Quarter horse doesn't mean they are calm and steady. Just because a horse is an Arabian doesn't mean they are flighty and spooky. Writing of Arabians, my neighbor, who is 89!, has two Arabs she uses for trail riding and dressage lessons.

When looking at horses take a look at each individual horse. Really think about any disciplines you hope to enjoy with your horse. I dislike admitting it but its the rare mustang that will make a top barrel horse. I have seen a few mustangs make good all around gymkhana horses. Outside of a few distinct events you will find many different breeds can compete at entry to intermediate levels of your chosen discipline.

So why am I writing this, guess it just struck me as funny that 2 spooky mustangs matched 2 quarter horses and 1 non spooky mustang matched a non spooky quarter horse.
Michelle

Playing Around

Do you play around with your horse? I do :-) Finding new things for you and your horse to do is all part of enjoying a long term relationship with your horse. Here is King doing a few of his favorite tricks. YouTube Video We start with a back and move to a bow. King gives Kisses on the check. As you might notice he has a tendency to to do this trick for extra treats. We finish the tricks with a hug. Couldn't resist adding the picture of King enjoying a nap in his hay.