Videos! And Happy Fourth of July :)

Happy Fourth of July! So far, this has been one of the best summers of my life. Concerts, boats, pools, beaches, friends, family, and horses have occurred and it’s only the beginning of July! This time last year I was not happy. This past Sunday, I spent the day watching my ARF compete in eventing. The difference 12 months can make is astounding. Actually, thinking about it, the difference 4 months can make is astounding. Case in point, it’s been about 4.5 months that I've owned Surya.

When she first got to the barn, she would not go into the indoor arena, because she had never seen one before. She was very hesitant to enter her stall. Let’s not even talk about wash stalls or fly spray. My riding posture (actually my riding everything) was terrible. We couldn't trot in a circle on the bit, let alone pick up the canter.

Last Friday, after tacking her up in a wash stall and dousing her in fly spray, we headed toward the trail that circles the property. We stopped at a grassy area behind the outdoor arena and did some quick trot work and cantered on both leads in nice round circles before continuing onto the trail. (As an aside, her canter, on both sides, is turning out to be lovely.) As we stepped beyond the fence line Surya rounded her neck even more and pricked her ears forward. Her walk became animated and bouncy. She was so excited and happy! And then I realized I hadn't seen that level of animation in a couple of weeks. Which means that she has gotten bored with the indoor and outdoor arenas. Yes! The fact that she’s bored with our normal routine means that she is completely comfortable in those surroundings. She is not feeling particularly challenged or interested by what we are asking her to do. This is really wonderful. I took her away from semi-wilderness and her comfortable position on a beautiful peaceful farm in rural California and transplanted her to a busy training barn half an hour from Philadelphia where not quite everything was different or new (read: scary).

And, not once in the process of introducing her to the barn, her stall, the indoor arena, the outdoor arena, cross-ties, jump standards, fake flowers, wash stalls, fly spray (well, re-introducing that one), winter blanketing, spring grazing muzzles, and clippers, did she even think about stomping, kicking, biting, or being anything but a sweet and polite model equine citizen. The one thing that she is truly traumatized and terrified of is shots. However, even when cornered and twitched in her stall while being subjected to spring vaccinations, she made no attempt to hurt anyone. Sometimes she makes a “grumpy face” when walking in from her field, but I think she just likes to be a little surly unless given a reason not to be (carrots help). I’m so proud of her.

A good thing about 4 months of everything being new is that Surya and I just went through a 4-month-long trust exercise. The result, I think, is a pretty good bond. Case in point: we were walking up to the barn the other day, when there was a very loud crash from inside. Surya leaped sideways and backwards, but then stopped of her own accord and immediately looked to me. Holy shit! Did you HEAR that? I patted her neck, she calmed down, and we went inside. So, because through all the introductions of Scary Things, Surya has shown the utmost respect for my well-being, and I think I now have her trust, she has my trust. It also helps that I have developed my seat, and that no matter what is happening, if I say “Surya, hoe” she stops so fast I get thrown up her neck. (By the way, Chris, however you taught her that….genius!)

Thus, I now have confidence to do scary things in the saddle as well as on the ground. The trail ride was a little scary for Surya. She was fine when we were walking by forest – she was first trained to saddle in the redwoods of California, after all! However, while the farm is bordered by another horse farm and wheat fields in the west and east, it backs to houses in the north. These are yet more unfamiliar structures. But with my encouragement, she walked on past the tarps and lawn ornaments back into the safety of grass. Hopefully by the time this trail becomes routine and boring, I can get a truck and trailer and we can start going for rides in some of the state forests in the area. Or start schooling cross-country jumps. I haven’t decided whether to be an eventer or endurance rider. I will probably end up doing both as a result of indecision. Either way, I think my point is that four months ago we were strangers and now we’re becoming a pretty good team.

To prove it, as promised, here are some videos. Be kind please, but constructive criticism is welcome!

Riding: As my trainer said to me this morning, the months of trotting and controlling direction and speed have paid off. Now, I can push her more forward into the bit while maintaining the same posting speed, and she just gets rounder. And, trust me when I say that my riding has improved drastically!!! Our canter has gotten much better too, but no video yet.

Clicker training: So far, she is trained to go after the donut and then touch it. When I click, she comes back to get a treat. I'm not quite sure what I want to use this skill for, but I'm thinking of teaching her to fetch. I just really like the concept that the clicker instantaneously tells her when she is right, that she has to use her brain to figure out how to get the treat, and that I'm not forcing her to do anything...she's "playing" because she likes the outcome. Hence the unnecessarily epic music. Also, she is a bit disheveled from her bath.