Let's Talk Groundwork. And Belt Buckles.

Because really, one can only take so many selfies before that shit gets boring ;)

*Iggy Azalea voice* First things first, we're the cutest 

I haven't been able to ride much in the past couple weeks because of the weather. Unfortunately, in my area, it probably won't get much better for any sustained amount of time until around March-ish.

Happy to change careers from dressage pony to professional cookie eater.

And because we don't have access to an indoor *cough* TSB *cough*, that's going to leave us with a lot of time out of the saddle. Boo. But I'm choosing to be optimistic. After all, Gigi and I are still new to each other. There's a lot of bonding work we can do over the winter that will help us develop a better and stronger relationship.

Totally unimpressed. 

But still. There has to be a way to work on some real skills that will come in useful later in more than just a manners/bonding context, right?

And that's when I had a really bad good idea, one which I alluded to in yesterday's post.

Cutie pie :)

But first, some context...

Way back when, I spent a couple years showing on the APHA breed show circuit.  Overall, that experience was pretty dismal. Honestly, it sucked pretty hard and was not very much fun. While my tastes for peanut rolling Western Pleasure horses and post-legged halter nightmares with asses straight out of a Sir Mix-A-Lot video may have changed, I do have one hang up from that era that I've never quite been able to let go.

1) I've always wanted to win a belt buckle.
2) I have never won a belt buckle.

And, additionally:

3) I have a pathological need to show every animal I've ever had.
4) I can't stand not having a goal to work towards.

I just happened to discover that there is a local Open show series that offers belt buckles as prizes for all around winners in various breeds/age groups. Ooooh, shiny!

Is "belt buckle" another word for "cookie?"

Now, I'm not an idiot. I know that Gigi's a freakin' warmblood and wouldn't stand a chance against many of the stock horses that show. However, she is built like a freakin' brick house AND she wouldn't be competing against them in every class. There's actually a category for "other" breeds that might work for us. So, with that in mind....

That time it was sunny for five minutes

I've been working the past few days on teaching her the basics of showmanship. Setting up, backing, pivots, etc. She thinks I'm pretty much crazy, but in true Gigi fashion, is a pretty good sport about it. As far as I'm concerned, it's a win-win. We get to work on our relationship and sharpen up her ground manners, and I don't go crazy feeling like we're just tooling around with no goals. Whether we end up showing next year or not really doesn't matter. It's just nice to have something to work towards.

What kinds of stuff do you do with your horses in the winter when you can't ride? How do you deal with the forced downtime? Do you have any fun/creative groundwork games?

Radio Silence

My apologies for the lack of posts for the past week. We went out of town for Thanksgiving, so not only did I not do anything remotely pony-related for a few days, but I didn't have any internet, either.

Here's a summary of my last week, in four pictures:

Today, Gigi and I went for a walk around the neighborhood and worked on some groundwork. I started teaching her showmanship, just in case we want to play around with some open shows next year. Fun times :)

And now it's December... eek!  I've decided that I'm going to do a "25 days of exercise" challenge. Basically, I'm committing to do at least 30 minutes of some type of exercise every day until Christmas. Who's with me?

OMG

I actually got to ride my horse yesterday!

Actual proof. 

After a week of shitty weather, the stars aligned into a 50 degree, sunny day after 24 hours of wind to dry up the rain. Perfect. After work this morning, I headed to the barn. Miss G was in no mood to do any work whatsoever after her mini-vacation. Pretty sure she's in heat because naturally. She was a little pushier than normal on the ground and her general vibe was "yeah, I'd just rather eat cookies."

Tough shit, mare.  

Really? 

Because it had been a little bit since we did any sort of actual work, I lunged her first. It was a good idea. Not because she was acting crazy, but she did buck a time or two and I'd rather that happen on the lunge than when I'm, ya know, on her back. #selfpreservation

Anyways, we ended up having a good ride. We worked a lot on transitions, which are my nemesis. I think it's because, deep down, I'm pretty lazy. LOL. But I ended up getting some pretty good work out of her.  She was all about the lateral work today, too. So fun having a horse with some "buttons!"

After we rode, I made her ground tie while I untacked/brushed her out. I figured that it was a good idea to keep reinforcing good behavior on the ground. The one thing that I absolutely do not tolerate in horses is bad ground manners. It's scary and I just don't want to deal with that. So there ;)

Building a good relationship :)

After a good ride and some productive groundwork, Miss Mare was really happy to be turned out... sans blanket (!!) for the first time in a few weeks. Of course, the first thing she did was go in for a good roll. She literally couldn't wait more than three or four steps. Haha.

Oh yeah, that's the stuff. 

Gigi hung out in the pasture while I cleaned stalls, happy as a clam. I got in a few snuggles before I left.

Nom. 

Such a cute mare :)

So, Today's My Birthday

And I got an awesome present!

Oh wait, no, I just got more winter. Boo. ;)  But at least I have this girl to share in the festivities ;)

Boo winter. Cute ponyface.

Question.... any ideas for a show name for Miss G?  Komtess Angel just isn't speaking to me.

#TBT

I love Throwback Thursdays.

For this week, here are a few pics of Miss G and I, last month, when we were first getting to know love each other.

These pictures are from the first weekend I rode her. I think it was love at first sight for both of us. I know that my equitation isn't perfect... especially my hands/arms (ugh)... but considering I haven't ridden consistently (or had more than five lessons) in almost ten years, I think we look pretty okay. :)

Thanks for choosing me, Miss G <3

Wordless Wednesday

Winter Sucks

It's only November, but I'm already tired of being cold.

Sometimes, even though I love it, being a dog trainer sucks. Like whoa.

Every time winter comes around, I think of this clip from "Hey Arnold":

LOL.

Gigi doesn't seem to care nearly as much as I do. On Sunday, Joe and I went out to the barn, hoping to ride. I decided it was too freaking cold, as well as hard and icy, to do so. Boo. So we ended up just hanging out with Miss G for awhile, feeding her cookies and loving on her. She seemed really happy to see us :)

Oh hey. 

Joe was thoughtful enough to cut up an apple for her before we left home. Turns out that Gigi is obsessed with apples. And quite the ham about trying to get us to feed her. The dog trainer in me wants to try clicker training her to do some tricks. Don't shoot me. ;)

Sexy neck :) 

G was super cute around Joe, who is not very confident around horses.

She found the cookie pocket. 

She kept following him around and being generally adorable. Because obviously.

Friend?

I'm so glad that they seem to be getting along. It's great having a partner who is so supportive of the crazy things I do! :)