Sharing

I have to admit I have never been very good at sharing. I know that it is good for the horse to have lots of different people ride, they have to be trained for any rider, etc...but I get a little possessive. It isn't that I think that someone else will do a bad job, it is just that I can tell when someone else has been on "my" horse.

Evan is an awesome rider. He and I even ride fairly similarly. He is quiet, and does a very good job at staying out of the horse's way. He has been wanting to ride Tex for a while and today was a good day. I have only ridden Tex in the Stock saddle one time, so Evan's big, heavy saddle was a bit of an adjustment (again). Evan uses his bridle with the mecate reins and a little different bit, so Tex had to get use to that too. All of this is good for him. He needs to learn to be flexible.  But it was still hard for me.

After watching for a little while I did have to admit that they got along fine, and I am eternally impressed with Tex's attitude to new experiences. The only indication that this was new was that his ears were sideways, and he was breathing harder than he would have been on a normal day. He is such a confident, well adjusted horse that he seems to be able to handle anything, including new riders.

WHAT A DAY!

WHAT A DAY!!

 

Tex was good as gold at his first horse show. He not only showed very well but he took care of my little girl and that is worth more than any horse show placings, ribbons, or scores. Emily came with us to the show and she waited patiently through 17 classes to get her turn. We didn't promise anything before the show because we didn't know how Tex would react to the other horses and show environment but after I rode him in the ring, and warm up with no problems we told Emily that she could do her first show too.

 



I have to say that I love showing. I am competitive and love the challenge of getting a horse ready and presenting it. This first Gold Coin Winter Series show was perfect for Tex's first experience and we had a blast. The Gold Coin shows are a series of open shows with a mainly Stock horse focus. There are classes for Halter, Trail, Reining, English Pleasure, and Western Pleasure. They don't have tack or dress requirements so there were several Western saddles in the English classes.

Tex stood out a little!

 

This was a very good thing because he gave me the opportunity to talk about OTTBs, Remember Me Rescue and the Battle of the Xs. I had several people ask me about his race career and his breeding as well as how I got him and what I was doing with him as far as training and showing with the Trainers Challenge.  I listed Remember Me Rescue as being the owner so people did stand up and take notice when we placed in all of our classes. What a great ambassador he was!

The most amazing thing about the whole day was Tex's attitude! He was attentive, calm, responsive and seemed to enjoy the environment and attention. People couldn't believe that he had just been ridden away from the track for 3 weeks!

 

I can't wait to see where we go in the next 3 months!

Tarp Day

This week has really been pushing me outside of the box (or arena). I must admit, I am an arena rider. Trail rides, slick footing, ground poles, hauling every day...these are all big challenges for me as a rider. I have said since I found out about the Battle of the X's that I would do all that I can to make my horse an all-around horse. That includes all of these things, and more (cattle, more trails, jumps) so Tex and I are on this adventure together. I am thankful every time I climb on him that I have been blessed with a kind hearted soul to share these challenges with, and even if he in unsure, I know that he will keep me safe, and he will look to me for reassurance. We can conquer all of these together.

Trail riding at Hidden Hills

It is still soaked in South Central Kansas, so instead of riding, today was TARP DAY. I had always thought of teaching a horse to lead over a tarp to be more on the circus act side of training. Something only those "kooky" people did, because in my "arena" my pretty show horses will never have to walk over a tarp....Boy was I wrong!

 

I had an instance this summer that changed all of that thinking. I was on a filly who had been touchy, but manageable in the round pen. She could walk, trot, and canter just fine around the rail. But our pen had some taller grass, and she went and little sideways, the grass hit her pasterns and she froze and then broke in two. She was scared of the GRASS! She felt it on her legs and couldn't figure out how to move her feet to get away from it. I wonder now if I had worked on having her walk over a tarp, and she felt it move around her, and make noise under her, if she could have handled the grass better. It is all about teaching the horse the correct reaction in a scary situation. If she had been able to walk just a little forward then I could have helped her learn how to keep her feet moving and look for reassurance.

I start with the tarp folded fairly narrow and not up against the rail. If the horse gets scared they still have a way to go forward, either by stepping/jumping over or going around by the fence. Tex was a little unsure at first, but that lasted about 30 seconds, I walked over it so he followed.

 

Here it is folded in half and a different color, Tex was not worried, although he did walk fairly quickly over. I don't make an issue of the new thing. I just work him like it has always been there. If he makes an issue of it, then we just repeat quietly until it becomes part of the scenery.

Finally it is full size. You can see how quiet his eye is, he stopped worrying about it and was waiting for his next direction from me.

 

This actually surprised me. Tex has been less than impressed with flapping, noisy things around his sides. But he treated the tarp like another saddle pad and lunged around me with it flapping and crackling on his side. He is awesome!

Tomorrow it is back to the arena and our last day before the show...

 

 

Show Prep Week!

I am beginning to think that we are in England instead of Kansas. It has been very wet and cloudy this past week and since we don't have an all weather manege (European outdoor arena for us Americans) we are still hauling to Benediction Farms and Tricia Kaufman's barn to get horses worked.

Weekends at my place are photo and video days since Evan is home to help me. He has become quite the photographer and we got some great photos of Tex on Sunday morning. I am thrilled with the way he is working. He is one of those horses that you can rely on to be there for you. He works hard, concentrates, and puts effort into everything that I have asked. So our big activity for this week is SHOW PREP! I can't believe that I have committed to taking Tex to a show already, but here we are. When I decided to do this Dec 20th seemed a long way off! The Gold Coin Show Series in Hutchinson, KS is a winter open show series designed as prep and practice, so it really will be a perfect chance to get Tex out in a show environment before the Battle. But I can't help thinking about the fact that he will have 30 days of riding off of the track! I know that he will be awesome and we have enough lateral control that I can keep his attention but I feel a little like a Kindergarten teacher the first time that she asks a student to read. We are just going to have to do it and trust each other.

Look at that cute face!

 

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Flexibility

Tex has been great these last few days. I have been riding on my own, so it has been hard to get photos. We have really been working on the basics and learning flexibility (both physical and mental!)

 I was planning on having a nice quiet ride on Wednesday so I started some ground work with Tex and he was working really well UNTIL I had the audacity to twirl the lead rope. Well, Tex was not going to stay anywhere in the area, no way, no how! He peeled sideways and his whole body went rigid. I thought "hmmm, this is a problem that we really need to work on..." So once he settled, I did it again and got the same reaction. Knowing that I am planning on dragging logs and swinging ropes off of this horse this reaction really is an issue. This is where my flexibility comes in, I gave up on the idea of a ride, and went and got a longer rope, and I just let him carry that rope all over his body, and once he learned that it really wasn't a horse eating monster (about an hour of patient work later) he was walking and trotting with it banging his sides, wrapping around his legs, and bouncing all over. So for now, he is rope broke.

Today we have new poles and jumps in the round pen and arena. I love these because they give the horse something to focus on instead of just endless circles. They give him a purpose to turn and a reason to trot. After his initial "pole = horse eating monster almost as bad as the rope monster" he started to enjoy going over the poles and figuring out where to put his feet. Today, I did have a great ride, using the poles for direction and transitions. This was his opportunity at physical flexibility. He had to be able to get around the turns and come straight to the next pole without fussing with his mouth or resisting the bend. He really is working so hard! Tex's mental flexibility came with some TOP SECRET freestyle work that we did. He is a rock star!!

I also want to say a HUGE thanks to everyone who has talked to me about Tex. I had no idea going into this adventure where it would lead, but the horse community here in Wichita has been amazing!! I have met so many people who find out what we are doing and say that they are following our page or blog. You all have no idea what it means to me that you have come to support this awesome horse. Please feel free to message, call or email and come meet Texas Citizen, he loves the attention!

Transitions

Transitions are so important to Dressage training. They seem to be the basis to EVERYTHING, I hear it over and over in clinics, read it in books, see it on DVDs...So when I was thinking about what to write about while riding today I realized that no matter how broke my horses are, I do some sort of transition about every 10 strides. Usually it is subtle, a half halt to help the horse rebalance, or a touch to let them know we are turning, but in Tex's case we are not to that point yet.

I stay nice and loose when we do an upward transition, I don't want him to feel trapped, so when he takes off in his race horse canter I just wait for him to come find me, he carries himself and slows down, see- transition. We go about one circle and then transition down to a trot. I ask with my body by stopping my seat, then I take a feel with my reins and wait for him. He looses balance and goes into a fast trot on his forehand, so I again slow my seat and wait for him to slow his trot, And we do this about 100 times a ride!

The hard thing for me is to think about using my seat and core, NOT hands! Easier said than done. It is so easy to think that the transition can happen by pulling, but especially on an OTTB that is very counter productive. Tex speeds up if I pull, so I let go.

 

 

So all of this transition made me think about other kinds of changes, and the fact that the transition itself is what is happening to Tex. He is transitioning from Race horse to family member. That is a huge change for a horse. Life on the track is so different from life with one person. Tex was a GOOD race horse, and now I am asking him to be a good Dressage horse. He has to use muscles that he hasn't used before. I am expecting him to accept things like ropes, tarps, indoors, mirrors, he has to make a major transition of his own. He is a sweet, kind, willing horse and is accepting this new path with grace and dignity, even if he isn't sure what it is all about. He is trusting me to help him go through this big transition. 

 

 

Another Road Trip

Wet, wet, wet...that was this weekend so Tex had a few days off.  I was finally able to get back on tonight thanks to Elaine Cornell and the awesome indoor at her Benediction Farms.

We are working on basic transitions. Tex has an awesome walk, awesome trot, and awesome canter. but the in-betweens are a little rough. so we do lots of transitions and lots of praise. Tex is so laid back! This was a totally new place for him and all he did was look around, and then was prepared to go right to work when it was time. I can't wait to do even more with him!

Tex and Sodalis talking through the wall

 



Versatility

To help Tex become the well rounded horse that I know he can be, we decided that it was time for the Stock saddle. Now, I know, there are many people who say there is no difference, If a horse can be saddled with an English saddle, then they can wear the Western saddle, but I have seen some pretty quiet horses become bothered when all of the leather starts moving around, and making new noises that English saddles don't make. So we started S-L-O-W

(Evan got to work with Tex today so I could be the photographer)

We started with the flag. We have been using this for the last couple of weeks. It is very useful to help desensitize the horses. I always turned my nose up at this kind of work, but now realize that it is very relevant in helping the horses become more trusting and less reactive. So Tex can be touched all over with the flag, and he is getting use to it waving around him on both sides. He was (and sometimes still is) bothered with it on his right side, so we do extra work over there. He is really improving, and now I am fairly confident that he won't totally panic when a Wal-mart sack blows across the Dressage arena where he is doing a test in the future.

He did fine getting saddled, and moving off to the left, but got a little worried about it going right

He settled quickly and then Evan free lunged him both ways at all three gaits. By the end, Tex was comfortable and looking for more attention.

 

 

Evan finally relinquished my horse back to me and I got to ride. Tex was wonderful! The new tack didn't bother him at all. We cantered on both leads, trotted with soft feel and he is getting better in his transitions. I sat on him and worked him while Evan worked another horse and that is something that we are going to have to spend time doing. Being the race horse that he was, Tex got pretty worried when the other horse came close. He tried to get away, quickly. So we have some more homework...but for now, I can enjoy my Dressage/English/Western horse

 

 

 

 

The reality of having an OTTB around

We are just putting miles under saddle. Tex is really starting to get the whole bending and relaxing through his neck and body, so I was inspired today to try to dispel some of the OTTB myths.

MYTH 1. Off the Track Thoroughbreds are crazy! I would never let my child have one to ride!

It has been my experience that the opposite is true. Tex is quiet, kind and willing, even if he doesn't understand what my daughter is asking, he goes along anyway. Check out OTTB Raininthebar, another one of the Battle horses, she has been packing kids around since day 1.

 

 

MYTH 2. Off the Track horses can't bend, they are stiff and will run away if you pull on them

Tex is learning to bend through patient repetition and RELEASE. All horses will pull if the rider pulls, so there are many times that I have to trust my horse and let go to help them find their own way and balance, then I offer contact so he can learn the new appropriate response to the reins.

 

 

MYTH 3. My Off the Track horse won't be able to tie, lead, stand for mounting, etc. All of the things that make life easy around horses.

Tex will stand with his lead rope looped over the fence all day if I were to ask him to. He stands without moving a muscle for mounting and he leads very respectfully, going the same speed that his handler is going. He is an easy horse to have around and his big eyes and fun personality make me smile every day.

So please consider the individual when you are looking for a new horse. Most OTTBs have great work ethics, love attention and are very willing partners. Check out all of the Battle of the Xs horses on Face Book and consider adopting one of them in March, they will be forever grateful for their second chance.

 

 





Thank You

 Tex had today off so I wanted to take this time to say a HUGE thank you to everyone who has sponsored, helped and supported us thus far in our journey. As many of you know, this Battle is a totally new concept in horse training for me. I have always enjoyed starting horses and taking them to shows but the idea of competing in a freestyle with other trainers is definitely a challenge for me, so to know that I have so many people behind me is very humbling and exciting. Tex will be amazing, and whether we win or not I am thrilled to give this awesome guy a chance at a new life.

 

We have a new sponsor!

Honeydew Hay of Derby, KS just offered to give Tex his hay for the duration of his stay here!

Tim Brandyberry has been my "Hay Man" for several years. He offers good quality hay at reasonable prices and he is RELIABLE! Give him a call at (316) 619-7300 for all of your hay needs.

 

Other Sponsors

Rick Wickham Horse Shoeing

Rick takes great care of all of the horses here (these are Frankie Whitehorse's feet after his first trim) and he has generously offered to keep Tex shod while he is here. Rick is not only a fantastic farrier, he is kind and patient with the horses. You can contact him at (316) 619-2544

 

William's Ace Hardware in Andover, KS--Expert Purina Dealer

William's Ace has donated all of Tex's feed for the 120 days of his stay. After discussing his needs with LaKimbra Baldwin, we decided that Purina Ultium would help him build muscle and look his best for the Battle.

 

Dr. Quinley Koch of Elite Equine

After Quinley's Chiropractic adjustment Tex is a different horse! He is loose and free in his movement and super comfortable with his body. Thank you also to Tricia Kaufman and Anna Howell for introducing us! You can contact Dr. Quinley at (316) 293-6273 or qkoch@eliteequineks.com

 

Carol Lambe: Independent Distributor of Espana SILK Natural Hair Products

Tex's tail and coat already look amazing! These products are wonderful for him and I am so excited that Carol had the chance to come out, meet Tex and introduce me to these great products! Not only is his tail going to get stronger his coat is going to glow at our horse shows! You can learn more about Espana SILK on Carol's Facebook page

https://www.facebook.com/CarolandHank

 

Thank you also to all of my individual supporters. I am grateful to each of you who has taken the time to help this fantastic horse be the BEST!