The BeeGees vs the Sex Pistols

As you may know from reading this blog (and if you don’t I’m about to tell you) Pip has attitude in spades. And, like spades, his attitude can be pointy and black. He and I have worked all that out, and we get on fine, I’m the boss, but I recognize what a kick-as horse he is, which is probably a big reason why our rides are getting so fun. Pip however, is not satisfied that I understand him; he has to make sure that everyone on the ride knows just exactly what a kick-ass horse he is. With horses he lives with this isn’t a problem, they know his rank (first minion of the herd boss, Logan), he knows they know, and he’s cool with them. But other horses have to learn.



Enter Bailey. Bailey is a lovely palomino QH who is built like a greyhound. Long legs, back, neck, and fast, that’s Bailey. He also doesn’t spook at much of anything. All of which makes him the ideal lead horse in our group, as he is fastest too. Bailey is the king of his little herd, and also has attitude. Bailey has been known to kick at horses cantering too closely behind him. He also pins his ears and generally acts like a grouch if another horse doesn’t recognize his natural kingliness.



You can probably guess where this is going.



Pip and Bailey don’t get along. Two bossy, headstrong horses; one a tall, blonde, hip-happening disco king, the other a short, skinny, black-haired punk rocker. It’s like the Sex Pistols vs the Bee Gees. Both popular in their own distinctive ways but not really compatible with each other. And sure was brought home this weekend! Pip and I have been on a number of rides with Bailey, I usually just keep Pip back behind partly because I’m having trouble with him on some level. Earlier this year we went out and Pip was great, he didn’t really chase he listened, and was generally great on the ride at whatever speed. But this time, while Pip was good, he went after Bailey: Big time, everytime.



As I stated above, Bailey mostly just pins his ears and if he’s going to kick, it’s at the canter. Pip apparently has no such rules. Pip must have lunged at Bailey ten times over the course of the ride. While we were standing in the stream, at the walk, at the trot, at the canter and gallop, if Pip was near Bailey, he’d not just put back his ears, but also bare teeth and try to get a piece of that golden hide. I did manage to stop each effort, so no harm. Pip even went so far as to swing his butt across the trail and into Bailey in an obvious threat to kick. He never did actually kick, but then neither did Bailey, even when we were in optimal target range.



So perhaps they are working it out, maybe they did, since by the end of the ride, they seemed to be getting on better and a disco king and punk rockers

Corners

Last weekend I had a great ride with Pip. We ride with two other people, one of whom is not the most attentive of other riders. He’s great, his horse, Bailey, is not the least bit spooky (which is nice when you’re in the woods), but I was nervous about riding with him because of his propensity to just take off without warning, he assumes that the rest of the group is ready, willing and keen to gallop through the trees.

Which up until very recently, I have not been so much with Pip. Pip is a very handy horse, which means he can corner, dodge and scare the hell out of me going through trees. He has also, on occasion, taken a short cut off a 20 foot high ditch bank to get to a water crossing. It’s nice knowing that he’s smart enough to recognize the crossing and assume that we are going to go there. It’s also nice to know he’s really sure-footed even when he’s leaping down a 45 degree bank of loose dirt. It’s very disconcerting to have him make decisions like that with no input from me.



That’s what made this weekend such a very nice one. We didn’t have any of those things happen. We galloped, jumped, dodged and just sat around all without me freaking out and feeling as though I was on the brink of riding a rogue horse. At no time did I think that Pip would not listen. Now, that’s not to say he was perfect in everyway and suddenly a dead broke horse. Au contraire, mon Amis. He still took off after Bailey, tried to go where we weren’t going and fussed, but I was able to keep or regain his attention and compliance. It was really great.

Galloping PIp

The last two weeks we've worked on speed. As in, as much and as long as Pip could go. He hasn't quite figured out that speeding around the arena isn't going to get him anything, and today he learned that it in fact gets him a lot more work. Many many more trips around the arena. With me egging him on when he's feeling slower. Silly Pip.

Last week was our first time doing this. We did one lap, and he stopped by the gate, arching his neck, flinging his feet out in front of him. Apparently looking like he was trying to do the Spanish Walk, according to my friend who was watching. The great thing is, when he does that, he just feels great to ride, he's collected, under me, very there. Sadly I urged him on to gallop more, and rode him through the fits, until he really softened and gave me his attention and didn't fling around.

The great thing is, I felt like he was actually cantering towards the end, not just deer bounding. And he picks up his leads amazingly well. That was wonderful. I think the key for him is going to be cantering first, then working on the trot and finess, because he has so much go, and even if he is lounged, he has a lot to give when I first get on him. So I think I'll break the rules I was taught, and just lot him take the edge off at the canter first.

So today we rode to the big arena a few miles from the barn. We mainly walked there, some trotting through the bosque, Pip leading (he did well, even though the others hung back a bit so they could canter) He didn't break his stride hearing the others coming up behind him, it was great.

To get to the arena, we had to walk past a skate park, filled with kids skating, biking, just hangin' out. Pip did all right, he was concerned, but held it together. In the arena, we just motored around and around and around and around. He has an amazing ability to change direction, and almost lost me a few times as we cantered past Amanda going the other way, and Pip tried to follow him. At the canter. But I stayed on, and he did a little lead change, and we kept going. Eventually Pip slowed down, and started listening to me the whole time, rather than just when I got in his face. It was good. His canter (hand gallop?) is still pretty deer-like and boundy, but I think a few more workouts til he's tired will help him start suing his back end more. I hope. Or I will just have to learn how to ride a deer.

Relaxation

So today is all about the work that I need to do! Pip is doing well, we're solid on the trail, and I've begun working on arena stuff. Today I decided to ride a training level dressage test. Amanda was going to call it for me. Sadly I didn't bring my test! So I did my best to try to ride what I remembered. Which wasn't tons of things, however, I did most of the movements. Pip and I struggled a bit, mostly because he hadn't been ridden for 2 weeks, and also because the other horses (except Tango) were out in the back pasture, having fun. Tango was the sacrifice to Pip's sanity, just to keep things kind of normal.

Considering all that, Pip did pretty well. He was rushy, went toward the pasture quickly, went away slowly, and didn't listen great, but you know, it was about dinner time, he was the only horse not having a great time in the field, and I had had a 3 beer lunch a little before this. So while I was relaxed, I wasn't quite as accurate in my position as I would have liked. And of course this was the day I had my camera! So I included the best photos from the bunch. Sadly the delay on a digital camera meant there were lots of missed shots. But oh well!

I think he looks pretty dang good! We're getting more relaxation from him, and he's just dang cute in his dressage togs!

Other People's Horses

So today, instead of riding Pip, or even one of Amanda C's walkers, I rode another friend's quarter horse and Arabs. This is Fancy and me cantering. Fancy is very fancy as you can see, and she is just my size, about 14.3, 15 hands maybe, and built like a Cadillac. She's a little shorter than Pip, but heavier, and longer. She had a really nice jog, and her canter was nice, even though she did buck a bit. She was a bit upset at having to work, she's been of a few months. I know I would also be upset at having to work if I'd been lounging about for months.

One of the Arabs is a large, big moving dapple gray, who's built like a tank. He is broad and tall and just lovely, with a big bouncing stride that was very hard to sit. His canter was great, huge and rocking horse.

The other is a little chestnut who is so well trained, I rode him bareback, and the entire time felt as secure as I did in the saddle on the gray. WE didn't canter, as I was not feeling completely secure in my seat, but I'm happy to be getting lots of bareback practice, as I think it will help me and Pipper. Especially with my being a bit uneven. We'll see.

But it was great because I got to ride really well trained horses, both of them, and got to practice a bit for MY riding, as opposed to building Pip's skills.

And I have to say, I think I"m a better rider than I was before I started Pip, that's for sure. I'm less perchy and my hands are quieter than I remember. So it was a really great experience, not even including the fact that Pat's horses are just plain sweet as pie and lovely to work with.

Stealth dogs!

If you walk, cycle or ride in residential neighborhoods you know what I'm talking about. Many people have dogs, and a lot of people in the western US have dogs. I live in the western US. I have dogs. When I take them for a walk in the nieghborhood, we usually encounter other dogs in their yards, barking to alert me that I am not invited to their yard. As these dogs well know, if they didn't bark and carry on, I might just sneak in there and well, do something. So these guard dogs are really the first and best defense (in their minds) for protection against marauders. When I trail ride, Pip and I encounter a lot of these types of dogs, the barky warning dogs. That's fine; the horses may spook a bit, but it's all good.

Then there are stealth dogs. These are much less common, and much scarier for horses and people. These are the dogs that don't bark, they just quietly get themselves where they can rush you and scare the snot outta you. We found two today. We were riding along, the horses were already on higher alert because we'd caught an old, napping horse by surprise and had a mutual scare. Amanda C was riding Fiona off the trail, and by a fence, because Fi had been worried about it earlier. I had taken Pip down there, but was moving back to the main trail, as there wasn't really a lot of room for two horses.

Suddenly Pip and I were moving very very fast away from that property and toward the ditch. Then that time slo-mo thing happened, where you say "holy crap! I'm not falling off, and I'm not going into that ditch!" and you get yourself organized and do an emergency stop. Pip stopped, turned to look, and I saw two red dogs slinking back to the property next to the one we'd been riding by. they didn't look espeically proud, more like shocked that their plain of eating horses hadn't gone so well.

Happily, neither myself nor Amanda C. fell off, and the horses were fine, if very jumpy for a bit after that. And the great thing is, by the end of that ride, both Pip and Fiona were fine, relaxed, moving forward, listening and happy. Yay for a really, really solid horse!

Woot!

Ok, today I learned two really important things:
1. Pip is a great horse (yeah, I know, I'm saying that) and I think he'll be a wonderful "babysitter" one day, and;
2. I'm an embarrassing owner, which I need to note so I know when kids are embarrassed by nme, it's not JUST because they're related, I really AM that sort of person.

First, the bad news. I rode Pip bareback today. This in and of itself isn't bad, of course. The events surrounding it were. First, I had to get up on his back. This involved me jumping (rather half-heartedly) from the mounting block to his back. The mounting block isn't high enough for me to just swing a leg over, I have to actually leap up, and lie over his back, then swing my leg over and sit up. It only took about 4 tries. During this time, Pip gave Amanda C. a look of pure, unadulterated horror. BUT! I got up! hooray!
And we even trotted a bit, mostly walked around, since I have *round* thighs (tho I have lost 10 lbs since Jan!) and I was not so steady.
Then, to add insult to injury, I got off and tried to swing up as I had done so easily as a kid. Yeah, that didn't work so good. I did get my leg over him, but there's like no power in the arms, torso, inner thigh and wherever else it's needed to get scrambling. So now I have a new goal! Be able to swing (or jump) up on Pip by the end of the summer. Amanda C. is great, she is just plain impressed that I can actually get my foot onto Pip's back at all, much less dream of mounting that way. However! I will regain this ability!

Ok, the good news: (I know you are all holding your breath!) While I was bareback, we trotted, but once Pip figured out that I was bobbly, he just plain would not trot. I finally got him to do it by holding his mane and really pushing him forward, but I can tell when he's really a made horse, he's gonig to be one of those "oh, sorry, you're not educated enough to canter, let's just walk" sort of horses. IN other words, worth his weight in gold! woo!

Every day I'm just discovering why I have the bestest horse ever!