Showing posts with label Keil Bay. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Keil Bay. Show all posts

Thursday, November 21, 2013

It's really November on November Hill

The leaves are falling daily, and those left on trees are either deep crimson or tobacco brown, very muted from peak color but still some of my favorite colors, especially set against a cloudy landscape like we have today.

My chores now include a bit of raking, which feels futile but I know from experience that if I keep going, little by little I'll get these leaves in areas where they can mulch down. I focus on the places I've planted winter rye, which surprisingly thrives even beneath a layer of leaves.

This week Keil Bay and I have had 3 nice rides. One of the days he seemed a bit stiff at the walk, but quite lovely at the trot, and I fretted, saying to daughter, he is almost 25! She said "that horse is not in pain," and I took great comfort in hearing that. Yesterday he was normal at the walk and even lovelier at the trot, so I feel better. My legs were so soft yesterday, long and relaxed even when I posted, and the posting was coming from Keil Bay's movement so it all circled and got better and better as we went.

Each of the days we've ridden this week I felt Salina near. As we passed her grave, I called out "Salina-bina" and Keil Bay turned his neck completely as we passed, as if she had nickered in response. It was a good decision to place her there, where she is with us when we ride. Even the clear-cut field beside us is transformed by her presence. I see it as her field now. Even though still covered in left-behind sweetgums and littered with stumps, it is perfect for a spirit horse, who can gallop just above the ground, never touching the earth.

Twice this week I have given myself the treat of playing with the painted pony, who is as furry as a teddy bear and so very responsive once I connect with him. After a bit of time together he allows some affection.

Cody is going well for my daughter and the donkeys are in high spirits, spending multiple times each day running and chasing one another and acting like younglings.

Cats cluster around the woodstove and Corgis trail dried leaves all over the house and into the bed.

I am doing a second big edit on (the girl who was) Never Not Broken, grateful that I made it to the end of writing another novel and that the timing worked out so that I can edit it through the winter season - there is something about seeing the bones of trees while studying the bones of a novel that is intensely satisfying.

My son is coming home for Thanksgiving and my daughter is tackling math with a vengeance, and my husband is renewing his love for photographing the landscape. It is a season of finding what you love and what you want to learn and doing it, held to that path by the leaves falling and the trees baring themselves, by the temperatures falling (and here in the south, rising again and diving, in crazy ways that will never quite make sense) and the angle of the sun shifting.

November.

Monday, October 28, 2013

Forward!

This morning's ride on keil bay can be summed up in one word: forward.  He was ready to go from the moment I tacked him up. Once we started trot work he did not want to stop.

At least half the ride he was what I call fully in the bridle. What a pleasure and an honor it was to be his lucky rider today. And every day!

Best of all, when I rode him to the mounting block to dismount, he walked away before I could get off, not once but three times. He was not ready for the ride to end. Love the big handsome bay!

Friday, October 25, 2013

good rides and COLD temps

Have continued the rides with Big Bay and have had to pull out heavy breeches for warmth, turtlenecks, a fleece jacket one day, and tonight we're cranking up the wood stove! So we went from zero to sixty, to muddle a metaphor, in terms of dealing with heat and flies to dealing with chilly riding.

The horses of course love this weather.

I'm loving how my body feels a few minutes after I get in the saddle and even better later in the days after a ride. Clearly something tight is getting stretched out in a way it desperately needs.

Horses are getting furrier, more hay is getting forked out, and I'm getting more reluctant to dip my hands into water troughs. Love the fall, love the chill, and am really happy to be riding the Big Bay. He's pretty happy too. :)


Thursday, October 17, 2013

more good rides

Since last week when I finally got over the hurdle of not having ridden since May, Keil Bay and I have been on the every other day schedule for the most part. Some of the "other days" were not able to be managed due to rain and at least one due to over-seeding winter rye, which Keil Bay felt was fairly important.

Each ride has been good and I've discovered, as I suspected I would, that my twinging hip is eons better on the days I ride and things get stretched out.

Yesterday I forgot to do my own stretching before I hopped on, and Keil Bay's warming up time felt a little funky to me. I think my tight hip was creating a big block in his movement, but he pushed on and I did some leg exercises in the saddle to get things unstuck a bit on my end. Keil reminded me that shoulder-in helps him stretch out, so we added that in both directions.

I asked him to walk forward but for the most part allowed him to go where he wanted to. Yesterday he chose to hug the arena rail, going deep into each corner. Interesting note: the day before I had raked and cleaned the arena of huge batches of fallen oak leaves, so the corners were actually visible!

Three times he stopped at the exact same place, close to Salina's grave, and not only did he stop, but cocked his hind hoof as if to say: let's just be here for a while. He's never stopped that way before, and since he did it at the same place, not directly in front of Salina's grave but at a point where he could gaze at it, it felt like he was wanting to spend some time with her.

All through the ride he was quite alert but not spooky in any way, as though there was something there he was paying attention to but I couldn't quite see. At one point the donkeys climbed through the arena fence and joined us, so maybe Salina was there, eating some acorns and enjoying the fall day.

Once we started trotting everything seemed to fade away except for the movement. We trotted the arena and also 20m circles. Near the end of the ride Keil Bay offered a gorgeous sequence of trot - perfect for sitting and powerful but so perfectly contained that it felt like we were in slow motion. We ended on that, and I walked with him back to the barn feeling so grateful I got to ride that trot again. There is nothing else in the world quite so beautiful as Keil Bay's perfect trot.




Friday, October 11, 2013

In which keil bay says stop with the lunging and get the hell on

Lunged perfectly to the left, which is his stiffer side but when I turned him to the right he absolutely would not stay out on the circle. I took this as the message it was: time to get over the hump and get on. And so I did. And it was quite lovely. Walk and trot. Look at him after!!!


Wednesday, October 09, 2013

Big Bay - a small step forward

This morning I went out to the barn in breeches and boots and Keil Bay took one look and walked up and stuck his head in the halter I was holding.

I did a quick and thorough groom, and he did soft snorts and dropped manure, then got very antsy (in a good way) - he was obviously ready to do some work.

He got his annual sport clip mane, a forelock trim, and when I walked up with the bridle he took the bit in his mouth on his own.

All this was so so good and it was totally clear he wanted to get back to work.

It's another gray day here and the wind is blowing and gusting though - and I felt like I needed to check things out - so I got the lunge line and whip and put the Big Bay through his paces.

He overtracked at the walk right out of the barn. His first two trot circles were a bit short-strided, but after more walking and my asking for a bigger trot, he loosened up and looked terrific.

After the first 10 minutes or so of walk-trot transitions, he put himself on the bit and started offering canter. He looked good - big movement, landing well, good transitions -  very very forward and into the work with ears pricked.

I was thrilled to be able to see him move and assure myself that he's moving so well. We did equal work in both directions under the watchful eyes of two donkeys and Cody. The pony stayed in the barn and munched on hay. :)

So... I didn't get on today but after the lunge work we took a walk together and cooled down. It was a lovely morning and Keil was so obviously thrilled it made me feel that much more resolved to get back to our riding routine.

What a morning. What a Bay!

Friday, October 04, 2013

Big handsome bay




Saw the first V of geese this morning and that made me think of Wendell Berry's poem, my favorite, I think, and I realized it fits with the Big Handsome Bay photo. I post this every autumn and I'm happy it's time to post it again!

The Wild Geese

Horseback on Sunday morning,
harvest over, we taste persimmon
and wild grape, sharp sweet
of summer's end. In time's maze 
over fall fields, we name names
that went west from here, names
that rest on graves. We open
a persimmon seed to find the tree
that stands in promise,
pale, in the seed's marrow.
Geese appear high over us,
pass, and the sky closes. Abandon,
as in love or sleep, holds
them to their way, clear,
in the ancient faith: what we need
is here. And we pray, not
for new earth or heaven, but to be
quiet in heart, and in eye
clear. What we need is here.


Wednesday, October 02, 2013

Keil Bay's response to yesterday's blog post

Had to come report the Big Bay's reply:

This morning he is in Salina's stall, looking at the back door, which I have open because I'm doing some cleaning and the weather is nice, whinnying at the top of his lungs.  Once. Twice. Three times.

I think I know what it is he's saying. :)


Thursday, September 12, 2013

first of the forties

A quick note on Salina: 

Every day when I go out to her grave site I see TWO ribs very slightly exposed. There is absolutely no indication that any critter is doing this, and every day I am covering the ribs up again, the past two days with quite a large amount of compost. It feels very much like she is reiterating her message to me.

In another bit of synchronicity I read in Clarissa Pinkola Estes' Women Who Run With The Wolves that the crescent moon is associated with Kwan Yin. Salina's white star was actually a crescent moon, and Kwan Yin, among other things, is known as the goddess of compassion and motherhood. I think of Kwan Yin as a loving, protective, nurturing presence, and it totally fits with everything I know of Salina. She is bringing me such gifts, even now that she is gone.

In other news, our weather forecast predicts a low of 48 on Saturday night, with much cooler daytime temps to go along with that. I am beyond happy.

Yesterday I gave Keil Bay a long bath to get him ready (and to make him happy - it was a hot day). On my way in I grabbed his saddle and pad so I could clean them up, and when he saw me coming down the barn aisle with them he snorted in horror - NO WAY - it's 90 degrees, middle of the day, and horse flies are dive-bombing out there! I assured him I was just getting ready for the forties to come.

Today the saddle is cleaned and oiled, ready to go. The sheepskin pad has been washed, double-rinsed, and is already dry and fluffy, like new. I've taken his bridle apart and cleaned every centimeter. All I have to do now is clean the stirrup leathers and my boots. 

And daughter and I have been working out at the gym three times a week so I've been getting my body geared up for riding again too.

With a combined age of 78, Keil Bay and I will get back to some riding this week. Considering he didn't bat an eye when I passed with his bridle in hand, I think he's ready. :)

Monday, January 21, 2013

at liberty with the Big Bay

Keil Bay was so caked with mud yesterday I went out earlier than usual thinking it was going to take longer to get him clean. Just as I went out the back door he was at the water trough giving himself a shower with his hoof, which basically re-constituted the mud and made a real mess halfway down both sides and the saddle area was drenched!

I decided we would just focus on the grooming and see if his back dried off by the time we finished. In the midst of the grooming it became clear he needed his sheath cleaned, and since the temp was in the mid-60s, and we're looking at several really cold days this week, I figured we'd just go ahead and do the full spa treatment.

He was fully cooperative with the sheath cleaning but once I finished that and the first once-over groom, he untied himself two times, indicating he was ready to be done. But I wanted to get every tiny chunk of mud off, and still had his hooves to pick, so he had to wait me out.

When I finished it was just starting to get dusky out. We went for a quick walk in the arena and I found that daughter had left the lunge whip out there - she'd been free lunging the pony - so I took Keil's lead rope off, picked up the lunge whip, and asked him to walk on.

He was incredible! He used the entire arena to walk, using the diagonals to change direction each time so we were working both ways exactly equally.

After he'd warmed up at the walk, I did two trot steps and he lifted his back and went into his gorgeous floating trot. We alternated walk/trot for awhile, and then I did two canter steps - no response - but when I called out can-ter! he did a lovely transition into the canter and did this beautifully many times in each direction.

By the end he did a bit of gallop with a big buck thrown in going both ways, and then we did a few more walk/trot/canters each way and finished up in the near-darkness.

I don't do this a lot with Keil, but it was such a joy to see him move and feel his energy as he transitioned up and down at my request.

When I took him out to the front field he didn't want to leave me but stood there after I removed his halter and kept his eyes on mine. "Go on and have your hay with your buddies," I said several times, and finally he did.

There's no walk from the barn aisle to the barnyard through the gate to the backyard and into the house better than one that ends a good time with the horses and donkeys. And that's just about every single time I take that walk, so I'm celebrating today. I'm lucky I get to be part of the November Hill herd.


Tuesday, December 04, 2012

a better day

Yesterday Salina didn't whinny for her breakfast tub. Keil Bay was singing an aria for his, and I noted out loud that I missed hearing Salina's response. About the time I said it, I came out of the feed room. She had come to her stall door, was craning her head way out and around so she could get her good eye on me, and she whinnied. That made me feel so much better!

Today she is back to whinnying for her meals and she was a bit brighter overall than yesterday. Although I'm not thrilled with the gnat population blooming with this warm weather, I'm glad it happened when it did because it seems to be good for Salina.

Cody went in with Salina this morning so the donkeys could take a break in the field. They took full advantage of their time and ran like mad up and down the front field while the pony grazed. Keil was annoyed that I let Cody over to the barnyard side of the barn - he refused to go out and kept hoping he would get his turn. Which he did, after lunch.

I groomed Keil Bay earlier today and cleaned up his sheepskin pad so that later in the afternoon I could go out and ride without getting too caught up in the preparation part.

He was a little bit difficult in between the warm-up and the more intensive riding part - daughter came in with Cody and Keil Bay was pulling toward them, not really listening. I gave him a fair warning and told him I was getting ready to get tough if he persisted. I had to get tough two times and then he woke up, really woke up, and was immediately responding to my thinking the aids. Very very nice ride with some powerhouse trotting. I don't like getting tough with Keil Bay (translated, that means I used the whip two times with more energy than simply tapping), and I try hard to listen if/when there is something wrong and he's telling me with his behavior. His immediate surge of energy and compliance tells me he was slugging and just not in high gear yet. Sometimes I do have to ask for that with enough energy that he takes the question seriously.

We rode right up to the sunset, which was beautiful, and he got his usual snack at the feed room door. A good day starts and ends with the muzzle of a horse in your hand, and I am lucky that most of mine start and end that way.


Friday, November 23, 2012

keil bay - new portraits

I love these two of Keil Bay - they look like paintings to me and really capture the king-liness of his personality. Thank you again to dear husband for taking such beautiful photos of the equines. So often these days I just can't be bothered with the camera, but he can, and I'm the lucky recipient.



Tuesday, October 23, 2012

post-chiro bliss

Today I rode Keil Bay after my adjustment yesterday - it's been close to 6 weeks since my last one - and now that he AND I are both clear, the big swinging walk was truly back. My legs were longer and my feet felt really loose and relaxed and flexible in the stirrups. No twinging anywhere in my body!

We did a lot of shoulder-in, shoulder-fore, and flexing the poll at the walk. At one point when we got to the free walk (my version, where Keil can do anything he wants as long as he keeps up a big swinging gait), he did his own spiral in and out on a 15m circle. I was impressed - it feels to me like he does what he needs to stretch things out. 

The relaxation was a good thing today, as the neighbors drove their truck into their far-back yard area while I was riding, and were unloading something on the other side of their sheds. Keil was a bit alarmed at the ruckus, but handled it well.
Things got a little sticky when they finished. Dickens headed back there to see what they'd done, Cody and the pony went to the back field and proceeded to spook and gallop and play, and Keil went from normal relaxed swinging walk to poll in the clouds - super alert mode. We had to do circles and I had to keep an eye on Cody and the pony, who ended up galloping to the back gate of the arena and tried to open it to get in with Keil and me!

As soon as we got settled down, Dickens trotted up from the woods with something in his mouth and between his tossing whatever it was in the air and then chasing it, the geldings still spooking in the back field, and Matthew appearing in the barn out of nowhere, I decided it was time to end the ride. Keil had already come to a halt that said clearly: I'm ready to be done.

And so we were. More tomorrow.


Friday, October 12, 2012

learning to leave well enough alone

I was absolutely intent on getting back in the arena with Keil Bay today, and instead of going out to the barn and riding this morning, which is what we'd been doing, I ended up getting caught up in my own silly desire to make everything better.

First, I took my iPad to the barn and after feeding them breakfast I sat with my tea by the arena and checked out the new dressage test app I bought. I hadn't really looked at the new tests and as I was reviewing them I decided that Intro A, B, and C would be really good ways to continue getting both of us back in shape. This is an example of me going over the top with goals - instead of picking one of them and learning it, I figured I could do ALL THREE. Today.

Fine. At that point, I was already in over my head as far as getting things done before actually riding, but it wasn't obvious to me yet. If I was going to be doing the tests, I wanted to put the dressage markers back out in the arena.

Again, fine. Except then I decided before I put the markers in place I would get the leaves up underneath the two oak trees at H and F. There were 4 wheelbarrow loads of leaves so that took a little while.

Then I started obsessing over Keil's wither adjustment. What if my newfound springing into the saddle had put it out of whack to begin with? My practical, sensible daughter said she doubted that was the case, and she's probably right, since I was springing into the saddle from the equivalent of a 3-step mounting block. But in my obsessing I decided to raise the mounting block another entire step, which required moving some cement blocks from the barnyard to the far end of the arena.

About the time I finished all of this I realized I was getting a sore throat. I've held off the mild flu bug everyone else in my family has, but it hit sometime mid-day. But I really really wanted to ride.

This evening I went out and got Keil Bay ready. I realized I was going to have to abandon tests B and C and just ride A. I jotted down the test on a piece of paper so I could check it if needed in the saddle.

Off we went to the mounting block. It was so high I was almost unable to climb up onto it. However, it worked.  The mounting block is so high now there is no hesitation on my part at all - I couldn't wait to get off that block and into the saddle! My sore throat went away and the arena looked nice. The sun was out of the arena for the most part and there were no bugs. Salina and the donkeys came from the front field to the back field to graze alongside the arena and keep us company.

We did a long warm-up and then our usual transition into trotting. Keil went from 0 to 60 in terms of alertness and responsiveness about halfway into the ride, which I wasn't expecting. Instead of enjoying his energy and his movement, I got very caught up in that stupid dressage test and wanting to be able to do it - well, not perfectly, but - better than respectably.

The crazy thing is that I switched gears suddenly.  He revved up energy-wise and I took that right into the test. We were doing our usual routine and then I turned down center line. Keil knows the dressage tests, or at least he did know them until they changed them - so he was trying to do what he thought I was asking him to do, but it wasn't right. Because I was going by my piece of paper.

In hindsight I should have just done the old test at least one time. That would have been a compromise on my part. But.

I got a little agitated. Partly it was me not feeling well, but ignoring that, and part of it was wanting to do a good test. We did it once passably, but there was not much relaxation going on on MY part. Keil was confused at first, then he got annoyed, then he went into high gear.

We went into a second try and about halfway through I realized how ridiculous I was being. We've had a number of days off, a big chiro adjustment for Keil, NO chiro adjustment for me, and I know I need one (it's scheduled, my last one had to be canceled so I'm about 5 weeks now without one), and today I probably had a low grade fever by the time I got in the saddle.

Thankfully I just stopped riding the test, put my cheat sheet away, and finished the ride we should have had from the beginning - a low-key, let's get back to work but from a place of relaxation, this is for FUN kinda ride.

Instead what we got was like using the big Kitchen Aid mixer and accidentally turning it on high without locking it down. Neither of us were quite ready for the energy today but it's good to know it's there when we ARE ready.

Of course, even though I was pushing both of us to do something on a piece of paper, which is actually less than what we have been doing on our own in terms of complexity and actual work, I got agitated in the process and made it much harder. Still, when we finished and I got off, Keil Bay googled his eyes at me, licked and chewed, rubbed his head on my shoulder, and when I put both hands in between the side pieces of his bridle he wiggled his head up and down giving himself a nice scratch.

I thanked him for putting up with my nonsense. He was pretty gracious about it.

And then he sauntered into the barn aisle and stood at the feed room door, waiting patiently for his snack while I untacked him.

After he finished and went out with the herd,  I should have come inside and taken a hot bath. But my crazy obsessive mood today kicked back in and I cleaned my boots, his bridle, and the saddle before coming in! And now my sore throat is back and I have the whole nasal thing kicking in as well.

Possibly this is what I get for going 90 miles an hour into October. When I don't slow myself down, my body does it for me. :)


Tuesday, September 25, 2012

on moonlight bay (the Big Bay, that is)

Decided to ride this evening instead of during the day and ended up riding into dusk as the moon rose over A in the arena. It was so lovely.

We had one horsefly divebomb us, but it was a half-hearted attempt and one swat sent him packing.

We added in some 20m circles at the trot tonight and did a decent job with them. I was especially proud of the Big Bay because everyone else was getting fed in the barn while we rode and he handled it really well. :)

Couldn't resist the song - we had some really nice trotting with that lovely moon coming up, and some of the lyrics are pretty on target!


Saturday, September 22, 2012

another good ride and a day off

Keil Bay and I had a very good ride today. We did our warm-up and I realized that I was holding my abdominal muscles very tight - which seems to happen when I focus on making sure my lower back isn't arched. It took some thought and attention to practice straightening my lower back without engaging the muscles, but the moment I did it Keil Bay's walk became big and rhythmic with his characteristic panther swing.

Once I realized how much better we were going I abandoned all thoughts of anything but making sure I stayed relaxed. We finished the walking and then did our sitting trot/walk/sitting trot exercise. Oddly enough in the sitting trot I'm not tightening the abs so that might be part of why Keil Bay is so on the aids when I do it.

So many things improved with this simple observation and effort to release the tension.

We broke the trot sets up today - 3 circuits of the arena in one direction, then a walk break, then a sitting trot circuit, then a walk break, then 3 in the other direction, etc.

The walk after this first set was phenomenal - we had both really relaxed and loosened up, and everything felt so good. Although sunny and warm, there was a stiff breeze that felt good and kept the bugs away.

Another 3 circuits using the same sequence was equally nice. And we did more big walking before doing a final trot set each way.

The half halts and transitions were really nice too - another week or so of this, adding in the canter, and we'll be ready to put 20m circles into the mix. 

Today, although the temps were higher, Keil Bay's sweat pattern was completely between the hind legs, and since it was warmer, he got a full bath instead of a hosing after. He was completely happy and relaxed, standing beneath the oak tree, on the small stone wash area we created. No mud! And Salina and the donkeys came out to visit while he got his bath.

Tomorrow I'm taking daughter to her first foxhunting event of the season - an all-day clinic where she'll be riding the new Thoroughbred mare she's going to hunt with this season. It should be a fun day - two mounted sessions and two unmounted sessions plus breakfast and lunch provided. I'm auditing rider first aid and yoga for riders. :)


Friday, September 21, 2012

we went into power mode again today

Keil Bay and I had two days off due to rain, then got back to work yesterday. Our ride was good but much more laid back than previous days had been, and I wondered if something was off.

Today he had the characteristic Keil Bay spring and as I wondered how we got from yesterday to today with such a difference, I reminded myself of my own tendency when it comes to riding. I will ride through almost any tight muscle or stiffness in my own body but if I feel anything "off" with Keil Bay I tend to notch things way down and stop sooner than I would otherwise have.
The reason behind it is good-intentioned. I respect Keil Bay and I especially respect how good a sport he has been in bringing me back to riding over the past 8 years. I never want to ask more of him than he can give, or ask him to work when something hurts. I listen to him and he is honest with me.

BUT. Sometimes, especially as we get older,  there isn't specific pain or injury, but we have to work through a bit of stiffness to get to the better work. If I am too cautious, we stop too soon for no good reason and never get to that good work. Keil Bay has always been the kind of horse who likes to warm up for a longer time and do some big work first to loosen things up. Particularly when we're coming back to work after a chunk of time off, I go very slowly. For both our sakes.

I realized today when I got on that he was moving well, much better than yesterday, and that I needed to add even more time to our warm-up at the walk, but then add some stretchy trot work before moving into the trot sets we've been doing.

One of our favorite exercises (which breaks the rules a lot of folks have about sitting trot and warm-up) is to start the trot work in small spurts. I ask for the trot at a random dressage marker and we trot to the next marker, then walk, then trot again. This works really well with sitting trot because Keil Bay has big strides and if I am sitting I can half-halt, ask for trot, sit, half-halt, ask for walk, pretty perfectly between each marker, without getting discombobulated.

I decided to try this today after we'd done a nice long warm-up at the walk. He was completely on the aids and required only the slightest touch of my leg. It gave me a chance to practice half halts and offered both of us the chance to work on our timing. It was amazing, right off the bat. He lifted his back and really moved. We did several sets of this going both directions and then added some serpentine work going across the short length of the arena, using the same idea. Walk one line, turn, trot the next one, etc. etc.

It was clear to me that Keil Bay was feeling good and moving well as we did this work - when we finished this part of the ride we went out the back gate and took a short walk in the back field. Keil was willing but very "up" - and as I asked him to go to the very back of the field he started to balk. I quickly turned him in a smaller circle, same direction, and then did that one more time before going back to the arena. No power struggles over this - I just need to get him out there a little each day and take things a few steps further each time.

When we got back in the arena we finished our trot sets which by now were really feeling good. My hips had loosened up, Keil definitely found his schwung, and I noted when I dismounted that he had a wonderful sweat pattern - along the girth, between his hind legs, and equal on the saddle pad. Plus a nice small line of foam along his lips.

It was warm enough today that we went out and hosed.

An interesting tidbit: after I got Keil Bay hosed, scraped, fed, settled in with hay, etc. I was standing in the tack room door holding his bridle. Salina walked up and lifted her head to the bit. I acted like I was going to put it on her, and she was perfectly ready and willing to be bridled up and presumably ridden! I told her how much I wished I could ride her - I just don't think it's a good idea to ask her to bear weight with her arthritic knees. One hard thing about having a senior here who didn't live here always is that I am constantly wishing I had known her when she was young in body and spirit. What a ride that would be!

Keil and I will have another ride tomorrow and then probably a break on Sunday as daughter has an all-day foxhunting clinic. I'm hoping by next week's end we can add in some cantering. :)

Sunday, September 16, 2012

keil bay notches things up and I spring both into, and out of, the saddle

So this morning I went out and tacked up the Big Bay in advance of a rainy afternoon, determined to keep up our rides so that we can both get back in the groove before autumn proper.

I sprang into the saddle for the third day in a row, oh so proud of myself and very happy with life in general.

I'm not timing our trot sets because I don't wear a watch normally and in fact don't own one at this point in my life - so I'm increasing our work each day based on how many times we trot around the perimeter of the arena (which is bigger than 20x40m but not as long as 60m). Each day I'm increasing by one rotation in each direction.

Today we were up to 5 each way. After a lengthy warm up at the walk, some of which was directed by me and some directed by Keil Bay, we started into our trot work. Trotting to the right is generally the easier direction for both of us, and it happened that we started that way today. We had a nice, rhythmic, very passable trot set to the right. I told Keil Bay that we were making good progress and I was happy with our work together.

Then we took a walk break again and after a little while I organized myself and we headed left and picked up the trot.

One rotation, same as we just did to the right.  I think I was telling Keil Bay that we just had four more to go, as if he needed to hear that the end of the work was near.

Second rotation, a little hop skip and attempt to leap into the canter. I'm not sure if Keil wanted to canter, or if he simply preferred cantering to the left over trotting to the left, but I asked him to stay at the trot, so he said, Fine, M'aam, and proceeded to turn on his huge, gigantic power mode trot.

Well. I really had to up my game to stay with this huge trot. I have been really careful bringing us both back into work as I didn't want to make either of us sore or push too hard. Today, Keil Bay said ENOUGH with the senior citizen mode, we are going directly to power mode and Yes, You Can Do This!

By the third rotation I had sort of settled in with the feeling that we were going to motor right through the arena fence and end up two farms down the lane, and was enjoying the ride. I think it was during the fourth that I began to employ many half halts and made some effort to bring things back down a notch. We finished the fifth rotation on a nice, even keel, and went down to walk from there.

I was so jazzed by Keil Bay's coaching me forward with such vigor that when it came time to dismount, I attempted to spring OUT of the saddle with the same youthful bounce I have suddenly regained getting into it.

This did not work quite the same way. I sprang out but didn't remove my foot from the stirrup quite fast enough to keep up with my body. I did a sort of rolling dismount down to the ground and onto my back. Keil Bay looked mortified and did two skittering steps away from me as if trying to get away from a loose cannon. Then he stopped and just looked at me.

There was no actual hitting the ground - it really did feel like I just rolled gently backwards like one of those Weeble toys except I didn't actually roll back up onto my feet. I had to stand up. No harm done except to my pride.

Although Keil Bay obviously feels we're ready to move on with some big movement and forward motion, I think I need a couple more rides to get back in the groove all the way. But by coaching me to Just Do It, he reminded me that sometimes slow and steady needs to yield to simply leaping forward - not only in riding but in life itself.

As usual, he shows me something in the arena that ripples out through the other areas of my life - writing, living, being.

Thanks, Keil Bay. You're the very best coach a woman could have.

Saturday, September 15, 2012

in which the Big Bay and I get back to work

The weather finally cooled down last week and looked like it might stay that way, so the Big Bay and I decided we would get back to work now so that we'll be back in shape when the really nice autumn weather hits.

We started on Monday morning. Just walking, but it was nice walking, and I think we both enjoyed being back to work together in the arena.

Tuesday we did more walking but added some time and energy to the mix.

Wednesday my daughter rode Cody and we opened the arena gate to the back field and did some riding in back, up to the paddock, on through to the front field, back to the arena, etc. Keil woke up fast and then decided he didn't want to go further down the front field than the top half. He did a little balking and we worked through that, circling around and adding a few feet further down the hill a couple of times and then ended on that cooperative note. I realized later that what I might have done was just hop off, hand walk him down to the log jump at the bottom of the hill, mount up down there, and then ride up and down again. I might just do that to begin with one day and see if we can just forego the power struggle altogether a few times.

Thursday was a day off.

Friday I took the clippers with me when I mounted up and we warmed up and then did some trimming of tree limbs. It's a job Keil Bay seems to love doing - and it's the perfect way to ensure that I don't get smacked in the face when riding him. For much of the trim time, I was standing in the stirrups with both arms above my head, cutting branches and letting them fall to the side and behind us. Keil Bay stood like a soldier and took one step forward, back, sideways, etc. as I asked. There aren't a lot of horses I would trust to do that on at this point in my life, but Keil is definitely one of them!

We had a lot of assistance getting the oak branches studded with young acorns up - two donkey lads were quite happy to drag the branches around and nibble on leaves.

After the tree trimming Keil and I added in the first bit of trot work we've done since the end of June. It was not great, but we had to get the kinks out, and at least we made a start on it.

This morning I went out thinking we would walk and add some time to the trot work. Keil had a funky strip of frog tissue that I had wondered about yesterday - so I had husband take a look and we decided it needed to be trimmed off. I don't think I've mentioned that husband is now trimming the donkey hooves under the supervision of our trimmer, and is also working on the pony. So between the two of us we're learning a lot more and getting more confident about these little hoof care decisions.

I think it was a good one - the warm up and walk were much better today than yesterday, and I let Keil Bay do his "loose rein lead" - he could go anywhere he wanted but the walk had to be big and rhythmic. He again chose a huge figure 8 across the entire arena, but then, interestingly, chose to do a number of 10-15 meter circles to the left, which is at the moment his stiffer side. I wondered out loud if he was working something out in his shoulder. Sure enough, when we hit the trot time, Keil Bay turned on the power mode immediately. Right rein was still better in terms of bend but left was pretty good too!

And in some strange stroke of who knows what, I suddenly seem to have gotten back the ability to do that little "spring" thing when mounting that I did when young and haven't been able to do since I started back riding as an adult. It might disappear tomorrow, but for two days in a row I have done it, and loved the feeling of springing into the saddle. (I should be clear - this is still from the mounting block, not from the ground!)

Anyway, we're having good rides this week, loving the weather, courageously battling dive-bombing horseflies together, and really hoping that by the time we get a real fall day we are in shape enough to do some cantering.

Hope everyone is getting some relief from the long, hot summer of 2012!

Monday, September 10, 2012

the Big Bay's many colored days

Last week Keil Bay had a rare bad day, and as it was happening I kept thinking about Dr. Seuss' book called My Many Colored Days. There's a page that reads like this:

On Bright Red Days how good it feels
to be a horse and kick my heels!

It was hot, Keil Bay had a yeasty frog, and I made the big mistake of taking him out for a bath but choosing to do a hoof scrub first. It is true. Horseflies were dive-bombing, Keil Bay was sweaty and itchy, and I had the hose and the bucket of soapy water all set up. But I picked up his feet and did a hoof scrub first. He handled the first one, but by the second hoof, right hind, he was not amused. He allowed me to finish that hind hoof, and when I let go, he slammed it down, lifted the other hind, and kicked out in anger. How like Keil Bay to express his anger but in a way that clearly did not endanger me. Nevertheless, I smacked his rump with the flat of my hand.

We finished up with no more outbursts, not from me, not from Keil Bay.

We're both ready for cooler weather, clearly.

Today we got it, and I did a quick grooming, fed him half his breakfast tub, tacked up, and we had the first ride we've had in about 6 weeks. It was glorious. Everything felt perfect. We walked, did a little shoulder-in, turns on forehand and haunches, and a little backing. I had the same feeling I had last winter when it felt like we had made a leap forward. The aids were quiet and soft and so was the ride.

As we got started, the doe and her twin fawns showed up in the forest near A. Keil let me know they were there, and we tracked them as we rode and they made their way down the fence line to the back field. We stopped and watched the fawns scampering, and then continued on our ride.

When we were done, Keil licked and chewed, happy to get the other half of his breakfast. I had a good ride and did not break a sweat! I am SO happy to be entering this time of year. The horses are happy too, with nights in the 50s and at least the promise of the demise of the dive-bombing horseflies. Salina cantered up the front field hill a few days ago, and even though it was probably to escape a horsefly, I am relieved she is feeling so good.

This afternoon I went back to the barn and took a little bottle of bubbles with me. I blew and blew and the donkeys and Keil Bay and Cody were all completely enchanted with the fact that suddenly the woman was shooting magical disappearing balls out of her mouth. Keil leaned his head over the stall door and put his nose out to me, wanting the bubbles to land on him. Eyes wide with curiosity. For a few minutes I turned into some kind of fairy princess and he was completely absorbed. It was easy to see the yearling Keil Bay in his eyes.

In our many colored days, this one had a brilliant blue sky, dark purple muscadines, and the brightest red bay in the big wide world, all here on November Hill.