Sig Progress - October 2019

To keep it relatively short, Sig is doing phenomenally.  His flatwork is advancing by leaps and bounds; he is so much further ahead than I thought we'd be back in June or July. He stretches beautifully; long, low, down/out, at both the walk and the trot.  We're working on doing the same in the canter now as well, and he's coming along nicely.  I'm focusing on getting him to push forward from behind and lift his back, and I think he's just a totally different horse than earlier this summer.  He's going to be as fun in the dressage ring as he will be in the jumper (or hunter) ring!

He has had some low back/SI tension so he's seen the chiropractor a couple times, who has recommended a weekly date with the lunging rig and more focus on what we're already doing - long/low, engage the abs/lift the back, etc.  He also played hard a couple weeks ago and came in lame from the field.  It seems like he pulled something in the left hind up high, but after another chiro visit and now some weekly PEMF (magna wave) sessions, he's back to 100% and going well.

 

Jumping's going mostly well too, just haven't been able to lesson as consistently as I'd hoped.  Maybe over the winter we'll have a more regular routine.  But when we do jump, Sig and I need the first couple to get on the same page (he needs to slow his mind and jump down, I need to find the rhythm and the feel), but we're good after that.  He's pretty uncomplicated and has a lovely way of going to  the jumps. 

Sig is looking amazing too, and has really filled out over the last couple of months in particular.  Some days I can't decide if he's a Thoroughbred, a Quarter Horse, or a Warmblood, depending on the angle!  His topline is looking great.  And he's the snuggliest dude ever, which is his most important job.  He definitely puts a smile on my face and it's just nice being around him.  He tries so unbelievably hard for me undersaddle that it's humbling.  I honestly can't express what I feel for him in words.  I just feel so incredibly fortunate to have him.

Here are some recent(ish) videos and photos!

Taking in the view at the Kentucky Horse Park

KHP with the Peeps Foundation

The baby face is gone.  Handsome!!

Schooling at KHP

He loves hanging out with the moos

Thicc

This might be one of my favorite pictures of him

Thoughts and Feelings on George Morris' Lifetime Ban and SafeSport

Those of you who know me in real life or have been following my blog here or my writing for The Chronicle of the Horse, know that I have long respected George H. Morris as a rider, horseman, and trainer.  Riding with him in 2017 was truly the highlight of my riding career and a long-standing bucket list item.  It was the catalyst for my entire year that year, the inspiration I needed to work with other incredible horsemen, and the thing that got me noticed by COTH staff in the first place.  It was a proud moment for me.

And none of that changes the fact that there has been an investigation, enough evidence was found to support the decision, and he has been permanently banned by the USEF for sexual misconduct with a minor.

In the hours and days that followed, the horse community seemed to nearly split in half, violently, as people swarmed to blindly defend GM, or demonize him.   Facebook groups were formed, online arguments ensued.  People cried that this was unfair, that it was a witch hunt, that SafeSport had finally gone too far.  People were upset that their hero, their idol, the father of the sport, was being targeted and torn down.  No one seemed to be truly asking if it was true, only flocking to the belief that because he was a great horseman, that it wasn't true.  Or it didn't matter.  Or it was somehow the victims' fault.  Or that it was 50 years ago, and "things were different back then."  But here's the thing:

A person can be an Olympian, and still be an abuser.  A person can be a prolific horseman and gifted trainer, and still be an abuser.  A person can nearly single handedly shape the modern sport in America, and still be an abuser.

We cannot make excuses for people no matter how high up they are in an organization, how important they have been to the sport, or because society had different standards back then.  We cannot blindly flock to someone in support just because of their name.  

Initially my reaction was anger as described above.  Surely, not GM?  But then all the things I have learned through years of sexual assault prevention and awareness training took over.  We need to believe and support victims.  We need to let the system do its job.  We need to seek justice for those who were victimized and prevent predators from preying on the vulnerable.  Our sport, at any level, is susceptible to that power dynamic that begets abuse.  That does NOT make the vast majority of professionals abusers, or even likely to abuse.  It does offer the select few who want to abuse the environment to do so.  As we have seen, there are real examples of how this can and has already happened in our sport.  Repeatedly.

Sometimes, I feel like that moment back in 2017 and that highlight of my riding career has been erased.  I feel like now, because of this ban and this realization, that it never happened and I can never talk about it again.  I am angry because that moment meant so much to be because of what Soon and I accomplished together, how admired he was, and how much it meant to me because of my love for Soon. When I lost Soon two short months later, that GM clinic meant that much more to me.  And now I am sad that I won't be able to talk about it in the near future.  You won't be able to speak the words George Morris.  Those words will represent abuse.  And my moment is gone.  Now I think how unbelievably selfish that is of me. 

Because then I thought: if that's how I feel about a lousy three-day clinic, how on earth must those victims feel??  How did that affect their lives?  How must they feel now, to see the vitriol and disbelief flying around the Internet and the barns at horse shows?   It is awful enough to be a victim, it is arguably an even worse fate to not be believed, and to be blamed for your own abuse.  I realized then that it does not matter how I feel.  Because the real tragedy here is that people's lives were changed forever.  Whatever they were (aspiring Maclay champions, aspiring Olympians), they became victims.  And it is not.  Their.  Fault.

I highly recommend listening to the NPR podcast, "Believed."  It is delivered in several episodes, which systematically dissect Dr. Larry Nassar (former USA Gymnastics doctor who sexually abused over 200 patients) and how he got away with his crimes.  You will hear from several victims, the detectives involved with his case, listen to actual recordings of Nassar's interviews.  It is enlightening, eye-opening, and shocking.

USA Gymnastics nearly ceased to exist because of this and other scandals.  And it makes me think how our sport probably has many more skeletons in its closet, many more people guilty of abuse.  Predators must be rooted out of the sport, abuse has no place in this community.  I know that the days may get even darker before the USEF, SafeSport, and its Congressionally-mandated mission are done cleaning house.  But I hope that the old saying is true, that it is darkest before the dawn, and that this sport will come out of these times stronger, and safer for those who are so passionate about it.

SafeSport's existence is needed.  That does not mean it's perfect.  I feel confident that the investigation into GM was not rushed, was thorough, and its implications carefully and systematically considered by the USEF officials prior to his ban being announced.  How could it not be?  The most famous man in the sport?  That said, I still think that SafeSport's development and implementation was not as thorough, and its rules do make life difficult and potentially dangerous to your hometown horse trainer, who is not an abuser, who is good, and does follow all the rules.  A system can be good and needed, and still be flawed.  I just hope that my good friends who do this thing right never find themselves at the wrong end of an accusation.  I hope parents and teens understand the new rules and don't put my trainers and friends in a position to be accused of something.  I hope everyone believes in this change and we come together as a community to support a change in culture, an increase in transparency, and an increase in safety, for ALL parties involved.

New Saddle...welcome Voltaire BlueWing!

It's been a summer of saddle shopping, and we've done a complete 180 in saddle preferences in the last two months.  Now that it's finally over, I can happily say that I'm the owner of a 2018 Voltaire BlueWing saddle.

Well...the part of me that wants my horse to be comfortable and happy is happy.  The part of me that has to pay bills and actually sit in the new saddle is still grumbling.  Horse is happy because he doesn't have a credit card payment.

"DIS LOOK GOOD YES?"

I was told awhile ago that my beloved, perfect old school CWD was not working for Sig.  He's been going in Ashley's Voltaire Palm Beach all year, and just before I came back from Okinawa, I bought a 2014 Palm Beach.  It's well-used, and calfskin (not buffalo), so it's very well worn in.  I love the close feel it gives me and how comfy it was.  It seemed to fit him pretty well, and he didn't seem to object too much too it, so I accepted that we'd keep it for a bit (a year, two years, who knows) while I saved up for a newer version.  It was only meant to be a stop gap.

I had been on the lookout for a Voltaire BlueWing for a long time.  I've been interested in them since 2016 when I first heard about the marriage of the Tad Coffin SmartRide tree with the comfortable stylings of Voltaire.  I have a long and colorful history with Tad Coffin saddles....If you don't know, do read about that one time Tad came to the farm and we almost got in a fight:

That One Time Tad Came To The Farm and We Almost Got in a Fight

We didn't get in a fight, obviously, and I think the absolute world of Tad as a rider, horseman, and as a gentleman.  He is truly one of the most gifted riders I have ever had the privilege of watching.  I also applaud his work with saddle trees, and I believe it's a great and much needed innovation.  I just know for a fact that it does NOT meet the unscientific claims that these saddles/trees worked for EVERY horse.  No saddle can.  Soon didn't care for them (made his back extremely sore) and to this date, the TC is the only saddle in history to physically wound me.  It just wasn't for us.  I later had to ride some other training horses in the barn TC saddles, and I just pretended they were covered in tacks and I couldn't sit down.  It was an excellent way to work on strength/conditioning in two-point...

But that doesn't mean I'm not still very interested in the tree technology and how it might benefit some horses.  The BlueWing, with it's semi-flexible SmartRide tree, remained in the back of my mind and after learning my CWD was not working for Sig, I kept my eyes open.  I missed out on the chance to buy one last fall because I hesitated.  It was gone before I could snag it.  I regretted that and at the end of June I found the current BlueWing for sale online.  It is a 2018 model...I almost bought it that night, but with the move, having just bought new furniture, at the time I had a lengthy hotel bill...I didn't allow myself to.  I told myself that once I got the credit card paid off from all the various moving expenses, and if the saddle was still available, then I would ask about it.

And it was.  So I did.  And I bought it last weekend and took it on trial.  And I took many pictures of my horse wearing said saddle on trial.

"WHY YOU LIKE THIS"

Initially I thought the BlueWing would never work on him.  It just seemed so impossibly narrow when I pulled it out of the box.  But the panel foams are double thick and extra soft, so the front view is extremely deceiving.  I didn't feel any better about it after I sat it on him, because it seemed like it bridged terribly.  By that I don't mean it bridged a little bit and I tried to talk myself out of the bridging; I mean you could drive a Chevy 3500HD dually through the gap.

Beep beep

It really was bad enough that I almost took it off and put it back in my truck right then.  I was very close to never riding in it, it looked so terrible.  But then I took the advice of the internet (risky right?) and girthed it up lightly, with no pads.  The bridging did go away and it seemed like there was no longer any gap even with a little girth contact.  That made me feel slightly better, but still skeptical.  I hopped on.

  I thought the Palm Beach I had picked up earlier in June would be the answer, for now.  It seemed to have been okay for Sig, but until now I didn't realize how unhappy he really was in it.  The inconsistency in the bridle, the stiff-neck moments and diving, the general hesitation to really move over his back...I thought it might just be a lack of strength or greenness, or my bumbling attempts after a year out of the saddle.

....nope.  It was the saddle.  My bumbling is only a mild nuisance.

The first ride in the BlueWing it was glaringly obvious there was a massive difference, and that he was going noticeably softer and freer, and happier in the BlueWing.  This was repeated in the next four rides and confirmed over fences.  It was truly like I was on a completely different horse.  I have wanted to avoid the "mAjIkaAL saDDLe!!11!" appearance (can you see the Kool Aide stain on my shirt?), but this was definitely the better fit for Sig.  He immediately had a bigger, more swinging walk.  His walk/trot transitions were smoother and softer.  He offered to be forward and round, all I had to do was close my leg.  He wanted to stretch and go long/low.  The difference between him in the BlueWing and the Palm Beach could not be more obvious.  And I was absolutely thrilled with how he felt in the new saddle.  He just seemed so relaxed and happy.

In some ways, that makes me feel a million times better feeling how nicely he can go around, how soft and through, and how much more swing he has in his gaits when he's in the BlueWing.  It also makes me feel like a complete asshole for having him in the other saddle, even if it was only about a month and a half.  As for how it feels for me?  I'll like it better when it is broken in.  I feel pretty high off his back, but it got better and I felt more comfortable with each ride.  I think once it's not in the "obnoxious new saddle" phase, I'll be just as happy sitting in it as he is wearing it, but until then, I'll make due.  It's okay.  I will say I did enjoy how I felt jumping in it, that so far has been the most balanced jump school I've had since I got back from my hiatus.

So here I am, with a horse who loves his Voltaire BlueWing with the Tad Coffin SmartRide tree.  I had a good laugh about it.  At the end of the day, it is about making the horse comfortable and happy, and this saddle does that for Sig.  I am thrilled to have it.

The BlueWing came with the full swathe of "stuff" that Voltaire includes with it, none of which holds any interest for me.  It's marketing schtick is that it's the first "smart saddle," which means it has a lot of gadgets that come with it to track metrics of your ride.  How exactly it does this, I don't know.  I am terrified to use TVs that have more than one remote (I will sit in the dark silence alone) so don't expect me to want to dissect the thingy-mabobs that tell me how long I trotted to the left for.

Literally me

I'm sure that if you have a string of Grand Prix horses those metrics might be useful, but for me with a five year old baby horse cantering 2'3" courses, I'm not interested.  This was always about the tree and what it might be able to do for Sig.  Perhaps one day I'll put that stuff together and start using it to track my rides, but for now I just want to enjoy riding him in it.  I'm happy to report it's the right saddle for my horse, and now I can finally close this saddle shopping saga on a positive note.

I don't know what this does.

...or this

What is this even for

...in case anyone was wondering, yes, I still have the CWD.  I;m getting buried with that thing.  I'm hanging on to it because it really is my perfect saddle, and if nothing else maybe it'll fit a training horse and I can hop on in it on occasion.  For now it just has a friend.

Best friends

In Hand Work

Introduced Sig to working in hand today.  I wanted to start working on turn on the forehand and begin confirming the leg yield, both of which are good to do in hand.

Overall he was really super.  Did a quick refresh of the turn on the forehand cue on the ground, really focusing on his inside hind leg stepping under.  After that, I began teaching him how to walk with me at his side in the in hand configuration.  Initially he was very unsure about me walking behind his shoulder, but he only needed a little encouragement and praise and he got the idea very quickly.  It was good to see how nice his walk can be when he starts coming through and lifting his back.  He was soft in the bridle and was definitely picking up on the concepts quickly. 

We then did an easy flat school.  I cantered a littler earlier in the ride and it definitely resulted in a softer, more willing horse in the trot afterward.  Overall it was a super pleasant day and full of nice little moments for this guy.  So smart!

I just found this video about three minutes ago, but this is an excellent demonstration of good, basic in hand work:

First Dressage and Jumping Lessons

Last Sunday I rode with FEI level trainer, Sharon Vander Ziel.  Sharon comes to the farm periodically to offer dressage lessons, which is super handy.  We had a private lesson, and primarily worked on preventing him from popping out through the left shoulder and staying soft in upward/downward transitions.  Sig was fantastic, earned lots of nice compliments from Sharon for being so correct and through at times, and we came away with lots of homework.  He and I are going to work more on leg yields and turn on the forehand to start isolating his hind end and asking for the hind legs to step over/under on cue.  His tendency, like most young horses, is to blow through the outside shoulder in the leg yield.  He is very smart and picked up on the concepts in the lesson very quickly.  He really felt very fancy and I had a fun ride.  I was absolutely thrilled with him!

Dressage is hard but apples are yummy

A few days later I had my first jump lesson on Sig (ever).  While I popped him over a few fences back during my short visit in May, I really haven't jumped seriously since before Soon died.  I had jumped Sig in December 2017 when I tried him, and once more in Maryland (probably in February 2018), but that's it.  So we're just starting from square one together.  That said, I felt better and more secure in the tack, and while my base is still loose, I feel like it's coming back.

For not having jumped in a month or so since I've been back, and not having done a ton of cantering, Sig was pretty fantastic.  He was strong and being in a group of four+ horses in the ring was very exciting, but he did settle and got focused.  We had to use the wall to stop only because he'd dive through that left shoulder.  Both Ashley and I agreed that halting in the corners to get him to expect that and set himself back, which worked. 

Next time I jump I plan to use the two-ring gag on him just to have a little extra control, and I expect with more jump lessons, more exposure to riding in/around groups, and just overall a better understanding of each other, Sig won't need that and can go back to his usual loose ring oval mouth.  I rode him in that usual set up around one of Ashley's jump lessons on Thursday (busy ring with five horses in it), and he was quiet and very good.  So I think the gag will just be an occasional reminder.

Overall I'm happy where we're at and while we have a lot of work to do, I'm exciting to see where we go from here.

First adventure at the Kentucky Horse Park!

The Liftoff clan was off horse showing at the "B" rated Robert Murphy Horse Show at the Kentucky Horse Park the last few days.  They had an extra stall available yesterday so I hauled Sig over to spend the day at the show.  Always a good opportunity to increase mileage and exposure!

"Dis is bullshit."

He's been to the horse park a couple times now, but this was my first time actually getting to ride there, and I was so excited.  He stepped right on the trailed, hauled over well, and settled pretty much immediately.  We went for a quick hand walk and spent 20 minutes just grazing by the side of the warm ups and taking in some of the atmosphere.  He was quiet the entire time. 

I got on and headed to the warm up to do a quick flat school.  Sig walked up fine and seemed pretty chill just walking around, but was a little tense when we started trotting.  Ashley had told me he needed to get more accustomed to horses in his space, and as warm up rings can do, there were a lot of horses coming at him or from behind that got under his skin in the beginning.  He tried to throw a few bucks, but that and the tension only lasted a few minutes before he settled and actually had a really nice flat school in the walk, trot, and canter.  It was 90 degrees so his excess energy was zapped pretty quick, but he got lovely and soft, forward, and was working well over his back. 

Overall I am so happy with where he's at and how he feels.  I really think he'll be able to play in the hunter, jumper, and dressage ring.  He's very soft in the bridle and gives me a very nice feeling in the saddle.  Today I half expected a giraffe and a fight, but he was really round, came forward off my leg well, and settled very nicely into the work.  Whenever he got distracted we did some leg yields and he went right back to work.  I was so happy with him and how he worked in the warm up ring!

Afterward we went hacking around the immediate area of the horse park and enjoyed the scenery.  Again, he was perfectly quiet and willing, was walking around on the buckle and seemed content to just mosey around.  There were people, announcers, golf carts, water trucks, tractors, and none of it bothered him in the least.  We visited the jumper ring and hung out there briefly, then made out way out toward the cross country course, where I was totally blown away by the property and took about 50 photos. 

After all that, he got a nice, cool bath and I let him hang out in the stall for a bit.  He's grown up a lot since I've been gone, and Ashley has done such a nice job making him a civilized individual.  He is so much better and more comfortable in stalls now.  He settles right into his hay, and I even caught him taking some naps in the corner under the fan.  Droopy lip and everything.  Made me feel good to see him so overall relaxed about the entire experience!

"You give me cookies yes?"

Chilling by the rings.  Eating his grass.

HIS FACE!!  XD

After another handwalk and getting to enjoy his dinner at the horse park (and more nap time in the stall afterward), we loaded up and drove the 25 minutes back home.  I love that everything is so close here!  So convenient, and it's a relatively easy drive with (mostly) civilized drivers that know about horse trailers.  Sig was happy to get back to his field and enjoy the rest of his night.

This morning I rolled up to just go for a hack, and I was very pleasantly surprised when Sig saw me coming down the driveway and whinnied.  Oh yeah...that made me smile and my heart turn to mush.  I figured after yesterday he wanted nothing to do with me, LOL.  And let's be real, it's probably because I always bring a carrot with me to catch horses.  But regardless of the motive, he gave me a very enthusiastic good morning and walked on over from the other side of the field.  We had an easy hack today, just walked around the farm for about 20 minutes and called it a day.  Lots of snuggles and carrots.  This was a great weekend.

He does the same goofy pose with his hind legs as Soon did, LOL

"Easy like Sunday morning..."

Sunday Funday and a Clean Start

Spent a quiet, productive Sunday at the barn.  All day.  Got a lot of stuff done too:

- Hacked Sig
- Cleaned out/reorganized my grooming tote
- Inventoried/reorganized my entire tack trunk
- Inventoried additional tack trunks/medicine cabinets in my trailer
- Reordered all medical supplies (threw out old medications, needed to restock other supplies like gauze pads, etc)
- Cleaned ALL THE TACK

"All the tack" officially consists of the following:

1. Four bridles
2. Two saddles
3. Three breastplates
4. Two martingales
5. Five halters
6. Five girths (...when did I get five girths??)
7. Washed two laundry loads of saddle pads (that's just the every day rotation, there are two more additional loads waiting in the horse trailer to be done)

...I just have the one horse.

This is the one horse, and he is afraid of the round bales across the street

 It really was a nice, quiet day.  There was minimal traffic, only a handful of people there, so I wasn't in a busy environment all day.  I didn't start out thinking I was going to do all that, I knew it needed to be done, but it felt good to get it all accomplished before dinner.  It's good because after dinner was my meeting with Tack Hoarders Anonymous so....

All of this is mine, and this is only some of the tack I own.

Some of that tack dates back to Triple.  And most of it hasn't been cleaned since Soon died, so in a way, it was like giving myself a fresh start here in Kentucky.  It felt good.

Sunday morning barn vibes

This happened and I couldn't help but do a comparison pic.  These two were/are too funny!

First week back, still no house

Well...the military lost my household goods scheduling request so suffice it to say, I did not get my stuff this week like I had hoped.  It should be here by 17 July, so at least it will get here.  In the meantime I'm still in the hotel, soon to be sleeping in my house on an air bed...joy.

Good news is, Sig is a superstar.  We've had several rides, all of them good and even the one not-so-good wasn't so bad.   Today we cantered for the first time since I came back, and he gave me some nice moments to the right, showing me that softness and balance is there.  He scooted and tried to buck to the left (we were outside in the jump field and he had his objections to being out there), but that was only momentary and he did soften a few steps to the left as well.  We'll spend a lot more time in the walk and trot before I worry about his shape in the canter. 

Overall I think he's feeling good, he's moving well in the trot and though yesterday he was a little tense and inconsistent, today he actually stepped out very nicely in the trot and was working over his back pretty well outside.  He's got a pretty decent trot in there!  Not only was I happy with his trot today - his balance, his softness, how he was getting over his back and loose through his body - I was also very happy with how he settled into the work.  He didn't want to be outside.  All his buddies were in the indoor, it was hot, buggy, and it was next to the road and he doesn't love the traffic.  He politely protested the first part of the ride. Despite that, after about 10 minutes of walking exercises, he relaxed nicely and once he got into the trot, really started to let go and focus on the work. 

He felt really super and it was one of those rides that really put a smile on my face, because I think he's going to be a really cool ride in the future.

Most handsome grass vacuum

Home in Kentucky!

I arrived in Kentucky super late on Friday night (literally Saturday morning) and have spent the last two days trying to sleep normally and enjoy myself at the barn.  I am SO HAPPY to be here!!

I had stopped in last month while I was at a training course in Alabama...I took three days of leave and drove up to Lexington to see Sig, try saddles, and just enjoy KY for a short bit before heading back to Okinawa for the final few weeks of my tour.  I was so happy to be driving my big diesel truck on the one-lane country backroads, I couldn't contain my excitement and I couldn't even turn the truck into my friend on time.  I had to turn around and drive another hour.

How do you not keep driving around in country this beautiful?

My kind of traffic jam!

I. Love. This. Truck.

Now that I'm back for real, that happiness and sheer excitement for this area is almost overwhelming.  I am so thankful to have Sig settled at a beautiful farm with all the amenities, surrounded by people who know and love him.  I have had two excellent rides on him already since I got back.  I've kept things extremely simple, partly because I am SO FREAKING UNFIT, and also because I'm working on getting Sig working more over his back and being more forward from behind, and softer in the bridle.  It's a good time for us both to work on our fitness together.

So happy to be home with this dude!!!

Quick flashback to my short vist in May:  I rode twice, once to try some new Voltaire saddles, and again in my friend's Voltaire, which Sig has been going in all year.  Probably because I was out of the saddle so long and lacking the touch, Sig and I actually fought pretty hard on the flat.  He felt dead mouthed, heavy, stiff necked, and overall just did not resemble the horse I had a year ago.  He has been going so well for Ashley this last year.  I was feeling a little defeated and confused, but I tried to chalk it up to me being out of the saddle for so long and tried not to worry about it (but I still worried about it).

Now that I'm home, my goal is to start installing the dressage buttons on him.  He jumps around a course like a champ, with a great metronome canter and an athletic, easy jump.  But I also want my horses (whether hunter or jumper types) to be solid dressage horses.  So this is the start.  Yesterday we mostly just walked, worked on lateral and longitudinal flexion, stretching, softening into the outside rein off the inside leg pressure, leg yields, etc. I did some quick trot loops in each direction, but only long enough to see that he was willing to stay down and forward in the trot, being soft in the bridle and not fighting me at all.  Sig was very soft in the bridle, forward in the walk, was starting to lift his back and swing, and overall felt like that horse I had bought (but obviously way more educated and stronger thanks to my trainer friend's wonderful help).  He was lovely and I was so happy with how he felt compared to the month prior.

Looking good, can't wait to develop his topline this year

Today, we rode outside in the jump field (he was definitely feeling fresh today so that was WHEEE TIME to start off!) and worked more on the walk.  I love the walk - I can spend weeks and weeks just walking if necessary.  You can install so many buttons and do so much good work in the walk (and get pretty damn fit) before you ever have to screw with the trot or canter.  I'm of the philosophy that if a horse isn't balanced in one gait, you don't work in the next gait up.  So for the time behing while I'm working on my fitness, we'll spend a LOT of time in the walk to install some of these concepts, and strengthen his back, hind end, and start building that topline.

We trotted more today too, and while there was some inverted moments dealing with other horse traffic in the jump field and the busy road next door (confirmed by trainer he is not a huge fan of cars), he actually had a lot of nice moments in the trot and certainly felt more steady in the contact and willing to come over his back and onto the bit (and for the most part, stay there).  It was like riding a completely different horse than our rides back in May.  I hope to spend a lot of time in that jump field, as there is a gentle incline (no real hills around the farm so no straight hill work days for us) and it will be good for training/conditioning.  It's also straight up gorgeous.

 Overall I'm just totally chuffed.  I know with time and consistency, he will come along with the dressage stuff and the jumping is going to be even more fun as a result.  We'll spent a lot of time walking the next several weeks, with some trotting and the odd canter/jump school, but right now my focus is taking it slow, re-establishing our relationship (can you say rope halter time?), laying the foundation of the topline, and getting myself fitter.  I'm hoping by August we'll be ready for more "fun" stuff, but lucky for me (not so much Sig) I love the slow work.

Wondering how he is the ONLY HORSE in the barn with an owner that also owns a dressage whip

We've had a bit of a saddle saga as well.  My beloved CWD does not fit him (as I saw in May), so I had been on the lookout for a Voltaire saddle instead.   I sat in two new ones back in May, but honestly didn't love either one (half deep and deep seat saddles).  I thought it was only because I was out of the saddle for so long.  But honestly, I just don't like new saddles.  I felt a mile away from the horse with a lot of leather between us.  That said, I ended up putting a deposit down on a new one only to cancel as I found a used Voltaire online with all the right specs.  I bought it while I was back in Okinawa and had it shipped to the farm.

Sig brewed and abscess at the same time the saddle arrived, so was unable to be ridden in it.  However, it fit him well and I decided to keep the saddle.  Unfortunately, once Sig was sound after the abscess, there was concern from my trainer whether the saddle truly fit him when in work and whether the tree could potentially be broken.  It was certified sound by the seller (reputable vendor of used, high-end saddles who had it examined by a saddler prior to selling), but the Voltaire rep said it might be broken based on stress test.  Sig was apparently backsore after using the saddle.

 When I finally arrived in KY, I tested it myself and didn't get much flex on the tree, not anymore than the slight give you get off most trees.  I rode Sig in it, and he was stretching nicely in it and willing to use his back.  He was not backsore after the first or second ride in the saddle.  Both days, as stated above, were very soft, productive rides.  He also has a scrape on his back from probably roughhousing with his turnout mate, and was off for awhile due to the abscess (and probably favoring a side, potentially making his back sore).  All those things plus being off work for several days could add up to the back soreness.  It's hard to tell as the observations I have made on the saddle and his reaction to it are contradicting what my trainer and the local Voltaire rep are saying.  I am looking to have the saddle examined this week by an independent saddler to confirm one way or another.  If it's sound, I'm keeping the saddle as it fits us both well, is very broken in and extremely comfortable, and gives Sig what he needs without breaking my bank account.  Fingers crossed...

Also, I cannot wait for all my household goods to show up later this week!  All my riding clothes, helmets, boots, accessories are all in storage and I had to make a fast trip to the local tack shop to get myself outfitted in the meantime. 

Went to the tack shop, bought stuff, felt right at home again.

When away from your children for a long period of time, BUY THEIR LOVE

I can't wait for what's next!

First Horse Show!

Well...technically it's Sig's third horse show, but his first with us.

Ashley took Sig down the road to Lakeside.  He stayed overnight, did schooling the first day and a couple of hunter classes the next.  Overall report card was excellent, she said he took everything in and handled it all well.  He had some issues getting the bigger steps so they ended up adding in some of the later classes, but Sig went around perfectly happily and didn't look around very much.  Just a good little dude!  It's a great start and so fun for me to see this young guy handling an overnight show this well and being so chill.  I'm pretty chuffed with him!