# Jack's Journal



## MySerenity (Jul 18, 2011)

I've never done the journal thing before but I think this might help me document our progress. (even if no one reads this  )

I brought Jack home last week for a trial and my trainer loved him. That was a really good thing too because I didn't follow procedure and found him myself instead of letting them find the horse for me. (To be fair though, they don't know how to find a horse under 5 figures.) Even the barn owner is in love with him and her last horse cost about 75 grand.

Anyways, he's a 7 year old OTTB who last raced in October and had his retraining started by a wonderful women here in Wisconsin. He was having issues with tender heals and so he was very stabby in the trot when we got him home. We figured he needed shoes and we were right. He was shod on Tuesday and he is moving fantastically now. My trainer is elated. He does have a bone chip and needs some retraining but he is so going to be worth his weight in gold for me.

We had our first official lesson today on the flat and he did great. My trainer rode him first to show me how much better he looks with his new kicks and he was a little rough with his canter transitions. He was great for me though and we are planning on doing an over fences lesson later this week. 

I'm so excited to start on this new project. I know it isn't going to be easy but the fact that everyone at the barn thinks he has so much potential really gives me a lot of hope that it will all be worth it. (I just hope I don't get bucked off this one as much as the last one.)


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## MySerenity (Jul 18, 2011)

We had an excellent ride today. My trainer rode him first again, "just to get the sticky out" as she says. He sometimes gets stuck and doesn't go forward and she's trying to consistently get after him so we can end this habit. He also strikes out a bit in his canter transitions because of his balance and strength so she likes to get a couple good transition and then hand him over to me. 

There were 5 other horses in the indoor today (raining out) so it was a little bit of a zoo. one girl was lessoning so we had to watch for her jumping and 2 of the others are new so you have to watch out for them as well. I don't always have split second responses from Jack so it's a little exciting. Jack was fantastic, even with people being cut off and the horse knocking rails when jumping. He doesn't get rattled easily which is really wonderful.

He's been in a stall since we brought him home since he was foot sore but now that he has been shod and is not tender we can start putting him out 24/7 this weekend. That's a really good thing too because the bill for the vet check was a lot more than I was expecting, so I need to save a little money. He's also been cribbing in the stall, even with the strap on. He's already pulled down 1 bucket and was working on demolishing another while I was cleaning up today since he couldn't go out in the rain. I really hope he likes being outside all the time. I think it will be really good for him. 

A friend of my trainer was helping with training rides today since the majority of the barn is down at Maffitt and she really liked Jack. She just couldn't say enough good things which is very nice to hear. 

Lane will school him over fences tomorrow. Then I will hack on Saturday and lesson on Sunday. I'm excited to start jumping him!


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## ChipsAhoy (Jul 1, 2012)

Looking foreward to reading about his progress! being out is soso good for horses, and I've seen OTTB's become extremely destructive and dangerous from being locked up for months untouched, because they "Weren't used to coming out". What discipline are you planning on training him in?


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## MySerenity (Jul 18, 2011)

> Looking foreward to reading about his progress! Being out is soso good for horses, and I've seen OTTB's become extremely destructive and dangerous from being locked up for months untouched, because they "Weren't used to coming out". What discipline are you planning on training him in?


Yes, I think living outside is the healthiest for most horses, both mentally and physically. I think he will be very happy outside!

We are starting with jumpers. I think he'd make an amazing hunter too. He has such an even stride and a very cute jump but he chomps on the bit and snorts a lot so my trainer says that won't work in the hunters. We are hoping this decreases as he starts to relax a little and maybe try some different bits or something. It would be awesome to cross enter into multiple divisions. Of course, right now he's just doing about 18 inches but you have to start somewhere =)


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## ChipsAhoy (Jul 1, 2012)

MySerenity said:


> Yes, I think living outside is the healthiest for most horses, both mentally and physically. I think he will be very happy outside!
> 
> We are starting with jumpers. I think he'd make an amazing hunter too. He has such an even stride and a very cute jump but he chomps on the bit and snorts a lot so my trainer says that won't work in the hunters. We are hoping this decreases as he starts to relax a little and maybe try some different bits or something. It would be awesome to cross enter into multiple divisions. Of course, right now he's just doing about 18 inches but you have to start somewhere =)


He sounds like a great horse! ...who would be even better with pics in his journal updates :lol:


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## MySerenity (Jul 18, 2011)

> He sounds like a great horse! ...who would be even better with pics in his journal updates


I was thinking that myself. I'm going to try and have a friend take pictures and/or video tape our lesson on Sunday! It will be a good baseline for us for future reference.

(here are a couple of pics of the day I brought him home)


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## MySerenity (Jul 18, 2011)

We had a very nice hack today. My trainer had told me not to worry about how he would kick out during his canter transitions. She told me that we could fix it and it was no problem, but I was skeptical. I should learn to trust her because she's been riding him about a week now and it has already greatly improved. He doesn't really even kick out now, it's just a little butt move and then he's fine. Such a relief because it was disconcerting. 

We took it pretty easy today. A lot of trotting and transitions and then about 2 canter transitions each way. Lane rode him yesterday over fences and he was fantastic. She's so amazed at how well he figures things out. Apparently he is teaching himself an auto change in the corners which just makes her pleased as punch (and me too). She was just jumping about 18inches since he has a lot of muscle to build up so he was getting bored. She had to work so hard to resist putting the jumps up since he was doing so well. She really wants him to develop the muscles and the confidence and take our time. After all, we won't be showing this year so there is no rush. 

I bought him a half pad and some baby pads that my trainer was happy with and seemed to work well. I couldn't tell the difference but Jack seemed ok with them. I also bought him a french link snaffle so that kept him busy when we were waiting for the lesson riders to do their courses. Overall a very good day, can't wait for the jumping tomorrow! (and there will be a video posted as long as my friend remembers her camera)


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## MySerenity (Jul 18, 2011)

Finally got the videos from Sundays lesson uploaded! My Mom and her friend came to watch so I was very happy that it was a successful lesson. Jack was great and my mom really like him. He jumped everything I asked without attitude and we had a great time. 

I had some major problems with my right ankle though. The outside tendons were screaming by the end of the lesson and then, before the last jump, I rolled my ankle in the stirrup. Really hurt so obviously I am pretty out of shape. I have only jumped about 4 times in the last 2 months :-(

But, overall it was a very positive ride and really gave me a lot to look forward to. 

Here are the videos: please no critique on the rider. I know I'm out of shape and have a lot of work to do. Hopefully in a couple of months I will post another video for help with my position but right now I have enough to work on 

Jack Jumping - YouTube


Jack's first course - YouTube


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## MySerenity (Jul 18, 2011)

And...

my lesson over fences today went well too. My ankle was a problem throughout so I couldn't really put my heels down well which made transitions and corners a little difficult. I think my trainer was a little annoyed because she didn't realize it hurt as bad as it did. I need to wrap it for my lesson tomorrow because she had a valid point. Just because it hurts doesn't mean that I can be an ineffective rider with a green horse. 

But Jack was a rock star! Even with my ineffective riding, he was incredible. The head trainer was back from a show and had seen my trainer ride him the day before and was very impressed. He was even more impressed when Jack took everything in stride and went over every jump even when I picked a horrible distance. He even jumped everything cute to boot! 

The head trainer said we needed to add a 0 on to what I paid for him for how much he was worth. So forgiving and brave, never looked at anything, not even the liverpool! (my previous horse was never allowed anywhere near the liverpool and Jack gets to jump it within a month of being home!)

So, all the trainers at the barn are in love with Jack which feels so good because my last horse was not well received (to be fair though, they were right for not liking her). 

Next project unfortunately is probably a new saddle. I will be riding in my trainers for a little while so we can decide if it is contributing to my pitching forward. I really hope that it isn't though because I can't really afford a new saddle right now...


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## MySerenity (Jul 18, 2011)

Another great lesson for Jack! I wrapped my ankle and rode in my trainers Antares saddle and so things went a lot better for me too. I guess I am getting convinced that a different saddle will be beneficial. 

I talked to an Antares rep yesterday about finding a used one. I'm hoping I can sell my R Pessoa for a decent price since it's practically in perfect shape since I take good care of my stuff and it's only a year old. The hard part is that I have to sell my saddle to decide what my budget is for the used saddle. Huh, that sounds like a familiar conundrum. lol.

The other cool news is that my trainer is going to a local WHJA show next weekend and wants me to take Jack. That's right, I've owned him less than a month and we are going to our first show already! We need to get him some exposure at a less expensive show since he's never been to a show and I'd rather not test him out at an A show. I'm sure that about an hour there and 1 time in the ring is all he will need, but why risk it.

Oh, and side note, I can't jump cavalettis worth a darned. Put some standards next to them and I'm fine, but a cavaletti? Forget it. oh, well.


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## MySerenity (Jul 18, 2011)

Yet another great lesson with Jack! I rode in my friend's antares today to try out another saddle. I liked the blocking on it and the deeper seat but there's just no way I can afford an antares. =(

Signa was out at a clinic with her current trainer to try and sell her and she tried to buck her off so that's not going very well. I'm so frustrated with that whole situation because I don't understand why she is doing that. She hasn't bucked when we weren't jumping in a really, really long time. I though we were past this. I need to sell her so bad because Jack needs his surgery and I have to pay the vet bill for his PPE. 

It would be easy to say that I was stupid to buy a new horse before waiting to get another, but Jack is so amazing that he is worth the temporary struggle. He has the potential to be exactly the horse that I want and need so I really shouldn't be complaining right now. Just frustrated. Sometimes I forget that I even still own her.... We have 2 people who are asking to look at her for a dressage prospect so I am praying that one of them works out. 

We leave tomorrow for the WHJA fall show in waukesha. I'm nervous but I am sure that Lane will help us get thru it. I think that by the time that I show on saturday Lane will have things headed the right direction. It's exciting but unnerving too, especially since I have to work the first day of the show so I won't get to see how it goes. work = yuck


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## MySerenity (Jul 18, 2011)

We dropped Jack and the other horses off at the show today. The other horses were hacked first and then Lane rode Jack. The jumps were all set up in the rings so she was able to take him over all of the jumps that we would be showing over. That's one thing that is nice about the smaller, local shows. The bigger shows sometimes don't let you jump the actual jumps and this will be extremely helpful for Jack. 

He didn't peek at the jumps at all. He over jumped the first couple but after than he did really great. He never even spooked at anything which was really awesome to me considering my last horse. 

Tomorrow she will show him in low jumpers so I just can't wait to see how he does!


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## MySerenity (Jul 18, 2011)

Ok so lots to catch up on!

Yesterday, while I was at work, my trainer jumped Jack in the 2'6" - 2'9" training jumpers. Now, keep in mind that Jack had never been to a show before and had never really jumped a full course before either (at least not of ~14 jumps.) He's also only been schooling in the 2'6" range for about 2 weeks. 

He was fantastic! The first class she got 2nd out of about 9 horses! His first round ever was clean! Everyone was asking Lane where we got him and who he was and telling her how awesome he was etc. He took everything so well that people didn't believe this was his first show or that he was an ottb. Unfortunately, Lane went off course the second class, but Jack was great nonetheless. 

He was so good that she took him into one of the schooling jumper classes (2'9"-3') and he took fourth!

I rode today and I was impressed that I was able to take him out of his stall this morning and basically hop on and school over fences with only a brief warm up. He did great in the schooling ring chaos even though I was very nervous. My first class was the training jumpers (power and speed) and we went clean the entire course! We were very slow though so I still only got 6th out of 7, but I was very pleased since he went so well. My next class had a separate jump off but I knocked a rail in the beginning so I didn't get to the jump off so we got last. 

We considered taking him in some hunter classes too but he started to get a little testy and so we decided to call it and end with our jumpers. I'm extremely impressed with how he did. He never spooked at anything (even with an airport next to the fair grounds and bag pipes playing the entire time from a scottish thing going on too) and didn't look at a single jump. 

He really could not have done any better with his first show so I'm supremely pleased. The show ends tomorrow but Jack won't be in any classes, I am going in the morning to watch the other riders and to help pack up to head home. I just can't believe what an incredible horse I ended up with =)


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## MySerenity (Jul 18, 2011)

Just one more fun note about our first show. We brought the horses home this morning after the junior riders finished their classes. After we got home the head trainer was asking how things went etc and then asked my trainer if she had gotten "that voicemail about Jack" and she said no. I guess someone saw Jack at the show and saw what barn he was with, called the head trainer and made an offer on him! WELL over what I just paid for him a month ago. We said thanks but no thanks. It's really cool to hear that he's worth that to people. I didn't even know that people made unsolicited offers on horses they saw at shows! I can't wait to see what people think in a year when he's had more training and exposure!


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## MySerenity (Jul 18, 2011)

One picture from our jumper class this weekend. I couldn't get it to zoom in all that well, my mom was across the ring but, I don't think I even look all that bad


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## MySerenity (Jul 18, 2011)

Happy lesson with Jack! We worked on an exercise today to help Jack with his landing and timing. He gets strung out after landing. So it was a cavaletti-2 striding-take off pole (total of 3 strides)-vertical-landing pole-2 strides-cavaletti, if that makes sense.

We had a really hard time with it at first. The first 3 strides were easy but he lands so far away from the jump that it was impossible to get the last 3 in. We got 2 consistently going left and I could get 3 to the right. Apparently, he doesn't engage his hind end to the right so he has less power so it's easier to pull him up to get the extra stride in. We got it by the end because Jack started to fix his jump stride so he didn't take up so much ground after the jump. 

Tomorrow we will do a course. I also asked my trainer if we could shoot to try and do the derby relay at a show next year and she thought that would be fun. I'm really excited for next year because I think he's going to be incredible by then!


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## MySerenity (Jul 18, 2011)

Ugh. Is it Wednesday yet? This whole "work" thing is for the birds! I want to ride!!!!!


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## MySerenity (Jul 18, 2011)

We had a good lesson today. We worked on a really good exercise for me today. It was just a single vertical, a landing pole and some guide poles on the ground after it. The purpose was to get Jack to land closer to the jump and to get me to recover faster after the jump so I have him put back together to get the lead change between the guide poles before we turn. I didn't do very well, but I did get better. I think it's a very good exercise for me. 

It was a little frustrating for me because my ankles are still causing me big problems. It feels like shin splints but on the outside/back of my ankle on both ankles and it hurts so bad when my heels are down. They don't hurt when I'm hacking but when we start jumping they hurt so bad that I have to stop sometimes. I can't get my weight into my heels and so my whole body pitches forward. Add to that Jack is built downhill, pulls and my saddle seems to pitch forward and I'm just having the hardest time. 

My trainer keeps asking why I'm torturing myself riding in this saddle but she just doesn't understand that I can't fork out a couple grand to get a new saddle right now (or in the foreseeable future) so I have to cope with this one even though it doesn't work with Jack. We are going to try a pair or jointed stirrups tomorrow and see if that helps. 

I pitch forward so much. I just can't seem to get my shoulders back. It's very frustrating.


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## MySerenity (Jul 18, 2011)

Ugh, why do they do this? Jack peed in the cross ties (we are working on that) and I went to clean it up and he stepped on my foot. Fortunately he only got the last couple of toes and my foot because if he had gotten the big toe I would have lost it. 

Last summer my other horse (the one I just can't seem to sell) stepped on the same foot and only got my big toe. She stepped down hard and then twisted and pulled my toe nail partially out. There was blood and it hurt. The toe nail fell off eventually, but it hasn't grown back right. The nail can't quite get past the skin on one side so it's pretty painful. 

Fortunately, the ball of my foot was relatively unharmed so we went on with the lesson. I borrowed a pair of jointed stirrups and I think they did help. I think I was just anticipating pain when I put my heels down so I wasn't getting deep into my seat but ultimately it will help. It's just too bad that the jointed stirrups cost over $200 and I have absolutely no cash so I will have to just suffer for a couple more weeks. =(

If I can't sell Signa by the end of the month she is going to have to come home to my place so I can save money. Unfortunately, she isn't the type of horse that can sit around and not turn into a psycho so I'm a little freaked out as to how this is going to work out. I'd donate her but I REALLY need some cash so I might just have to keep dropping the price but I'm really in trouble on that front. 

Frustrating lesson again though. Jack is great but he pulls a lot and my seat is terrible so he pulls me forward and I lose my balance. I'm being told by my trainer that I'm being to hard on myself and that I'm getting better, but I basically just feel like I suck big time right now! We are going to work without stirrups to work on my seat this weekend which is terrifying. If I could afford a different saddle and those irons it would help a lot (and has when I ride in other peoples stuff) but well...


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## MySerenity (Jul 18, 2011)

We didn't end up doing no stirrup work because the outdoor was being worked on so we rode in the hunt field instead. (It was way too nice to ride inside). 

We worked on transitions and trying to teach Jack to use his hind end properly. Figure 8s with a transition in the middle and then a lot of canter to sitting trot. He seemed like he was getting it and was pretty sweaty by the time we were done.

Then today, I hacked him and I couldn't replicate what we were doing yesterday for the life of me. He was bracing against me and I just couldn't seem to push him up into the bit except for at the walk. It was very strange because he just seemed like he was working so hard to not give to the bit. I ended up giving up on that and just did some no stirrup work walking and halting so we could end successfully. 

After I got home we took the dogs to a local state park to go hiking and I came home to log my lesson. Picked up my computer and the monitor is all screwed up on one side! I guess 5 years is pretty good for a net book but considering that my other horse still hasn't sold and our oven just broke, I don't have the money to replace it. Oh well, that's life I suppose.


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## MySerenity (Jul 18, 2011)

Yesterdays lesson went well. I rode in my friends antares again just to see if that made a difference. We started with the same under saddle work that we did last week and then worked on adding in a line. My ankles were killing me but I was able to sit back into the saddle and sat thru his kick outs with out a problem. Jack hasn't so far been a fan of using his hind end. When I push him up in the canter to get him from stalling out I often get a little kick out. In my saddle it feels like a small buck since I'm always perched forward. In the other saddles I am able to get deep into the seat and they just feel like a little hiccup.

I also was able to buy a pair of jointed stirrups off a friend at the barn and so I rode in my saddle with those today. I was able to get my heel down better but still would end up perching and resting my hands on his withers once we got going. I can't believe it but the saddle makes such a huge difference! Yesterday was fun and I felt like I was able to work on our performance. Today was frustrating because I knew where I wanted myself to be positioned but just couldn't get myself there.

As soon as my other horse sells I am going to put things in full motion to get a new saddle. I'm hoping to get a test saddle of the M. Toulouse Annice since it is a knockoff of an antares. I just hope that the person that is looking at her for a second time this weekend will buy her!


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## MySerenity (Jul 18, 2011)

This week is nice for me because I took off work today and friday so my friend and I could go down to Iowa to watch the barn compete at Maffitt Lake. We ended up not being able to afford to go down for the full week ($100 a night for hotel adds up) so we are not going down until Thursday. I kept my day off today so I could ride. (Still had to go in to work since my employees were being 12 year olds and I had to issue a collective verbal warning to them)

So tuesdays are the day that they take down the jumps and do a good grating on the arena so we did a flat lesson today. I think that I really like flat lessons. They are so good for me and for Jack too! We are continuing to work on transitions, getting Jack to use his hind end, responding to my leg quickly and giving to the bit. 

We are so moving in the right direction and we had some really nice transitions. He actually surprised me once with a lovely walk to canter transition right off my leg. I was working really hard to get him to use himself and we didn't get any kick outs today. Yay! Now, we just have to continue that trend and keep working on the pulling on the bit.

Lane said that my position was right on today too, so that makes me feel better. Tomorrow might be rough jumping though because my right ankle hurts even with the jointed stirrups. 

Jack has been moved into a pasture with a retired (and toothless) horse and another TB. He's still bottom of the totem pole but they aren't nearly as aggressive to him.


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## MySerenity (Jul 18, 2011)

Ugh. Jack finally pulled off his sprung shoe yesterday at the beginning of our lesson. (The farrier has been fired because my trainer has been trying to contact him for 2 weeks now, a different farrier is coming today for him) 

My friend Kim and I just arrived in West Des Moines Iowa to watch the barn show at the Maffitt Lake horse show. The barn has about 14 horses here so there will always be a class to watch. I'm not sure when the Grand prix classes are but I'm very excited to see the head trainer and the barn owner ride in a show finally!

6 hours in a car is a really love drive to watch a show, but I guess we are a little horse crazy. I'm scouting out the show because I am hoping we will be able to afford to go to it next year.


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## MySerenity (Jul 18, 2011)

Very good flat lesson yesterday. We worked on straight lines including transitions. I don't have to tell competitive horse people how hard it is to keep a horse straight. lol. very helpful lesson for me and I think we will continue to work on the flat a lot more. 

Today we worked on a grid and he did pretty well for his first time. He is grinding his teeth even worse and my trainer wants to try a different feed with him and get him a mineral block. He's already on an antacid/probiotic. She'd also like to try a different bit that he can play with a little. 

I also tried a test saddle from smartpak. The m toulouse annice and it was pretty comfortable except for this reinforcement strip at the bottom of the saddle flap. It was extremely uncomfortable and I think I actually have a bruise on both my calves from the strip. I can't believe that anyone actually finds that saddle comfortable. Oh well, I think I will have to try the antares spooner next or take a trip down to saddlers row to try out saddles again. yuck.


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## MySerenity (Jul 18, 2011)

We tried a different bit today (a single jointed, 2 ring happy mouth) with a converter and it worked really well. It really helped with how much he pulled down on me. He still pulled but at least he responded to me when I tried to get him to stop. 

I'm going to try to get one so we can use it when we are jumping from now on. 

Tomorrow I am going to do another lesson with Jack and then I am going to lesson on the school horse Steve. I need more time in the saddle since I can only get to the barn 3 days a week. The head trainer said I need to do like 6 laps at the canter without stirrups so maybe we will work on that tomorrow with Steve.


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## MySerenity (Jul 18, 2011)

Oh boy! Be careful what you ask for! I told my trainer that I wanted to work on getting my seat stronger (ie riding another horse in a second lesson)

Well today we did no stirrup work, then did my lesson with Jack and then the lesson with Steve. 

Needless to say I'm just a bit sore! Tomorrow is going to be rough! We are going to try to have me ride Steve at least once a week and I will be starting my lesson with laps at the canter with no stirrups. She promises me that even in a month I will start to see a difference. 

That's the great thing about having a trainer, they can push you to do things you don't really want to do to help you be a better rider. There is no way I would have stayed cantering as long as I did today without her encouragement. I will pay for it tomorrow but hopefully this will help me get my seat back!


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## MySerenity (Jul 18, 2011)

So very sore.....


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## MySerenity (Jul 18, 2011)

I had a horrible lesson on Thursday. It was an extremely emotional day so I think that was causing me some problems. I had 2 lessons in the morning, dropped off Signa at her new home (2 1/2 hours round trip) then come home and help my Mom bury her 17 year old dog in our back yard. 

I was having huge problems with keeping myself from getting pulled out of my seat and it was so frustrating. I spent basically the entire lesson in tears.

Then on thursday night my antares spooner demo showed up on my front porch when I wasn't expecting it. So on Saturday I lessoned in that saddle and things went soooo much better. I absolutely loved that saddle. I was able to stay up right and wasn't getting pulled all over the place and it was such a relief. Then on Sunday I lessoned in the barn owners old Antares that she is selling. 

So I found that the spooner's flap didnt go far enough forward but I loved the balance of it and how comfortable it was. Her Antares is an 18 inch so I was just too big of a seat. The flap was fantastic though. I called smartpak and verified that the spooner doesn't come in a more forward flap so my next option is the Antares jumping saddle which is more forward to begin with (but costs $1000 more than the spooner which is already twice the price of my last saddle). 

So, I have an Antares jumping saddle in a 17inch #2 flap demo saddle on its way, hopefully to show up friday. Knowing my pocket book, I'm going to love this saddle, but at this point I just don't care. I got my annual bonus so I guess I'm just going to have to go for it.


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## MySerenity (Jul 18, 2011)

We had an awesome lesson today! I still have the spooner demo so I rode in that again (the Antares demo comes on Friday). We worked on a large figure 8 with a jump at the end of the ring to work on tight turns. Then we did a little course with a 2 stride. Jack did fantastic and I was actually better able to see my spots today. 

Then I got to be the first person to ride the new school horse "Louie". He's a super cute black TB/Welsh pony and Lane wanted to see someone take him around. OMG he was so much fun!! Very responsive, great brakes and no fear over the jumps. We had a little trouble with the left to right lead change but I think it was probably me not him. He's just so freaking adorable and sweet! I'm happy to see him join our barn and excited that Lane asked me to ride him for her.

Also, my friend finally decided to get the TB that she was trying. He was vetted yesterday and had some arthritis in his right front so she was really worried but he's 13 so it doesn't seem super out of line to me. She really wants a hunter but this guy is jumper all the way. He always jumps at least a foot extra over the jumps and loves to go very fast. He's not what she wanted but at least she now has something fun and safe to ride!

Another lesson tomorrow.


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## MySerenity (Jul 18, 2011)

Well, we tried to have a lesson today but Jack was off on his front left. The pasture is really muddy so I'm hoping he just tweaked something out there. He's staying in tonight just in case. I'm going to be completely devastated if this turns out to be a problem. Ugh.

Then I went out to catch the lesson horse Steve and he and his buddies were tearing around the paddock and kicking out. I couldn't even get within 20 feet of him so I gave up. 

Bright point is that I got out of the barn and back home before noon. lol. my saddle should be coming tomorrow so I can't wait to give it a try!


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## MySerenity (Jul 18, 2011)

Well, I tried the Antares last Saturday and it was definitely not the right saddle for me. The twist was too wide and it sat low in the front just like the pessoa did. The difference was that the wider twist caused me to get bruises on my inner thighs. Seriously painful. So, I kept the Spooner. I wish it came in a forward flap version, then it would be absolutely perfect for me. Better than paying over $5000 for custom though. 

I just love the position it puts me in and I finally have brakes! I think we can start working on my position and getting it right especially over fences. 

Yesterdays lesson was great. We were really happy with how I was getting better at not slouching and collapsing over the fence and I worked really hard at not succumbing to the draw to the long spot. (Both Jack and I really love the long spot). I also rode Steve and that went well.

Then today Jack was off again on his left front. Not the entire time just sort of randomly. I'm afraid that the bone chip may be rearing it's ugly head. We are going to have the farrier check his feet to see if he is foot sore at all (he was when I bought him so we put front shoes on him and that seemed to solve it at the time). If that doesn't show anything then I'm afraid we will have to do xrays to see if the bone chip has moved and it might have to come out. Yay! Another $2000 by the time that's all done and Jack would have to be on stall rest for at least 6 weeks. I think it's stupid to keep him at Chestnut Hill for recovery so I will have to move him to a cheaper barn for the time being. Also means a lot less riding for me which really sucks because I was just starting to get back into it. 

Also found out that my dog, Barry, has a heart murmur that wasn't there 3 months ago. He's  a rescue but we think he's about 12 years old so I guess this is what happens sometimes in older dogs but I'm still kind of devastated by it. I know that it doesn't necessarily mean that he's on borrowed time or anything but it's the first thing that has come up with him that really confirms that he's getting old. I guess with my Mom's dog freshly laid to rest, it just seems all the more sobering to me.


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## MySerenity (Jul 18, 2011)

Today we did a flat lesson without stirrups. Ouch. I am trying so hard to keep my body upright but I always let me shoulders slump and slouch forward. It is so hard to do these exercises with not stirrups but hopefully it will help my position eventually. I desperately want to be able to ride more than just 2 or 3 days a week. But, oh well I guess that whole work thing just gets in the way.


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## MySerenity (Jul 18, 2011)

I had a lesson today after being out of town for the week. We did a flat lesson that my trainer based off of the lessons that the clinician that is at the barn this week is doing. A lot of 3 track work and pushing the hind end over. I probably should have been doing the lesson without stirrups. I'm sure that it's good for Jack but it didn't feel super helpful. The clinician (Bruce Good, I think his name is) was here all week. Lessons for $200 an hour in a 3 lesson series throughout the week. Yikes! The lessons aren't even private either! I just can't imagine. 

I got a notice in my barn bill this month that they are raising half training by $100. They are justifying it by saying that you will get 2 more sessions every month so you always get 3 a week but that's $50 a session so it kinda sucks. I had been taking an extra lesson on the schooling horse every week for the last month but I think I have to stop doing that. Not only has the cost of training gone up but they are adding several "surcharges" for the winter. $60 for heat and hay. A little annoying because my friend does indoor board and I have to pay the same surcharge and I do outdoor board. Poo. I was going to bring Jack in next month but it's just too much money. I can technically afford it but I just feel like it's more money than I am comfortable with. I sort of feel like they are maybe putting pressure on people like myself and my friend to maybe move out of the barn. They have been completely full lately and we don't provide them with as much money as most of the other boarders do. 

I sat down and tried (again) to find another barn to move to but they are either just as expensive, much further away, crappy facilities or places I know from growing up and don't want to ride at. Also, Jack's a cribber so not all places would take him. I'll keep my eyes open for other barns. $780 a month for half training and outdoor board is just insane. 

On a brighter note, Jack is getting his trace clip next week! It's going to make my life so much easier so that's a good thing. 

But he does have a spur rub from one of my trainers sessions with him this week. She felt really bad and it happened all in one session! She said she was working on getting him to yield and respond quicker to the leg. I'm not mad or anything, especially considering that his hair practically falls off if you look at it!


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## MySerenity (Jul 18, 2011)

Still no trace clip (we are low horse on the barn priority totem pole) and the spur rub hasn't healed yet. We had a lesson today and we got to jump (it's been a little while) so that was fun. Jack did pretty well, just had a problem with diving into the turn after landing. I feel like I'm still all over the place which is very frustrating. 

I don't have time to ride tomorrow (family coming over for t-day) so next time I get to ride is Saturday. My trainer is off at that time so I will be training with the barn owner so that should be interesting. I'm still just so frustrated that I can't get to the barn more often. I asked Lane if I could try coming in before work some day. I would have to get up around 6 and rush to get ready, drive to the barn, ride, leave Jack in a stall to dry off and then drive to work for my 12 hour shift. I'm going to give it a try but don't know if it's realistic to do every week. I'm not a morning person. I'm just really having a rough time right now so it's just hard to be upbeat or positive.


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## MySerenity (Jul 18, 2011)

Still no trace clip =(

I had a lesson this morning with the barn owner who is also a trainer. It was a really good lesson. We did a figure eight jumping basically the in and the out of a line but jumping both from the inside of the line the out with an approach off the rail and a right turn after the jump. That may not make sense but it resulted in us practicing an extremely tight turn off the jump. It was very fun and I felt like a barrel racer we were turning so tightly!

Jack did really well with it and I was surprised to see how tightly we were able to turn. I have always had a problem keeping him cantering off tight turns so this was good practice. He only broke to the trot once!

Then we did the whole line which was actually a 3 stride to a 2 stride. It was a long line so I had to get him to open up quite a bit. It really felt like we were cruising. We did the figure eight and then the line both directions a couple of times and it was really good. Lots of fun too.

My mother came to watch the lesson and we watched the next lesson while Jack dried off in a stall. Then we went into Oconomowoc and shopped on main street in some cute little shops and had lunch. After that we went to the salon/spa that I go to for my nails and I treated her to a pedicure. Good mother-daughter day overall! 

I'm just hacking tomorrow but I'm going to really push myself to work without stirrups, ride until I'm breathing hard and make sure that I work him hard enough to get a good sweat. So, lots of transitions and lots of cantering! Maybe I'll be gutsy and take my stirrup leathers off (but probably not)


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## MySerenity (Jul 18, 2011)

Well the good news is that I took my stirrup leathers off!

The bad news is that he was off on that front left again. 

I don't remember if I wrote about it but the vet and farrier were both at the barn a month or so ago and they watched him go when he was off. Neither of them were concerned. 

This journal has helped though because it does tend to show a trend of being lame the day after a day of jumping. The barn owner recommended a gram of bute the evening of his jumping lessons. Probably not bute exactly though since he potentially has ulcers. 

So frustrated. I just want to ride for crying out loud. I don't even care if we win at shows, I just want to have fun.


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## MySerenity (Jul 18, 2011)

My trainer lunged Jack yesterday and she really thinks he's just foot sore. She's going to have the farrier put leather pads on his fronts next time and we will see f that helps. If not, then the vet. 

We've also decided to move him indoors for the winter. He is getting really ribby and we just can't get the weight on him. I've worked out that Jack will just get put out in his old pasture with his buddies during the day. The indoor horses usually go out for half the daytime in individual paddocks and spend the other half of the daytime inside. I just don't believe that a horse should spend that much time indoors and fortunately, since he cribs, it didn't take much to convince them. Now I just have to figure out $300 more bucks in the budget every month. At lease he's getting a full clip job now. 

I lessoned on Steve today and then hacked Jack. He was perfectly sound today so I hope he will be sound for our lesson tomorrow.


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## MySerenity (Jul 18, 2011)

We had an ok lesson today. He was being super reactive to my leg and kicking out a lot and then he refused a jump and my confidence was totally rattled. I "let" him run out a couple of times because I didn't have enough leg and we sort of had to take a step back to get past it. I was doing ok with the crow hops (which are actually just his hind end striking out and not a buck) in the beginning but they seemed to escalate and I just couldn't deal with it. Frustrating, of course. I let my frustration and fear cloud my riding way too much. I'm even totally conscious of it at the time but still just can't shake it. The other trainer was in the ring and said I could get off and they would ride him through it but I stuck with it. My trainer said we ended really well. I just wish that my fear wouldn't get the best of me so often. I wasn't afraid before but my last horse just shot my confidence straight to hell and I don't know how I will ever get it back. 

Jack has his new "miracle collar" on and is going to get clipped next week while the show team is in St. Louis.


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## MySerenity (Jul 18, 2011)

The bad news is that the miracle collar does not work. It stretches out another hole practically every day and even when I tighten it he still cribs. Oh well. I'm going to try a cage muzzle next but I keep forgetting to bring it to the barn.

I do, finally, have some good news. Jack is getting clipped tomorrow morning! Yay! I also had a breakthrough in my lesson today. I had watched a lesson last weekend of a teenager that rides at the barn. She also does jumpers and has a very upright position. Her horse rides very different than Jacks but I decided to picture her in my head when I ride. Somehow, that seemed to work and I was able to recover right after landing and therefore my legs didn't swing back behind me. I was so much more stable and it felt sooooo good. I hope this means that I have crossed a threshold of some sort and I can finally move forward with my riding. My trainer was pretty much doing a happy dance for me. It's so nice to finally see improvement. 

The other good news is that my trainer finally convinced the head trainer to let her start a "B" team for the barn. It would by my friend Kim, myself and a couple of other younger girls. So we will go to a bunch of B rated shows, schooling shows and then an "A" show at the end of the season. I'd really like to go to the September Maffitt show. I'm very excited because this way I will be able to afford to go to so many more shows. Not only will the shows themselves just be less expensive but we won't have a groom so we won't have to pay for the full service. My mom will come to as many as she can and I have always taken care of myself at shows anyways. It's fun to have a groom take care of everything, but I know that we can do it.


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## MySerenity (Jul 18, 2011)

Another very promising lesson today. I leaned forward a little bit but still a huge improvement so I'm really glad that yesterday wasn't a fluke. Jack was not lame either so I'm hoping that the leather pads they put under his shoes is helping him. We worked on roll backs which are a lot of fun. Jack does so well to the left but he is much weaker to the right and was breaking to the trot a lot today. 

We jumped bigger today too. 3' oxer at least so that's good. The first time he jumped it we picked a perfect spot and the jump felt tiny. The second time, I left out a stride (which I tend to do, although I have been getting much better at it) but rockstar Jack cleared it with no problem. That one felt much bigger. lol

I have assurances that he will really be clipped today. I left all of his blankets, neck cover, sheet and his new barn sheet in front of his stall. He has as many articles of clothing as I do. I bought tags to put on each of his items. (Jack-Midweight, Jack-outdoor sheet, etc) so I hope things won't walk off and disappear as much. Although I seem to have lost his halter again...


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## MySerenity (Jul 18, 2011)

I've had a couple of good lessons since the last post. The head trainer wants us to take a step back to do simpler things with him. He thinks we were moving too fast with Jack. I didn't really feel like we were doing very complicated lessons so I'm not sure quite what he meant but whatever. Jack is already putting on a little weight since he's moved indoors. He doesn't look so ribby even with the removal of all his hair. He is also finally seems to have gotten over the lack of hair. Man, oh man, does he hate this hair cut. I've had to remove my spurs since he is so over-reactive to the leg. He's getting better now, but for a couple of lessons it was pretty bad.

We have changed to a slow twist full cheek to get a little better response to the bit. Hopefully, we get back to the happy mouth french link eventually, but we need this for now. 

Hopefully, Lane will have the schedule for the "B" team together next week so I will have a snow balls chance to get some of the dates off. 

It's getting there, very slowly.


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## MySerenity (Jul 18, 2011)

Hacked today and Jack was just full of it! We trotted forever before we calmed down enough to canter! It turned out alright in the end but he really wanted to buck me off. Kudos to him for not actually trying to do it =)

I have things set up with the schedule at work so starting in next month I will be able to go to the barn wed-fri every week. It's only an extra day per week but thats 4 more days a month so I'm excited. It also means that I will only have to work one 12 hour shift per week instead of 2. I just hate the 12 hour days so I think it will help me hate my job just a tiny bit less. Six hours just seems so much less horrible. I really hate my job so any little bit helps. lol. 

I talked to my trainer a bit today just to make sure that it was understood that I prefer training with her instead of the head trainer. The lesson with him went well but I like how things are going with her. We discussed the head trainers comment that Lane was pushing Jack beyond what he should be doing and basically how strange that comment was. I just wanted to make sure that Lane understood that I don't agree with him and I appreciate her training =)

Lesson with her tomorrow with Kim and then lessons this weekend with Kathy since Lane is taking the B team to a show at Ledges (we are skipping this show).


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## MySerenity (Jul 18, 2011)

I had a very nice group lesson today with Kathy (and Lindsay and Kim). Trot jumps over the diagonals and then a trot in line in 5, all the way around to a canter in line in 4. Jack was very good despite being extremely distracted. Normally you don't have to explain to him that the jump you are heading towards is supposed to be jumped but today he seemed surprised by the them and was looking around a lot in the 20 or so feet before the jump. Very strange for him, but with supportive leg he went over everything. We had extremely nice lines with both the trot in and the canter in so I was pleased. 

Kim is bringing her tack trunk over on Monday so I will, finally, have mine to myself. lol. Also, the barn is leaving on Monday for Florida with 17 horses. It's going to be so nice and quiet! They are going to move all of the horses from the lower barn up to the nice upper barn so Jack and Adam will be up top for a couple of months which is awesome. We get to be important for a while. Jack is going into Spitfires stall (one of the owners grand prix horses) so I'm hoping some of his greatness will sink in! Lesson again tomorrow with Kathy before they leave since Lane is in Illinois with a couple of horses at Ledges.


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## MySerenity (Jul 18, 2011)

Lessoned again with Kathy in a group lesson (Tess, Lindsay, Melody). We did trot in to the plank on diagonal, canter oxer on diagonal and then trot in line in 5. Everyone else went back around and cantered in 4 or something but I just did the trot in. Yesterday and today he was very good but really distracted. He went over everything but they all just seemed to surprise him even though I was funneling with legs and hands. Kathy said he was "sulking" a bit and wasn't always in front of my leg. I hope he's back to normal next week but everyone was impressed that he went over it all regardless of whether he was expecting it or not. 

The barn leaves tomorrow and Kim brings her trunk tomorrow. I won't be out again until thursday thanks to that stupid thing called a job. Only a couple more weeks until we change our schedule.

I did find out the other day that the only way we can refinance into the special mortgages (thank you President Obama) is to bring down our principal by about $4500. The would wipe out both the vacation account and the money to finish the bathroom so that is extremely depressing to me. I really needed a vacation and even Mexico was sounding good right now. If I keep up with the horses we will never finish the house and probably not go on a vacation again for a couple of years. I suppose we make choices and that is life. Poo. I think I'll have another glass of wine.


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## MySerenity (Jul 18, 2011)

Lessoned with Kim and Lane today. Jack seemed pretty quite but once we got going he had a tendency to put his head down and try to run off with me. I tried really hard to sit up and keep my heels down. The first time around was kind of a hot mess but the next 2 rounds were better. I stayed up pretty well and the entire lesson I fought back a little bit more than usual too, which Lane really liked. She says if I continue to sit up and pull him back up then he will gradually pull on me less. 

I would really like to get myself upright by this spring. So my goal is to be upright and recovering quickly after the jump by May. It's actually a long way from now, but I'm a long way from upright so I think it's realistic. 

Jack and Adam moved to the upper barn while the A team is in Florida. Kim also moved her trunk in so I have more room. I discovered an extra pack of smartpaks in the grain room so we are over a month behind on them. I don't think Jack was getting them when he was first moved inside and it seems like they get missed a bit other times as well. It seems kind of weird to me because Lane encouraged me to put him on the joint supplement and the muscle mass supplement so she agrees that he needs them. It just makes me wonder if he even needs to muscle/ulcer ones since he's gained so much weight since we brought him inside.


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## MySerenity (Jul 18, 2011)

Forgot to post this last week. lol. This was a nice week because I had 4 lessons. The barn is so darned peaceful right now! Overall, Jack was really awesome this week. On Wednesday, Kim and I lessoned separately so we could take pictures of each other. (My husband has to buy me some sort of card reader because my "old" netbook doesn't accept the new sd cards that my new canon takes) That lesson went well. Lane had a line let up and a couple of jumps and then just poles for the rest of the course. I'm better at seeing distance for a pole than for a cavaletti, which is weird. On Wednesday we had a lesson with Kim and worked on roll backs. After the first try Jack understood the game and then we were almost over turning and ending up to the inside on the second jump. A fun course though, slightly terrifying. 

Then, yesterday I was going to be in a group lesson but the sisters that I was riding with didn't come in so it was a private. The best thing about that lesson was she had me do a straight line halt after the diagonal jump because dives too the inside when we jump into the corners. After a couple of halts we went back to the course and he did so much better. Even better than that, today we did a course and he didn't dive in around that corner! 

Today we had a very interesting course. We were suppose to trot in a 5 stride line and eventually do 7 strides then continue the course but we couldn't do the 7 so Lane let us do 6 and Kim and Cindy do 7 since their horses aren't green. (Cindy's horse, Liam is out with a suspensory injury so she was riding a sale horse today). Later in the course was an s-curve line. (the in of the line on the rail, diagonal and the out of the line on the opposite wall). 3 strides to 4. We got the striding right every time but I tended to collapse after the diagonal so Jack was just smart enough to fit in the extra stride for me. 

I'm sitting up much better. Definitely trending in the right direction. My shoulders still slump but I'm getting my core up and sitting back more. I just can't wait until I can get this fixed. I feel like if I get this taken care of then I'm going to be ready to just start getting picky and fine-tuning things instead of trying to fix a major issue. I know that I will be fine-tuning for the rest of my life, but this is a huge issue. Jack has just been amazing the last couple of weeks and I think he has so much potential and I want to get good enough to maximize that potential.


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## MySerenity (Jul 18, 2011)

I haven't posted in a while but I have been riding. It's been a bit frustrating lately because I have ended up feeling like I'm 2nd fiddle in my lessons with Kim. She always gets to jump more and it seems like the trainer gives her more feedback too. I know that Jack is greener than her horse so he can't always jump as high or anything but it seems like she gets more redos. It's not like I don't have tons of stuff to be working on too.

I don't really understand quite why I'm being shafted a little bit but I will just keep plugging along. We started doing grids yesterday. It went alright. He did refuse a couple of times but seemed to enjoy it when we got going. Today she raised the bar a little and the last oxer ended up around 3 foot for us. He was having difficulty trying to work out the multiple jumps in a row. He was kicking out while jumping the last oxer so it was kind of uncomfortable. I thought he was trying to buck at first but my trainer insisted that he was working things out and having fun as well. By the end he was tucking he back legs in appropriately but he seemed a little sore so we ended there. Kim got to jump 3'6".

My schedule will be changing as of next week so I will be able to ride wed-friday every week and every other weekend. I wish I could ride more but we just refinanced the house into a 10 year fixed (not a standard mortgage but as close as we can get being upside down with the land) so we had to clear out all of the savings other than Africa. I'm not even sure if I will be able to show at all this summer. We have to come up with $400 more every month until July because we are in escrow for this years taxes but I have to pay the second half of last years taxes in July. Basically, it means we have to put away double the money for 6 months. We don't really run $400 under budget every month so this is going to be a problem. We are going to try our best to cut back and I've been watching for extra shifts in the area for work. Ugh. So frustrating.


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## HorseTrance (Jan 26, 2011)

MySerenity said:


> We don't really run $400 under budget every month so this is going to be a problem. We are going to try our best to cut back and I've been watching for extra shifts in the area for work. Ugh. So frustrating.


I'm sure it will work out! As a college student saving money, I must say, Peanut butter and jelly or turkey, or tuna sandwichs do wonders at saving money when you eat them for lunch everyday! lol I saved at least $100 to $150 dollars every month doing that lol. And I guess you can start putting as many coupons to use as you can to help as well. Whether its for grocery or clothes =]

Good luck with your savings!


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## MySerenity (Jul 18, 2011)

Thanks, HorseTrance, we are doing our best to cut costs!
I'm trying to cut out extra things. My husband is taking lunch to work instead of going out every day and I'm making due with my equipment for a little while. It doesn't help that some sort of social security tax cut expired this year so my paycheck shrunk a tiny bit too!!


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## MySerenity (Jul 18, 2011)

We had a very interesting lesson today. We started out with a grid of bounces. Jack was trying really hard to think his way through it and he did get it eventually. 

Then, because she didn't want them to be overloaded with that exercise, our trainer had us work on seeing our distances over a simple, tiny, vertical. First she put a little marker on the ground at the ideal take off spot and told us to aim for it. We biffed it a couple of times, but did pretty well. Then she had us pretend it was different types of jumps. The first oxer of the course, a triple bar, in and out or a vertical. She would have us keep going around and around and just yell out what the next jump was. It was to get us used to thinking about this different ways to treat different jumps, get us comfortable with jumping at different paces and keeping the pace the same even when we are trying to achieve something different. 

For example: a nice impulsive, confident, forward canter that is in front of your leg for the first jump of the course, a big oxer (the first jump sets the tone for the entire course, so it's extremely important). A very forward and large stride with still being deep in the seat and in front of the leg for the triple bar. A much less forward, more up and down, canter still with impulsion to make it through the in and out. 

I thought it was a lot of fun and we did tend to get our distances better when we had other things to consider instead of just staring down the jump as we come up on it. Jack really liked tearing across the arena for the "triple bar". We were still in control and I was still the one choosing our distances but we were really booking it around the ring!


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## MySerenity (Jul 18, 2011)

Today we did the same exercise as yesterday with a tiny oxer. It was a lot of fun again. Cindy joined us as well and we were all laughing. Kim and I did an exercise where we would do a tight turn at each end of the ring and then take off down the long side. Lane was trying to get us to work on getting an immediate response from the horses to go faster. Jack was having a blast!

Then we worked on a line trying to apply what we had just worked on. It was a short 6 stride and we did it in 6, 5 and 4 strides. Jack stopped the first time but Lane said I responded appropriately. It went ok but we did biff it a couple of times again. 

Lane is trying to set up a schooling show at our barn for next month. I really hope it falls on my weekend off because it sounds like it's going to be a lot of fun.


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## MySerenity (Jul 18, 2011)

I had a lesson Friday night after work this week. My Mom came to watch. She hadn't seem us ride in a couple of months so there was a pretty big difference for her. Lane set up a one stride grid of 4 jumps. Jack did awesome! He did a great job studying the jumps and figuring things out. At first he would jump the first ones flat and then have to scramble to get back to jump the last ones. By the time we were done he was landing closer to the jumps and jumping rounder. Even my Mom said she could see a big difference through the lesson. At the end we were jumping 3'3". He has plenty of scope to make it over bigger jumps and Lane says he really thinks about what he is doing which is a really great trait.


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## MySerenity (Jul 18, 2011)

Great lesson today. We had worked on cantering poles on the ground and doing 12' strides and 10' strides with 6 strides in each in our last lesson. Today we just had a 12' 4 stride then a diagonal vertical, diagonal oxer and 6 stride line. We had a little trouble at first but our last course was **** near perfect! Even my trainer was just like, well I think we should end there! It felt really good and I'm really glad we are heading in the right direction. 

Kim had lessoned before I got there and apparently Adam was horrible so I'm glad it wasn't something in the water.


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## MySerenity (Jul 18, 2011)

Pretty good lesson today. The problems were with me, not Jack so I can't complain. We did a course, which it seems like we haven't really done in a while. Diagonal vertical, outside line in 6, diagonal oxer, all the way around to diagonal from the outside rolling back to oxer, diagonal oxer around to diagonal vertical bending line to oxer in 6. It went pretty well. Found out that Jack absolutely loves swedish oxers! I never would think a horse would like a specific type of jump, but there you have it. After the entire course he was throwing his head around in the horsey equivalent to "weeeee" and my trainer was laughing her butt off. 

I need to work on my releases though. I'm just still so uptight right before takeoff that I just don't release properly.


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## MySerenity (Jul 18, 2011)

Flat lesson on Wednesday. We continued to work on lateral movement and crisp transitions. Jack has a tendency to lean in on downward transitions and Lane says that I soften instead of staying firm so he doesn't get rewarded for it. The Kim and I went to the spa for their anniversary package. 1 hour massage, 1 hour facial and a pedicure for $100! Then it was off to work for a short 6 hour shift. It was really a wonderful day.

Yesterday we worked on a single vertical and I couldn't see my spots at all from the right lead. Left lead was ok. It definitely made a difference when I looked up past the jump after I got close to it. I really do tend to stare down the jump instead of looking past it. 

Tonight I went to the barn after work and thought that I was possibly going to hack Jack but Lane had already ridden him so she had me ride Steve. She said she didn't have a lot of time but we could jump around just a little bit and she wouldn't charge me for a lesson. Steve needed to be ridden anyways. He was being a bit sluggish and was really looking at the jumps. We came up to the swoop jump and I thought he was going to stop so I sort of sat back but he launched over it from a stand still and I popped off. I was unharmed but felt a little bit stupid. There was a nice imprint from my butt in the dirt. I got back on and we re-did it successfully. 

I have to work this weekend so no riding until next wednesday =(


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## MySerenity (Jul 18, 2011)

We lessoned yesterday and worked on a figure 8 at the trot over 2 little jumps. Lane decided to add draw reins to our arsenal to try to get him to round up over the jumps instead of sort of hopping over it. It was pretty much a hot mess. I couldn't stay with him since he couldn't really figure out the trot jumps and the point of the draw reins was to prevent him from having a release so he would round instead. Lane said there was improvement by the end.

The farrier did Jack's feet after our lesson. We decided to add hind shoes since we was chipping so much but I wasn't really sold on the benefit of the extra cost. I did get to spend some time with the farrier and ask him a bunch of questions. He was very helpful and answered them all plus more. I really appreciated that he was willing to take the extra time to explain some things to me and he really seemed to know what he was doing. 

Today I took pictures while Kim and Cindy did their lesson and then I worked in the draw reins again. Things went a little better today, but I hate how he pulls me forward when using the draw reins. I feel all hunched over again and can't get myself up. Lane says it's a process and not to worry about it too much. Just keep trying to get myself up when I can. When we did the course though, he went really nicely. Other than the pulling it was kind of lovely. She said that she can already see that he moves better and jumps better with the hind shoes. She even asked if I was interested in doing the hunters and the jumpers. If he continues to improve his style we can do the baby green hunters this summer which would be really cool. Kim said he was jumping with cute little hunter knees and Lane said his arch was much slower and not so rushed looking. 

Lane wants me to do private lesson so I am lessoning tomorrow and saturday and hacking sunday.


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## MySerenity (Jul 18, 2011)

We continued working over small fences with draw reins today. Jack did well again. Lane said that baby green hunters is 2'3" to 2'6" so I think that would be good for him for the extra classes. He doesn't have to work very hard to get over that size jump. 

I have really found recently that if I look up past the jump (like you are supposed to do) it makes such a huge difference with my spots. This is especially was obvious when we are trotting the jumps. I can't do trot jumps unless I focus on looking up past the jump. It helps for me to see if being so obvious and I hope that will get it into my head better.


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## MySerenity (Jul 18, 2011)

Yesterday Lane rode Jack so I could see him go. I haven't seen him ridden in a couple of months and she wanted me to see what a huge difference his pretty new hind shoes have made. 

I took some videos and pictures for future reference. I wish I could post them but I still can't get them off my camera! I was very pleased to see how much better he was using his hind end. He spends more time on each leg and flexes much better in his hocks. He just seems so much more comfortable.

Now we can get down to working on his jumping form and strengthening his hind end properly. We also need to get better muscles on his neck too. He needs to gain a little bit more weight to be appropriate for the hunters. I'm going to start him on a coat supplement next month and get him a fly sheet to protect his coat. I don't think there is much I can do about his tail. It's a pretty standard TB tail; bushy on the top and then withers to nothing. lol. 

Fortunately, I have a hunter bridle and saddle pad and Kim has a breastplate that I can use if I need it. I hope we won't need a martingale but I need to clarify if I need to get a standing martingale and leather girth. I have all I need for myself in the show ring other than classic appropriate clothing. I was really looking forward to not wearing tall boots, oh well. hehe. 

Our lesson today was alright. We worked on a grid and tried jumping without draw reins to see where we were at. Lane was happy with how Jack went but it felt awkward to me so I will have to get used to it. Lesson again tomorrow.


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## MySerenity (Jul 18, 2011)

Tried to lesson earlier this week and the door to the arena was broken so it was 19 degrees in there. I don't think that Jack would have appreciated that ride with no hair and all. 

Worked in a grid again on thursday. I used to like grid work but I'm having such a hard time with the trot approach to get into it that I just sorta suck at the rest of it. Lane is still happy with how he is coming along though. I was glad on friday that the grid was ignored and we worked on a line. 5,6 and 7 strides. We did well overall but it was a short approach on the right lead and it was just so hard to get my approach right. It was frustrating me considerably. 

The horses were all vaccinated on thursday so Jack has been a little sore the last couple of days. We took it pretty easy today and did a short course. That same line from yesterday was really the only thing that tripped us up. I had one round that was pretty nice other than that line. I will hack tomorrow but probably pretty light since he's been sore. He'll have monday and tuesday off anyways.

The florida crew returns this week =( That means that we get kicked out of the main barn and moved to the back barn. I'm also not really looking forward to the head trainers comments on us changing to hunters. He told me Jack moved too crappy to do hunters last time we talked. I realize that Jack moves differently now that he has his hind shoes and we've been working with the draw reins, but I'm assuming that he isn't really going to impress Kyle. Lane keeps insisting that Jack will do really well in the hunters and we are only going to be able to afford to do "B" circuit stuff this year so maybe he will be competitive in that arena.


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## MySerenity (Jul 18, 2011)

Had really nice lessons yesterday and today. Jack is jumping really nicely and is just traveling more softly. Lane is very pleased with how he is coming along and is confident that we will be very competitive on the B circuit and even hold our own in the A circuit. That would be quite impressive to me. Someone visiting at the barn today asked why Jack moves down to the lower barn when the rest come home. I joked that the other horses are the expensive ones. Lane said not to worry, that Jack would be one of those horses soon enough. 

Today we even took off the draw reins since we were jumping a 3 foot oxer and Jack still jumped most of the course very nicely. 

I find that really concentrating on looking up past the jump helps me get my distances better. I also need to stop picking at Jack when we are coming around corners. He feels to me like he is stalling out and going to stop but apparently he doesn't look like it at all. When I try to leg him up or use my leg to get him to yield over then she gets all argumentative with me and then loses his focus and he end up with weird spots. It will just take me a little while to get used to him new way of going.


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## MySerenity (Jul 18, 2011)

I hacked yesterday and Jack was a pill. To be fair, other horses were acting up too. The Floridians came home Friday night so most of the horses in the upper barn were demoted to the lower barn or even the "new" barn (which is unheated and not where you want to be sleeping at night). The horses that were moved into the new barn were all freaking out and one of them is post-splint surgery so he had to be dealt with. The whole barn was just electric with tension. 

Today and tomorrow Bobbie Dryer is at the barn doing a clinic. I couldn't go because of work but my trainer texted me this morning to ask if she could ride Jack in the clinic. So, at least one of us got to go! Apparently he did well and she is riding him tomorrow too. It's really great experience for him but I am sooo jealous of him! 

I can't wait to hear Lane's recap of how things went.


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## MySerenity (Jul 18, 2011)

The crew is all back from Florida but now the trainer and owner are going horse shopping in europe so the barn will quiet back down for 10 days. Yesterday and today were just chaos. We barely even have a spot to tack up and the arena is packed. The good news is that they think Jack looks great and even the head trainer (who said Jack moved like Sh#%) was on board for us going hunter. He was offering some positive comments and suggestions when we were lessoning today. The barn owner said that he has wondering jumping form now. I was told today that I just need to learn to trust Jack and we will be a great team.

The really weird news today was what one of the barns dogs found. Moe likes to go into the garbage. He was chewing on something and Lane was saying it looked gross and looked like a chicken foot. She and the other person over there were too grossed out so I went over and picked it up and I was freaking horrified. Yes, it was a chicken foot, that wasn't very gross to me, but it had a metal hook tied to it. My trainer was like what is that and I had to explain the finer points of Cock Fighting to them!! I was so mad. Just disgusting to me to torture any animal like that. The moral issues were just huge for me, not to mention the safety issues of it the dog had hurt himself on it or a horse had stepped on it or anything. I showed it to the barn owner and she was mortified. 

Apparently the barn hands that were here for the winter were just here until the ones in Florida came back and they trashed the apartment and this was found by the returning grooms. They had thrown it in the trash and Moe found it there. They said that they don't think the guys were actually cock fighting here (20 years in prison) but they might have been practicing tying the feet for when they were returning to Mexico where it is not legal. I personally would assume that they were participating in the activity here in Wisconsin too but I doubt they were doing it on the premise, it's super loud and all. The barn owner said that she made it very clear that if she saw anything ever again that led her to believe someone working there now was doing this then they would be fired. ( I know the forum is generally, how do I say it politely, pretty soft on the animal rights issues so don't bother to make any comments about how it's not that big of a deal if that's the way you feel please)


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## MySerenity (Jul 18, 2011)

Hacked on Friday and Jack was alright. It was a sad day though because the last horses came back from Florida on Thursday night and one of them coliced over night. The vet was working on him when I got there Friday but the ultrasound showed that his small intestine was twisted and was already dead. They put him down shortly after I got there. It's so sad and frustrating how easily these guys are done in. 

Today I tried to ride but Jack had a scratch on the inside of this front right leg and it was a little swollen. I kinda thought he was walking a little off but I decided to get on and see for sure. He was lame. Fortunately the other assistant trainer was there and took a look at him for me. He said that he would wrap him with some furazone tonight and if he's still off tomorrow they will start antibiotics to prevent cellulitis. Hopefully it will turn out to be nothing but I'm really glad the trainer was there to help me out.


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## MySerenity (Jul 18, 2011)

Mark took very good care of Jack for me this week and the swelling was down so I was looking forward to my first lesson with him. Then I went out and got Jack. My oh-so-talented boy pulled off BOTH front shoes during turnout. I tried to just hack (since he was at least balanced) but his poor tender feet couldn't handle it. I forgot how awkward he felt before the front shoes. 

I was very lucky because I was able to find both shoes, his hoof wall was undamaged and the shoes were usable. The more expensive farrier happened to be here doing his clients and he was very wonderful and tacked them back on for no charge. 

I hope nothing stops our lesson tomorrow!


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## MySerenity (Jul 18, 2011)

I was able to have a lesson yesterday. Kathy taught Kim and I and Jack did pretty well. I still have a problem with him stalling out around the corners. I have to remember to basically get him going before the turn so he doesn't get bogged down as much in the corner. I can't really use too much leg to get him to go straight and keep him going because he starts to argue with me bulge out around the turn and we end up with wonky distances. I have to work on thinking further ahead. 

His leg has still been swelling overnight so Mark is still wrapping him over night and he's going to start him on tmp-smz so keep it from getting worse. I hacked to day and we worked on picking up the correct lead along the straight away. 

The current drama at the barn is that the barn owner wants to get a horse off her hands and has offered to give her to me to keep magic company. The problem is that she is kind of high maintenance potentially. She has major problems with her leg and hoof. If something went wrong she could be really expensive to keep up and I just don't want to pay for it. I think I'm going to have to pass on it which is really frustrating. I'm still hoping to find someone who wants to have a horse at my place but still be paying for vet/farrier. Poor magic is still having problems with her front legs. It's been nice weather so I'm frustrated that she is still so uncomfortable. I have an email in to the farrier because she really needs her feet done but I'm worried about how the farrier will be able to trim her...


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## MySerenity (Jul 18, 2011)

My friend and I both decided to pass on taking Estelle. Neither of us really have extra money to deal with any things that may pop up. She is going to a lady who has a barn around here that is going to breed her. Kind of a horse trader type person. No clue how/if she affords to pay for farrier work/vaccinations/teeth work etc on all the horses she owns.

Good lesson today with Lane back. Yesterday he was crazy (since they hadn't been out in a couple of days with the weather we've been having) so he had to get lunged a bit. We did a bunch of ground work. Today we worked on the basics again. Her theory is that we should keep the jumps really low and work on perfecting the details. I like that idea so we will get getting picky and hopefully getting better...


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## MySerenity (Jul 18, 2011)

During my last lesson I learned that I need to have a more forward canter than I was thinking I needed. I keep thinking that a hunter canter is slow and I need to realize that that's not really exactly all there is to it. If I have to slow/collected of a canter then we stall out and have problems bulging against my leg. Then he gets distracted arguing with my leg, his pace and track change and we end up with stupid distances. Yesterday he was arguing with my leg even at the corner before going to the jump even after I took my leg off. 

On the bright side, we worked on an exercise to improve our corners (he dives in) and it really seemed to help. Halting in the corners but also making an outside turn so he doesn't anticipate the turn inside as much. I'm also trying to perfect the spur "bump" instead of longer contact. When I bump him he responds better than greater contact. It's definitely not a kick, just a short tap, but it takes more control to do. 

Today Lane was judging a show so no lessons. Kim and I hacked and decided to be naughty and we put the diagonal vertical down to like 2 foot and worked on jumping a little bit. Both the boys were really good so I think I only jumped about 4 times total. I was really happy with our last one so we went back to hacking. 

Lesson tomorrow and then next week will suck because I will only get to ride on Thursday. (Meeting at the district office on wednesday morning and MWHF on friday.) Long list of things to get at the horse fair. Fingers crossed for a really good used tack sale. lol.


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## MySerenity (Jul 18, 2011)

Oops, lost my last post...

Good lesson with my Mom visiting today. Working on trying to straighten him out so he doesn't bow out so much coming to the jumps. We've made stride on improving his corners though. 

There's going to be a derby day this August and apparently Lane thinks it would be good to go to. The weird thing is that we would be going to a show for only 1 class since we have height restrictions being in baby green.


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## MySerenity (Jul 18, 2011)

Jacks new Photo set on Flickr

Jack-Winter/Spring 2013 - a set on Flickr


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## MySerenity (Jul 18, 2011)

Today we did some trot poles trying to set a nice rhythm and let him stretch down a little. He was really reactive today. Because of the weather they have been inside without turnout for like a week and a half. I think he's a little sore and his "ulcers" may be acting up. He was swishing his tail like mad and kicking out every time I applied any leg. I hope the weather turns around a little soon so they can go out and stretch their legs. The up side is that he has gained a bunch of weight. He's practically fat for a thoroughbred! Just kidding but you can barely see his ribs and he looks really good. He'll lose the weight once they get to go outside again I'm sure. 

I was doing great today on seeing my take off spots but his swishing and arguing were annoying. I did my best today to ignore it. Hopefully, Lane will ride him tomorrow since I can't be out there again until next Wednesday. 

So we've been trying to figure out a show schedule and we talked a little to Lane today about it. I'm afraid that my trainer may be leaving the barn, which would probably be good for her, but I'm guessing I wouldn't be able to follow her if she moves away so I'm not sure what I'm going to do. It's frustrating because there really aren't many barns around here. Oh well. It would save me a hell of a lot of money if I gave this whole jumping thing up any ways.


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## MySerenity (Jul 18, 2011)

Ugh. So it's official. My trainer is leaving the barn. I knew it was coming but I'm surprised that her last day is this Saturday!! I'm pretty freaked out right now since I don't know what happens next. She and I had a heart to heart on Sunday so I knew she was giving her notice this week. She is trying to find a barn that she can rent stalls in that we can go to. She has a couple of clients in the milwaukee area and a couple more by me so she is trying to find something in between. If it is close enough for me to drive to them I will definitely go with her (provided it won't be more expensive) but if it's too far to drive then I have no clue where I'm going to go.


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## MySerenity (Jul 18, 2011)

Still no word on where my trainer is going. The barn owner took me aside and told me that they would like me to stay and try their new trainer before I decide and she's been very attentive to me lately to drive the point home that apparently they don't want me to leave. So strange to me since a rich person would most likely take my spot and they could make more money. Now, suddenly, they are all for B shows and the new trainer will take us there. Weird, cuz they never let the old trainer take us to them. Whatever, I'm sick of paying the unbelievable amount for board and training there so I'd like to find a new place anyways.

I did have a good lesson with the very attentive barn owner on friday. We did a couple of interesting exercises including riding with one hand down at your side and jumping while looking to the side to see how many fingers the trainer was holding up. She also had me jump with my eyes closed for the first time. Pretty cool. Jack did well except for his butt flip/kicking out around the corner, of which I'm getting pretty sick. 

Went to Arlington to watch the races for my birthday yesterday, which was Derby Day. I placed the minimum bet on the races and actually came out ahead on betting. I did a great job picking them. I went with a long shot, Overanalyze, for the Derby and didn't do so well there, but it was only $2 a bet. If I go again I will be dressing up though. The hats were fantastic!


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## MySerenity (Jul 18, 2011)

Jack was completely insane today. The trainer rode him on saturday but he didn't go out this morning. I tried to lunge him but then he did an amazing manuver and got the lunge line under his front leg so I had to let go. He ran around the arena for a while and I was finally able to get back on start the lesson. This was my first lesson with Mark so it wasn't a great start. He even asked my friend if Jack was usually like this. Ugh. He was trying to buck while tied in the wash rack, swishing his tail the entire ride and kicking out really bad. Mark wants me to get after him with a crop (not beat him or anything) to try and get him to stop the kicking out so I guess I will try that in our lesson tomorrow.

Lane is still hunting for a new place for us to work out of. She has 3 barns that I could move to temporarily but 1 of them is over an hour away and the other 2 are the same price as the one I am at. I'm giving her a little more time to figure stuff out but I am hoping that wherever she ends up is either cheaper or allows me to trailer in. I figure it was cost about $280 a month to keep him at home including gas to trailer to and from the new barn for lessons. If I spend $400 a month on training then I'm saving $370 a month. I can put that to good use. No, I won't be able to ride quite as much but I've been spending way too much a month. Time will tell.


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## MySerenity (Jul 18, 2011)

Jack was even worse for Friday's lesson. I lunged him first but he was still just so crazy. He was kicking out the entire time and even starting to add little bucks. He was snorting like crazy and chomping even more than usual. After we did a little bit I told Mark that this was the first time that Jack had ever made me afraid of what he was going to do, so I got off and Mark took over. He worked a lot on leg yielding but when Jack kicked out he got smacked for it, which of course caused him to kick out more. 

He was better by the end so I got back on and Mark explained what he was doing. I'm supposed to stay off the rail except for in the corners and try to keep his butt to the inside instead of the outside. If he kicks out I need to smack him and hold on. I don't know if this is spring fever or what but I don't like it one bit. We were supposed to go to a show the first week of June but I'm pretty sure we are going to skip it at this point. Maybe he's mad that Lane is gone since that's when the trouble started, but that doesn't seem very logical since she wasn't riding him very often. I'm giving him 2 days off to see if this is some sort of soreness issue and then Mark is riding him on Tuesday. Finger's crossed. 

Magic has laminitis so she is on a bute regimen to get it under control. We are on day 3 and I am not very impressed so I will probably call the vet again tomorrow. Getting old sucks.


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## MySerenity (Jul 18, 2011)

We had a really bad storm blow through last night and when I got to the barn I noticed the lean to in the pasture Jack is in during the day was flipped over. I'm glad he wasn't out there for it but the horses that were out there were fine. The lean to was even anchored in, but the anchors were pretty small. That's the 3rd lean to I have seen flipped over out here. Somehow ours are staying put. The 200+ pounds of grain in the minis lean to make it much less likely I'm sure.

Jack was much better today. Mark said he didn't act up yesterday, just wouldn't track straight (which is normal for him). Today we worked on a line with ground poles and 2 diagonal X's just focusing on straightness and not letting the hip swing out after landing. He only kicked out once but I couldn't get the spot before the jump at all. Focusing on the straightness I sort of lost the rest of the picture. 

I think I have Mark convinced that we should move Jack to outdoor board for the summer. That would save me $300 and I think Jack would be much happier. We are going to have to keep a close eye on his weight though. I hope that he doesn't start to lose conditioning out there because then we will have to bring him back in. Ugh.


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## MySerenity (Jul 18, 2011)

Mark rode Jack again on Tuesday and I don't know what he's doing but it's working so far. Yesterday Jack was excellent. He didn't kick out at all and was listening very well. Today he was good, tracked pretty straight and listened well. We had good spots and got our strides right. Halfway through the lesson he started kicking out though. We had a couple of good strike outs and several were along the long side of the ring which is unusual for him. It's usually coming out of a corner. 

I'm really starting to fear that this is a soreness issue. I hope that it is soreness due to lack of muscling because we can fix that. We got a full set of xrays in his ppe and he's on a glucosamine (mostly preventative, I had hoped). Since there isn't any obvious lameness I don't really think I could afford the vet visit to figure anything out. Also, he has no problem with the jumping part, in fact, he is jumping in fantastic form right now. Today he felt really great and Kim said he looked like a hunter. 

I had to pass on a show this weekend due to work and the next B show is not going to happen because both my old trainer and all the trainers at the new barn are going to be gone. There is an A show in Illinois that the barn is taking 25 horses to! I looked at the bill and I might be able to show but I'm not sure I should. It would be more expensive than the local ones and much bigger competition (ie more embarrassment when he kicks out during a hunter class).

I guess we shall see what we will do. There aren't any 2'9" jumper classes for Kim to go into (the smallest is 3'1") so she won't be going for sure so it makes it harder for me to rationalize going.


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## MySerenity (Jul 18, 2011)

Jack has been changed to full turn out and already gave himself a couple of nasty scrapes. Oh well. He can be sane and scraped up or beautiful and crazy. I guess I take the former. 

The trainers really think he has ulcers so I was told a little trick to avoid the cost of scoping. I bought a bottle of generic maalox and gave Jack 60ml 20 minutes before our lesson. He was amazing. Relaxed, willing, calm. Not chomping at the bit, not flicking his tail and definitely not kicking out. "Like butter" the head trainer said. At first I thought maybe it was from the turnout but Jack proved to me that it was ulcers. It was a large lesson and it lasted about an hour. After we had been riding for about 40 minutes the Maalox wore off. He was kicking out, chomping and anxious. Everyone was shocked at how instant the difference was. One moment he was a perfect gentleman and the next he was insane.

So, he has ulcers and without the ulcers he could be my awesome, fun little hunter. The trainer says the gastroguard treatment for 1 month is about $1000 and that's just the treatment. After that is done we will have to do something for a daily preventative and that could be a $250 for a 1/4 dose of gastroguard. I'm almost more frustrated at this than if we couldn't figure it out at all. Now I know what the problem is but I don't know if I can afford to fix it. I will call the vet tomorrow to talk about options but my head and heart just hurt right now.


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## MySerenity (Jul 18, 2011)

We've been having some down time since everyone is at lamplight and the barn is dead quiet. I've been riding less and no cantering or jumping. My vet also started him on ranitidine 300mg 10 tabs bid x 2-3 weeks starting tonight. Should have some improvement by our lesson on Thursday. At least enough to know that we are on the right track. Only $40 for the first 2 weeks (that's a bottles worth, the vet said not to buy the second bottle in case we don't see any difference after 2 weeks.) Much more appropriate pricing. The vet thought it was silly to start with the big guns, especially since we didn't scope so we are still "guessing" that it's ulcers. I have my fingers crossed.

The best news is that my old trainer finally filled us in on the new place she found. Kim and I went on Thursday for a tour and it is amazing. It used to be a vet clinic and it is empty now. Needs some paint and tlc. 19 stalls, heated, 2 round pens, smallish indoor, 2 outdoors (one is massive), huge hunt field, pastures and paddocks galore. The outdoor board pastures are absolutely huge. Jack will be able to really run around out there. The best part is the barn manager (who is renting the place to own) will keep a very tight ship. Only a couple horses be pasture and she will let the pastures rest so they don't get ruined. I have no clue why more barns don't do this, it makes better use of the land that you have. The paddocks are also very cool (even though Jack wouldn't use them). There is a 50x50 dry lot with a long skinny pasture attached by gate. In bad weather they just use the front part but when it's nice all of the horses will be able to stretch their legs like a horse should. 

The manager wants to have clinics, some small shows and would like to host a derby since it has the beautiful hunt field. The only down side is the indoor is smaller than the one at CHF. Although, it may be an optical illusion because this one has a normal rafter ceiling and the one at CHF is raised and finished off so it looks a lot bigger. It's also painted white and the new barn is very dark. It also is not insulated or heated right now, but she says she will have that done before winter. 

The place has a lot of character and the stalls are nice. Lots of storage, full kitchen, lounge with a fire place. Just overall a really neat place. Very quiet and I just can't get over all the pastures and paddocks. There are 10 dry lots with connected paddocks. Just so cool. Even Kim liked it!

The catch is that I am still waiting on her to send me the price list. She says it should be the same as CHF. A little disappointing that I won't be saving any money but the place is so nice that I really can't argue with the costs they will have. If the prices are good then I think we will be moving there. Hopefully for July!


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## MySerenity (Jul 18, 2011)

Jack has been on the ranitidine for about 8 doses so far and he was actually improved today. I haven't ridden since last week and we haven't jumped in 2 weeks. We worked on cavaletti around a circle, 4 strides in between each. We had a couple of kick outs but really he was really good. Especially since we were doing a tight circle the entire time and normally that really sets him off. It was a very short lesson since we had been off for a while but we will jump outside tomorrow. After the lesson we went outside to the jump field to hack and Jack was a total brat. I'm super confused as to how an outdoor horse can be barn sour, but there you have it. Just another thing for us to work on. 

I still haven't heard about the pricing at the new barn. I sent her a text to see if she had answers for me. 

Jacks fly sheet has been shredded, so I'm going to have to replace that soon. He is completely covered in scrapes and I think the scrape on his back leg might be getting some proud flesh on it. Always something I swear. 

The transformer outside of our house got struck by lightning last wednesday and we are still sorting through what has been ruined. In the end it will cost us $1000 deductible but we will have to pay to replace the crap and get reimbursed. The brand new tv, well pump and control panel, hot water heater control panel, garbage disposal etc. Frustrating because things keep happening that cost us so much extra and at this rate I won't ever be able to go to a single show. =(


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## MySerenity (Jul 18, 2011)

Last Saturday I joined a couple other people for a lesson before joining my brother's family for the day. They had a grid set up that we worked through a bunch of times. Kim and the others were going higher but he kept lowering it back down for me. Then he asked me if I thought my horse could jump higher than Kim's horse. I didn't think before I spoke and said yes and of course that was actually a challenge. A small game of higher-higher ensued. We got up to 3'6" before the trainer stopped the lesson. Jack was absolutely loving it! I was too. I haven't jumped that high since I was a teenager! The best part is that Jack's jump is so nice that it didn't really feel that big. I can't wait until we are able to jump that height regularly. 

Yesterday though, Jack was kicking out a lot and crow hopping. I was really afraid that the ranitidine wasn't actually working and that I was going to have to go to plan B. Today he was great though! He didn't kick out a single time so I was very relieved. Maybe he will just have some rough days. He was very responsive and in a very good mood. The mistakes today were all mine. The head trainer is really getting after me about my posture. I totally agree with him on it but I just can't seem to really fix it. I think I'm getting better, but that trainer doesn't really work on a gradient. It's either good or bad with him and right now it's just bad. I was also having trouble with my distance to a line oxer-4 stride-vertical. I just kept going around and getting the same bad distance. I tried to change my approach but I just kept getting there the same way. It was quite irritating. I did get it the last time around and then we got to jump the water oxer (folded over to half length). Jack didn't even look at it. 

I feel like I've really I've gotten my confidence back. I'm not afraid of the jumps anymore. Now I just have to show that confidence by sitting up properly.


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## MySerenity (Jul 18, 2011)

Last weekend I had a lesson with the new assistant trainer and it went really well. She had a lot of feedback while I was riding , which I liked. Jack was the best he has ever been. He seemed to get a little tired at the end and his lead changes were getting a little sluggish and he kicked out once. It was still a really great lesson. 

I'm hoping to go to a B show this fall and I will be talking to the barn owner about it soon. If his ulcers stay away he should be pretty good by September.

Only one lesson this week which sucks. I work every day this week except for Thursday.


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## MySerenity (Jul 18, 2011)

Ended up squeezing in 2 lessons this week. Thursday's lesson was good. A bit more kicking out than I would like but every time he did it it was because of my spurs. So on Friday I didn't wear spurs and we didn't have any kickouts. The new trainer talked me into jumping out in the jump field. I've never jumped out there before so I was really nervous about it but Jack did really well and seemed to have fun too. He did want to go faster towards the barn but it definitely felt faster than it looked. She took a video of one of our rounds and it actually looked pretty good. I'm very excited that he likes it. I'd like to do the hunter derbies in the future and I think he might actually be suited for them. 

I like the new trainer. The lessons are longer than usual and she always wants us to do another course. She really seems to enjoy teaching.

Kim went to the show at ledges last week and things went alright. They had a lot of time faults and she was really nervous but they got through it. The thing is, she seems to have lost her nerve since she got back. She and Adam had a terrible lesson on Thursday. He kept stopping and ran out of a stinking cavaletti jump. She just seems super timid and that is translating to Adam as, maybe we shouldn't go over this jump, which in turn causes her more nerves etc. I feel like she was overfaced at the show and lately in lessons I think they've been having her jump way too big, like 3'6" to 3'9". 

Their lesson on Friday went better according to the trainer but Kim was not happy.


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## MySerenity (Jul 18, 2011)

Yesterday's lesson didn't go so well. We rode inside because it was like 90 degrees outside. Jack obviously does not like riding indoors at all. We were working on an exercise that Jack was having troubles with. He was kicking out around the corners and then we were supposed to do a cavaletti 4 stride bending to an oxer. We kept missing really bad and then finally Jack wasn't able to recover and got himself caught in the jump. It was a mess and I went over, but not before he smacked me in the chest with his head. Painful and embarasing. 

Today we jumped outside after warming up indoors. Jack was lazy and kicking out a bunch. The jumps were mostly fine but I did crack him on the butt once for the stupid kicking out.


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## MySerenity (Jul 18, 2011)

Oh and I forgot that Jack has a weird lump on his belly right where his belly button is. I think he has a hernia. If so, that's just icing on my year, and the year is only half over.


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## MySerenity (Jul 18, 2011)

We had a really great lesson today with Jodi and Emma. My Mom came and watched and it was pretty nice so we got to ride outside. We had to counter canter up to a diagonal jump, trot in-canter out a 6 stride line to start. We had never counter cantered so I was pretty psyched that Jack did it right every time and even held to lead up to the jump. He didn't kick out except for a tiny one while warming up (which I smacked him for). I did realize after our ride yesterday (that was also very good) than I had forgotten to tighten his girth. So today I only tightened it to the second hole on one side and the last on the other. I'm going to try that again and we will see if that makes him more comfortable. I want every lesson to be like today. Kyle didn't even have much feedback except to say it was good.

His lump is still there. Mark is going to have Joanne take a look at it next week. I think Jack has a crush on the vet and that's why he keeps getting little injuries...


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## MySerenity (Jul 18, 2011)

Good hack today. I left the girth loose again and there were no kick outs at all. He was very responsive and listened well. We even practiced out counter-canter a little bit. 

The barn is gone to Kentucky next week and they are leaving Mark behind for lessons. Mark will ride him on Tuesday.


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