# In her dreams, she rides wild horses...



## nikelodeon79 (Mar 3, 2008)

On April 1st (no joke) we brought my new horse, a 12 year old Kiger Mustang, to the barn. This involved my hubby and I hauling a trailer 4.5 hours down to pick up my new horse, and a 5.5 hour trip back to the barn to drop him off. I should mention that we've never hauled a horse before, and our preparation for the trip included the installation of a brake controller into our truck, hunting down a trailer to borrow, and about nineteen kazillion questions to my trainer. Thankfully, she chose to laugh rather than disown me. 

The trip was uneventful, though it's a miracle I'm still married. Thank the Lord that i have a patient husband, because the trip down was an almost constant "Now, you don't want to drive like THAT when we have the horse loaded." The way back carried a bit more variety, including "Oooh, that was a little abrupt." "Are you SURE we should be driving this fast with a trailer?" and "I wonder if he's too hot? It's like 62 degrees and he has a full winter coat. Maybe we should pull over and check him?" (Hubby just made reassuring noises and kept driving). 

When we arrived, Luka, as he is now affectionately known, stepped calmly off the trailer with zero fanfare. He followed me into the pen where he'll be kept until we figure out this whole catching issue (apparently it's "a mustang thing"). 

He made a beeline for the hay.









The horses in the herd he will eventually join were quite interested in him. He walked towards them and seemed do deliberately snub them. Also a mustang thing? Who knows. But hilarious nonetheless. 









Thus begins our new adventure.


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## nikelodeon79 (Mar 3, 2008)

Day 2 involved just a bit of getting used to one another. We figured out the whole "catching" thing. The process goes something like this.

Walk out with lead rope in full view, well stocked with treats. Luka sets himself up so that I'm approaching from the left sided. He's very much "left handed" and has not had a lot of things done from the right. We'll work on it.










It usually doesn't work the first time, but he just walks casually away rather than bolting, so I'll take it. 










Success!









I love the little head lean thing he does... seems to be very attentive and just waiting for the next cue (or, more likely, the next TREAT). 

After catching was completed, we went into the groom area. No cross ties yet, just kind of hanging out and getting used to being in a busy barn. We also got some saddle pictures for the fitter. Going to have to send it out to be adjusted, but (hallelujah!) the fitter thinks it will be just fine once it's narrowed. For those who remember my saddle fitting "adventures" with Striker (17 saddles and two fitters before finding one that kind of worked), you'll understand why I'm over the moon excited. Although... I rode in a Custom Saddlery Steffen Peters Advantage on one of the horses I tried out while horse shopping, and that saddle now appears nightly in my dreams. My butt was VERY happy in that saddle. 

For now, though, we'll stay with the Pegasus. It's a nice little saddle and (gasp) I just might start jumping, so I'll need to hang onto it either way. 










After getting the required pics, we went for a walk with a friend of mine and her young horse. 



















We had a bit of a scary situation towards the end of the walk. Just as we were nearing the busy road (we planned on turning around on the dirt road before reaching it) a dog came flying out from a nearby house. Both horses got a little spooked, and the other horse somehow ended up crossed up with Luka with his lead over her back. I held on for dear life, knowing that Luka probably did not know quite yet that this was "home" and might head for the road rather than the barn. Thankfully, both horses settled quickly and we were able to get untangled and head back home, with just a bit of rope burn (on me, not him thank goodness) for our troubles. 

"Mom, WHY did that other horse DO that???"


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## ThatRoanHorse (Mar 2, 2017)

WOW. Will be following! He's a looker!


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## nikelodeon79 (Mar 3, 2008)

On Luka's fifth day at the stable (Wednesday, for those counting), we had our first ride. I'd love to say that the vow I made when Striker died -- to leave all my anxiety behind -- was kept. Alas, anxiety girl made her appearance yet again. 

Luka struggles with bridling, as he's pretty head/ear shy. Rather than fight with him in the groom area (we managed to conquer the cross ties, hooray!), I walked him down to the indoor to have my trainer help with bridling. We got it done with little fuss, and then did some lunging to get him used to the indoor. (I'd already walked him down to see it on day 3... he was quite interested in the mirrors but not overly concerned). 

The mounting block was in a scary corner, so my trainer worked with getting him comfortable. I feel like a lot of his behaviors have been dismissed as "mustang" and he hasn't really been pushed. Before too long, my trainer had him leading from the right side and standing calmly at the block. She got on and rode him at a walk for a few laps. Then, it was my turn.

*deep breath*

Mounting and walking were uneventful, though he's not a fan of walking past the arena door. His left handedness made its appearance again, as he does not want to stay on the wall and requires a lot of leg and guiding rein. 

After getting comfortable at the walk, my trainer said it was time to trot. I resisted at first.. I wanted to just stay in my safe zone and have a happy, easy little ride. The cool thing about my trainer, though, is that she knows when to push. I definitely needed a push. 

Luka was a rock star, even if I was tense. Due to my tenseness, he did offer canter a couple of times, which, of course, brought anxiety girl raging to the surface. However, I didn't die. At one point, when I'd dropped back down to a walk to calm myself, my trainer asked me, "Do you feel ONE OUNCE of tenseness in him?"

Nope. Not one ounce. So even if I, was falling to pieces, sweet Luka was just going, "Hmm. What the heck does she want? Does she want canter? Nope.. apparently not. Well, I guess we'll just keep trotting, then." 

I think I'm going to like this horse. 

No pictures from the ride, but I'll share a pic from his ad that made me swoon:


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## egrogan (Jun 1, 2011)

What a great beginning you two have had. He's gorgeous and you look so happy in all your pictures with him. Can't wait to follow along!


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## whisperbaby22 (Jan 25, 2013)

Beautiful horse, looks like a real nice one.


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## nikelodeon79 (Mar 3, 2008)

My trainer does this thing where she tells her students to imagine bundling up their anxiety in a little (or big, as the case may be) box. She has us visualize the color of the box, and the color of the ribbon we wrap the box in. We then pretend to toss the box to her, and she gets to keep it for the whole lesson. 

She had me do this during my last lesson. At the end, we imagined opening up the box, only to find there is no anxiety left. 

Sounds cheesy, I know, but I couldn't help but think about that empty box when I rode today and felt NO ANXIETY. 

Luka was a superstar. We ended up accidentally practicing mounting, because I had to adjust my stirrups three times (lesson saddle, mine is getting adjusted). We just did a bit of walking and trotting, but he was super calm and willing. 

I texted my trainer to let her know that I felt ready to join the group after a great ride today, and she said "that's great... but you should really wait a few days to let him settle into the herd. Every time you take him out, he has to start over again, poor guy."

Ugh! I feel just awful! He is having difficulty fitting into the herd, and I've just gone and made it worse!

I guess I won't have too many updates to post until after my lesson Wednesday (provided he's settled in enough by then). I'll probably just go out to the barn and love on him in the pasture (and give him a bit of feed, since the other horses aren't letting him in to eat as often as I'd like - though there are several bales out). It's rough being the new kid in town!


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## nikelodeon79 (Mar 3, 2008)

Just a few video stills:


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## nikelodeon79 (Mar 3, 2008)

Luka and I had our first group lesson and he was a superstar. In fact, we got to be the examples for the rest of the group on how to do the exercise correctly. The exercise was relatively simple: just walking and trotting over a ground pole. The first go-round, Luka acted like the pole was going to jump up and bite him, but he got over that pretty quickly. Once we moved on to trotting the pole, it was clear he HAS done some jumping because he was immediately thinking canter. I managed to convince him that he can indeed trot over a pole laying directly on the ground, and he did great from there. 

It's clear that Luka has gotten used to getting his own way in things -- likely due to the fact that the eight year olds that previously rode him could not physically convince him otherwise. All in all, though, he's pretty willing once he realizes that I am not one of those eight year olds.  

I managed to make it out this past Saturday for a solo ride. The first exciting thing that happened was that Luka actually came to me when I called him out in the pasture. It may have SOMETHING to do with the fact that he's not quite fitting in and was standing all by his lonesome in the far corner, but I'll take it. He's also getting much easier to catch. 

It was around 62 degrees on Saturday, and I discovered another fun fact about Luka: warm weather makes him lazy. I may actually have a horse on my hands that requires a little "convincing" from a crop/dressage whips (his former owner/trainer said he does not do spurs - likely due to past experiences when he was a ranch horse). I'm perfectly okay with laziness! We did have a "moment" before I got on. My trainer was working her young warmblood and Luka spooked when my trainer was working on canter. I can't say as I blame him, my trainer's horse has a ton of power and hasn't quite gotten the idea of balancing her big beautiful body. Her canter departs are akin to a runaway freight train! After the first initial big spook, Luka settled quickly and soon was not reacting. My trainer asked if I was okay, to which I replied, "It's good for him!"

I think it's good for me, too. My trainer said he needs a "mama bear" reaction to his spooking and that is my natural instinct. He reacts to things somewhat strongly, but quickly settles with a firm, no nonsense "you're just fine" type reaction/reassurance. I've ridden out a few spooks and it's just no big deal. However, I'm not so sure whether I'll consider it "no big deal" out on the trail.

I grew up trail riding, but I have never been what one would consider a confident rider. I even worked for a few summers as a trail guide, and it was my job to ride the new/green horses until they were ready for guests. Still, I always carried a certain element of fear... we'll go ahead and call it "healthy respect" so I can feel better about my nervousness.  

I also grew up riding in a western saddle, and while I love the connection and challenges offered by my switch to English disciplines, I'm seriously considering buying a Western for more security trail riding. Finances are standing in my way, although I found a great deal on a used Dakota trail saddle. I'm also considering an endurance or Australian saddle (Let's face it, the fact that I have a horse of a similar color to Denny in the Snowy River movies is making me long to buy an Aussie saddle!). I just need to decide if I'm going to trail ride enough to justify the expense of a saddle. I have an internal debate that goes something like this:

"We NEED a Western saddle! We know we will be a wreck on the trail in our AP/jump saddle!"

"But how much will we be trail riding, anyway? We love ring work, and besides, We're going to have to work really hard in order to be ready for that eventing clinic in September." 

"Whoa, whoa WOAH! Who said anything about an eventing clinic? Anxiety queens do NOT jump. Especially not in wide open fields with jumps that do not fall down when you hit them."

"We signed up, remember? We can do this!"

"Umm... maybe we'll just focus on dressage." 

"So then we're going to save up for that Custom Steffen Peters Advantage dressage saddle we fell in love with rather than buying a western?" 

"Well... We CAN technically do dressage in our AP/jump saddle. And we're probably not going to get to a level where non-dressage saddles are frowned upon."

"But the Steffen Advantage!! Our butt was so happy in that saddle! So. Much. Comfort!"

"It was happy." *sigh* "So we're buying the dressage saddle?"

"The Dakota trail saddle was really comfy, too, though. And Dakota saddles also make butts happy..."

*headdesk*


All right, beloved readers? What should we do? 
1. Make our wallet (and our husband) happy by just being content with the AP/jump saddle that we have.
2. Buy the Dakota (or endurance, or Aussie) for trail and using the AP for dressage and... other scary endeavors. 
3. Buy the Steffen Advantage dressage saddle.
4. Sell our left kidney and buy the dressage AND a trail saddle. 

As a reward for participating in this survey, here is a picture of my adorable horse with his mane all brushed out:









(P.S. His feet WILL be done soon. Trying to get a hold of the farrier. *sigh* Why are all the best farriers so bad at returning calls? I guess they must be out trimming horses, since they're in such high demand.  :cowboy:


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## jaydee (May 10, 2012)

You look really good in those photos. Something must be working even if you do still have those anxiety attacks!!


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## egrogan (Jun 1, 2011)

Well, I'll say I love trail riding in a dressage saddle. Caveat, my "trail riding" is more hacking out than true backcountry riding like some people on Horse Forum do. But still, it's got hills, rocks, going over and around trees, etc.

I really dislike riding in an AP saddle as I feel like it reinforces my body's natural desire to curl forward, and pitches me too far forward in an unbalanced way. I think the dressage saddle puts me in a much more secure position for handling all the uncertainty that can happen while riding out (hello buck running straight towards us out of a corn field!!)

So, my vote is buy the dressage saddle and tick two boxes at once


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## Cherrij (Jan 30, 2013)

I love this thread!  It's so great  

I don't see a need for many saddles. I can understand wanting a jumping and dressage saddle, but if you plan to do dressage and trails, it's better to stay with a dressage saddle. 

I have a fantastic Kieffer dressage saddle that is so comfy for me, that I can do anything in it. Of course, for jumping I would want a different saddle, but doesn't hurt on trails to ride in a dressage saddle. Haven't taken out any of the horses I have here now, but I did ride all gaits in crazy scary forests with a dressage saddle for years  

I do dream about an aussie saddle though...


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## nikelodeon79 (Mar 3, 2008)

I think I'm going to manage to resist the extra saddle purchase... for now. Of course, if my jump saddle comes back from the fitter and DOESN'T fit, I will have to re-evaluate.  

Then, of course, there is the horse expo I'm going to at the end of the month... HUGE used tack sale/swap....:mrgreen:

Anyway, had an unexpected trip to the barn last night because cold temps with heavy rain were predicted, so the BO texted me to say I should consider putting on a sheet. 

First thing that pops into my mind: "Umm... I don't HAVE a sheet." (Sold Striker's sheet to the new OTTB at the barn -- well, his owner anyway -- because there is just no way that Luka will fit into a 78).

Second thing that pops into my mind: "Pretty sure Luka has ZERO experience wearing a sheet/blanket."

Third thing that pops into my mind, as I look down at the skirt I was wearing: "I'm DEFINITELY not dressed for the barn." 

The BO solved the no sheet problem by borrowing me one of hers. Her advice to the "he's never worn a sheet" problem was to not push him if he freaked... it wouldn't be worth it. 

The clothes problem had no solution. USUALLY I keep barn clothes/boots in my vehicle, but I'd taken a different vehicle. Well, it couldn't be helped. Sometimes you just have to risk sacrificing your favorite pair of fashion boots for the love of a horse. 

I trudged out into the pasture and was ankle deep in poopmud when I realized that I could have simply ASKED my trainer to borrow a pair of boots. 

Lesson learned.

Luka came to me when I called, but was hesitant to be caught, as he'd had to work hard the last couple of times I'd been there. As I stood there, waiting for him to give in, I looked sadly down at my now poopmud-covered boots. (I'm pretty sure the smell will never come out... we shall see if my coworkers enjoy the lovely barn fragrance the next time I wear them to work....). 

After a few minutes, Luka decided the treat in my hand was worth allowing me to clip the lead rope on. I led him into the groom area (less stubbornness this time - yay!). I took up the borrowed blanket, preparing for the worst.

Nothing. No reaction. Zero. Luka accepted that blanket like he was a pampered show pony rather than a once-wild mustang that had likely never even considered such strange notions of crazy humans who wrapped horses up in equine-eating fabric. 

There was ONE epic failure. Somehow, I failed to snap a pic of my adorable horse in his slightly too-large blanket. You're just going to have to take my word for it that he is all kinds of cuteness. (Or, maybe I'll remember to take a pic before I take the blanket off tonight). 

I think Luka is beginning to trust me, as evidenced by the blanket acceptance. He also doesn't flinch when I walk up and pet him, even if I don't provide the obligatory peace offering (cookies). Others still get the wide eyed "WHAT are you doing with your hand and WHY do you not have a treat for me?!" when they go to pet him, but not me. 

Progress.


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## nikelodeon79 (Mar 3, 2008)

We've been having typical Minnesota weather, which means I rode in a t-shirt on Saturday and insulated breeches and winter jacket during Wednesday's lesson. 

The horses all get a little wonky around this time of year... guess they don't enjoy the crazy weather swings any more than we do. Plus, Luka and I have been dealing with an increasingly problematic issue. He simply does NOT want to come in from the pasture. I can catch him no problem, but he plants his feet and refuses to move until I make him do some circles around me (staying in the pasture = hard. Following the crazy lady in = easier). Took a bit of coaxing to get him in on Wednesday. When I took off his blanket, he was literally shaking. I initially thought he was cold, but my trainer thinks (and I concur) that it was actually nervousness. Poor stubborn Mustang! 

He was a bit more revved up for lesson and I really had to "be there" for him. As long as I'm confident, so is he. He still looks at things, but they are more easily dismissed he's given firm reassurance. 

I was not so great at the whole firm reassurance thing at the beginning of the lesson. He was convinced that something outside the arena door was going to enter and kill us all. Of course, a short while into our lesson, we were told to drop our stirrups.

Of course. 

I looked at my trainer like she'd grown three heads. She told me that I didn't need to go without stirrups if I was feeling nervous. At first, I was thankful. Then, I remembered something I'd promised Striker right before he died.

I promised him that I'd be brave. 

Taking a deep breath, I slid my feet out of the stirrups. Shockingly, I did not die. Instead, we went on to have a pretty good lesson. 

Who'da thunk it???


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## nikelodeon79 (Mar 3, 2008)

Yesterday, Luka had his first farrier appointment since he came to West Amity. I had decided to go with a new farrier, so it was a first for us both. A bunch of people ended up cancelling, so I was the second appointment, which put my appointment time about 15 minutes sooner than I could ever possibly hope to arrive. 

Not the best way to start off my first appointment with a new farrier, but he seemed pretty calm when I drove up and I'd texted to warn him. 

Luka was in his standard spot, way in the back corner of the pasture, as far away from the other horses as he could possibly get. 

*sigh*

The pasture was in lovely shape, courtesy of the rain/snow/sleet mix we've been having. Think calf deep mud, partially frozen. I was huffing and puffing by the time I even reached Luka. I gave my normal peace offering (one treat before catching, one treat after). Said a little prayer, turned around and tugged on the lead rope....

Nothing. 

Have you ever heard the expression "stubborn as a mule?" It's wrong. The correct expression is "stubborn as a mustang." 

It took me a half an hour to get him out of the pasture. We're talking a one minute walk, max. About halfway through, with Luka having stopped dead every three steps or so, I seriously considered sitting down in the middle of the pasture, mud and all, and having a good cry. Instead, I sent a frantic text to my trainer: "Can't get Luka to come in out of the pasture. Help!!" Of course, being a combination trainer/riding instructor/barn owner means she's never actually near her cell phone, so I had little hope of the text spurring any sort of real assistance. I simply felt better having at least done SOMETHING.

We did eventually make it in to the barn. It took us another ten minutes or so to actually make it into the groom area, because there was a scary vehicle of death (farrier's truck with tools inside) parked in front of the door, and, as the horse that had gone before us had been hot shod, the smell of roasted horse hoof inside the groom area. 

Of course there was much trembling that occurred once inside, both by me (exhausted and discouraged) and Luka (terrified and wondering why the nice lady who always stuffs him full of treats had turned into a fire breathing monster). 

I guess you could say it was a day that set us back a bit in the "bonding" department. 

Luka actually was quite good for the farrier and I was impressed with the job that was done and the farrier's attitude. For one, he resisted laughing at my sheer inadequacy. For another, he was very patient and took the time to let my suspicious mustang get to know him before getting to work, despite the delay of approximately one hour's time.

Yes, I DID give him a rather large tip. 

The fun did not stop there. His long, beautiful mustang tail and cute feet feathering was COATED with mud and ice.

Stupid, stupid Minnesota weather. 

My trainer told me the tail would have to be trimmed and the feathers would have to come off. I would like to take a moment and point out that the key word in that sentence is TRIMMED. The tail should be TRIMMED. Not HACKED OFF AT A RIDICULOUS LENGTH which is what I ended up doing.

Okay, so it's not terrible. It's not. Really. Okay so it's bad. It's still fly swishing length, but everyone's definitely going to want to ask him "where's the flood?" when they see his poor, formerly luxurious tail. 

Please tell me it will grow quickly. 

One good thing happened to poor Luka. My trainer decided it was time to pull him out of the scary pasture full of evil horses and put him into a different pasture. The pasture her personal horses are kept in, to be exact. It means a much smaller herd, 24/7 hay supplemented with alfalfa, a nice cozy stall in bad weather and, of course, a much, much higher board bill. 

So, Luka's currently in an adjoining paddock by himself, getting to know his new (hopefully) friends, which consist of three warmbloods, a yearling orphan foal (who will be moving to the herd Luka just vacated next week) and an OTTB (who will be leaving in June). Here's hoping he fits in better there. I've tried to convince him that he was a wild mustang for two years, so theoretically he should have at least some idea of how to survive in a herd, but to no avail. He simply looks at me with his big brown eyes and demands another treat. 

Of course I give him one.


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## BlindHorseEnthusiast4582 (Apr 11, 2016)

nikelodeon79 said:


> Luka was in his standard spot, way in the back corner of the pasture, as far away from the other horses as he could possibly get.
> 
> *sigh*
> 
> ...


(A little lengthy but please hear me out)

I want to offer my advice about the getting out of the pasture thing. BOY I could tell you about the struggle I've had with that one. The gelding I ride is the king of planting his feet and not moving if he decides he doesn't want to go out that day. Or he use to be.

The key is to keep that pressure on them and also to stop it before it starts (although that being backwards from what you want is not an intentional pun, lol). As soon as they start to indicate that they're going to stop (mine will start to lag back before he stops), tighten that lead rope up sharply and go "ahh" or whatever sound gets his attention. He released the pressure himself by coming forward, at which point you continue like nothing happened. Rinse and repeat as necessary, doesn't take long for them to figure out.

If you don't catch it fast enough and he does stop, keep the lead taut. Give him a chance to move forward just off halter pressure, and if he doesn't comply, then disengage his hind end. I do that by swinging the end of the lead at their hip. That breaks his "plant" and loosens him up. Then ask him to move again. If he chooses to walk forward, then release the halter pressure and keep walking.

It's harder to explain than it is to just show you, but very experienced riders have said Cherokee is one of the most stubborn horses they've ever met, and this works well with him. (Keep in mind I learned this by trial and error, but sometimes that's the best way right?). Nothing harsh and no extreme pressure is needed, just doing the same thing you said, making it easier to come forward and follow quietly through pressure and release. It might be different for Luka, but making Cherokee work harder really does nothing but make him more resistant.


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## nikelodeon79 (Mar 3, 2008)

BlindHorse I appreciate the advice! However, that's EXACTLY what I did. Usually things don't taking nearly as long, but the whole disengaging the hindquarters thing was really, really difficult because of all the dang half frozen mud (thus why I nearly fell 17 times). Definitely works better on flat ground. 

Today, Luka was put into his new herd. Well.. part of it anyway. My trainer's horses are away at a clinic, so it's just Luka, baby Grover, and OTTB Gage. They are an adorable little family and are all getting along great! It's awesome to see Luka so relaxed in the pasture. Hopefully things go as smoothly when the big girls and boy return... 

P.S. Managed to only buy a dressage pad and lead rope at the expo. A used Albion dressage saddle was calling my name, but was a MW (I'm pretty sure he's MN in Albion) and had damaged/missing billets. So, after tree narrowing, billet replacement and likely reflocking or at least added stuffing, the "deal" probably wouldn't have been. So, I was a good girl and passed. 

Of course, I got home and ordered a turnout sheet, turnout blanket and new girth. So much for being good.


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## nikelodeon79 (Mar 3, 2008)

Oh, forgot to mention that there were "Spanish Mustangs" at the horse expo. I was excited and asked the owner if they were Kigers. 

Apparently that was the WRONG thing to say. 

She went on a tirade about how Kigers are NOT Spanish Mustangs, they have *GASP* Quarter Horse blood (said in a disdainful voice), etc. etc. etc. 

At this point, I told her I owned a Kiger. She nearly tripped over her tongue trying to backtrack, but I just smiled, told her her horses were beautiful, and moved on down the line.


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## BlindHorseEnthusiast4582 (Apr 11, 2016)

Oh okay, I thought you were having a hard time with getting him moving just because he was being stubborn. I forgot about the mud. Understand that struggle too, definitely makes it harder! Disregard my ramblings then.  

That's funny about the woman at the clinic though. I'm sure she was trying to backtrack! Glad he's settling into his new herd too. How many more horses are there to introduce?


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## nikelodeon79 (Mar 3, 2008)

Last night's lesson was another "jump prep" type lesson with three poles on the ground. I looked at them suspiciously as my trainer set them up. 

They were most definitely not trot poles. 

We went over them at a walk for warm-up. Then we worked on 20 meter circles with a huge focus on controlling the bend and the shoulder. Hmm. More suspicion. 

We then did the poles at a trot, and that went well. The most confident rider in our two person group was then instructed to "encourage canter" upon exiting the poles. 

*gulp*

The first rider did beautifully. The second rider's horse needed a bit more encouragement to go into canter, but they still eventually got it. 

Then, it was my turn. 

We were working to the right. I don't recall if I shared this, but Luka doesn't do right lead canter. Even his old owner/trainer couldn't get him to take it, outside of a jump course. Of COURSE we were working to the right. 

My wonderful trainer of course gave me the option to pass on canter work. I didn't take it. We were ready. 

Besides, I figured he wouldn't pick up the canter because... right lead. 

It took three tries through the poles and then, suddenly, we were cantering.

On the RIGHT lead!

I'm pretty sure my grin almost split my face in two. 

In other good news, Luka is taking much better to his new little herd. He is no longer afraid to go to the bale to eat, and we only had two small stops on our way in from the pasture. 

There is talk of a dressage clinic in June....


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## nikelodeon79 (Mar 3, 2008)

Been a bit quiet here.... ended up missing my lesson this week due to other obligations (boo!!). Luka has been settling in nicely to his new herd. He especially gets along well with the yearling, which is somewhat sad because the yearling will be moving herds in June or so. Hopefully he makes a buddy with one of my trainer's horses! Regardless, he's getting plenty to eat and isn't stressed out any longer. 

I managed to sneak out and ride yesterday (my mom thinks I'm a horrible mother because I didn't spend the entire day with my son, but oh well). It was our first ride in the outdoor arena, and he did fantastic, despite the fact that it was super windy and there were kids running around being noisy and generally kid-like. The ride went so well that I was considering going on the trail with him, but the person who was going to go with me was having issues with her horse being uncooperative. 

Looking forward to getting back to my Wednesday lesson this week, and then the "play date" (gymkhana games and such) on Sunday. Trying to decide between walk & trot classes or novice...


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## nikelodeon79 (Mar 3, 2008)

Been awhile since I updated, sorry! 

A lot has happened. First, at a lesson a few weeks ago, my perfect pony decided to become a bucking bronco. My mortal sin? Pulling a scab off his neck. Oh the humanity!

I’m still not quite sure what to think of the experience. On the one hand, I managed to stay on, and that’s gotta give a girl confidence. On the other hand, now that he’s done it once, the possibility of him doing it again is on the back of my mind. 

The good news is, after the funny business with the scab, we actually had a good lesson. Our next lesson was even better, and we even managed to work on (gasp) canter. 

This past weekend, we had a dressage clinic with Fred Kappler. One word: amazing! My little horse started to move like a dressage mount rather than a bored lesson pony. If you ever have the opportunity to attend one of Mr. Kappler’s clinics, I highly recommend doing so. 

Our biggest hurdle at this point in time is the “catch me if you can” game. On day one of the clinic, I managed to catch Luka pretty quickly. On day two, however, the herd was in the back pasture and he was having NONE of it. Even with the assistance of my trainer, catching him took over an hour. I ended up being late for my lesson, red faced and puffing, pulling my tired pony behind me as Fred Kappler and the people who were auditing watched me walk towards the arena. (Holy mortifying!!). I apologized to the clinician, but told him that we were now both “warmed up and ready!” He got a laugh out of that!

The second clinic lesson went well, despite the pre-lesson troubles. We’ll see how long it takes me to catch him for my regular lesson tonight!

Just a quick video still from day one of the clinic:


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## nikelodeon79 (Mar 3, 2008)

I've been sadly neglecting this thread! Life, as usual, gets in the way. 

Luka is still doing fabulous. He really is a great horse for me... even in his "excited" moments he is just cute and silly and not scary. Last Wednesday, we had our first lesson in the cross country field. He was excited about being out there, but not stupid-excited. We practiced going up and down the bank and even popped over a few logs. I'm feeling a bit more confident about the cross country clinic I signed up for in September!

Last night, we worked on canter. Here's my favorite exchange:
Trainer: "Are you ok?"
Me: "I don't think so. I almost just fell off!"
Trainer: "You ready to try again?"
Me: "Yep!!"

We eventually did get some nice canter, although we still struggle with the right lead. We aren't focusing too much on correct lead at this point, because I need to get past my natural inclination to pitch forward when cantering. The good news is, Luka's reaction to that is to just break gait and go back down to a trot. He has so much TRY in him. I just love it. He's constantly trying to figure out what I want so he can give the right answer. I just need to work on ME so I'm not giving confusing cues!

After the arena work, we went out into the field again, despite the fact that it was pouring rain. We just walked over stuff, due to the footing, but it was SO much fun being out there in the weather and getting drenched. I felt like a kid again.


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## whisperbaby22 (Jan 25, 2013)

Glad you are having fun with your horse.


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