Radio Silence

I disappeared again. As this blog continues through the years (assuming that I will continue blogging) you will find that I often disappear around this time. May is my favorite month because of the bustle that accompanies it. So many wonderful things happen in May - all at once. The result is that I am sleep-deprived, overworked, overwhelmed, and frazzled; but content.

I can't possibly catch up on every session that I didn't post about, so I guess it's a good thing that Gambler and I haven't done much. I haven't ridden him since the day he bucked me off. Before anyone jumps to conclusions, it is a mere coincidence that I have been too busy to ride him since that day. My hope is that Gambler realizes that and doesn't make a habit of bucking so that I don't ride him for a month.

The truth is I have been incredibly pressed for time. Too busy for blogging and some days too busy for the barn. *gasp* When I did make it out to the barn, I was too tired and unmotivated to do any serious work toward riding. That being said, Gambler and I have spent quality time with each other in the pasture. I've played some games with him and given him lots of scratches. We are actually much closer than we have been. Where we have idled in training, we have grown in our relationship. These days Gambler comes to greet me in the pasture and watches wistfully as I drive away.

And here is the photo dump:

On May 12th, I only had a few minutes to work with Gambler. It was a windy, spooky day, and the trees were making him nervous, but he didn't bolt. 

On the fourteenth I was able to play with the white barrels for the first time. I purchased some barrels for Gambler to jump because he jumps sloppily and I didn't want him to gash himself on the metal barrels. 

At this point the barrels had been sitting in the pasture for a day, so Gambler was  wary, but not afraid of them.

The goal is to have Gambler travel between the barrels and then jump over them (squeeze game), but he just wants to paw them (friendly game). 

Then he started cantering around because of the horse-eating-trees. At least he was "scared" enough to move through the barrels. 

On the 15th, we gave the barrels another go.

First we tackled the trees so Gambler could remember that he isn't afraid of them.

"But they're scary!"

Sometimes he moves so beautifully.

Itchy ears

Back to the barrels.

And he thinks he should paw them.

That's more like it!

And we have a jump!

I thought he might have tripped over the tarp a little, so I moved it.

Back to pawing. 

Now that high school is finally behind me, I can focus once more on starting Gambler under saddle. That is, until college or other future plans drag me away again. 

I don't have any pictures from today, but I spent most of the session just relaxing with him in the arena. I scratched his scratches, and played a tiny bit at liberty. Then I played around with mounting prep. He was really good, a far cry from the grumpiness he gave me in January, but I made sure to really look for relaxation. I think part of the reason he doesn't fully trust me on his back is because I haven't respected his feedback. I sat on him bareback for a while and then called it a day. 

Independence

I spent this morning debating with myself. I knew that I could go play with Gambler for several hours (which is something we both need), but only if I drove myself to the barn. There are two problems here. First, I hate driving. It freaks me out. Second, as a rule of thumb, I prefer to do horse-related activities with at least one other person. Horses are dangerous and it's good to have two minds/pairs of hands on deck in case things get unpredictable. That being said, normally when I am out with Gambler Mom is doing something in the barn out of earshot. So I decided that the benefit was worth the risks.

I'm glad I did. Gambler and I got a lot done today. We did a little bit of everything from starting on the side-pass (Gambler prefers half-passes), to liberty circles at the walk, to mounting prep. Gambler was good considering that we haven't done any serious work since Sunday and I was out there for three hours today. There were a few moments of ear-pinning, many moments of walking over me, and two baby rears. Still, he did well. During mounting prep there were several times when I was holding him on a loose lead and he let me lean on his back without negative reaction. It's not much in the light of horses that can be ridden, but it's a huge improvement for Gambler. He also stood ground-tied while I picked out both his front feet. He kicked with the right, but let me pick out and tap on the left without complaint. 

I didn't get any pictures of any of that, because it was just little ol' me by myself. Plus the camera gets cantankerous when it's cold. I did get a few pictures before and after.

I love this picture so much, the color is amazing. If only it had focused.

Jumping Pony

Before I brought Gambler to the barn where he is now he was kept in a stall all the time because he wouldn't stay in the fence. I stopped by every day to let him run around the indoor arena. One day there were a few standards set up from an earlier lesson and Gambler decided to jump an invisible two-foot jump! This was the first clue that he loved to jump. When we did bring him to the current barn one of the first things he did was jump out of his stall. Now, when I am playing with him at liberty and he wanders away, the best way to get him to come back to me is to ask him to go over the jump. With that in mind,  I thought I'd share pictures from Gambler's jumping journey so far.

June 2015

July 2015

Over-jumping much?

He tried to jump the barrel, but I pulled him over at the last second. He jumped like he was jumping the barrel anyway.

August 2015

September/October 2015

Mirror Mirror on the wall . . .who is the grouchiest girl of them all?

*Not My Photo*

We've all heard that horses reflect us, and anyone who has spent a decent amount of time with horses knows it is true. Horses can "sense" how we are feeling. Now I realize that there are scientific explanations. Horses know when we are upset because they can feel our heartbeats and read our body language, ect. ect.  But I don't really care how or why it works, it fascinates me. Being prey animals, horses are extremely sensitive to our every mood and it shows.

Sadly, this wonderful mirror thing can be a real pain. Especially if you're a wonderful person like me who gets incredibly, unreasonably grumpy when she hasn't eaten enough. Did I mention this person didn't eat breakfast, had a small lunch, and was in such a hurry to go see her beautiful horsey that she forgot to eat supper? It was a recipe for disaster. 

Most of the time I try to keep my moods cheerful and energetic. I only get four days a week with Gambler on average, so I can't afford to lose time over an emotional breakdown (almost the entire month of July). That being said, I am human and a teenaged girl so every once in a while I'm gonna have a bad day. 

 My session with Gambler wasn't so bad, nothing horrible or dangerous happened. I just wasn't feeling it (translation: Jenna was so grumpy not even Gambler wanted to be near her) so of course, Gamby wasn't either. That being said he was very good. He popped into the trot with a pointed finger and two clucks. The canter is still a little rough around the edges, but he cantered on cue as well. I tried some liberty work, but when you're grumpy and your horse knows you're grumpy, he isn't gonna want to hang out with you. 

So we called it a day, fed the horses, went home, and sat around a bonfire with hot dogs and chai tea. It's a weird combination, but surprisingly it works. 

grooming while ground-tied

eye close up

artsy pic

So adorable!

Playing with a jump.

And the other way.

It's a pity this picture is blurry, because it's really cool.

A moment of liberty before Gambley decided to keep his distance.

Taking off . . .

. . . landing . . .

. . . and tossing his head 'cause that was so fun!

Hey Jenna, did you want me to do something?

Oh look, it's Kezi!