My first time at regionals in my first season showi g my mare. 3rd place ans qualified for (but not going to) nationals!
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I have finally been able to get my ex pro-eventer to correctly weight his right hind - he fractured his splint bone to smithereens three years ago and has decidedly gnarly hocks on top.
I was told when he was given to me that he would never ever be a dressage horse (he’s had penalty scores in the dressage phase higher than my usual dressage scores 🫣🤣)
My new instructor has given us some fantastic exercises to work through that have really helped, as has me doing rider pilates x 2 a week and yesterday he did the most phenomenal soft and through transitions (canter > halt > reinback > canter) and huge uphill changes.
I am beyond thrilled at how lucky I am to have this amazing horse 
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I have not really ridden in… longer than I care to admit. (I have been spending the last several years going feral behind a barn with a young horse. It was delightful, and highly instructive. That said, not conducive to maintaining riding form or fitness.) and am now a few rides into my “please get me back into riding shape”. I received the lovely compliment from my instructor who told me I had excellent instincts and it was a joy to be teaching me again.
Such a small comment but when it feels like my brain knows what I want to do but my body isn’t strong enough or quick enough to be there to support what needs to be done, it was really encouraging. Especially since it was related to a moment of misbehaviour on part of the horse and I can see where it would concern some riders, but to know that I can still sit up close leg and ride through those moments without being ruffled is really reassuring.
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Totally feel this!
A few months ago during a lesson, my trainer told me how proud of me she was because of how well I was riding my lease horse. I started riding him in January and he is significantly higher trained than I am (i.e. I was a 3rd level rider and he’s trained I1+) and I have issues with my back and spine which makes riding difficult. I think I glowed for the rest of the lesson. It felt good and, to echo your wording, encouraging when you don’t feel quite there yet, but someone you trust is saying you are further along than you think you are!
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Oh yeah. I took two lessons yesterday and came home mentally exhausted. But I realized that my instructor was throwing a LOT at us because she expects me to be able handle it. Literally like SI, now change to renvers, now LY, halt, rein-back, ToF into SI and canter off. And she thinks I’ll have my mare doing third by this time next year. Hope she’s right!
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I have my dressage lessons every Thurs. Haul-in 2hr each way. So there was a clinic at the barn and i decided to give it a try. Both horses had a sleep-over for Thurs and Fri night and i left my trailer too. Such a luxury!!!
Anyhooo… i saddled up for my first of two rides w/clinician and the horse left in the faaaar back paddock screamed holy murder, non-stop. First horse saddled and ready for ring-time entered arena like a kite on a string also screaming in answer to her buddy. My coach went outback and brought in my gelding and as soon as he arrived, everybody calmed down. I had two nice rides. The instructor taught me some new things. And one important thing i learned…and it’s a Funny Thing… is i am not nervous about ‘performing’ in front of people, i’m totally relaxed once i am separated from everyone. Sitting there in my little chair watching the others before me was uncomfortable though. So i think all i will need to do to go to a show is remain secluded from all the people and i’ll be fine. It was good to find out how totally un-nervous i was once i left the presence of other riders/and on-lookers.
OH…and two people asked to buy the foal my pregnant mare is incubating. She made quite the impression i guess.
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Extremly proud about my young mare backed by myself. I found an amazing new trainer and put her into bootcamp for the weekend
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Funny about your horses 
. Exactly the same what my mares do as well. I gave up to show more than one horse at a time. They are totally cool on shows if they know there is no other herdmember around…. But as soon as there are two of them it’s over 
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my experience too. I recently hauled just this mare, solo, into a show site just to get her familiar with the HUGE event venue. Not a problem. She was the only horse there…we went on a ‘trail ride’ all around inside all the tunnels and warm up rings and arenas… Piece of cake. And after yesterday i’ve resolved to only take one horse at a time! Or maybe stealth take two but singly? Or request stalls in different barns?? There’s gotta be a way…
maaaybe…
for lessons (now that the weather has finally cooled) i will leave one horse in the trailer while i lesson. Let her or him bang around (since i’m trading-in this trailer anyway lol) and get used to the idea of being ‘alone’. Then switch them for next lesson. It will be ‘training’… And might be the death of the trailer lol
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I haven’t figured out how to do it so far…. Sometimes I attend 2 day clinics and then I take two horses, but so far the first day is always horrible. They get used to it on day two but they are so consistent with their whinnying for each other although they know the facility well and know they go home after two days that I don’t want to waste my shows with predictable stress for all of us…
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Well, maybe there IS no hope.
I’m going to try leaving one in the trailer (instead of taking into the arena and having my coach hold, while i ride the other one----yeah i know: Spoiled horses!) lol.
Especially since i now longer care about this horse trailer. May reduce the trade value, BUT if i can get reasonable equine citizens out of it, well worth it!
I personally would not do it because I don’t want either my horse nor my trailer get damaged…. Maybe I am too chicken but taking only one horse to a show is sufficient for me anyhow… That makes it a nice relaxed experience
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Did you breed one of your horses? I must have missed that discussion. Which one? To what?
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One of the mustangs i brought home in January was undescended, and even though the BLM sent with him a complete veterinary report, and an gelding certificate dated and signed by the vet, he was in fact, intact. Though until late Spring, the testicles were retained. One of my domestic horses, the curly mare i train in dressage is definately pregnant (ultrasound and two bloodtests continue to confirm), and i think (?) two of the mustang mares are also pregnant. Foal(s) due around April first.
Oh wow.
That sucks.
I thought there were meds they can give a mare that is bred by accident to end the pregnancy.
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OK, so …he was only in-with the mustangs for about 36 hrs and the mare i saw him breed (which is how i discovered that OH!! he has balls!!) was given a shot. But he was in the herd with five mares. One got the shot and now two others are looking rather rotund. They could just be fat. Come January first, when i pull my palomino curly off fescue and dry lot her, i will bring in these two i suspect also. They can all have a maternity ward together. If it turns out they’re just fat, well, they’ll have gotten fatter because i’ll be amping up nutrition …
The curly blonde mare i ride in dressage was in-with him for almost 24 hours - a month before -(and you have about 34 days to give them the shot) and because they didn’t get along (and she being boss mare, i thought if he can’t get on her good side, then i will not be turning him out with the domestic herd after all). And frankly, it was just sort of an extra-precaution that i had her blood-tested and Voila! = preggers.
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Are you vaccinating these potentially pregnant mares as if they were pregnant?
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For future reference, prostaglandin analogues are effective at pregnancy termination in the mare up to ~120 days.
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Oh my, it sounds like your farm will be a busy kindergarten. Best wishes for a healthy outcome(s).
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I was at the veterinarians office arranging the castration and mare-care. It was the veterinarian who did whatever lookingUP he did and he was the one who told me 34 days. Right there, in his office. I didn’t do any surfing to see if he was right or anything like that. But!!! i will now.
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