As you can see our drought has broken. Here is Stars looking so not black. I need to get him another day rug. He is wearing Bobby’s and really needs 6’3".
So remember I stopped riding him as he was lifting his whole head and neck and I was worried it was physical.
So it is several weeks later and with hindsight I now know what was wrong.
Stars is cold backed and if you have seen Sectetariat, how the trainer describes Him, is also describing Stars, laid back, lounges, etc, etc. I can see why they worked him every day leading up to that big race. Stars is better being done daily. I am talking physically not just mentally.
The new training from my instructor had been working wonderfully, however with him getting less days per week his cold back tendencies were returning.
Which meant with me asking him to trot he could not respond physically how he knew I wanted him to do and the lifting of the head and neck was actually anxiety.
I had not picked that up as all my horses are so calm and relaxed when I ride them and he is such a laid back horse.
So with me giving him time off and then it rained, then me working. He reverted to out of work so quickly.
I put on the saddle and he now has the wide cair girth that he has not bucked with. I told hubby to move away when I finished tacking, just in case and yes 4 bucks. He looks so tortured those first few steps. It doesn’t matter what saddle, girth or even the roller. We are torturing him. Do we have the right?
Up to lunge him and he was just so uncomfortable in his own skin. I lunged without side reins and them put them on extra loose. I didn’t do more than that. He did everything I asked but just so uncomfortable in his own skin.
Day 2 no bucking. And not as uncomfortable. I did put the side reins up 2 for canter. Swishing tail every stride.
Day 3 Better. Slow and quick in trot. Only swishing tail one way.
Day 4. Better Slow and quick in trot. Better in canter.
Day 5 Super Star dressage horse. Slow and quick in canter. No swishing of tail.
Day 6 day off because of work.
Day 7. Not going forward on lunge. Same under saddle. Uncomfortable in his skin with rider on. Sigh. I have been riding him for years now and way back at square 1 … and honestly I am going to start calling doing the bread in the mornings to going to the gym.
Usually when he is out of work, I am also out of riding and also starting again. Not so, man can I sit. He is doing all kinds of things under me including steps of canter. I am able to sit to all of it with ABSOLUTELY NO FEAR.
I work mainly on just keeping him relaxed. At one point he is trotting so slow I sit and ask if he would prefer I sat. He kicked up and said no he did not prefer that!
Day 2 we did canter. It is deep dolphin cantering. I just sit to it and at one point I did not even have the inside rein. I managed to pick it up without pulling on the outside rein. I was proud of me for that.
Day 3 only light dolphin cantering. The difference from the horse at 6.46 am just as we start warming up and the horse at 7.11am is phenomenal. He is no longer trying all the gaits at once like on Day 1 and has not done that since.
Day 4 dolphin cantering has disappeared and on the circle he actually offered canter.
Day 5. Asked for walk canter and he nails it first stride. Better than before the time off.
Day 6 not so great. 2 strides for walk to canter.
Day 7 not great. It takes ages to warm up. I have to go to work.
I decide to ride again on the afternoon, not good if it is because of tack. I really work on the warm up and the canter. Hubby says he is lifting his head in the canter transitions.
Day 8. This morning. I go over him with a fine tooth comb. Actually the curry comb glove. I watch for any reaction around the saddle and girth area. There is not a flick of the ear, no interest, nada, nothing. Zero, zilch. I swear I can not find a thing.
When I first ask him to walk, he takes one step, then a step with his other leg and then again and then walks. At least he does not look like we are torturing him.
I go up and ride him and get him cantering and work on canter transitions with not lifting his head.
I walk him. I take the saddle off and hubby says no wonder he doesn’t want to do anything. He has a huge sore.
It is back behind the girth but the girth is pretty wide and he goes from girth to big tummy with having time off and us actually having grass.
I still swear it was not there before. I curry comb and then wipe him all over with the new cactus cloth I learnt about on COTH and bought on Ebay from England. I was actually checking for anything on both sides to do with saddle and girth.
So next to figure out if it is the girth or my leg or what. I do have thinner girths I can put on for awhile. He gets 2 days off now. Hubby is going to trim his hooves and the 3 of them are going to be wormed.
A rant about Cetrigen. They came out with a pink spray that after hours actually beckoned the flies to wounds.
They have finally changed it to a purple spray. Now why they can put out a purple spray and True Blu cannot I don’t know. I hope is not because Cetrigen has taken all the stuff that turns it purple.
I rang Joseph Lyddy months ago. It has been around for decades and they could no longer buy the stuff that makes the colour but they were searching.
So Cetrigen brings out a purple spray and put it in a spray bottle which you have to screw the sprayer part to close and to open, which of course means you get purple all over your hands. It also only squirts and does not spray.
Hopefully we have an old true blu spray bottle that we can put it in, the kind that has a square as the sprayer bit. You can turn it for off, squirt or spray, and yes probably get purple all over your hands!
It helps that Pony has a freaking comfortable rocking canter, apparently, so as long as I kept my core engaged it was easy to sit (and my goodness, so much fun).
Just remember, you’re on your own timeline, so don’t feel rushed with goals. Take your time, enjoy the ride!!
