I waited patiently all week so Moon and I could redeem ourselves...
Both my boys had exceptionally pretty runs today.
Spooks was the gunner (the first horse to run in the race)...Dang the luck. LOL...
Personally, *I* like being the gunner. I don't know what it is, but I've always had pretty good luck when I am the first to run. It's a strategic position that is entirely wasted on Spooks. Spooks runs the way Spooks runs regardless of where he is in the pack.
The big guy did a great job. Smooth run. Excellent turns. He ran his always consistent 20.1 second pattern. I thought the ground was a little heavy, but not terribly so...and it's a bit hard to tell with Spooks. He just churns through, regardless.
It wasn't until I was warming Moon up, that I started listening to the times that were being posted and realized that Spooks hadn't run his 'typical' 20.1 second pattern. He was actually sitting well up in the 3D. The more horses that ran, the more it became apparent how deep and sticky the ground was.
Our NBHA association runs a 4D format. The splits are 1/2, 1/2, 1 second splits. So that means that normally Spooks runs just a little over 2 seconds slower than the fastest horse. In this case, he was only 1 second off the fastest time so far.
Normally, I would be ecstatic to have a horse jump up a division, but Spooks has accumulated quite a few points in the 4D and is sitting very near the top. I really would like him to stay running exactly were he was to keep accumulating those points in the hopes he would be the year-end, high-point, 4D horse...which would mean a saddle certificate for ME this time. ;-)
At the end of the race, I was teasing the gal that usually wins these races (she's a triple threat, cause she has 3 horses that can win :-/ ) and told her that I needed her to run a low 18.1 to put Spooks back down into the 4D. She almost made it happen too. She ran an 18.166 and Spooks ran a 20.137. Three hundreds of a second and Spooksy old boy would have been back where he needed to be.
Sounds rather messed up doesn't it? Three hundreds of a second meant no $$ and no points. :(
Oh well...I have to say, Spooks sure made a pretty run...and that always makes me happy.
Typically, 17.4-17.5 second runs are what wins at this arena, so the fact that a mere 18.166 was the winning time, you can probably guess that meant the ground was actually very deep and really sticky.
Moon was up not too many horses after Spooks, so I didn't have a lot of re-warm-up time. He was kind of charging around like an idiot at first and I thought...'Oh hell, I am never going to get his mind right before his run.' Luckily he started coming back to me during the drag before the set I was in. I let him come down to a walk, so he could air up and worked on bending him around my leg.
I made a couple of changes this run...I decided that I wasn't going to let go of my bat at the gate...I've gotten better at handling it properly during a run because I carry it when I run Spooks. So I figured I would just hold onto it and if I felt Moon start to set up at 2nd, I was going to reach back and give him a little pat on the butt to keep him moving.
The other change was switching from his normal bit to the new bit that I bought for Frosty, that works so well for Spooks and now seems to be working quite well for Moon. Earlier in the week, L and I had gone to a nearby arena for a little practice time and I rode Moon in the gag bit. He seemed to work in it really well, so I figured I would just run him in it and see if it helped get and keep him a bit rounder in his turns.
When it was Moon's turn to run, he gave me a little duck and dive, but I think he just does that to 'check' and see if I have the bat with me. If I wave it around a little bit, he lines right out for the gate. I have never said Moon was anything but Too Damn Smart for his own good. He tried to get a little sideways on me and pick up the wrong lead...but that is what these association runs are good for...
Whereas you CANNOT circle at a rodeo or even really stop your forward motion once you get rolling...at the association races, you are allowed to check your horse, stop your horse and/or make a circle before you cross the timer line. When Moon flipped his hip out, I checked him, moved his hip over and re-started. He flipped his hip out again...so I checked him again, moved his hip over, made him round up into the bridle and circled him until he gathered properly and straightened out underneath me.
There are very specific reasons I have gotten so adamant with Moon about knocking off his spinning crap and am using every opportunity to correct him...#1 is getting the correct start to your run is paramount and very often sets up how the entire run will go. #2 is you can be DQed at ProRodeos if your horse refuses to enter in a timely fashion or makes any sort of a loop once they have entered the arena. It's better to just get that non-sense out of him ASAP. He's getting much, much better. He's no longer the docile, walk-flat-footed to the gate horse he used to be...but in a way, I think it is easier on both of us when he gets fired up before the gate. By the time he gets there, we are both prepared for the run and we can just let if fly. So yea...He's turning into a bit of one of those...'Get the hell out of my way' barrel horses. I get it now!
The second Moon rounded and softened, I moved him into position and let him go. He inhaled 1st, came out good, bowed out a bit after we had left the turn, but once I switched hands, he came right back over and was set perfectly for 2nd. Two strides before, I gave him a little mooching and right when I felt him start to rate (too soon again, mind you), I reached back with my right hand and gave him a little pat on the butt with the bat. He leapt forward that one more stride we needed and inhaled the 2nd barrel. He started to move out a bit too much right before 3rd, but I just lifted the rein and gave him a little 'Yah, Yah, Yah' and he inhaled that one too.
I honestly cannot say that I ever remember ever having such a smooth and easy to ride run on the horse. He worked like a dream. Didn't miss a stride and we only had that tiny bit of bowing between 1st and 2nd...hardly worth mentioning even.
I was flabbergasted to hear our time had only been an 18.70.
W.
T.
F?????
Moon has had crappy runs in that arena and still been 18.2-18.3.
When I came out of the arena, there were 3-4 girls sitting there and they couldn't believe it either.
It was just sickening!
Moon was actually breathing a little hard after that run...and I know the ground was deep, Deep, DEEP out there...but as I was walking him out, I got to thinking...
When I had been warming Moon up, his cough had sounded a little dry and tight...and there was no depth to it.
Now Moon's cough, is what it is. I have tried multiple products to try to get rid of it and it isn't ever going to go away. But, when I talked to the herbalist, back when Moon was having respiratory distress over the alfalfa...he told me that the best thing was for Moon to have deep, wet coughs. That meant he was using his full lung capacity and the mucous was loosened up. I suspect with all of the smoke and dust we have in the air around here, his lungs have tightened up again and he just isn't getting enough air to really make time.
Soooo...He'll go back on the Immune Booster and the Mo-Lung bronchial dilator supplements again so he can breath properly.
Now not to sound like a total whiny barrel racer...Moon did end up winning the 2D and a good check. I can't complain about that. AND he had an absolutely AWESOME run. Probably his prettiest and smoothest run to date. So I guess I can't complain about that either. It's sure a lot more fun to have those kinds of runs than it is the wrecks and the oops kind. I'll take it and be darned happy!! :-)
Saturday, June 30, 2012
Wednesday, June 27, 2012
It Was Bound To Happen
As you probably all suspected from the lack of a Whoo-Hoo post, we didn't do any good at the Walden rodeo. We hit 2nd barrel. :(
I don't really know what happened. Moon just set up on me and ran right into it. I kinda figured this was going to happen again at some point...but as good at this run started and as free as Moon felt as he was running across from 1st to 2nd...I was really not prepared for him to set up at all.
I don't really think Moon meant to set up that hard (he came to an almost complete standstill after whacking the barrel with his shoulder) either. I swear he looked embarrassed afterward. Bu the fact of the matter is...I have been barely eeking by that barrel and have had to ride as hard as absolutely possible to make that happen.
Of course, one of my first worries was that his stifle was bothering him again and that is why he set up so hard, but I did a 20 minute trot test on him the very next day and he didn't seem to be having any trouble maintaining his trot for that long...
I alternate trot days with hill work days and that seems to be doing the trick to keeping his stifle strong...
Or as strong as it's ever going to be. I don't bother riding him when we go to the desert...I ride Frosty and pony Moon. There is one hill in particular that is a.w.e.s.o.m.e!! for just the kind of work Moon needs. It's a long, slow incline almost a mile long. I paid particular attention to his stride as we were climbing the hill today and although I can occasionally see a mis-stride (which very well could be from the terrain), he looks pretty solid.
I talked to the vet and told him I thought a month was too long between Adequan shots and he told me that if necessary, I could up his shot to every 2 weeks. We'll see how that works...but I am thinking that this fall I may look into having Moon's stifle examined further to see if it is a stretched tendon or an actual problem with the joint. The tendon would be a fairly simple fix...from the sounds of it...but I will have to do a little research and reading.
In the meantime, Moon is going to have to learn to float by that 2nd barrel a little bit better. He wants to work it too hard and it would be a lot easier on both of us if he would just relax a little. I opted out of running him at the Tuesday rodeo and plan on just working on his conditioning and letting him rest up for the upcoming weekend run. I have every intention of entering another CPRA rodeo that is close-by over the 4th...And I missed the entry. (Dumb-ass me!!)...I got busy with rounding up some hay, so I spent the afternoon running back and forth getting loads of that and it wasn't until late in the evening that I remembered entries had been that afternoon. (Ugghhh!!!) I am waiting to hear back if they will allow a late entry to run in slack or not.
I guess, if I missed out...I missed out. At least I have another 3 months worth of hay stocked up. And the way this year is going...that's a big deal. I probably don't need to explain what a dry, miserable year it's been here in Colorado so far. All of the fires are on the other side of the state, but we are suffering the same kind of dry, hot, windy weather as they are and it's just not good. A little rain sure would go a long way at this point in time. :(
I don't really know what happened. Moon just set up on me and ran right into it. I kinda figured this was going to happen again at some point...but as good at this run started and as free as Moon felt as he was running across from 1st to 2nd...I was really not prepared for him to set up at all.
I don't really think Moon meant to set up that hard (he came to an almost complete standstill after whacking the barrel with his shoulder) either. I swear he looked embarrassed afterward. Bu the fact of the matter is...I have been barely eeking by that barrel and have had to ride as hard as absolutely possible to make that happen.
Of course, one of my first worries was that his stifle was bothering him again and that is why he set up so hard, but I did a 20 minute trot test on him the very next day and he didn't seem to be having any trouble maintaining his trot for that long...
I alternate trot days with hill work days and that seems to be doing the trick to keeping his stifle strong...
Or as strong as it's ever going to be. I don't bother riding him when we go to the desert...I ride Frosty and pony Moon. There is one hill in particular that is a.w.e.s.o.m.e!! for just the kind of work Moon needs. It's a long, slow incline almost a mile long. I paid particular attention to his stride as we were climbing the hill today and although I can occasionally see a mis-stride (which very well could be from the terrain), he looks pretty solid.
I talked to the vet and told him I thought a month was too long between Adequan shots and he told me that if necessary, I could up his shot to every 2 weeks. We'll see how that works...but I am thinking that this fall I may look into having Moon's stifle examined further to see if it is a stretched tendon or an actual problem with the joint. The tendon would be a fairly simple fix...from the sounds of it...but I will have to do a little research and reading.
In the meantime, Moon is going to have to learn to float by that 2nd barrel a little bit better. He wants to work it too hard and it would be a lot easier on both of us if he would just relax a little. I opted out of running him at the Tuesday rodeo and plan on just working on his conditioning and letting him rest up for the upcoming weekend run. I have every intention of entering another CPRA rodeo that is close-by over the 4th...And I missed the entry. (Dumb-ass me!!)...I got busy with rounding up some hay, so I spent the afternoon running back and forth getting loads of that and it wasn't until late in the evening that I remembered entries had been that afternoon. (Ugghhh!!!) I am waiting to hear back if they will allow a late entry to run in slack or not.
I guess, if I missed out...I missed out. At least I have another 3 months worth of hay stocked up. And the way this year is going...that's a big deal. I probably don't need to explain what a dry, miserable year it's been here in Colorado so far. All of the fires are on the other side of the state, but we are suffering the same kind of dry, hot, windy weather as they are and it's just not good. A little rain sure would go a long way at this point in time. :(
Saturday, June 23, 2012
I Forgot How Much Fun They Are
This morning Meg and I went to a local playday/gymkhana. I forgot how much fun those things are. Normally we hit several of them in the spring, as a low-key prep to the barrel racing season. Because Meg had quit riding, I guess I just got focused on the barrel races and didn't bother to go to any.
Well, Frosty hasn't exactly cracked out at the barrel racings like I thought (hoped) he would...so I decided what he needs is some playdays. They are a whole lot cheaper than entering a barrel race and I like the fact that so many of the events are things that we have never practiced. I use all of those fun games/patterns to teach a horse how to follow my hands and stay between my legs...with some speed added.
Normally I start all of my barrel horses out at playdays. It's just something that has worked for me over the years. That step got skipped with Frosty because he was so spastic about everything at busy events that I was worried about taking him to such things. There are a lot of kids at these events...and people who don't really know etiquette...and I didn't want to end up in a wreck with him, nor get someone's kid hurt if he spazzed out. But the big, buckskin dummy has come a long way in that regard and I decided it was time to see how he would handle it. He was wayyyyy better than I expected and we only had one big shy. A girl came loping up on his butt and even though I was trying to stay as close to the fence as possible to prevent people from trying to pass on that side, she tried to squeeze through. Frosty lost it a bit and blew sideways into L's horse (which didn't make L very happy, but oh well, I HAD warned her!!). The girl didn't even apologize. So the next time she came loping around, I just sidepassed Frosty over to the fence so she had to slam on the brakes and I told her to keep to the inside. She gave me a snarly face...but didn't try to run up Frosty's butt again. ;-)
One thing I thought was going to set Frosty over the edge was the presence of a roan mule. I kept waiting for him to see it and was prepared for him to want to vacate the premise immediately. When he did finally see the mule, he surprised me to no end. He didn't want to run a.w.a.y. from it...he wanted to CHASE it. OMG...Megan and I laughed and laughed. Frosty had his head up and was locked onto that mule and he was trying to charge through the bit and go after it.
Unfortunately, barrels is almost always the first event at playdays...and Frosty was certainly not focused yet. I don't think he even saw a barrel. He just kind of went out there and ran every which way. LOL And this is what makes these kinds of things awesome...there were 4 more events that I was riding him in, so he got a lot of opportunity to have to ride right back in that arena and do yet another event. By the 3rd event, he was getting tired and was a whole lot more focused on just staying between my legs and following my hands. He didn't win or even place in any of the events, but he was much, much better at the primary objective...listening to me and focusing on what I was asking him to do...for events 3, 4 and 5...and he started figuring out the 'run home' thing.
I'm going to try to hit as many of these playdays as I can the rest of the summer. I will also continue to exhibition Frosty at the association barrel races and will probably haul him with me to the rodeos. He can keep Moon company and I can continue to get him used to lots of activity going on around him.
Megan has been riding again and I figured she had just better go ahead and get a run on her blue roan horse to see where he was at. Meg has a lot of work a head of her to get him lined back out...he has a terrible habit of running to the barrel and then acting like it's a cow he needs to work. LOL!! She lost a lot of valuable time by quitting riding this spring, but she'll get it worked out. She says she wants to go to some NBHA runs with me and I think her and the blue horse can still place in the youth division. This would be her last year to run in that division, so she had better take advantage of it.
Tonight Moon gets a P3 treatment and tomorrow we are off to a CPRA rodeo. It's a 4 1/2 hour drive and I might not have bothered to enter one that far away, but I heard this was a big, sandy pen. That's the kind of pen Moon usually runs well in, so hopefully the drive will be worth it. ;-)
Well, Frosty hasn't exactly cracked out at the barrel racings like I thought (hoped) he would...so I decided what he needs is some playdays. They are a whole lot cheaper than entering a barrel race and I like the fact that so many of the events are things that we have never practiced. I use all of those fun games/patterns to teach a horse how to follow my hands and stay between my legs...with some speed added.
Normally I start all of my barrel horses out at playdays. It's just something that has worked for me over the years. That step got skipped with Frosty because he was so spastic about everything at busy events that I was worried about taking him to such things. There are a lot of kids at these events...and people who don't really know etiquette...and I didn't want to end up in a wreck with him, nor get someone's kid hurt if he spazzed out. But the big, buckskin dummy has come a long way in that regard and I decided it was time to see how he would handle it. He was wayyyyy better than I expected and we only had one big shy. A girl came loping up on his butt and even though I was trying to stay as close to the fence as possible to prevent people from trying to pass on that side, she tried to squeeze through. Frosty lost it a bit and blew sideways into L's horse (which didn't make L very happy, but oh well, I HAD warned her!!). The girl didn't even apologize. So the next time she came loping around, I just sidepassed Frosty over to the fence so she had to slam on the brakes and I told her to keep to the inside. She gave me a snarly face...but didn't try to run up Frosty's butt again. ;-)
One thing I thought was going to set Frosty over the edge was the presence of a roan mule. I kept waiting for him to see it and was prepared for him to want to vacate the premise immediately. When he did finally see the mule, he surprised me to no end. He didn't want to run a.w.a.y. from it...he wanted to CHASE it. OMG...Megan and I laughed and laughed. Frosty had his head up and was locked onto that mule and he was trying to charge through the bit and go after it.
Unfortunately, barrels is almost always the first event at playdays...and Frosty was certainly not focused yet. I don't think he even saw a barrel. He just kind of went out there and ran every which way. LOL And this is what makes these kinds of things awesome...there were 4 more events that I was riding him in, so he got a lot of opportunity to have to ride right back in that arena and do yet another event. By the 3rd event, he was getting tired and was a whole lot more focused on just staying between my legs and following my hands. He didn't win or even place in any of the events, but he was much, much better at the primary objective...listening to me and focusing on what I was asking him to do...for events 3, 4 and 5...and he started figuring out the 'run home' thing.
I'm going to try to hit as many of these playdays as I can the rest of the summer. I will also continue to exhibition Frosty at the association barrel races and will probably haul him with me to the rodeos. He can keep Moon company and I can continue to get him used to lots of activity going on around him.
Megan has been riding again and I figured she had just better go ahead and get a run on her blue roan horse to see where he was at. Meg has a lot of work a head of her to get him lined back out...he has a terrible habit of running to the barrel and then acting like it's a cow he needs to work. LOL!! She lost a lot of valuable time by quitting riding this spring, but she'll get it worked out. She says she wants to go to some NBHA runs with me and I think her and the blue horse can still place in the youth division. This would be her last year to run in that division, so she had better take advantage of it.
Tonight Moon gets a P3 treatment and tomorrow we are off to a CPRA rodeo. It's a 4 1/2 hour drive and I might not have bothered to enter one that far away, but I heard this was a big, sandy pen. That's the kind of pen Moon usually runs well in, so hopefully the drive will be worth it. ;-)
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