Cupid Training Diary: February 19th to 26th

Sunday February 19th:

I went out Sunday morning with the plan of working Cupid in the round pen and giving her a bath, but when I got to the barn I realized that I felt like riding. I hopped on and did mostly trot work focusing on lengthening our stride and smoothing into a trot I can sit. Last fall Cupid had a beautiful trot that was easy to sit but once I stopped consistently asking her to perform it she "lost" that trot. By the end of our ride I was able to sit the trot down the long side of the arena, and maintain a nice collected (or it felt collected) trot through several laps of the arena. One area that we still need work on is maintaining our pace through circles. Cupid has a tendency to show halfway through our circle no matter how large it is. Part of me is convinced that this is because I'm signaling her to slow but am not 100% aware that I'm giving the signal.

Monday February 20th:

Because it was Monday I didn't make it out to the barn.

Tuesday February 21st:

Tuesday I rushed over to the barn after work. I assumed I would be alone so my plan was to take advantage of having the whole arena and working on trot and canter circles. I also planned on working on the sitting trot to maintain our progress on sitting the entire long side. My plan did get slightly derailed by the assistant trainer bringing a friend out to take a quick lesson. While I was a bit disappointed that I was going to have to rework my plan it did provide a good lesson for Cupid. Typically I like to use the entire arena and avoid cutting through the center a lot. Because of her "middle means stop" mentality, I will ask her to work through the center but it's not an exercise I consistently do. With the lunge line lesson going on at the "near" side of the arena I decided to focus on using the "far" side. Cupid quickly picked up that we were using only half the arena and seemed to enjoy having to work with shorter sides. She maintained a nice pace and did not get too distracted by the lesson going on next to us. The biggest issue I had was that when we went to canter I used the entire arena and there's a section that is consistently deep. Cupid would hit the breaks every time we would hit this spot and throw a fit when I pushed her to maintain her canter. I know this area is a bit of an issue but she attempted to take advantage of this area. We finished and Cupid got a quick bath.

Wednesday February 22nd:

It poured on Wednesday. I planned on going to the barn and even had my stuff packed but the rain was too severe. Cupid is always pissy when I pull her in from the rain so I figured she would rather be left alone. She also got her feet done today and I don't like working her hard after the farrier is out.

Thursday February 23rd:

I attempted to get to the barn, then got stuck in traffic for 90 minutes. After sitting for an hour I was too irritated and tired so I headed home. By the time I would have gotten to the barn it would have been too dark to do anything.

Friday February 24th:

On Friday, I had to go to a graduation party for a friend. So poor Cupid spent a third day without being worked. Though my boarding contract states she can be used for lessons I'm 100% sure she isn't. Both her bridle and girth are in my locker and she never has sweat marks.

Saturday February 25th:

I was finally able to make it out to the barn. My usual riding group was there and it was nice to be able to catch up with them. We worked on our walk to trot to walk transitions, and on sitting the trot. Cupid was super responsive and we were able to sit the long sides and post the short sides for a good 5 laps. All while maintaining a consistent pace and staying somewhat rounded. We also worked on standing under saddle for longer than a minute and standing quietly by other horses. While Cupid is horse friendly she tends to put a nasty face on when shes asked to stand with other horses, or squirm when standing under saddle.

Sunday February 26th:

On Sunday, I finally had a lesson. It had been two weeks since my last formal lesson, and  it as nice to get feedback other than "she has come so far". This lesson was with the assistant trainer and it was my first private lesson since I started at this barn. I like group lessons but it's nice getting feedback and having the attention of my trainer for the whole lesson. We focused on my two-point, keeping Cupid at a consistent pace, and not overthinking jumps. What I liked about this lesson was that the assistant trainer never uses our set course of outside - diagonal - outside - diagonal, she always uses the jumps and creates different "courses". Today was a serpentine using the jumps at the front of the arena. At the end of the lesson we did outside double to outside triple while staying in two-point during the lines. Cupid was initially squirmy and did the lines "drunk", but after doing the double-triple several times we came together as a team and hit both lines straight and stayed straight. What I find special about this lesson was the assistant trainer recorded our last triple and I got my first video of me riding. I've probably reviewed this video 20 times since I got it and have picked up on so many different things I need to work on. I wish there was a way I could record myself more so I could see what I am doing wrong.

It amazes me when I look at how far Cupid has come in such a short time. I'm consistently amazed by her and find her a joy to work with.

Cupid Training Diary: February 12th - 18th

Sunday was the first day Cupid and I actually got to use our new saddle. On Saturday I had visited Stockmans saddle shop and bought the M. Toulouse Premier. This was my first time riding Cupid in an "adult" saddle, and my first time riding in an "adult" saddle since last May when I was trying barns. This ride was a fairly basic walk/trot/canter flat just to get me used to having the extra leather. The flap still feels a bit too long but everyone agrees that the saddle fits me and puts me in the right position. At the end of my planned flat work the assistant trainer asked if I had jumped in the saddle yet. Because I hadn't she had me pop over the single diagonal a few times. Despite having a saddle that fit I still found myself gripping with my knees and not going into proper two-point. I ended the ride by walking Cupid around the barn yard just so she stops associating the middle of the arena with the end of our rides.

Our new saddle with my favorite saddle pad

Monday is our typical day off. The barn is closed unless you've gained permission from the trainer and I still haven't gained that permission. It's on my bucket list just so I can go out and groom Cupid and make sure she has water in her paddock.

Tuesday I was at the barn alone again. My plan was to try doing our course once just to see how my position was over a full course. But because no one was there I decided to do a flat school and use the two ground pole "jumps" to work on my two-point. Cupid was amazing and tried her hardest. Because we kept getting our canter leads correct I decided to try cantering her through the ground poles. She was a bit confused and broke to the trot a few times but at our last attempt she managed to fly through them while maintaining the canter, on the correct lead! I decided that was a perfect end to our ride and brought her in for a grooming/shedding blade session. 

All decked out for her holiday

Work passed out candy apples and cards

Our Valentine's Day Picutre

Wednesday I was also alone at the barn so we did our flat work and focused more on our walk to trot to walk transitions. Cupid knows these transitions well but it was nice working on the without worrying about any other horses in the arena. We also worked on trotting the ground poles and keeping her from drifting to the middle of the arena. Everything goes back to her thinking the middle of the arena means "done", and I'm convinced it comes from people only dismounting in the middle. On Wednesday I also changed our bit from a full cheek corkscrew to a full check jointed snaffle. Cupid realized that she had a lighter bit and went back to her head tossing and playing with her mouth. I'm hoping this is a temporary thing while she learns this bit because I really don't like the idea of using a corkscrew full time.

The book we're using to help work on transitions and training

Thursday we had some company as the assistant trainer, another boarder, and the barn owner were all there. The barn owner had brought fresh round bales to the paddocks and was moving them with the bobcat. Cupid has a love/hate relationship with the bobcat because she knows it brings the food but it's also the thing that spooked her last summer and made her jump the fence. Tacking her up was a chore because the barn owner and I were talking and Cupid was focused on the bobcat. When I went to bridle her she decided to try and drag me outside to see it so I had to force her into a stall. The front gate was open and I was worried that she would try to follow the trailer outside if I let go. That probably wasn't the best training but I did manage to redirect her to what I wanted as opposed to what she wanted. I do wish that I could use the trailer and bobcat to train her. If she had the change to check them out while they were running and associate them with something good then I'm sure she would stop spooking because of them. 

Our ride was uneventful, because it took longer to tack up I lost some ride time. We did get a comment from the assistant trainer that she liked how Cupid moved in the new bit and she thought my two-point was getting much better. It's always nice hearing comments that validate I'm doing the right thing. 

Friday I finally got the furminator I had ordered. Earlier in the week I decided that I needed something heavy duty to help Cupid shed faster. After I finish grooming her it always looks like someone tore out all her fur because of the coating on the floor. We spent a good 30 minutes working with my curry comb and the furminator. When I finished with her coat she looked so shiny and healthy. Since I had her, asleep, in the cross ties I decided to trim her mane and bridle path. I know you're supposed to pull the mane and shave the bridle path but Cupid is terrified of the clippers and pulling comb. I figure anything that will teach her acceptance of having me play with her head is a good thing. 

Our new grooming toy! Works like a dream

Saturday morning I woke up to a text from my trainer saying that lessons were canceled for the day. I went out to work with Cupid on the flat. My plan had been to work her in our dressage ring because it's flat, even, and clear of trip hazards. Cupid was not having my plan at all. She ran out of the ring several times, tossed her head, and seemed in a panic over everything. Because we were getting frustrated with each other I trotted her over to the jumping ring. Once we were there she calmed down and seemed more comfortable. We managed to get a good flat in and jumped the entire course. I had her canter our ground pole line then trot the rest. I'm dying to work with her on cantering a jump, I think we finally have a good sense of balance and are ready to do it, but the problem is that we both need a trainer to sit down and work with us on it. 

Modeling our new tack. A new noseband is my next item to buy. 

Steele My Heart..... Again?

Well, as of January 11th, Cupid no longer belongs to my trainer. She's now privately owned and in a full time training program. Her new owner is out at the barn six days a week and Cupid really seems to love the extra attention she is receiving. I would say that I'm jealous but it's pretty hard to be jealous of yourself. 

Deciding to buy Cupid was almost as stressful as deciding to buy my house. The idea that I am now committed to an expensive animal for the next 20 years is terrifying, but I knew that Cupid is the horse for me. In the past month she's learned to pick up her feet when I say "pick" while tapping the back of her leg, and she now manages to pick up her left lead most of the time. We still have a long way to go but I can't wait to see where we're at in a few months.

There are several big changes on the horizon for us but I know that these choices are for the better. The first major change, that I can share, is that I've completely changed some of her tack. I bought us a new saddle that fits her about the same as our old saddle, but actually fits me. We went from a 15.75" Pessoa Pony to a 17" M. Toulouse Premia. Stockman's Harness and and Saddle Shop in Orlando was extremely helpful to work with. I brought in the Pessoa for them to see and walked out with the Toulouse and an HDR. I tried both saddles on Cupid but decided that the Toulouse felt the best on her and felt the best for me. While the HDR was nice it felt like I had no contact with Cupid, and like we were slipping all over. When I went back to Stockman's to return the HDR, the salesgirl helped me find a set of stirrups and matching leathers. 

This week I plan on going through my barns stash of pony bits to find a softer bit to try. Right now Cupid is in a full cheek corkscrew, which I think is giving me more "woah" than "go". Recently I've had to use a small set of spurs on Cupid and carry my crop. I don't have an issue carrying the crop because she responds to it being flagged in her eyesight, but I don't want to wear the spurs full time. Hopefully taking the brakes off will help us. 

As for the other changes, those will be announced as soon as I feel comfortable and am sure they'll go through. My plan is to try and us this as a training journal for Cupid. I might not be able to update with pictures every post but I'll sure try!

If I eat the lunge whip I don't have to go in the round pen