The Silver Lining

In August, my boyfriend of six years drove overnight to Savannah in order to meet me at work and propose. Of course, I said yes! Life continued on with him heading off to graduate school at Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana and me continuing to live with my mother in Georgia. We talked about me moving in with him, but financially I wasn’t making enough money to move out on my own because Alibi’s bills took up so much of my paycheck.

So, when Alibi was put down in September and after paying the vet bills, I found myself making more money than before. Enough to pack my car and move north. I looked for jobs while I was paying off the vet bills and was able to secure a position in Muncie, IN. In October I put all my belongings in my car and relocated 700 miles.

So I’ve found that the silver lining to me losing one soulmate was that I was able to have my other soulmate. My relationship is the strongest it’s ever been and I’m as in love with him as I still am Alibi.

Promises

I once owned an amazing horse. He was amazing because even though I’d known him for most of his life, he was always surprising me with his presence. There was nothing normal or simple about him, he was spectacular. It wasn’t because he was fancy or well-bred or well-trained, it was because — well, I can’t even explain it all.

Alibi was a nothing horse in concept. I’ll never know the motivation behind him being born. His dam has no show record and no winners in her pedigree for two generations. His sire had his ROM in Reining. Alibi wasn’t bred to win World Championships. He came into existence because I’m the luckiest girl in the world. Certainly, Alibi was not born with the intention to be my horse.

There are horses in the world born out of nothing who, with the right training, become superstars. Alibi managed to be a superstar without the right training. His training didn’t begin until he was 3 when he was finally gelded. And from there on his only training was me. He suffered my uneducated leg, half-assed attempts at pretending I was Monty Roberts, and trying to emulate videos of Hunter Under Saddle horses. If it wasn’t for the summer I spent doing rigorous Dressage lessons, Alibi would have become a lost cause.

It was hard and didn’t always follow a moral standard. We spent three years regularly bolting, spooking, and bucking around the show ring. I used draw reins, neck stretchers, and harsh bits to get him to behave how I wanted. It was common knowledge that I had a tactic to swing my crop around faster so I could hit him harder. From the ages of 4 to 6 I treated him like he was too stupid to understand when really, he had never been taught. I begin to tear up when I think of how I treated him then. I was a bad rider and a cruel person.

Yet, something inside that little horse believed that I was better. Through all my mistakes, Alibi trusted me and through that trust learned. He was a superstar on the ground, trailered like a pro, and was safe enough for my 4 year old niece to ride by herself. Something about him wouldn’t let my bad behavior sink in.

It wasn’t until the end of our early time together that he showed me not that I had trained him well, but that he was a saint among mortals. Our placings improved, we won over fences, we won on the flat. He was six years old and finally mature. I remember our last day at Fair, a Monday; I schooled him in the morning and then cried in his stall. I said my goodbye and kissed his nose. I remember crying the entire drive from the fairgrounds back to my house. I promised him that one day he would be my horse and that I would never let him go, that he would spend his last days with me. One day.

For three years I saw him on and off.  When I visited Youngstown, the first thing I did before even going home was go see him. His behavior drastically declined as he was ridden less and less. He began rearing and bucking at the slightest provocation. His coat was dull, his mane was long, and he was skinny. He was angry at me every time I saw him; he would bite me and pin his ears. I never stopped missing him.

I learned that Alibi was for sale at the end of my 3rd year in college. He had become too useless and was losing money. I grieved that he may be sold completely out of my life. I mourned the loss of my friend; it was certain to me that he could never make anyone happy. He was a nothing horse in concept: too lazy for a beginner, not fancy enough for a better rider. His inevitable future was that he would be passed around the 4H circuit or burned out in a lesson program, passed down to worse and worse hands. I’ll never know if this would have been true, because I put my life savings into buying him.

He was born because I was luckiest girl in the world. I promised him I’d own him one day. And I promised he’d die with me. I was lucky enough to call him legally mine for 17 months before I made good on my promise. I kept all my promises to him.

I’ve been pondering if I want another horse. Nothing, NOTHING could equal the love I shared with him. I don’t want to simply own a horse, I want to be in love with a horse. I’m not at a point in my life where I could train another horse, but I don’t want a horse that someone else has put their mistakes and sweat into. Part of the reason I loved Alibi was because he was what I had made him. I’m hoping one day to fall in love with another sob story or a horse without a cause.

 

 

And I apologize for being a teenager about his passing, but I’ve always said I’m a 12 year old girl when it comes to him.

The Truth About Losing Someone – Thought Catalog

Truth — You realize that you may be the strongest person you know now. That you held it together against all of your own expectations, even handled it well, considering. You realize that the only event you ever feared has happened, and you knew the moment it happened. You felt it in your throat and gut, felt it pulling at your teeth, scratching your eyes. But you were alright.

Truth — Death is not uncommon. It’s funny because it happens every second of every day. It will happen to all of us. We know this. It is the one real truth that we do know. Why is it such a surprise to us? Why do we think, somewhere deep down, that it isn’t going to happen? Why are we never prepared? Our Families and Presidents and Favorite Bands will all one day die, though they feel so immortal.

Truth — Our parents and loved ones will die, and they might die on their birthdays, in a cold hospital. You will have set your alarm the night before and will turn it off in the morning because it won’t matter anymore. Nothing will matter except that you won’t remember the last conversation you had with them. You won’t know how to conjure up enough magic to save them. And they will go. And the world will seem so quiet. In ways too dark and sad to be metaphorical, they will never leave, but you will always feel their absence.

Truth — To your surprise, you won’t cry every day. Not nearly as much as you are supposed to. I think Emily Giffin said it best: “The initial stages of grief seem to be the worst. But in some ways, it’s sadder as time goes by. And you consider how much they’ve missed in your life. In the world.” You start to see life as a time line: before and after. With them and without them. You will be reminded, out of the blue, of a random memory of your childhood. A happy memory from “before,” followed by a stab of hurt because they were alive. And everything was just fine.

Truth — Life goes on. It does. It travels over that line, the flat green one on the machine and it keeps on moving. It journeys through your college graduation and your wedding, Christmases, Birthdays, your sister’s sweet sixteen. It’s not so hard anymore in everyday ways, but it hurts worse on a larger scale. You won’t know it at first, but slowly things will start looking different. And I don’t know when you will know what that means.

The Last Day

The night Alibi died was simultaneously the most heart-breaking and enlightening of my whole life. I can pretend all I want that I’m at peace with the situation, but it still isn’t fair that he was taken from me so young. He was such a special horse that any justification of his death is paltry and shallow. But I never knew that I could love something so deeply, and it’s good knowing that I’m capable of that.

It began on Sunday while I was at work. Heather texted me to let me know that Alibi had a fever, was dehydrated, and was generally not feeling well. She had given him a shot of banamine. I called Mom and asked her to go check on him. Reports were good from her when I got home from work. Still, I didn’t like how it sounded so I went out myself.

Alibi’s demeanor told me everything. Instead of his curious little nose poking out the stall bars at me, he barely acknowledged me. He was definitely lethargic and his capillary refill was not good. His fever had broken, which to me meant that he was going to be better soon. I groomed him really well, pulled his mane, treated his hooves. After awhile with still no interest in water, I decided we should go try grazing. I had this crazy thought, ‘What if I lose my horse tonight?’ but pushed it out of my mind. He wanted to walk, which seemed good, but he put his muzzle to the grass and never tried to eat.

It was 7pm when I finally had Heather call out the vet. Mitch arrived five minutes after Mom, around 8pm. He had to ask me about Alibi because in the eleven weeks Alibi had been there, Mitch had never even known he was there…he hadn’t needed to. More banamine and a sedative and we decided to tube him; he tried to plow Heather and I over once he was sedated. Mitch told me to go walk him around a bit on the sedative to see if anything passes. He stumbled drunkenly around the yard, and his drowsiness would have been adorable had the stakes not been so high. Mitch mentioned what a tough little horse he was because he had double dosed him on sedatives: enough to lay out a big warmblood.

Tubing him did nothing. The next step was to administer an IV of fluids because the thought was Alibi was so dehydrated that he couldn’t pass anything. It was almost 10pm at this point. An IV meant that I was going to stay overnight, dutifully watching my beloved horse. He was hooked up by 10:30, heavily sedated so he would stand quietly. I had Mom watch him while I went home to get a blanket and a sweatshirt. By the time I’d gotten back at 11pm, the sedative had worn off and he was fidgeting in the crossties. I sent Mom home with a smile, certain that my pony with all the needles in his neck would be just fine in the morning.

The IV finished around 12:30; I gave him another sedative, capped the catheter, and led him out to the round pen. I fell asleep around 3am and when I woke at 4am, there were three small poop piles scattered around the round pen. I would have been hopeful if it hadn’t been for the fact that half the round pen had been dug up by Alibi’s pawing. I gave him another sedative and I sat on the mounting block I’d brought out. Alibi put his head in my lap and cocked a hip, trying so hard to get some rest. I cooed and talked to him about how he needed to get better so that Mom could have him and my children could learn to ride on him. I reminded him how far we’d come over the years and how I wasn’t the only person who needed him.

Around 4:30am, Alibi needed another sedative because the pain was so bad. At 4:45am, he got another. I understood what this meant and began to beg. Beg to save my little horse. Less than ten minutes later he needed another sedative. Intermittent tears streaked my already dirty face as I pushed the plunger each time.

When Mitch came in the morning, he palpated him once more. The look on Mitch’s face said everything I needed to know. He told me that it was unlikely Alibi would even last the trailer ride to the hospital and that we were out of options. We stood silently and I failed to stop a few tears from rolling down my cheeks. My mother stood to the side, rubbed her brow and asked, her voice low, “So what do we do from here?” Mitch wouldn’t look me in the eye as he told us that the last and only option was euthanasia. By now the tears were freely falling. I put my hand in Alibi’s mane, looking at the dimness in his eyes. “Whatever is best for him,” I managed to choke.

They asked if I was sure that I wanted to be there; they were more than willing to take care of it for me. But how could I let my Little Bear leave without me being there? It was unfair enough that he had to leave so soon, but it would be more unfair to him if I wasn’t there to the end. It would have been selfish.

He’d been sedated all night and Mitch had just given him another dose to palpate him.  We had about a quarter mile to walk to the appropriate location, and Mitch was worried that he might fall on the way there. My horse is tough. He never showed that it hurt, and he wouldn’t let sedation slow his swagger. I was right. My little man walked straight and bold over to the woods by the trailers. I cried silently the entire way there, clutching the leadrope until my knuckles were white. Mitch and Heather asked me again if they were sure I wanted to be there. I nodded again. Mitch felt for a vein and injected that last cocktail.

Alibi’s head dropped lower and he staggered a little to the side. I kept one hand on his nose and the other clutched the lead even tighter. He swayed a bit, the weight shifting from side to side. Finally, his front legs buckled and my breath caught in my chest. Very quickly, his back end followed, landing with a deafening thud. I crouched down to be closer and stroked his blaze, watching his eyes go from sad to empty. His stare was hollow, and he was gone.

Connecting with Nature

My horse moved from a suburban boarding stable to rural Coolville, OH when I came to Ohio University. It was new world for us. We had an enclosed arena like we had known for years, but now we had over 1000 acres (some fenced and some open) that we were permitted to explore. There were trails in some places, many wooded areas, and plenty of open fields for running. I’d had my ten year old gelding since he was two. I broke Alibi myself and taught him everything since I was 14. It was a green horse/green rider situation, but we were lucky to have flourished with each other.

Alibi is a true Quarter Horse with an athletic body, elegant head and neck, and plenty of heart. He is bred for Reined Cowhorse, but with bloodlines that don’t lend him to being a top horse. He is so much talent and athleticism that I wish a better trainer could have had owned him and done more with him in a specialized discipline. Together we’d gotten AQHA points in Western Pleasure, Hunter Under Saddle, Reining, Showmanship, Halter. Him and I have done A-rated Hunter/Equitation, he jumps up to 4’6, and we’ve competed through Second Level Dressage. I couldn’t have asked for a better horse as my partner. He’s always been so willing to listen and learn, although he is more than happy to show me his sassy side when he isn’t enjoying his job.

He is an arena baby to say the least, but definitely not barn sour or arena sour. I am a strict mom with many rules, but Alibi knows if he follows the rules that he gets privileges other horses don’t. For example, he is permitted to be loose in the aisleway if he stays out of the way, doesn’t bother the other horses, and doesn’t wander far from the loose hay. He knows that if he is easy to catch, he is allowed to graze in areas that aren’t fenced in. I think that it is because of the things I taught him and my strict but nurturing love that he is very attached to me.

Before moving to this new barn, Alibi had never been on a trail ride. At least not one that meant I couldn’t see the barn. He was scared of every little thing the first couple of times we went out. He’d spook if the wind blew too hard or a shadow changed unexpectedly. The cows were an endless source of spooking, bolting, and bucking. It was all very frustrating for me and I had trouble being strict while letting him explore and learn.

It was our seventh ride alone on the trails. Alibi was excited to be going out, his head was up and he was walking briskly. It was early May; warm enough for a t-shirt, but the mud was just a little too slick for a full out gallop in the open areas. Alibi was awake, but listening for the first time when I asked him to pay attention. We had been going for about six miles, just wandering and only staying on the trail when the hills were too steep to climb or descend without assistance. I was in an area I had never explored before, but I trusted my horse and he was relaxed and looking around at his surroundings. I let him pick his path through the woods, ducking under low branches and generally just trying to remember where I was in relation to the barn so that I could eventually get back.

I was daydreaming about my classes, stressing about finals and all my work when suddenly I realized that Alibi seemed to be heading in a specific direction, picking his way precisely to some location unknown to me. We were deep in the woods, no sunlight through the trees in front or behind me, but the creek was running about thirty yards to my left. Alibi would stop, listen, and then step carefully forward for a few yards. I sat quietly and let him figure out where he was going. He stopped one last time, surged ahead and we broke through a thick group of trees into a small clearing where he finally stopped for good.

Brush had grown up around the clearing and the creek, previously thirty yards my left, ran through the edge of the clearing. However, that isn’t what had drawn my horse to this place. Grazing in the clearing were a doe and two quite young fawns. The mother stopped grazing and looked at us as we broke through the woods, uncertain whether to shepherd her children away. As we stood, still and quiet, the doe gave us one last glance and resumed grazing. I gave my horse his rein and let him start grazing too; as he went, he inched closer to the fawns. He has always been fascinated by other animals and eventually was within range to be noticed by the fawns. They didn’t even hesitate once they noticed us and came running, bucking, and ready to play with my horse. He was overjoyed and spun around to leap and play with them as well. I found myself clutching my saddle to stay on as he played. The doe immediately noticed my horse’s behavior, squealed and ran the fawns off in huge bounds through the woods. I sat in stunned silence while my horse looked longingly after the deer family. Eventually he walked to the creek, took a drink, and then turned and walked back the way we had come.

Where did Spring go?

Without a post for four months, you’d think I’d have nothing to say. As of right now, Alibi is down in Georgia. He shipped down on a 48 hour van ride at the end of May. To say that my new trainer isn’t in love with him would be an understatement. She’s been using him in lessons and has already had a girl who asked if she could lease him. I’m perfectly fine with that if it means I get one of her horses on a free lease! He’s adjusting to the heat, my trainer (I’m going to call her HJ) says he’s been sweating but also drinking a ton. I’m not concerned, I know the HJ would only do the best things for him.

Right now I’m in finals week preparing for graduation this Saturday. It’s been an exhilarating and nerve-racking time in my life and provided I get a B on my last exam Thursday, I’ll be a college graduate! I’m moving back to Georgia to be with my mom and my horse, as well as bringing the newest addition into our home, Callie. Callie is my princess cat that I got in April. She’s a beautiful calico that I rescued from the barn and is loving every minute of indoor cat life. My mom’s dachshund now gets to acclimate to her.

Many other things happened. Alibi was shown twice, once in April and once in May. They were little schooling shows held at the barn I board at, so it was a great chance to test him out over some scarier flowers, bricks, ivy, and lattice especially at the bigger heights while being in our comfortable home environment. At the April show, I showed him in the 2’0 division and my friend Emily showed him in the 2’6 as well as some Western Halter classes. He received all 2nds in Halter, I cleaned up the 2’0 division, and Emily placed mid-range in the 2’6 He was a wonderful boy and kept going long after he was exhausted. The best part was Alibi’s partaking in the 2’6 Jumper Jackpot round. I told Emily to do it with him because she’s lighter than me and isn’t afraid to push him. The class was truly tough with 12 or so entries (a great jackpot!) and a difficult course with fences that turned around on themselves. After all the times were posted, Alibi took 3rd in his Jumper debut!

The May show was spectacular. My equestrian team Little, Jenna, showed him in the cross-rails and the 18″ straight bar. Of her 4 classes, she won three of them and got 5th in her Hunter Fences round because she trotted a fence. It was Jenna’s first blue ribbon ever and I’m so proud of her and Ali! I showed him in the 2’9-3’0 classes. We won our Hunter flat class. He took 3rd in the Hunter Over Fences and I won the Equitation Over Fences. then, i had to leave early and show management would not grant me a refund. I had my teammate Colleen show him in the Hunter Hack and Equitation Flat. Colleen had never ridden Alibi before, much less jumped him before. But I absolutely trusted my horse and Colleen. She didn’t even take one trot step before they asked her into the ring and she laughed and happily asked me what to do in a Hunter Hack class while trotting to the judge. I had to leave so I wasn’t able to even watch the classes, but Colleen called me excitedly to tell me that she won both! I was so proud of my little horse and especially with how far he’s come in a year.

As for his training, I’ve changed up a few things since I last wrote. His bit has been changed to a mechanical hackamore. He LOVES it. He’s quieter to the fences, gets round and supple, and we never lost our lateral movement and bend that I worked so hard for all winter. Even his leg changes come easier. Because it’s not show legal, I’ve been using a jointed pelham. I can’t say that I’m a fan of it on him. He feels stiffer in his neck and back, and I’m not getting the quiet whoa to fences that I do with the hackamore. I’m still on the hunt for that perfect show legal bit to use on him. While he’s in Georgia before I get there, I had HJ put him back in his D-ring snaffle. He’s harder to keep soft in it, but I know that he’ll stop with bad hands if he’s in the hackamore and I didn’t want to risk it.

 

For now I think that’s all the updates I have. But I plan on writing a story to post here very soon…I want to tell a special one about Alibi and I trail riding this past April.

Progress is good!

Lots of riding, showing, and school really taking up my life. I stopped posting in October because Alibi and I really started to disagree. It got to the point where I didn’t want to see him for weeks at a time, and when I did ride him he was a bucking mess, stopping at fences, and being a general pig. I let my friend Em ride him over Winter Break while I went home to Georgia. It was a welcome 7 weeks away from him; we both needed time away from each other. The general consensus from friends and trainers is that Ali and I got to know each other too well. Which is legitimate; I have known him for 8 1/2 of his almost 10 years of life, I broke him, trained him, and showed him. He knew how to push my buttons and I know his potential, so I pushed him too hard. I also think we moved up the fences too soon. I had him going from a summer of western pleasure and trail riding to 3’0 courses.

He spent the break with Emily, got a trace clip, and came back a different horse. She managed to put his back lead change on him about 80% of the time, it’s still a work in progress. And she kept him at the 2’0-2’3 range, with a few fences at 2’6. We changed him out of a snaffle for the past two months and into a Pessoa gag with a martingale.

Him and I have been clicking again. Just last week we took him out of the elevator gag because he had learned to travel behind the vertical and was sucking back. he’s in a D-ring again, but we’ve maintained the standing martingale. He’s happy, I’m happy.

My trainer here at school has been using him in our IHSA shows, and he’s been a superstar. A few of my teammates drew him and they rocked! One 2nd place, two 1sts, and he was in the High Point Rider ride-off and won that with our rider! He got lots of kisses and snuggles for that!

Here’s some photos of him being shown in IHSA with my teammates!

Below is Carly, who drew him in her class and took first, then drew him in the ride off and won that as well! Carly rode him AMAZINGLY; I rarely see him go that well for anyone but me!

As for my showing, our home IHSA was really bad and really good. The first day over fences, I drew a horse I’d never ridden. Milo is a really sweet guy, but I missed a lead and chipped a fence hard. I thought the horse would have an easier lead change, but he’s half gaited and truly comfortable. I thought he was trotting and asked for the canter, turns out we were loping and I just opened his stride more. It was a huge mistake on my part and simply sloppy riding. On the flat, I drew a very sensitive horse named Armani. I’ve ridden him before and we do. not. click. That was true this day too. We placed sixth, only because my teammate blew a lead, or I would have been out of the ribbons.
The second day, I drew a horse over fences that I haven’t ridden in 2 1/2 years. Gump is a very special horse. He needs leg every stride, but too much leg and you’ll overload his brain. My regret now is turning down a crop. The first half of the course went okay, adding in the lines. We crossed the gate and turned down the diagonal line. I felt him drift left and added left leg and right rein, but he still ran out on me. A real disappointment for me. My roommate had drawn him in the next class, and I handed her a crop. She rides beautifully and laid down a very nice course on Gump, winning the class.
The best part of the weekend was flat on Sunday. I drew a great little Thoroughbred named Prince. He’s shown the AA’s and the Maclays, and is an awesome guy. He was having a ‘day’, and was rushing and bulging inside. But, I still managed a 3rd place and pointed into Open Flat! Perfect! We have a show at Otterbein this coming weekend, so I get to show in Open Flat twice before I end my IHSA career.

Alibi’s jumping is coming along nicely. We reintroduced gymnastics again, with end fence height at 2’9. He seems to enjoy it. We’ve been jumping some “scarier” things to build his confidence. Boxes and flowers, typical things. But also, throwing a cooler over a vertical, making double bar verticals, and Swedish Oxers. He’s a video still from last Friday of him and I over a 2’3-2’6 swedish oxer.

And just for comparison, photos through the years of Alibi and I jumping.
2005: A four year old Alibi learning to jump. Me teaching him when I have no business doing so. 2’6 fence, and he’s a saint.

2006-2007: I’m a bit better, still a long way from today. He’s still amazing.

April 2010: The day before I finally bought him. He hadn’t been jumped in 6 months, and not over 2′ in 18 months. I still leave a lot to be desired.

Early June 2010: Much better.

Then, February 2011:

Progress is good!

Updates to Goals

I’ve been hard at work on my goals and I’m getting quite far on them. A new update is that I was selected to ride over fences this weekend at the Miami IHSA show. We have many talented riders on our team in the Novice division and I am delighted (and slightly terrified) for this weekend. I think my coach could have made many better choices in riders, but that could also be due to my lack of confidence in my abilities.

So here are my goals, and let me tell you how they’ve gone so far.

Alibi Goals

Short term:

• build topline

-use the neck stretcher twice a week to encourage him to use his body and life his back
I can’t say that I’ve been using the neck stretcher at all. I’m working on a lot of other things and the neck stretcher would hinder these things.
-do a lot of balanced, round extended and medium trot keeping him straight and between both reins
His trot is AMAZING. He’s still a bit heavy on the hands at time, but he’s round, listening to half-halts, and balanced between both reins. It’s an incredible feeling!
-a lot of low hunter rides, pushing him forward and over his back
We do this at the trot, but the canter has gone in a whole other direction. And we have been doing some low gallops uphill.

• gain weight

-hay all the time for roughage. I told the barn management this, but sometimes they forget. So when I’m there, I usually put an entire bale in his stall.
I’m not worried about hay so much. He LOVES his hay and will sometimes choose it over his grain. He gets plenty and his weight has been steadily gaining for the past month.
-night turnout to keep him on a little bit of grass
He’s getting this. He’s in an acre field with one other horse and spends the entirety of his time out grazing, expending very little energy.
-blanketing when it’s cold. I don’t want him expending extra energy shivering and trying to keep warm. Right now, it’s getting to the point where I want to blanket him, but I’m waiting for my blankets to come in the mail. I have a light-weight and a heavy-weight.
Usually I let him be naked during the day because it gets to 50-60 degrees and my light weight blanket hasn’t arrived in the mail yet. But his heavy-weight is here(and GORGEOUS black with light blue piping) and he wears it no problem. when his lightweight gets here, he’ll wear that during the day.
-2 1/2 scoops of grain twice a day. It’s 14% protein.
Actually, the barn hand didn’t know he got the extra 1/2…so he has only been getting 2 scoops. But he’s still gaining weight, so it’s no big deal.
-Plus, when I go every day, I give him 1 scoop of grain soaked in corn oil and water for about an hour to make it a soft, palatable mash.
This has become an irritating issue. He used to be very excited for this after every ride and I would let him eat it in the aisle, toss in a little Pepsi(it’s like drugs to him!). He would chow down! But now…he won’t touch it. He leaves it in the aisleway. So I’ve resorted to putting it in his stall and leaving him and it. Yesterday he barely touched it by the time they fed, so most of it had to be tossed out. I’m thinking that he doesn’t like it as a mash anymore so i either add molasses or let him eat it dry with just oil.

• haunches in/out at the trot

-need to build strength in his hind end for a long term goal of clean lead changes
-lots of inside opening/lifting rein with a closed/balancing outside rein
-inside leg at the girth holding the straight shoulders
-outside leg back moving the haunches over
-outside seat bone pushing and maintaining trot
Mostly we review this at the walk while warming up. He gets it easily now, and at an easy sitting trot. But typically I don’t ask at the trot much.

• maintain an uphill/balanced canter

-lots of walk/canter/walk/canter to establish what a good canter feels like
-lifting hands with contact using seat and abs and seat to push his hind end underneath him
-keep leg for impulsion
This has been my main focus riding-wise. As a result, I’ve lost some weight and am now sporting 6-pack abs! His canter has come a long way. I still maintain leg, but it only takes minimal lifting hand to get him onto his haunches. His headset needs serious work, but I need him to maintain the canter on his own. His canter when rocked onto his haunches is slow and a little short strided, but that is our next goal: to maintain an uphill canter at a more extended pace. But the improvement is HUGE!

Long Term:

• 3’0 courses

-be doing quiet, easy courses at 2’6 (almost there!)
At this point, 2’6 has become easy…I can’t believe how simple he’s making it!
-ask 2’9 more often instead of taking it easy
We’re jumping 2’9 consistently now. He understands his own distances and usually overjumps.
-build haunches through haunches in and walk/canter/walk
-gymnastics (currently doing them at 3’3 right now)
I’ve been doing them, and I’ve had other people doing them on him. He’s being great and I think he actually enjoys going through them!

• clean lead changes

-haunches in/out at canter!
-uphill/balanced canter
-talk to Das, a girl on the team who rides Grand Prix about helping me
I’ve decided he needs more work before this is going to happen completely. I’ve been making him do really balanced canter/walk, then walk/canter on the other lead.

Riding Goals

Short Term:

• build leg strength

-LOTS of no stirrups
-leg presses at the gym
I can’t pretend I’ll ever make it to the gym. I’m just not a workout person. But I have been doing no stirrups and generally making it a point to use my leg correctly and not the easy way. I can tell a huge improvement on my leg strength. I’m actually down to about 9% body fat!

• shoulders back

-crop behind elbows twice a week
-build abs through sit ups
-lift ribcage to sit up
-get to the chiropractor soon!
Ugh. This is another one where improvement has been made, but not in the way I’d made clear. I haven’t ridden with a crop behind my elbows. I haven’t been doing sit ups. I haven’t been to the chiropractor. But I have been thinking about it. And, this took me four years, but I can almost always tell the difference between round and open shoulders now. It makes a huge difference that I can correct it, I just don’t always think about it.

• keep developing an eye over fences

-counting strides
-sitting up, lifting hands, and holding
-count into single fences or the ins of lines
Yes! This is SO MUCH BETTER! I can see my distances, I can adjust them, and I can hit good ones! Yes! It’s been wonderful!

Long term:

• comfort over 3’0 courses

-grid work/gymnastics to raise heights
-ride 3’0 more often
-strengthen core and leg (I’ve been doing gymnastics with no reins)
Another one that is so accomplished. Yesterday alone I did a 3’3 course for my lesson on a known stopper and it was a GREAT lesson! I’ve been doing all these things on my goals list. I am proud of myself for this one.

• no stirrups over courses

-strengthen!
-start doing it over crossrails
Doing well but not great. I can do courses at 2’3-2’6 with no stirrups, but it isn’t always great.

• work on release

-chutes and gymnastics with no reins (hands on hips)
This is another thing I’ve been working on seriously. Yesterday i was riding my friends jumper who wants solid hands but needs a HUGE release, even over 2’6. It was no problem for me to give him exactly what he needed.

Updates and Goals

I got Alibi back on September 12th. He went to the Fair with K-Mont’s little sister and cleaned up. Reserve Champion Horsemanship, Trail, and Showmanship. Champion in Hunter Hack, Hunter over Fences, Equitation over Fences, Reining, English pleasure, and English Equitation. She was high point rider for the year and got a giant belt buckle! I love this girl so much; she offered me the belt buckle because he’s my horse. It was adorable!

Alibi came back really skinny, so I’ve been trying really hard to put some weight on him. He’s gained quite a bit of weight since he’s been back, but it’s a slow process.

I’m trying to incorporate him into lessons for the team. He’s been used in a few walk-trot lessons, a Novice flat lesson, and an Intermediate (2’6-2’9) fences lesson. Lately we’ve been doing gymnastics with a 3’0-3’3 fence at the end. He was a super star every time, but it becomes apparent a lot of his flaws now that I’ve seen him go without me. I’ll talk about that later.

So I made a pretty indepth list of goals for Alibi and myself. I wanted to make sure I knew what I wanted from him and could realistically expect.

Alibi Goals

Short term:

• build topline

-use the neck stretcher twice a week to encourage him to use his body and life his back
-do a lot of balanced, round extended and medium trot keeping him straight and between both reins
-a lot of low hunter rides, pushing him forward and over his back

• gain weight

-hay all the time for roughage. I told the barn management this, but sometimes they forget. So when I’m there, I usually put an entire bale in his stall.
-night turnout to keep him on a little bit of grass
-blanketing when it’s cold. I don’t want him expending extra energy shivering and trying to keep warm. Right now, it’s getting to the point where I want to blanket him, but I’m waiting for my blankets to come in the mail. I have a mid-weight and a heavy-weight.
-2 1/2 scoops of grain twice a day. It’s 14% protein.
-Plus, when I go every day, I give him 1 scoop of grain soaked in corn oil and water for about an hour to make it a soft, palatable mash.

• haunches in/out at the trot

-need to build strength in his hind end for a long term goal of clean lead changes
-lots of inside opening/lifting rein with a closed/balancing outside rein
-inside leg at the girth holding the straight shoulders
-outside leg back moving the haunches over
-outside seat bone pushing and maintaining trot

• maintain an uphill/balanced canter

-lots of walk/canter/walk/canter to establish what a good canter feels like
-lifting hands with contact using seat and abs and seat to push his hind end underneath him
-keep leg for impulsion

Long Term:

• 3’0 courses

-be doing quiet, easy courses at 2’6 (almost there!)
-ask 2’9 more often instead of taking it easy
-build haunches through haunches in and walk/canter/walk
-gymnastics (currently doing them at 3’3 right now)

• clean lead changes

-haunches in/out at canter!
-uphill/balanced canter
-talk to Das, a girl on the team who rides Grand Prix about helping me

Riding Goals

Short Term:

• build leg strength

-LOTS of no stirrups
-leg presses at the gym

• shoulders back

-crop behind elbows twice a week
-build abs through sit ups
-lift ribcage to sit up
-get to the chiropractor soon!

• keep developing an eye over fences

-counting strides
-sitting up, lifting hands, and holding
-count into single fences or the ins of lines

Long term:

• comfort over 3’0 courses

-grid work/gymnastics to raise heights
-ride 3’0 more often
-strengthen core and leg (I’ve been doing gymnastics with no reins)

• no stirrups over courses

-strengthen!
-start doing it over crossrails

• work on release

-chutes and gymnastics with no reins (hands on hips)

Summertime

With just over six days until I head back to Ohio, I’m really getting tired of missing my horse. K-Mont and her little sister T have been taking really great care of my little horse. T showed him once so far, and cleaned up in the Showmanship, Halter, and Western Pleasure classes. They’ve been extensively trail riding, fattening him up, and Alibi isn’t even kept in the pasture anymore because he’s so unlikely to “leave”. Here are a few of his adventures this summer.

Alibi learns to go on trail rides in REAL wilderness

He’s done a little jumping with K-Mont – western.

He actually participated in a parade! And apparently was the star!

He hung out in the barn with the girls when he was lonely, looking for food.

The show he went to and cleaned up!

He shares his dinner with a kitten.

And most recently, T braided him.

It’s only a few days until I can see him, and I’m more excited than I’ve ever been to see him. I think, since he’s realistically mine now, it’s more exciting to be reunited with him.
We’re also working on getting him to an ‘A’ rated show in October up at Chagrin. I’m having one of the girls on the team show him since I’m too tall. If we go, he’ll definitely do the Baby Greens and Adult Equitation on the Flat. And, depending on how that goes, either he goes in the Limit Rider at 2′ or the Intermediate Rider at 2’6. It’s all about his rider’s confidence and his previous performance that weekend.