Training Log for Tina Shagets

3/3-4 Ike and Tina hunted with their owners on Saturday at the Fort Leavenworth joint meet. It went very well and the horses went home with their people. I'm going to those silly horses and look forward to seeing them and their owners at future hunts and outings.

3/2/06 Beauty shop day and packed up all their stuff for the trip home.

2/28/06 Worked her in the arena. She was very good. Vet out for health certificate.

2/27/06 Worked with the farrier to get her feet trimmed and shoes re-set. No problem

2/25/06 Hunt at Grand River. A bit of a windy day and cool, with temps in the 20s. All horses a bit fresh to start out with, but Tina was quite good about it. On the first run the field was passed by a horse with its saddle dangling underneath it (young rider learned quickly, if not painlessly, about checking girth before mounting). Jay was on Ike and together we caught the horse. Ike and Tina were very level-headed about it, and I ponied the horse back a ways to the rider's sister and Tina was good with the ponying. She stood pretty well while I helped straighten up the tack. Then we were off on more hunting. The hounds didn't have much moisture to work with, so it was fits and starts. Tina was MUCH improved--listened to input politely. She did fine with hounds and ditches and jumping as per usual. Very good day.

2/24/06 Worked in the arena on transitions and staying soft and connected in her neck, with very good results.

2/21/06 Almost 50 degrees. Out for a hack. We warmed up at a walk and trot for the first half mile. When we got to a nice field, we did some cantering and halt work, which was not her best. She is really quite a forward horse. It got to the point where I put her on a 20 m circle and we discussed following the rein and reacting appropriately to it at a very simple level. She wants to do what she wants to do and will let her rider know exactly what she wants to do, in this case, speed up toward home and bulge the circle toward home. We did 30 circles in each direction if we did one. We did come to a nice conclusion where she acquiesced to hear my input politely.

2/20/06 See Ike's log for weather comments. She was as fired up as he was today. Plenty of go, which is to be expected with the 4 days off for fit young horses. She was quite a pill, but after I allowed her to work of some angst through lots of nice cantering it got significantly better and she did some fine transition and bending work.

2/19/06 Log note. See Ike's log for weather comments. This picture just came in of Jay when he hunted Tina a Booneville. I'm biased but I think they're both pretty cute.

2/14/06 65 degrees, breezy and mild. Amazing weather. Took her out for a hack. Sunday's hunt really was pretty difficult, with a lot of jumping and lots of hills and a fair amount of galloping, so my guess is that they are probably a little sore, despite being in pretty decent shape. So today I took it a little easy on them, with a lot of walking and just some trotting and cantering to get them moving. We did a lot of flexibility things and she did well.

2/12/06 Hunt at Tipton. Fresh quarter inch of snow and both Ryan and I were praising the farrier gods for the borium on the horses' shoes. Extremely good call. I put the German Martingale on the middle setting, which is what I had it on yesterday. The shortest setting is probably a bit much, and it turns out, not required. Back on the french link. Much, much improvement in her behaviour (and a sigh of relief from me!). I rode her in the middle or the back of the small field, basically just behind the thrusters, keeping a small gap between me and them so that Tina would have to listen to me, or if she didn't, I would have a cushion of space should I need more stopping distance. She had some moments of discussion with me about who should be in charge, but not ever a bolt. The martingale allowed her plenty of stretch for coops and ditches and all the terrain in the hilly Tipton country, but did its job, which is to disallow her from inverting. Encouraging her to adopt the pose of a relaxed horse did start to sink into her mentally as well, as she had several moments of starting to stop before the horses in front of her were entirely stopped, choosing to big trot rather than a small tight canter etc. She still had some moments of really mentioning that she should get to make all decisions, but she did take input and respond appropriately to it. When she jumps coops, she is susceptible to the tendency of the horse in front of her. By this I mean that if the field jumps and turns left, she will try to jump the left side of the coop to cut the corner. It shows she is pretty clever, but riders really need to be careful to direct the horse to the center of the coop and then turn on landing. She does take direction on this point well. Jumping coops in places other than the middle can be an easy way to hook a horse or rider leg on a post, which we'd all like to avoid... Much much much better hunt. We're not there yet, but we're on the way.

2/11/06 Worked in the arena and had a very nice outcome. Encouraged about tomorrow. She is a little thin again, just when we had gotten some weight back on her. They have 2 new round bales of alfalfa hay in their pasture to munch, so that should help. I suspect she is having another (or still) growth spurt. I don't want to crank up the grain because none of us wants her to grow too fast and have joint or other trouble down the line because of it.

2/9/06 Here's to Dover Saddlery and FedEx! The German Martingales arrived. I went out and played with Tina first. I moved her back to the french link snaffle, as I really think it will be plenty bit when she is done focusing on evading it and rather responding to it. We had a very nice school and she did well. Encouraging. I like the GMs because the horses still have full use of their neck if the rider gives rein (she could stretch down to her hooves) and the loop around the neck keeps the leather close to their body, so getting a leg in the rein is less likely.

2/7/06 Rode Tina in the arena with the french link snaffle and draw reins. I may have said this before, but I attach draw reins to the girth level to the point of the shoulder, not between the horses' front legs. The German martingale that I intend to try out hunting on Sunday should arrive Thursday. She did quite well today, with a few occasional tizzes when she realized her usual evasion above the bit wouldn't work. I took my time with her to let her figure it out today, so didn't get to work Ike, which he said was fine if he got cookies...

2/4/06 Hunt at South River. Jay and Ryan went out to catch them in the large paddock while I went to get their tack from the barn. I got the tack well arranged in the trailer before Tina was caught. In fact, I went out and caught her myself. I can write this here because Jay doesn't read the logs: he's not good at catching horses because he gets frustrated and then they get scared of his body language. I caught her right away, so I don't think this is anything to worry about, just a note to watch your body language when trying to catch her. It was very cold, about 16 degrees with a nasty wind, but we are nearly too foolish to function in society, so we all hunted anyway. Once we got out there and riding it was ok. I had the running martingale on Tina and on Ike for Ryan. We hacked south and jumped in. She jumped over the coop fine, where a lot of other horses were jumping like rabbits or making a big deal out of the nothing coop. I don't know what their issue was, and neither did Tina. In the first canter she started to get strong and above the bit again, but with the running martingale she corrected a lot faster. I decided that she wasn't going to get to canter until she could trot with a soft neck and relaxed demeanor. That took about 10 minutes of staying at the back of the field, which was fine. Then as we were coming up to fence 4 after having crossed well through some ditches and up and down hills, the center ring on the martingale broke! What?! Not the leather? No, the metal. Apparently there was a flaw in it. I'll never know because it went pinging off into the field. This, of course rendered the running martingale useless and I wasn't interested in letting her re-learn the getting about the bit and bolting behaviour. So Ryan accompanied me back to the trailers where we rigged up some draw reins (attached level with the point of the shoulder to the billets). Of course I didn't have my draw reins along, so I used twine. Not to self: twine wears through quickly. We hacked a mile to catch back up with the hunt and just as we got there the twine wore through where the bit slides through, so the gig was up. I wasn't going to let her get back into bad habits, so we retired for the day. We'd been out about an hour and a half so not a bad hunt anyway, considering the weather. Ryan carried on for the rest of the hunt with Ike.

2/2/06 Unbelievably mild out. Went for a hack with the running martingale in place. It was not adjustable and a scosh long. It did have some effect and I suspect an even better effect will be gotten with a shorter attachment, which I will try tomorrow.

1/31/06 I took her out for a hack and did some galloping again. I'm still playing around with it, so I didn't put the running martingale on. She was very good for the first several gallops away from and toward home and then on the way home along the softer shoulder of the gravel road, I asked her to gallop and she locked up again. Not as bad as previously, but the same idea. I did get her stopped without having to one rein stop or go medieval with her, so that is an improvement, but the running martingale is called for and will be put into action tomorrow.

1/30/06 Rode in the arena while Ike got his shoe replaced in the cross ties. I moved the rein down to the bottom hole in the kimberwicke and I think we are cooking with gas now. I will get her out to gallop again soon and see what we have.

1/27/06 I have to admit that I have purposefully stayed off Ike and Tina this week so that I would have a chance to sort out Sunday's hunt in my mind to see what went wrong with Tina (Ike was fine, except a little strong occasionally). She moved me a little mentally off center with her bolting and I wanted to make sure that I was prepared to be absolutely fair with her as we worked to correct her problem. (So I rode the 17h off track tb and the 17.2h warmblood this week — you know, the easy horses...) I did that work this week and got back in the saddle with her today. When I arrived at the barn, she was loose! Grazing peacefully outside the paddock with Ike pacing the fenceline, missing her. No scratches, fenceline ok at first glance. Upon closer examination, the post by the swinging gate was broken at the base and the wire was bent — clearly her mode of exit. I checked her carefully and she was none the worse for wear. The barn manager will address the post. I tacked her up and went out for a hack. My intention was to try to set her up to bolt again and see what the deal was. Interesting mindset, to see if you can purposefully allow a horse to bolt. On the hunt, she was fine the first half mile of the run, but got out of control about 3/4 mile in. So, after a nice quarter mile trot warm up (totally sound despite her fence negotiating foray), we went in a harvested bean field, which had outstanding footing, and re-enacted the first run on Sunday. Sure enough, got the bolt response. Without the distraction of the hunt, I could focus more clearly on exactly what she was doing. She is raising her neck and locking her jaw. This sounds obvious, but until I could feel it when I wasn't completely focused on survival, I couldn't really figure out how she did it. I've never had a horse bolt like that on me before. It became obvious to me that she'd never bolted on me at home because even in hand gallop, I'd kept her a little round just out of habit. In the hunt field there were times where I really asked her to stretch out and gallop, with no roundness even expected. Obviously, they have to run to hunt, so the question is how to help her figure out that she has to allow control to be regained by her rider. I now think that continuation of the work I did today (many downward transitions, getting the rein aid to go all the way back to her hock, thank you Missy Tina) and the addition of a running martingale will be the ticket. Next time I work her I will put on a running martingale. I didn't put anything on today because I wanted to see if I could get her to bolt today to help figure it out. I didn't want to change too many variables. I have ordered a standing martingale which should get here by the next hunt she will go out on the fourth of February. However, as I mentioned, I have always disliked standing martingales because I have felt that they limit the horse's use of their "fifth leg", their neck, and when they need it, I sure want them to have it. When I went to a clinic with Lucinda Green (3 time winner of Badminton****) who expressed the same sentiment, that cemented it for me. So, back on track and expecting good things.

1/22/06 Hunt at Grand River. Overcast, damp, should be good scenting. She started out well, walking, trotting and cantering politely as the hounds worked in fits and starts. Jumped well, was occasionally a little strong in coming back from the canter, but ok. We got on a long run and she went great, jumped great, crossed terrain, dealt with creeks, holes and ruts and was great, but as the run went on she got stronger and more willful until she was eventually as near to a runaway as makes little difference. She locked her neck and was most unpleasant to be aboard. I got her back with difficulty in a one-rein stop. Recovery while gathering hounds, and she was fine in the subsequent fits and starts of hunting. Then we cantered down a slight grade and again she was willful and out of direct control. It was most annoying, unsafe and disappointing. I one rein stopped her and the field got ahead. I put her at a light canter down the lane they had gone down, she truly amazingly got out of control again and went through a tree line which I was sure had wire in it, but I thank God quite literally that I was wrong. It was clearly time to get drastic, which I dislike doing immensely, but there is a time and a place to open up a righteous can of whupa$$. I let the field canter over the hill, much to her annoyance (I had a good guess where they would end up) and I made her canter and halt every 20 strides. The first 8 stops required a completely non-subtle one rein stop (and by the way, this was on the kimberwicke.) She was downright actively naughty. After the one rein stops I could stop her straight, but with difficulty. We continued until she was halting with much less effort from me. The field was where I thought they would be and we rejoined them about a mile and a half later, after many stops. Then we rode with the field again and she tried to lock and gallop again when we got going. One rein stop and back to the back of the field. Then on another run, on which she acted like she learned her lesson. We hunted another half hour back to the trailers and her stopping was improved, but she offered a jig until I insisted on flat-footed walk. In one way I am extremely disappointed about her behaviour today. No question it was willful, disrespectful and dangerous to her and me. On the other hand, she improved toward the end and there is reason to believe the improvement will continue. As much as I dislike standing martingales, she needs one as she has learned to evade the bit by raising her head. If I don't have one handy, I will order one tomorrow.

1/20/06 Rode her in the arena with a review of neck reining and lateral work, which went well. Had some very nice success in canter work. Nice relaxation over her back. Then I got out the hunt whip and first rubbed it all over her and she was fine with it (all this while mounted). Then I started dragging the lash over her and she was fine with that. Next I swung about 3 feet of it in circles on either side of her fast enough to make a wooshing sound. No big deal. Then I did that over my head and that was not as acceptable. I went back to doing it on the side and then back to over my head, which she tolerated, but was not relaxed about. That will come. Much praise and done for the day.

1/19/06 New shoes day. She was very good with shoeing on all four feet. Not a problem.

1/17/06 Groomed her up and tapped on her feet to prepare her for shoes on Thursday. She did very well. Rode in the indoor with a lot of work on neck reining. She is coming along well with it, but gets confused occasionally. Worked on transitions within the canter, which started out a little rusty, but improved. Very good.

1/15/06 Clinic time. Overnight, booths with videos playing, lighted horses, tinsel, streamers and all manner of glitz had sprung up around the area. Oh, and about 400 (?) people. I rode Ike first in the demo. When it was Tina's turn, she did very well. She had a few moments of looking at the people or forgetting basic things, as they do when they are distracted, but she was pretty dang good for a 4 years old in the situation. Got better and better. By the end we were jumping a fairly respectable obstacle (Crossrail with the cups in the highest holes, so maybe 2'3" in the middle, but 5' on the outsides) and she was doing it well. Very very good. They shot video and there is a DVD in the works. It will probably take a few weeks. I will follow up with them around 2/1/06. I'd like to see it myself.

1/14/06 Haul over the eastern Iowa to the Iowa Horseman's clinic at Kirkwood College. She trailered well and settled in well. I worked her in the BIG SCARY ARENA with about 10 other horses, most of whom were walking or halted. It was a "free ride" and every QH trailrider or western pleasure person was in the arena. I let her look at all the sights, and then did a light schooling session with her, which was tense, but correct. Then we stood in the middle of the arena with 2 QHs and their riders and they helped her get into the rhythm of just hangin' out and taking it all in. The girls gave her a bath in the wash stall and despite her misgivings, she was compliant. Good good.

1/12/06 Beauty shop day. Trimmed her legs and a bridle path and neatened up her mane and tail. Ike's coarse leg hair had dulled my clipper blades, so I resorted to using a scissors and was pleasantly surprised as to how well it turned out. She cleans up well!

1/11/06 She is doing well with tapping on her feet in preparation for shoeing. Worked in the arena on neck reining and lateral work, especially focusing on turns on the forehand and hindquarters. Some very nice canter work.

1/10/06 Wooohoo. Sunshine! 15 degrees, but sunshine! Moved Tina back to the snaffle as the kimberwicke isn't necessary at home. Tapped around the outside of her feet with the heavy hoofpick to help get her acclimated to the tapping required for shoeing next week. (Did that with Ike too, by the way). Rode in the indoor and worked on neck reining and canter transitions, all of which went well. I think she is ready to start work with the hunt whip next session.

1/5/06 Day two of fun with kimberwickes. She did very well. We did a lot of work on neck reining and transitions within the canter gait. Very good.

1/4/06 New map of 1/1/06 Hunt at the Booneville country. Despite occasional spottings of something I believe to be the sun, I rode in the indoor as the footing was mud outside. She was also covered in mud, much to my delight. ;-) I put a broken kimberwicke on her bridle and adjusted the curb chain loosely. I'm not a big curb chain fan, prefer a curb strap. However, if the chain is adjusted flat, there isn't a whole lot of difference, and since I don't usually use my kimberwicke, I hadn't bothered to order a strap. Anyway, she was fine with the bit and reacted well to it. I've know other horses for whom the bit was just too much and they reacted by flipping over. Believe it or not! We did some slow work at first with walk halts, which went well, then on to trot work and some neck reining exercises and then on to canter work. She did very well, with the exception that she wants to carry her head higher when the bit is engaged, no big surprise. With the kimberwicke, I operate on a little slacker rein than I would on a snaffle, more of a western riding feel to it, but not vastly looped reins. A lot of people prefer to hunt this way and many horses do too. On the neck reining, she was quite unresponsive to the left, but improved with work.

1/1/06 Hunted at Booneville. Footing much deteriorated compared with yesterday's hunt in southern Iowa. Slick over half frozen. She stood reasonably well for mounting, but was fidgety during announcements. We hacked out at a trot for half a mile on the gravel. She was happy to go in the crisp air. We hunted slowly for a while and she was wishing we were galloping (I think she is quite fit enough...) but minded her manners. We got on a run, the first coop of which required jumping and then immediately turning 90 degrees left. She was exemplary. On the run I had occasion to let her all out to gallop in a harvested corn field. She is a nice galloper and was easily near the front. We had to stop hounds when the coyote left country. I was asked to help hold the excited hounds while other hounds were called in. Tina was pretty good about that, though mentioned that standing with her friends would be ok too. We hunted east and turned onto a very slick mud road where Tina almost went down when we turned 90 degrees onto it at a trot. She only stayed up because she is a talent and I gave her rein slack so she could use her neck to balance. We were both happy not to go down in the slop, whose appearance belied its true slickness. We had to turn again to approach a coop to jump out of the mud road and she was very sensible about it and jumped out gracefully (the last stride before the coop was on better footing). Hounds got on and we were cantering on a slick hillside when Betty, Jay's mount for fieldmastering, went down in a harmless fall as her feet just went out from under her. Pulled a shoe, but no other harm. We got on another run and Tina was getting very strong. The first run had obviously shown her that galloping is fun. I had about 10 strides of very strong gallop where I passed the fieldmaster (Oh, the humanity.) I got her back, but she has now undeniably convinced me that more bit is a requirement. At home the snaffle is fine. Hunting is clearly going to require more. This is not uncommon at all, and horses get very strong out hunting for two reasons: 1) they are confident or, 2) they are scared. She is the former--thinks she is quite the hunt horse now. It has been my experience that this is a phase in their development, so we are just going to deal with what is and look forward to her settling in. With the slick conditions and hounds heading south out of country and whips scrambling, I guessed that hunting was mostly done for the day, and asked to retire. A few friends and I requested permission to leave the field, received it and hacked home.

12/30/05 Continued work with the balancing rein. I am giving her a lot of time to stretch on her own during the ride, because I am asking her to use a whole different set of muscles in her neck. She had some very nice work in all gaits. It is predictably inconsistent but she is doing well.

12/29/05 Rode Tina again with the balancing rein and she made some continued good progress. Very good.

12/28/05 I rode her with a balancing rein, which goes from the girth at the point of the shoulder on each side, through the bit, back to the hand. I much prefer this to what most people call "drawreins" which attach between the horses' front legs to the girth. That tends to cause them to curl their necks, whereas a balancing rein tends to just help them relax the base of their neck. The trick with all of it is to be mindful with the additional power it gives and to provide a release as soon as they comply. My point with using it with Tina is to get her to loosen the muscles at the base of her neck and to relax her back, in hopes of eventually even bringing it up. She did extremely well.

12/27/05 The holidays threw a monkey wrench into the training schedule, but we were back at it today. My working student, Courtney, brought her in and tacked her up. She had no problems handling her as we had with Ike today. When I rode Tina, I worked her in the arena, asking her to relax down in her neck. She really likes to tighten her back and engage the bottom of her neck. We had some good work in trot and canter. We warmed down with some walk leg yielding which went well.

12/21/05 Warmed up with some walk work, focusing on halting in a balanced manner, which went fine. Then we went on to trot work. I was asking her to come through in her neck when she would rather telescope it in. We had some success, but it was very inconsistent. In canter, she wants to do the same thing--come up and back with her neck. Long term this can be hard on horses' backs to travel in this manner and it would be better to get her to come through her neck and raise her back. Coincidently, it is nicer to ride a horse who has their back up and base of neck generally down. The good news is twofold: 1) once she gets going out on a hunt, she relaxes nicely and comes through her neck naturally (but it would be nice to be able to have it upon request) and 2) her conformation (and kind temperament) will not allow her to do some of the real head throwing that some horses can threaten their riders with.

12/17/05 Hunt at Booneville. 9 degrees, no wind. She didn't stand as well for mounting as I might have liked, but it was tolerable and it is improving. Since she has been halting so well at home I hunted her on the snaffle, but in the first few minutes I mildly regretted that, as she was a little strong, but not a big deal. But after we got to move a little bit she was much better. Extremely uncharacteristically, Jay had forgotten to put his saddle in the trailer and had accepted the offer of a friend to borrow a saddle. It did not fit his mare properly, who voiced her displeasure by bucking, which we did not immediately interpret correctly. When the behaviour was repeated a second time, by the usually stellar Betty mare, it became apparent to me what was going on and that the mare would have to retire. Since Jay is fieldmaster, I thought it was important that he stay out. I also thought it would do Tina good to be ridden by another good foxhunter for her experience and so that I could get his feedback on the state of her training and rideability. So I gave him Tina and led Betty home. Tina was much better for mounting here. Jay said Tina was stellar and she's "got it going on," which is high praise from a usually stoic, highly discerning audience. They did not jump anything as that is something we do sparingly on the frozen ground, but will if following hounds requires it. She had jumped a coop in the first part of the hunt, with me, and it went swimmingly. Tina came back at the end of the hunt, with Jay, with a big grin on her face. I snapped a few pictures when I car followed after I took Betty back and should have them developed in a few days.

12/16/05 Champagne ride. This is a TMH tradition which involves riding on a near full moon night in December on a mostly walking trailride. The mission of the trailride is to retire the bottles of champagne that have been hidden in snowbanks by the landowners who lead the ride. The ride involves usually about 30 diehard people, battery-powered Christmas lights, garland, velvet bows and Santa hats. Tina sported a garland covered browband, special horsie santa hat, garland tail decoration and a loop of lights around the base of her neck. She dealt with the sight of the other horses, similarly decorated, without comment and walked politely in the group. She was great, a lot better in fact, than a few much older horses who were mildly nonplussed by the ordeal. She walked politely, allowed some de-corking of bottles in her near vicinity and was generally a good sport. Good girl.

12/15/05 22 degrees, but not bad in the indoor. We worked on transitions. Her halt is developing nicely. Worked on walk and trot leg yield and a semblance of canter half pass--not perfect in a dressage sense, but a lovely tool to have when the field is siphoning through a gate at a canter. Nice to be able to move your horse laterally even just a few feet in a few strides at a canter. She is so athletic that she really would rather just turn her body and go there, which also gets the job done of course, but she did very well in staying with the lesson. She's just really a good girl.

12/13/05 I rode in the arena working on lateral work after warm up. Lateral work is fairly easy for her and she likes it. Very good day.

12/12/05 Nice day, 2 mile road hack. Footing was very nice. We did a lot of trotting in the first mile and she handled mail boxes and snowbanks left by plows well. Had a little moment about the barking terrier, but I let her just look at him a minute and she got over it. On the way home we worked on transitions which went well. Walk the last quarter mile. Very good.

12/9 Woohoo! Up to 22 degrees! Heat wave. I rode Tina in the indoor and, despite having 6 days off and the weather being chilly, she was a peach. We worked on transitions and balance at the canter. Very good.

12/8/05 General log note. Very cold these last few days so no riding. They are doing very well in the cold. They had a brand new round bale on the 6th and are happy as clams with it.

12/3/05 Hunt at Booneville. An inch of snow on the ground when we started and 19 degrees. She was a bit of a pill for mounting as she heard the hounds and was ready to go. She has certainly gotten the gist of the hunting thing and thinks it is way fun. Unfortunately, it also means that she is getting a little strong at times with her opinions. She is jumping beautifully and behaving well in the group and great with hounds being around her and underfoot, which is a pleasant surprise. I don't camp her by the hounds as a habit, but today we were in a spot where about 4 couple came up from behind and passed while she was standing at a check and she just flipped an ear at them, no biggie. I am going to purchase the same elevator that Ike worked on today for her. Funny that they start out just fine on a snaffle but once they get the whole idea they want to get a little heavy. My impression is that they will eventually be able to go back to the snaffles, but for now we need what we need. Got 2 inches of snow during the hunt and about another three during the brunch and on the drive home. Took sufficiently long to get home in the snow that they missed their date with the farrier to get borium. I am waiting to hear back from him for when we can reschedule. Drat.

11/28/05 Rode in the relatively mild morning. East wind suggested a big change afoot. We worked in the indoor and after a warmup focused on keeping her neck down and forward in trot and asking for a rounder canter. She did very well. Her attitude is lovely.

11/26/05 Foxhunting clinic at Tipton. She led the group through rivers, over coops, up and down hills. She was spectacular and two people would have liked to have taken her home if she was for sale. Nope. Good girl.

11/25/05 I rode Tina when we got home from the hunt. We worked in the indoor on balance and going forward to the bit in trot and did a lot of transitions within gaits. She did very well.

11/23/05 Another windy but mild day. We worked in the arena on transitions which went very well. We also did a lot of trot work, helping her become steadier in the bridle and stretch forward in her neck. Very good.

11/21/05 Windy but milder today. Worked in the arena on leg aids and transitions. We also placed some emphasis on getting her to stretch in her neck in canter especially with some nice work.

11/17/05 Nasty cold outbreak the last few days. Finally up to 20 degrees (normal this time of year is 40) today. Rode in the arena and worked on transitions. She did very well with the exception of occasionally being noticeably heavier on the right rein.

11/12/05 Hunted Tina at Tipton. This is a fairly difficult country with a lot of hills and rivers and over 80 coops. She did very well. She stood at the trailer for tacking well. A neighboring horse was being allowed to skitter about while it was being mounted, which upset her a little bit, but it was fairly understandable as the horse was in Tina's space. I got the rider and horse out of there as quickly as I politely could and Tina settled nicely. She stood for opening comments and moved off with the field very well. She was in the thick of it with a lot of horses around her and she is getting more confident about being in close quarters, though it is still a worry for her. She has never offered to kick or misbehave. She crossed creeks without comment and jumped everything put in front of her. There were a few times when hounds jumped out of the covert on to the trail behind her and passed by. She was acutely aware of them, but did not think of kicking. Her alarm was entirely understandable as many horses were surprised and she reacted as well as the more experienced horses. We got on several good runs which she enjoyed and did very well on. She is very good with her feet. Good good.

11/11/05 Took Tina for a nice quiet hack to help her settle her mind after the last hunt. It was a beautiful day and she enjoyed it immensely. I chatted with Ike and he said he was plenty relaxed so I just gave him a brushing.

11/9/05 Hunt at South River. She loaded and unloaded well, stood calmly at the trailer for tacking. She stood nicely for opening comments and moved off with the field very nicely. In the early going she got boxed in going through a narrowing exit from a field to the road and got bumped. She had a moment of real unease, but did not kick. She did very well. We covered some hilly and rut-filled terrain and she did excellently. She is *very* good with her feet. Our first jump of the day was a small stone wall which she did not blink at. We jumped a few other coops, some of them quite large and she was a champ. She got to flat out gallop once and she thought that was pretty cool. We had a long hack back at the end and she walked calmly on a long rein with my feet out of the stirrups. Very relaxed and confident. Very good.

11/7/05 Jump school. She warmed up very nicely, mostly relaxed. We started out over the tiny log on the ground to remind her about going to the base of the jump in rhythm and she did it very well. Then we schooled the moderate coop and the big coop which went well, so we did a little course and that went well too. Much praise, done for the day.

11/3/05 Another nice hack. We worked on transitions which she was quite good with today. It was a very mild day and she was happy to go.

11/2/05 Brought her in and brushed her and took her on a 2 mile hack. We worked on transitions, which are coming along nicely. She is starting to really settle.

10/31/05 I brought her in and brushed her. Today she picked up her feet for me as I was coming to the next foot. Very good! We went for a laid back hack. It helps to re-center them after a hunt and maybe stretch out some muscles that could be sore. She did great.

10/30/05 Hunted Tina at Grand River. She loaded up, traveled, unloaded and tied well. Tacked up and waited for announcements with aplomb despite the fact that a few others horses were antsing around. She remarked that they were amateurs. We rode in the gate group because I wanted her to have a quiet start. Some hunt members were having a lot of difficulty at the start of the hunt, with jigging horses and nervous riders. Tina and I helped them ease through the first 20 minutes of the hunt. Tina was a little nervous and once threatened to kick when a horse got in her space. As the hunt went on, she settle in very nicely. We closed a gate, waited at checks, walked, trotted cantered, all good. At two points during the hunt, other horses bumped into her butt and she did not over--react, which was particularly gratifying. She was polite at the back of the gate group and did well at the front. She walked on a long rein on the hack back. Extremely good start.

10/28/05 I brought her in, brushed her, cleaned her hooves (getting better all the time!) and tacked up. We went out in the pasture to do some jumping and figures. She warmed up nicely. We focus on getting her to stretch forward and down rather than up and back with her neck. It is a slow process because it involves entirely different muscles in the neck and it takes time for them to not only figure it out, but to develop the new muscles. We trotted over the small log, which went very well and after a few repetitions, cantered it. She wanted to rush and go for the long spot, but I convinced her that keeping the same pace and going to the base was an easier plan and she bought into it nicely. We jumped the small coop a few times too. She wants to lock her neck one way or the other occasionally and we worked on that too. Good day. If I can guarantee that a friend of mine will be leading the gate group Sunday, I will ride her in it at the hunt. I don't want to overface her. Ike is very relaxed and forward thinking so his introduction can be a little more forward. I know Tina can be a great hunt horse too, it will just take a little more finesse to make sure her confidence and relaxation keeps on the upward trend.

10/25/05 Two mile hack. We did a lot of walking in the beginning to remind her that she should focus on the journey, not the destination. She took some nice relaxed breaths. Very good. Then trot and canter work. In the trot, we worked on her maintaining a steady rhythm which is a challenge for her. She did well. Her canter work is surprisingly balanced. In all the downward transitions, she leans noticeably harder on the right rein. Makes me wonder about her teeth. Good outing.

10/24/05 I brought Tina in, brushed her and cleaned her hooves. She is getting better all the time about her back feet, but not entirely relaxed yet. I took her out in to the arena and something scared her and she jumped pretty well before I got on. She got over it pretty quickly. We did a lot of trot work, all the time asking her to be slow and relaxed with her back up and neck down, all of which is contrary to her tendency. She is willing to try though and is starting to get it. We even had some brief moments of stretch in the canter and some relaxed breathing! Woohoo.

10/20/05 I brought her in and played with her feet and she did well. I pulled out a shavings bag and shook that at her for a while, all the while feeding her cookies. She is getting slowly more relaxed about weird things and we'll keep after it until she gets as quiet as she can get about it. She'll never have Ike's aplomb, but she is gaining confidence all the time. Tacked up. We did a lot of work at a walk, encouraging her to stretch her neck forward and down. She really wants to bring it up and back and keep the bottom of her neck tight. She had some nice stretching, but still isn't sure about it. Then we did a lot of trot work in figure eights, asking her to relax and slow down, breathe and put her neck down. We had some success there. Then on to canter work. Her transitions are deceivingly good and the left lead canter is improving rapidly. Good girl. Ike has the day off to soak in yesterday's experience and get over any sore muscles he might have. We did a fair amount of galloping yesterday.

10/19/05 I brought her in and played with her feet. She is getting better all the time. Groomed and tacked up. We were working on trot in the arena when another rider came in and requested help with a loose horse. I led her in to a stall, wrapped the reins around her neck, ran up the stirrups and helped him. When I came back she was looking at me with a "nice break, what was that about?" expression. I got back on and we did some more trot work and then some canter work. She is quite unbalanced and her answer to every question is to go faster, but she is as cooperative as she can be.

10/18/05 I brought Tina in and played with her feet. She is getting better at shifting her weight to help her back hooves be picked up more easily. Practice, practice practice. We rode and did a lot of walking with my legs touching her sides and asking her to drop her neck, with reasonable success. The trot work has a way to go yet, but it is improving. She is starting to go to the outside rein, which is good. The canter work to the right is much easier to the left because she is not comfortable shifting her ribcage to the right. She's starting to get it, though. She's a good girl. I worked with her a little longer today and I think Ike is hunting tomorrow, so he has the day off.

10/17/05 I brought her in and brushed her and cleaned out her feet. She is getting better with her back feet, but repetition is the key. I tacked up and rode her in the arena. She was very good, but she very much encourages a rider to take their leg off by over-reacting to it. I will work on desensitizing her on this point because it is necessary to be able to rest or place a leg on her with out her scooting away. We got a start on is today. She did fine.

10/14/05 On the way in from the paddock, I let her graze and patted her all over again. She is growing tolerant of my party games. Today I moved her tail too, left and right and slightly up and down and she had it almost relaxed as I did so. I groomed her and cleaned her feet. She is getting better with it all the time. Then I picked them all up again and gave her cookies, which she dug. Then I took the saddle pad and started lightly swinging it at her, all the while giving her cookies. She is getting better about the sacking out too. I tacked up and had a friend lead her at a walk and trot while I rode. She was fine, so he went away and I continued. We did some more walking and trotting and transitions which went well. Then we cantered on the left and right leads. She is much less comfortable to the left, but still cooperative. Good girl. Nice day.

10/13/05 I haltered her up and handgrazed her, all the while randomly patting her back half constantly. She settled in to it more quickly than yesterday, which is all we ask. Then I groomed her and worked with her feet, cleaning them all and then going around again and picking each one up. Then I took the saddle blanket and sacked her out again as yesterday and fed her a lot of treats meanwhile. She was improved there too, not quite sure, yet, but improved. Then I handgrazed her again and when she got completely relaxed about the patting, I started playing around with moving her tail, which she wasn't into, but tolerated. She's coming along and this work will pay off in spaces one day.

10/12/05 I brought Tina in and basically repeated yesterday's projects--the sacking out and the work with picking up her feet. We made good progress. Then I took her out and handgrazed her all the while touching her all over. It was quite comical because the grass was excellent, but I was doing just enough to annoy her sensitive little self. She kept her head down to eat, but rotated around that point in several slow and perfect turns on the forehand in both directions. After a few minutes of this, she ignored me entirely, which, of course, was the point of the exercise. We can't have her sensitive to everything near or touching her body in the hunt field. There will be a day when a hound will knock into her legs or some inattentive fieldmember will knock into her butt or side or a whip cracks a houndwhip. She needs to be a lot more desensitized.

10/11/05 Tina and Ike are now in a paddock by themselves with grass and a run in. They seem quite happy there. I brought her in, put her in the cross ties and gave her a good grooming, mostly to help her trust me. Then I spent some times working with her picking up her feet. She is especially uncomfortable with picking up her back feet. She is unsure how to balance on three legs, which is not uncommon. Because of this, she is a little twitchy about letting her back feet be handled. After we had some small successes with that project, we moved on to sacking her out a little bit. She is a little bit jumpy, of course, so I took a big, soft saddle pad and started rubbing her with it all over and then to lightly swing it at her all over her body. During this second exercise she was quite upset of course, so I reassured her with a soft voice and liberal cookies. She was still not sure about it, but not terrified. Then we went out in the arena and did some leading exercises and some stretching her neck down exercises. These basic skills are so useful helpful to horses. Leading correctly helps them understand how we are communicating to them, and stretching down with their necks helps them feel relaxed.

10/10/05 I went out and met Tina in the pasture. She and Ike are with another youngish draft cross and seem settled. I put her halter on and got to know her a little. She is very friendly and sweet. I brushed her all over and picked up her feet. As noted, she is a little touchy about her hind feet. She actually managed to kick at me when I asked to have her back right, which met with a growl from me that got the point across. I did eventually pick it up briefly for which she rec'd much praise. I didn't push it today, but this is something that must be addressed. It is a trust issue which we will start with tomorrow. I also scratched between her teats, which many mares really appreciate. She did too after she figured out that I wasn't trying to tickle her belly! I fed her some treats, rubbed her face and let her go.

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