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I dunno what has happened lately, but considering that I own exactly ZERO donkeys, my life sure does seem a lot more donkey-centric than it should be.

First of all, Presto lives with a couple mini donkeys. They’ve been his pasturemates since he came to this barn, and it’s actually worked out pretty well for him. He doesn’t seem to see them as “equals” so he’s not attached to them at all, and they can’t really inflict any damage on him when they’re playing.

If you’re asking me, though, these donkeys… they’re kind of jerks. Bob, the bigger one, is a biter, and in a sneaky way. More than once he’s snuck up behind me and grabbed my pocket, or my shirt. He’s persistent, too, and tries to insert himself into the middle of whatever I’m there to do. It’s not that easy to tie a rope halter on the distracted yearling when you’ve got a miniature donkey doing his best shark impression right at waist-level.

Then there’s Dudley, the smaller mini donkey. He tends to try to steer clear of Presto as much as possible. Probably because Presto has decided that Dudley is really fun to chase, and I’ve seen him out there running Dudley’s fat ass in circles on more than one occasion. But Dudley is also a master escape artist, and if I don’t chain the gate shut behind me in exactly the right way, that little shit will be out of the pasture and GONE in 2 seconds flat. One morning I got to chase him around in the dark for 20 friggin minutes until I could get him cornered.

Then there’s Henry, who has no regular contact with donkeys, yet is somehow ridiculously obsessed with him. The few times I’ve let him sniff noses with the mini-donks at the barn, he’s been… um… very attracted to them. Henry thought he was definitely a stallion, and those donkeys were the prettiest things he’d ever laid eyes on. Luckily he pretty much never sees them in his day to day life.

Then, this past weekend, Henry had a complete and total meltdown over some donkeys. After we were done XC schooling I hauled him over to my friends place nearby, so we could stay the night. We turned him out in the paddock next to a couple horses and donkeys, and Henry proceeded to lose his marble (there’s only one in there, I’m pretty sure). The horses came up to the fence to say hi and Henry completely ignored them, staring past them toward the donkeys. Eventually those two finally wandered up to say hi to him as well, and Henry was OMG SO EXCITED ABOUT DONKEY FRIENDS.

Then the donkeys quickly lost interest and wandered away, and Henry’s meltdown began. He was running laps and screaming as if we’d just taken away and murdered all of his friends in the entire world. They were all of 30′ away at the time, mind you. He ran himself up into a sweat, so finally I had to just lock him up in a stall before he hurt himself. All these donkeys around and the Biggest Ass award goes to Henry. Clearly he is not mature enough to handle donkey neighbors. He didn’t give a shit about any of the horses, but he spent all night on-and-off pacing his stall and screaming for those donkeys. What. Even.

All of this drama seems to, OF COURSE, have triggered an ulcery reaction in Henry, who picked at his dinner the past couple days in a way that Henry never ever does unless his tummy isn’t happy. Great, just great. I think this time I’m gonna try to get the injectable omeprazole and see how that works… anyone used that yet?

Henry is officially banned from donkeys forever.

And all this wet weather has caused a leak in Presto’s outside stall, so he’s in the main barn for a while, which means I don’t have to deal with the donkeys when I go get him out of his stall. Fine by me, I’m about donkey-ed out at the moment. Horses are dumb. So are donkeys.

Nothing like making riding plans for both days of the weekend and then checking the forecast only to see 90% chance of rain both days. Luckily for me, they were only halfway right.

The main objective of the weekend was a jumper show on Sunday, which Trainer and some of her students were going to. She told me to enter the three Prelim-height classes, which left me going “Ugh, I have to learn three different courses, really? Whyyyyyyyyyyyyyy.”. Which shows just how far removed I’ve now gotten from my h/j roots. But at least I wasn’t feeling dread about the height or anything… maybe that’s progress? Then she texted and said “Funday at Pine Hill on Saturday too, if you’re in!”. You will never ever ever have to ask me twice about a funday at Pine Hill. Yeah we had just been there on Monday to XC school, but we got cut short because of lightning. There were a few more things I wanted to school, so hell yeah, let’s go hang out with some friends and finish what we started.

I think Henry is liking this “XC school once a week” kick that we’ve been on. Three weeks in a row and he’s thinking that finally I’ve figured out the secret to a happy life. He’ll be sad to realize that this was only a temporary stroke of luck.

After a couple warmup fences we headed to the same Prelim downhill drop/bending line thing that we did last week, but this time we had to do the 4 instead of the adding 5. That meant I had to keep his stride open down the steep hill but still reeeeeally keep his balance back so we didn’t literally die over the log pile at the bottom. We managed to get it right on the first try, which we’ll totally pretend was due to skill and not to the fact that when we started I was like “Okay Henry we’re doing that drop line again, and we need to get 4 this time.”. I’m 99% certain he understands.

After that we jumped the Time Warp combo again, smoothing out the curve and also leaving out the extra stride we had put in on Monday. Those Prelim combo’s, man… they are forward.

From there we went to the crater again, with the log pile down into the crater, around the blind corner to a skinny. Henny’s got that down pat almost to the point of being cocky about it.

After that I asked if we could go to the boat… it’s a table that literally has a boat on the front face. This jump had caused a ton of trouble at the spring recognized show, so I was curious about how it rode. The jump itself isn’t bad, but you basically come blasting out of the woods and have to make a REALLY sharp turn to the right in order to catch the table. I can see how it would be easy to skirt right past it when you’re going Prelim speed. I basically had to set Henry on his butt and square the turn out of the woods so we could get straight to it, but we popped over it fine.

I have to be honest, I didn’t feel like I was riding particularly well that day. Some days all the distances just come right up, no problem, and I mostly execute what I’m supposed to do, and my brain actually feels like things are firing and my body is responding correctly. This wasn’t one of those days. I felt kinda floppy and discombobulated and my eye was  off. BUT… it’s good to know that even on a day where things aren’t clicking as well as they can, we can still answer the questions. Henry was definitely stepping in and making up for my shortcomings, which is good to know that he can still do at the bigger fences. Granted, I would also really like to have fewer non-clicking days so that Henry’s job is a little easier.

After the boat we went to the water, which I had to do twice because the first time was just a bit sticky and underpowered. I was on such a roll with the water for a long time, but I think since my horse is so good about water, maybe I’ve gotten a little more complacent. I still have to ride in a bit more aggressively. We went up to the bank combo after that and kinda the same thing. First time through was just kind of flat and blah, so we had to do it again. I think it didn’t help that by this point Henry was pretty hot. The humidity was killer, and he just doesn’t handle it. But also… I wasn’t helping enough.

 

We had a really big group with us (because FUNDAY) so they got some video. Thanks guys!

Afterward we hung out and ate food, and Henry went back with me to a friends house so we could stay the night there and hit the jumper show the next day, since it was nearby. And then they cancelled the jumper show, which is fair because it definitely DID rain on Sunday.

But hey, at least we got to enjoy one nice day, and another fun XC outing. Things are feeling pretty decent in the XC department (at least, ya know, when I’m not riding like a sack of potatoes) so we definitely need to focus on the showjumping. That’s for sure our weakest phase at the moment. Hopefully this rainy weather will go away and we can at least get some lessons, because the fall shows are OPEN and it’s time to start sending entries in!

Very serious, very important post for Friday, guys. I need to decide what Presto will wear for FEH Championships. We have the option of halter or bridle for yearlings, and he’s shown in both now. I can’t quite decide which one is my preference.

The halter is a Kavalkade Ivy, black with a unique shape, white stitching, and chrome hardware. I have a black leather with chrome hardware lead shank that goes with it (not in the photos, obviously). I do like the simplicity of a halter, as does Presto. It gives me a tad bit less control when it comes to handling, but not enough to where I think it makes much of a difference.

 

His bridle is dark brown with dark brown stitching, very plain and simple, from the Lund Saddlery eventer series. It’s a bit tight at the crown/brow but totally workable. With this I’d be using a dark brown newmarket shank like this, or I could use reins. He can sometimes get a bit chompy in the bit, but with how distracted he’ll be in the ring, I doubt that would be an issue.

I’m pretty torn. They both have their pros and cons, and I can’t really decide which looks better. His ears look freaking GIANT in both. Oh wait, that’s because they are.

If it makes a difference, I’m wearing a black polo/helmet/gloves with khakis.

Which would you pick?

 

See how much better that sounds than “all the shit I bought during the Labor Day Sales”?

Really though, I think I was quite restrained. I did place a Riding Warehouse order of course (which I already got yesterday!) although I talked myself out of a few things.  I loaded up on my usual salt blocks, a new clipper blade for my Listers (WINTER IS COMING), a couple of cheap boot trees because I keep trying to be more of an adult and take better care of my stuff, a pair of foxy D&S socks, and an Equifit boot organizer for the trailer.

With show season and it’s accompanying money purge coming up just around the corner, I talked myself out of the brown TraumaVoid helmet for now. I was feeling a lot of peace with that decision until I went back to the RW website 5 freaking seconds ago to grab the link to it and saw that they’re now on sale. And not only are they on sale, you get a $25 gift card with a helmet purchase. WTF Riding Warehouse. Why are you doing this to me?

At one point I also had a black pair and a white pair of the Horze Grand Prix breeches in my cart, but talked myself out of both even though with the sale plus the multi-pair discount, it brought them to $73 each.

I’m having a lot of regrets right now, guys. Help me.

What I did take full advantage of was the Aerie underwear sale. 10 pairs for $35? I’m in. I really like their seamless ones for riding, and they have like 5 different shades of “nude”. No way in heck I’m paying the normal $12 per pair price, but at $3.50 a pop, I’m down. I definitely needed more of those, because I am inevitably always one pair short at a horse show and end up wearing something neon under my whites. I’m that person. But it won’t happen anymore because now I have a bunch.

Other than those two online sales, I was doing really well. At least until Tuesday when I met Hillary for lunch and she said she needed to stop into Dover afterward. The only thing I’m really interested in, when it comes to the Dover store, is the sale rack. Usually there’s nothing great to be had, but every once in a while there’s something really cheap that I can’t pass up.

And this time, as luck would have it, there were two knit show shirts, navy and gray, in my size, marked down from $99 to $19.99. I have the green version of this shirt and really like it, so there’s just no way I was going to be able to resist that. I didn’t even try. I just plucked them off the rack and kept walking, barely a pause in my stride.

I have a weird obsession with show shirts. For some reason I have nine of them, which is more than a little absurd for an eventer. There’s no scenario in which I would need more than 2 per horse show. At some point I should probably go through and sell some of the ones I don’t wear as much.

Did y’all get anything good in the Labor Day sales? It just occurred to me that the next big sale event will be BLACK FRIDAY… I don’t think I’m ready for that yet.

It seems like, a lot of times, when you say a horse is “smart and sensitive”, a lot of people take those things to be negative. I suppose if you want a horse that’s a bit dopey and a kick ride, then yes, smart and sensitive are probably not what you’re after. But to me, they’re good qualities. I like a horse that is naturally forward thinking, responsive, light, retains lessons well, and can think for itself a bit. So when I say that I’m noticing that Presto is smart and sensitive, I’m totally okay with that. It’s why I wanted all that thoroughbred blood in there, after all.

The next big step in Presto’s training will probably be long-lining and ground driving. With that in mind, I’ve started laying down some of the prep work so we can gradually work up to that. He already knows the basics on how to move his body away from pressure, and we’ve been working on voice commands (at least cluck and whoa) for a while. This past Saturday he wore a surcingle for a first time, and we introduced the word “trot”. Or as I like to say it to horses: “TER-ROT”. Because I’m weird. I dunno, I just think it’s more clear and positive sounding. As a voice command I’ve said it that way forever. Look, I already said I’m weird ok?

Before we got to the surcingle, I flopped a saddle pad all over him. He’s worn them before, with me just casually tossing one over his back sometimes. But this time we did a more formal “sacking out”, if you’d like to call it that. I flopped that thing around all over him, from nose to tail to hoof, tossing it high and low and slow and fast. He was a little concerned the first time it walloped him in the butt, but his feet stayed still. After that I tossed the surcingle on and off a few times, then let it hang while he investigated.

He was still unconcerned, so I went to fasten up the surcingle, but… um… he’s so scrawny. Even with it all the way up on both sides, I had a huge gap. So off I trudged into the barn to get a half pad. Or two. Yep, definitely two. With both of them stacked I could at least get the surcingle snug enough to where he could walk and trot around without the whole thing sliding right off. Poor kid. It’s hard being a yearling.

But he packed it around with no complaints, almost looking bored. So we incorporated our TER-ROT voice command, going from trot to walk to trot to walk and back again several times. He caught on really quickly, and after a few repetitions, saying “trot” was all it took to get him stepping off promptly into trot.

We’ve also been working a lot more in-depth on moving away from pressure. He’s known since he was a kiddo that a pressure on his side means move over and pressure on his chest means move back. Now we’re refining that a bit, using much lighter cues, and getting more specific to the area of his body that I want him to move, and in which direction, and how far. Presto is incredibly sensitive about that and is quick to respond to even the lightest pressure.

After that we worked on his ground tying skills, which are… uh… not so strong. It’s a lot to ask of a yearling colt. Especially one that’s always looking for something to DO. Asking him to just stand and not DO is a lot tougher than the opposite. He got a couple minutes of standing still though, so we’ll call that a win for now. He tried. Sorta.

The more I ask of him, the more it feels like I’m kind of peeling back layers of Presto’s personality and getting to know him a little bit better. These days I can usually predict how he’s going to respond to something, and guess which things might upset him the most or get more of a reaction from him. I also see that he’s got a good work ethic, and a strong desire to do find the right answer. He’s not lazy, he learns fast, and he retains his lessons amazingly well. He even seems to look forward to his “work”. There is definitely a stubborn/naughty streak in there though, and it comes out sometimes when he’s thought about something for a while and decided that maybe he knows a better way. Luckily at this point it doesn’t take much to dissuade him. That might get a little tougher with age.

He now also knows what “ENNNNHHHH!!!” means. Mostly because he learned that if he stands on the hose, no water comes out, so he would very deliberately look for it and then stomp. “ENNNHHHHH” is his “I see you, you little shit, and you better not!” warning to cease and desist before he gets in real trouble. I also had to start clipping him into the crossties differently because he figured out if he swung his head around a certain way, he could eventually work his halter over an ear. Okay, so maybe smart has it’s downsides.

Eventually we’ll put the long lines on (with a halter) and get him understanding that whole deal, but there’s no rush. Right now it’s time to shift the focus back on his in-hand stuff a bit more, since FEH Champs are right around the corner. Of course, after almost a whole month of looking like a relatively normal horse, his neck is starting to look like it’s been put on upside down again. Usually that precedes a really awkward growth spurt. I have no doubt that’s exactly what he’s planning on doing in the next few weeks. Maybe I should have entered the Future Event Camel Championships instead?