I have Caly listed for sale, although it certainly wouldn't break my heart if she didn't sell. This is one really nice filly/mare. She has come a long way for me. I started her under saddle in August. I've ridden her in the roundpen, around my yard, down the road from my house both solo and with Julie on Vivian (her Swedish Warmblood mare), in Julie's arena, down the roads by Julie's house, and at Lake Cunningham in Omaha. She really loves to move out and explore.
Today I pulled her out of the pasture to get her ready for the lady coming to see her tomorrow. Yesterday morning I worked with her on picking up her feet, one of her big weaknesses. I don't mess with her feet very often, and she doesn't need trims to keep her toes nice and short. In fact, she hasn't had her feet touched by a farrier in over a year. Meanwhile, Jazzy gets cracks and major flares if she goes more than six weeks. Zeplin is right in the middle. He can go over eight weeks between trims and still look alright, but he does need trimwork. Anyways, since Caly will most likely have her feet handled somewhere else more than here, I've been working with her on picking them up. She has progressed very far in just the last two days. She's a very smart girl :-)
Caly's other area of weakness is standing to be mounted. I admit that I'm not the most knowledgable trainer, and this particular area is one I'm not good at teaching. Zeplin and Jazzy also need work at this. I have asked a friend who is a wonderful trainer to come over and give me some advice. I hope she comes soon. She said all she'd want in return is for me to buy her lunch and a beer. What a great friend! I'm not sure yet when she will be here, but I hope it's before Caly goes anywhere so that she will stand like a rock for anyone.
I brushed Caly, knocking off clouds of dust in the process. I had wanted to give her a sponge bath today, but it was too chilly and windy. She hadn't been ridden in at least a month, and that was just Julie and I taking turns on her bareback in the roundpen. She tacked up alright, looking at me as I snugged the dressage girth. I lead her over my "mounting block," an overturned 100 gallon water tank that has a crack on the bottom. We made a little bit of progress (I hope, anyways). However, as soon as I swung over her back, she was off, walking around the roundpen.
The sun poked out from behind a mask of clouds, already low on the horizon. I didn't have a lot of time to ride, so we didn't dally in the roundpen for long. She headed for the gate with little urging, stepping out strong and sure as always. Zeplin and Jazzy paced the fenceline, anxious to know where we were going.
Caly felt very fresh. She didn't hesitate at all on her march down the short driveway and out onto the gravel road. She perked her ears forward as always, speeding up and nearly trotting as we cleared my yard. Behind us, I could hear Jazzy's frantic call.
Caly is normally very steady and level headed, but today she took exception to the irrigation pipes in the cornfield next to my property. She spooked more than fifty feet from it, and tried to bolt back home, but I spun her and we pressed on. However, that set the tone for most of the ride. She danced lightly on her feet, ready to break into a trot while I attempted to hold her down to merely a very brisk walk. We entered the plowed beanfield across the street from my place and turned back to the direction from which we came. Jazzy spotted us and hollered, her nostrils flaring, her head tossed high. She and Zeplin raced along the fence, cantering back and forth. Jazzy judged the distance up to the road from the ditch at the end of my lot but decided against attempting such a steep grade. Zeplin enjoyed the game, throwing his burr-encrusted tail over his back in typical Arab style and galloping for all he was worth down and around the small paddock.
Caly, meanwhile, became agitated at all the commotion across the street. She wanted to canter with them, so I made her trot in circles. Finally I steered her across the field directly away from the others. She moved boldly, still jigging along, desiring a faster pace. I channeled her energy into forward motion, but she still felt too fresh for me to allow her to fully stretch into her ground-eating trot.
We criss-crossed the far end of the field. While Caly spooked at a few things, she willingly approached them at my insistence. No more wheeling and attempting to bolt. At one point, Quimby trotted in front of her, and I felt her reaching down to herd the dog. Remembering how Zeplin tried to bite the goat a few times on a ride months ago, I once again employed circles to reassert my control. We jogged a bit, but whenever I felt Caly reaching out for more speed, I slowed her with more circles. She resisted more to the right side, her weaker side. Eventually she settled down a bit.
Darkness encapsulated us rapidly once the sun dipped below the horizon. Time to head back. Caly perked her ears up at the ponies whinnying from home. She livened up her pace but I continued to hold her to an energetic walk. This time when she attempted to spook at the irrigator pipe, I pressed her to investigate it. We rode around behind it, crunching yellowed cornstalks beneath us. Caly relaxed enough that I allowed her to grab a few dried leaves from the ground before squeezing my legs to encourage her around the pipe yet again. There were no further incidents the remainder of our ride. After a few laps around the pen, I asked her to stand by the tank/mounting block. I kicked my feet free of the stirrups. Bracing my right foot against the round pen panels and pushing the other down onto the tank, I hovered over her, still keeping some weight in the saddle. We stood for awhile, then I sank back into the seat. I repeated the process, but she stood steady. I finally swung my right leg over her generous rump and praised her for staying motionless. After untacking Caly and once again requesting each foot in turn, I allowed her back in with the other two.
While not the most enjoyable ride I've ever had on Caly, this one wasn't horrible, especially considering how long it's been since the last. She came back to me mentally when I checked her, and I never lost control. I still have tons of work to do on my riding skills, and she definitely felt green, but we made it with trust and confidence in each other.
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