Cob Jockey

Oh man, I think this is the most behind I've ever been in blogging.  I have two Liebster Awards to catch up on (thanks, guys!) and lots of stories to share.  Also, thank you all so so much for the support and comments on the last post.  They mean the world to me.  We're hanging in there, and he's already had a couple of interviews so far, so hopefully this will be a much shorter unemployment this time.  Ok, time for a catchup post!

#1: Connor's been easy to catch lately because being outside in the buggy heat is not his idea of a good time, and I've been doing fun things with him like hand grazing him outside his field or spraying him down before we ride.  Also, he had a bug bite on his eyelid that led to some minor eye-area swelling on Tuesday:

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which has led to this:

Fly mask time!

#2: My plan for a long time has been to sell both of my too-narrow saddles after Leg Up next weekend, but after forgetting my jump saddle at home and riding him in my lesson last night in a borrowed Xwide tree Walsall Saddlery saddle that belongs to this giant drafty fellow, I am speeding that plan up.  They need to go, and he needs a wide tree and a flat-paneled saddle, end of story.  The Walsall wasn't a perfect fit, but he was all too eager to lift his back and be perfectly between my leg and hand last night underneath the wide tree.  With my husband losing his job, it gives me the perfect chance to sell them, sit on the cash just in case he's unemployed for a while, then hopefully put the money from both toward a really nice, permanent jump saddle that I'll also ride Dressage in until I can afford a Dressage saddle.  His back and shape have stabilized enough that I am comfortable looking for my "forever" saddle now.

Cob people aren't kidding when they say the British brands fit the Cobs best.  They know their broad, flat-backed ponies.

It's a bit too wide and therefore a little low in the front, but putting my Thinline Saddlefitter underneath it took care of that.

Looking good.

#3: We're still in the middle of jumping boot camp, and for the first time ever last night, he took an appropriately short distance to the fences like an educated adult pony.  This is the result of a whole lot of concentrated work!  Because the canter was so long and flat before, he was taking long and flat distances to the fences and then throwing himself haphazardly over them.  Now that we're working on shortening the canter and keeping it active behind, he's able to take off from an appropriate distance - and equally as important, he has the confidence in himself that he can make that distance.  The first one felt wonky even though it was smooth because he had a split-second "Why am I this close?" moment as we took off, but he made it and my trainer was pleased with it as a learning moment.

This is from one year ago, in May of 2012, jumping indifferently from a flat, runny canter.

#4: I'm giving him longer warmups that include walking in the grassy field until he relaxes through his back and into my hands.  Sometimes that takes a while, but I'm on his time for that, so that's okay. We just walk and I gradually ask him to come on the bit through relaxed lateral work and circles. By the time we walk back over to the barn for our lesson, he's got so much foam going on he looks rabid, and he's happy and relaxed enough to do whatever I ask during the lesson.  Happier horse = more productive lesson.

Beginning of our warmup.