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Mouse Graduates from Student to Teacher
When it is 30 degrees outside, horse #1 is off fox hunting, and horse #2 gets an abscess, what is there to do but to teach lessons on the 6 year old OTTB?! Mouse proves yet again that he is worth his weight in gold and is just as happy doing polework in the indoor with a new rider as he is jumping around Novice cross country.
Mouse’s First BN HT
Mouse went to Loch Moy for his first Beginner Novice Horse Trial (second ever Horse Trial at any level) and knocked it out of the park! He finished on his dressage score, a 29.4, which placed him in 2nd, just .2 points out of 1st.
He was relaxed and happy, with a lovely stadium round and jumping most of cross country on a light contact without me having to rate him at all.
Anyone out there looking for that unicorn with the athleticism of a thoroughbred but the movement to score in the 20s in dressage, I found him!
Killing it at Recognized Dressage
Mouse went to his first Recognized Dressage show September 1st, and it was also his first time competing at 1st Level. He didn’t let that stop him from scoring a 66% at 1st Level Test 2! Mouse has the potential to be a really fancy dressage horse, he is naturally very elegant in his movements.
Mouse even managed to score an 8 on one of his leg yields, which he has only just started to figure out! He is such a smart, fun horse to work with, and he really seems to love learning. Mouse is definitely special!
Progress, progress, progress
After his incredibly successful dressage performance, Mouse has been focusing lately on his jumping. He is getting more and more confident and relaxed, and he’s been taking on new experiences with ease. In the month of September, Mouse jumped his first line of three bounces, his first line of offset jumps (and it was a one stride to a one stride combination!), his first barrel, his first liverpool, and his first corner!
He is now very comfortable at 2′9 and we are working in more and more fences at 3 ft. We’re aiming towards a Starter HT at Beginner Novice October 20th with a possible move up to Novice November 3rd. Look for another update then!
9 Months In: Mouse Goes to a Dressage Show
It has been nine months since I brought Mouse home, and today he went to his second off farm excursion: a schooling dressage show. Mouse has made improvements in every segment of the show experience. He walked on the trailer like a pro, settled in once we got to the show quickly, was relaxed and obedient in warm up, and put in two super dressage tests, scoring a 65% in Training 1 and and 66% in Training 3, earning 2nd place in both divisions. Here’s a video of our Training 3 test. Mouse is going to make a lovely dressage horse!
Going with the Flow
Mouse is becoming more and more relaxed and adjustable in his jumping, and today he had his best jump school yet! He jumped a full course at 2′9 jumping every single fence in stride. He is getting a lot better about not anticipating the fences and is over jumping less and less. I was out of town for most of July, and it’s so fun to come home and find Mouse just as game and willing as he was when I left!
BN-CT Success!
Mouse made the move up to Beginner Novice beautifully. He had a fairly steady dressage test that improved throughout. He did not appreciate the background music that was being played, but once he decided the speakers weren’t going to eat him he relaxed and got to work.
The jumping is definitely going to be his strong suit. Mouse rocked around his first ever full course at 2′7! He did not peek at a single fence on course, just happily jumped around making it look easy.
Next up, Mouse’s first off farm dressage show on June 23rd. Look for another update then!
Getting ready for a BN-CT!
Mouse has been doing some jumping practice lately, and his rhythm, balance, and jumping form have improved a lot! Here’s a picture of him schooling some oxer to oxer bending lines. He still isn’t interested in touching those poles!
Mouse’s First Event
Mouse had his first ever event today, and I am beyond proud of him! He was obedient and mostly relaxed in dressage, had a good, confidence building stadium round, and went clear cross country. His one rail in stadium was my fault, I held him to six strides when I should have let him do the line in five. He finished 6th in a large Open Elementary division. Mouse is now officially an event horse!
Mouse’s First Cross Country School
The weather has been so unpredictable this winter that I haven’t gotten a chance to take Mouse out cross country schooling until now. He was such a champ, tackling banks, ditches, and jumping out of water! One thing is for sure, he has no interest in touching the fences :-)
Three Months In
Bad weather and busy schedules have made it more difficult to capture Mouse’s progress, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t making any! He continues to get calmer and steadier in the contact, and in just the past two weeks has come a long way. The gloomy weather has given us the opportunity to really focus on flatwork, and that focus has made a huge impact. Next month we’ll focus more on jumping and see how much the improvements to his strength and balance will effect his jumping!
One Month Before and After
Today marks exactly one month since I bought Mouse, so it seems like a perfect time to do a progress check! The first picture was taken just three days after bringing Mouse to Waredaca, on November 18th. The second was taken today, December 15th. It is incredible to me to see how much he has changed in such a short period of time. His balance, his acceptance of the contact, and even his muscle tone has changed. Today was the first time I sat in the saddle at the canter, and it didn’t bother him one bit. I knew Mouse had made a ton of progress in the last month, but looking at these two pictures side by side makes it all the more real to me. On to month number two!
Breakthrough!
Today was one of those awesome days when you have a huge training breakthrough. Mouse is getting better and better about stretching into the contact, but he’s still been pretty clueless about bending around your leg. Today, he got distracted by something while we were trotting around, so I put my inside leg on to ask him to bend towards the inside and look away from what was distracting him. Incredibly, Mouse lowered his head, bent to the inside, and pushed into the outside rein! This is a big step forward for Mouse, and I cannot wait to build on it in the coming weeks.
Mouse Week 3
After a couple of rides to test Mouse’s capabilities, the last few weeks have been about giving Mouse some down time to relax. Since he came to me only having been off the track for a handful of days, he never really got a chance to relax and adjust from track life. Mouse, like many OTTBs, seems happier in work than when just hanging out in the field, so I have been doing light flat work on a long rein to help keep his body working while letting his brain relax. Today we took that one step further by introducing lunging in side reins to Mouse. As should come as no surprise, he took to it brilliantly. He figured out lunging really quickly, and as soon as he understood what was being asked of him he started stretching into the side reins! He is such a smart horse, and it’s hard to resist moving him along faster, but I know giving him this time to really settle and learn how to stretch through his body will pay off later.
Mouse Week 2
Mouse got to have a bit of time off to chill over the Thanksgiving holiday. He is now much more confident out in the field with his herd, and he seems to be in the midst of finding his rank (with unfortunate consequences to his new blankets). He was quite energetic after 5 days off, but only took two rides to settle back down to his usual level headed self. He’s continuing to figure out stretching to the contact and getting more and more relaxed in his movement!
Mouse has had a busy first week! Yesterday he went out on Waredaca’s cross country course to explore. He walked through the water jump, walked up and down a baby bank, and jumped his first ditch! Mouse took everything in with his usual confidence, although he did not enjoy the sound of other horses splashing in the water! Today Mouse did some light work on stretching and bending on the flat. My dog, Freya, decided it would be fun to try and chase Mouse while I was working him, but (thankfully) Mouse was not troubled a bit by her antics. He’s definitely a brave one!
Mouse: Day 1
I bought Mouse because he seemed like he was a good mix of brave, confident, attentive, and sweet. Today he reinforced that initial impression. His first ride at Waredaca (ride three since retiring from racing) Mouse was the perfect gentleman. He was very interested in the mirrors along the back wall in Waredaca’s indoor, but did not spook once, just happily walked over, sniffed the mirror, and moved along. That’s how Mouse seems to take in all new experiences, interested but unphased. We did some basic flat work at the walk, trot, and canter, and Mouse was very obliging.
When I turned him out after his ride, he proceeded to politely follow me around the field as I went to catch my next ride for the day. He is clearly a people loving horse! My other horse, Swift, is a bit jealous of his new “little brother”, but I’m sure Mouse will win him over eventually. I’m so looking forward to watching Mouse progress over the next few months, I just know he’s going to be a fast learner!