mimi

Before and After

/ Ashley Wingert / 6 Comments

It was Pony Bath Day today.

The Before:

I just noticed the tongue sticking out!

I took the worst pictures today.  Seriously, my adorable pony looks like a hippo.  But I wasn’t thinking when I took this first picture…should have stepped further back.

Funny thing, you can’t tell how dirty she actually is.  She is practically day-glow white in pictures even when she’s dirty, so no one actually believes me unless they see her in person and see how much dirt she packs into that coat.  Especially after I curry her.
She got a really thorough bath…fingernail scrubbing down to the roots of her mane and tail, rubber bath mitt all over her whole body, especially getting the scurfy stuff off her legs.  Sprayed her mane and tail with this avocado moisturizer spray stuff I really like (EQyss Avocado Mist) and left her in the washrack to finishing drying while I sized and fit Renegades on one of the barn owner’s horses.  
I really enjoy the whole process of boot fitting and sizing…it always interesting to see static fit versus dynamic fit — just because it looks like it fits at a standstill doesn’t always mean it’s the right fit once they start moving.  But that’s worth a whole other blog post.
Back to the pony, who was cooling her heels and getting cooed over by the two young daughters of a friend of the barn owner.  As a final touch, she got Show-Sheened on her mane and tail, fly sprayed, and this was the end result:
Again, my apologies for the hippo-head quality of this shot.  She kept making a bid for the grass the second I would try to step away far enough to get a decent pic.  So it’s her own fault.  And she really needed to be out in the sunshine for the full day-glow effect.
And I did this to my helmet:
Racing stripes!!!
They’re reflective, too.  I haven’t been using the velcro-on Salamander Beak visor of late, because I’m finding that sunglasses + tiny visor on helmet is really enough coverage, and it doesn’t block my upward vision quite as much.  If Mimi was a head-tosser, I’d be more concerned about not having a stiff visor to block potential upward head movement, but she tried that trick once, years ago, when I wore a Troxel helmet with a longer, stiffer visor.  She smacked her poll into the visor edge, and she hasn’t tossed her head upwards since.
Tomorrow’s supposed to be another triple digit day…I think I might hibernate next to the a/c vent.  Next weekend is supposed to be a reprieve down to the 80s (How you know you live in AZ: When the words “down into the 80s” is considered a reprieve) so the barn owner made some noises about hauling out to ride for one last chance at nice weather.
The one perk of hotter weather: Lees people out on the trail.

a random photo dump

/ Ashley Wingert / Leave a comment

Just for fun…because some days there isn’t the mental energy for a proper, thought-filled blog post.

And because everyone loves pictures.

So y’all get an absolute mishmash conglomeration of a whole bunch of random pictures spanning several years and many locations, and none of which I think I’ve posted on here before.

Little Elden Springs, Flagstaff. June 2009.
Mountains + single-track + leading = happy pony.

Descanso NATRC. May 2007. Chasing down riders in front of us…
the endurance thing had spoiled us by this point.

Trailhead @ Blue Point Rec Area on the Salt River.
Summer 2009.

It’s debatable who’s the bigger dork or has the worst
fashion sense. Trailhead @ Picket Post Mtn. February 2011.

Pony-eating rocks of doom @ Christopher Creek in Payson.
September 2010. A fun ride/weekend with a friend that never
got written about. Hmmm. Might have to remedy that.
September 2010.

Crossing the finish line @ Man Against Horse…our first 25.
Prescott, AZ. October 2005.

We used to be stupider braver. And I wonder why I got ejected
out of the saddle with alarming frequency…could I be any more
forward? This was probably sometime around ’03-04.

Brat.
That really says it all.
First of Spring NATRC. Warner Springs, CA. April 06.

Home turf…San Tan Mtns. No idea when this was…probably
3-4 years ago?

A Bit of Knowledge

/ Ashley Wingert / 21 Comments

(I can go ridiculously crazy with the “bit” puns…humor me.)

I’ve had my equine knowledge world turned on its head a little bit over the last week or so.  I got a copy of “The Level Best for Your Horse”, the book Myler Bits puts out as an in-depth explanation of their different mouthpieces and how they work.

Having ridden for the last 19 years, I was feeling pretty smug and secure in my knowledge of bits and how they work, and all my tidy little theories of why they didn’t work for Mimi, and what was happening when they did.

And then I read the book.  (And have been watching parts of the accompanying DVD…but it’s like 85 minutes long, so haven’t had the patience to sit down and watch the whole thing.)

Eye opener!

I was basing all my theories on years of riding with regular bits and what I knew about how Myler bits were different…so they weren’t entirely incorrect.  But neither did they translate over into exactly how the Mylers are supposed to work effectively.

My base assumption, working with the “Levels” system Myler does: Level 1, 2, 2-3, and 3, was that lower=kinder, and therefore the “strongest” bit I own is a level 2, and I ditched the one level 2-3 I had years ago.

Turns out that one I ditched is probably the one I need now.

The whole Myler system revolves around the concept of tongue relief.  As you go up in Levels as your horse has better training, the tongue relief increases and the bit employs other pressure points for communication.  What was surprisingly to me was the Myler’s opinion that few horses need to spend much time in a Level 1 bit, and most will quickly advance to not needing the tongue pressure.

That might explain why Mimi fusses at bits…virtually all of mine are Level 1.  *sigh*

Level 2 bits start to offer tongue relief, and Level 2-3 seem to be the best compromise between tongue relief and control, since you give up a little control when you start providing tongue relief.  But the theory goes that by that point, the horse is well-trained enough to listen to the other pressure points: lips, bars, poll and curb pressure, to not need the tongue pressure.

D’you see the irony in me getting rid of the Level 2-3 bit that I had?  It was the first Myler bit I bought, after years of traditional bits, and I followed the guidelines provided of what level to get based on the horse’s training.  Mimi was well-trained and appeared to fit into the Level 2-3 category perfectly…what I didn’t take into account was maybe I should have gotten her a lower level bit and transitioned her through the levels properly, so she could get comfortable with a bit for a change.

I don’t think I’ll ever try to move up to a full Level 3 bit…they’re designed for “finished” horses with no control issues…and let’s face it, unless you have the absolutely Most Perfect Horse on the Planet at rides who trolls along the trail with nary a murmur, at some point, especially during the always fun Ride Start, you’ll probably have to take up on your reins and the horse’s face for at least a modicum of control.

I don’t know about you, but I’ve never had a truly loose-rein start.  We got to the point where we didn’t have shoulder-dislocating pulling, and that was enough for me, and after a couple of miles, she’d settle into a loose rein.

So it seems that a Level 2 or 2-3 is the best compromise, especially for an endurance bit.

After having my eyes opened by reading this book (I really can’t recommend it enough…if you have any interest in bits, it’s worth getting), I re-evaluated my bits, Mimi, and training.  And we went back to the drawing board.  I’m using the Level One MB02 Wide Barrel Comfort Snaffle mouthpiece with the Kimberwick cheek pieces.  (Myler has a saying: “The mouthpiece is for the horse, the cheekpiece is for the rider.”  I love the kimberwick and the options it gives.)  Instead of just relying on the “lip wrinkles” for fit, I pried open her lips to see where on the bars the bit was laying.  On her, a correct fit translates to barely one lip wrinkle.  I adjusted the curb chain correctly.

And in the last week, Mimi has accepted the bit.  We’ve done nothing but arena work, focusing on getting her to flex and bend and break at the poll.  She’s stopped fussing and leaning on the bit.  She’s softer and rounder and moving out.  Yesterday, I got the perfect huntseat English trot out of her…the epitome of breed standard “long, low and stretchy.”  It was beautiful.

I’ll wait and see if this remains a consistent thing, and if it does, I’ll look into bumping her up to the level she should be at, now that I’m taking the time to do it right.

It sometimes takes me a while, but I eventually get it.  ;)

Grin and Bare It

/ Ashley Wingert / 2 Comments

I rode my pony bareback yesterday.

What would be your first clue?

It’s been several years since I’ve been brave enough to hop on her bareback.  The whole “lack of withers, round barrel, flat back, low head carriage” thing makes riding Mimi bareback a rather interesting proposition.  There is nothing there to hold you in place.  No handy leg channel, no airbag withers or neck, no secure back dip.  And she has nothing by way of long, grab-able mane.

And despite all of that, I’ve only come off of her bareback once.  That could also be due in large part to the fact I have avoided much bareback riding in the last eight or nine years.

I grew up riding her bareback.  It was pretty common practice to pull saddles after our lessons and hop on a ride for another 15-20 minutes bareback.  This worked well because most of us rode in cut-off shorts in the summer, and the ponies’ backs were already sticky and sweaty from the saddles.  It was pretty easy to have Velcro-butt under those circumstances.

I even did some jumping bareback.  (What can I say?  I was young and stupid, riding with several other young, stupid, teenage girls and we spent a great deal of time coming up with outrageous challenges to one-up each other.)

I was also lighter weight back then, and there was less of “me” to balance and sort out, which made the “cling like a limpet” thing a lot easier.

There was also incentive to practice bareback frequently and stay good at it, because one of the classes at every show was bareback equitation.  I was good at equitation, so that alone gave me incentive to do everything in my power to retain that status.  (Full Western suede chaps at the shows made for easier sticking on the pony as well.)

When I stopped showing and started distance riding, I stopped riding bareback.  There is no way I’m taking Mimi out on trail bareback.  I don’t have that much faith in my Velcro-butt, and really hate to fall off.  So I stick with a saddle for on trail.

But yesterday, I knew I wanted to ride.  But I’d had a busy several days doing all the cooking for one of my mother’s in-home memory art events, and Sunday was my decompression and relaxation day.  But neither did I want to make the trek down to the barn simply to drop off her bags of supplements.  So that meant riding.  But I just didn’t want to deal with thorough grooming, saddling, and all the proper schooling that a full session entails.

So I grabbed my helmet and her bridle, scraped a shedding curry over her (more white fluff removal), slithered on from the fence, and we started wandering around the arena.

Oh yeah, did I mention the wind was blowing at about 25-20mph during all of this?  We had multiple dust devils go racing through the arena, tarps flapping around on neighboring properties, all the fun stuff that happens with high wind.  And it didn’t faze the pony a bit.  She’s a rock star.  :)

Walking felt good, so I got brave and bumped it up to a jog.  She did wonderfully well, actually giving me a proper Western jog that was more than a shuffle but still rideable.  Good girl.  Then I got really brave and attempted a canter.  We actually made a full circle around the arena, but she wasn’t thrilled with me.  Her canter is not smooth anymore, and she really doesn’t do slow Western lope these days.  In a saddle, I can ride it out and stay pretty quiet.  Bareback, it throws me around and I can’t help the inevitable bouncing.

Apparently my recent weight loss means less padding on my rear end, and she’s less than appreciative of my seat bones in her back.  It’s the only thing I can think of that’s different, since she’s more than happy to canter with a saddle between my bum and her back.

I think a good bareback pad might have gotten added to my wish list.  But until that happens, we’ll just stick with a walk and jog on the occasions I lose my marbles and decide bareback riding really is still fun.

My Little Pony

/ Ashley Wingert / 6 Comments

Today was Pony Spa Day, and I took the plunge…

I cut Mimi’s mane.

Please note the “wild pony” eyes. This is the look she
displays pretty much 24/7 through the months of March
and April.  Fun times.

Part of me is crying inside right now.  I know, I know, it’s just hair.  It grows.  But there’s that nagging little, “What have I done?” in the back of my mind.  Sort of the same thought that has gone through my head whenever I’ve decided to chop my own hair really short in the past.  (Never again.  My hair is meant to be long.)

It’s not like I roached it off.  I won’t go that far.  I just cut it to the point that it was at back in our show days.

A large part of me wants that “long, flowing Arabian mane” look.  Unfortunately, the reality is, Mimi got the “crappy Appy” mane/forelock in her POA breeding.

And her mane was three or four different lengths, thanks to the fact she rubs out the middle section of her mane every few months by sticking her head through the bars of her pipe corral stall.  So she had the long, flowing mane…for the first four or five inches of mane.  Then it was the wimpy, rubbed out, really thin middle section.  Finally, the last third of her mane is a different texture (kind of wavy…not unlike my own) and never grew as fast as the front portion.

Cute as she is, the mane was not helping her looks any.  And I can’t get braids to stay in for longer than a day or two.

She still looks cute (she always looks cute) and very much like she could go right back into the show ring.  (If you overlook the metallic rub stains, saddle sweat, mud, manure, and yellow tail.  I wanted to give her a bath…then the clouds came in and she was given a reprieve.  Mostly because I didn’t want to end up cold and soaked.)

I don’t know if I’ll just leave it like this, or if we’ll attempt to grow it out and and see if she can keep it a little more even.