Cativa Cativa Cativa & Ferrary Enzo

[maria]

Lucky girl to ride all these prety babies! I'm sure you'll make them into pros!

[happilyeverafter]

If nothing else, its a lot of fun. The babies are great to ride because they are so honest. The mistakes they make are purely rider based - they really do whatever you ask them, because they dont know anything else!

Also, I'm going to start riding Rosa Spinosa again this week... riding three horses is going to whip me into shape real quick!

[happilyeverafter]

Cativa is lame so she is off for a bit ... Enzo is doing really well. Hoping to ride Rosa today!

[happilyeverafter]

Enzo did well today... one little buck when we first trotted but then he settled down. Did only trot work today as he was a little wound up and I didnt want to die.

Rosa was amazing. I'm officially in love with that mare. She is so smart and so lovely ... I want her! hahah I'm going to keep riding her so Sandra can start using her in the school. I figure with about three weeks work she'll have her w/t/c solid.

Cativa's splint seems to be healing up fine, but she now has taken a hole in her hoof. The farrier is coming next week so he will take a look at it and make sure there is nothing majorly wrong happening down there!

Thats all for now ... going again to ride Enzo and Rosa tomorrow afternoon. Will update again.

[happilyeverafter]

Enzo and Rosa were both great yesterday. I had an awesome canter on Enzo and he didnt buck at all - very relaxed for the whole ride.

Rosa was a super star again, just need to keep working on her steering. She'll catch on soon tho, she is so smart

[happilyeverafter]

forgot to add: there are some potential buyers coming this weekend to look at all of the horses. Keep your fingers crossed that Cativa stays lame so they wont want her ... and that they fall in love with Enzo! I pulled his mane and gave him a really really good grooming. He looks gorgeous!

I'd love for him to find his own person to spoil him rotten.

[happilyeverafter]

Sooooo Cativa is still off ... she's got heat in all her knees/hocks/coronary bands ... woot for growing! She'll be having the next several days/weeks off in an effort to feed her lots and let her grow some more.

Rode Enzo and Rosa on Friday, they both did great. Enzo has really settled now. He very rarely spooks these days and there is no baby fussing and no bucking. Finally! its taken him a while to start growing up but I think he is finally getting there.

Today he and I had an AMAZING ride. We rode with Christina and Laura and Elaine... off the lunge line, all on our own!

We did a total of about 25 minutes of just walking on the track, keeping him happy and quiet, and then we mixed in a little bit of trot. I was worried he would freak without having the line but he went forward happily and we motored around behind Bella for a bit. THEN he decided he had too much energy and broke into a canter.

Because we dont want to discourage forwardness, I let him go. Despite the steering being a little rusty, he was an absolute joy. The canter was light and forward and springy and just gorrrrrrrrgeous.

I just about died up there. He's like a little bit of heaven when he goes nice!

Anyway, we did more trotting and walking after the one canter and then called it a day. He was such a superstar I didnt want to be greedy.

So, the rides off the line will continue and hopefully he will improve as steadily as he has been the past couple of weeks.

I'm enjoying spending time with him. His personality is so different from Cativa. He's a real gentleman and a silly kid, all at the same time! Enzo is the bomb

Rosa is being good too. A real prankster. Still working w/t on the lunge. I havent cantered her yet but that will probably be next week.

[happilyeverafter]

Wow I havent written in here in ages!

Just wanted to put a quick update that Cativa is now sound, with just a shortness of stride in her right hind (the injured side) that we think will even up once she has built back some fitness.

I have been riding her a little bit and she is as happy as a clam - of course, her training needs a real refresher as she is quite rusty (hasnt been really ridden since last spring!) so we are back to basics, working on steering and straightness and just plain listening when I ask her to trot

She is a good girl tho and is trying hard! I just love her so much

[sharon]

I'm so glad to hear she is recovering . Keep us updated.

[maria]

Yeah, me too! You must be so relieved that she made it through allright.

[happilyeverafter]

Figured I should update that I havent ridden Cativa since the beginning of February, but that the vet says she looks good and has developed muscle to compensate for her injury and should be able to function at 95-98% soundness. I am going to ride her tomorrow and see how she does!

The weather has been nice and warm (and super slushy and gross as well) so it will be a good day to ride (in the indoor. hah).

[happilyeverafter]

Rode Cativa today! She was great. We did walk trot and canter - she was sound and having an absolute ball! I almost wished I had free lunged her first so she could really kick up her heels, because she sure isnt allowed to while I'm on board!

anyway, we did a bunch of work on steering using my seat and no rein, and then moved on to some trot work, and then canter, and back to walk and halt transitions.

Yay Cativa <3333333333333333333333 she is the best pony in the world!

[happilyeverafter]

I rode Cativa last weekend and we had a bit of a hard time but it was all my fault.. Anyway, going back to the barn this weekend hopefully to see how shes doing.

This is my crazy time of year - I have three weeks left of school and the same until my final graduation recital so I am a busy beaver practising and playing final concerts for all of my classes. I am hoping that when my recital is over on the 12th, I can spend the remainder of the month going out to the barn.

Cativa really needs to be ridden a little every day- she is so smart that it only takes her a few days to catch up on all the things she has forgotten over the past year, and the regular exercise is really good for her injury. I'm hoping that a friend of mine from school will lease her when I move away for my masters!

[happilyeverafter]

Rode Cativa today. We're still struggling on the right rein thanks to her being a cow. haha I'm kidding... but she does pop her shoulder so I need to ride stronger with the outside aids and really make her listen to them! Otherwise she runs us into other horses who are working in the arena - she will crank her head to the inside and run through her outside shoulder, and then if I correct the straightness she just moves to the outside!!!

I know this will be fixed as soon as I correct the rider errors that are happening, so that will be the main focus of the next couple of rides. I just need to be stronger with my legs (especially the outside one) and really get her moving off of my outside aids.

Life calms down a lot for me after this week, so I'm hoping to ride a couple times a week (as opposed to once a week, or once every two weeks) and really get her back to w/t/c and going round.

The only disappointing part of my ramblings is that I am moving in 5 weeks (home for the summer, and then maybe to Los Angeles in August ... I dont know yet!) and therefore will be leaving Cativa. I am hoping that my friend from school will start leasing her in May and be able to continue her training, at least until I can buy her and bring her to wherever I am (LA or Home!)

[happilyeverafter]

Oh I should add that on the left rein we did some good work without the cow-y-ness (hah), and some nice canter work as well ... and if anyone (DONNA! ) has any ideas to help: the right rein is the direction in which her old inured stifle is on the outside, we think that that makes a difference and she is trying to use it as an excuse tp get out of working. She is sound and shows no signs of being in pain so I dont think its a legitimate reason.

Suggestions & ideas for continued rehab and/or schooling methods are welcome.