Wednesday

  Phoenix and I had a great day today!  When I arrived at the ranch, I hung out in her stall for a little while, messing around with and petting her.  Phoenix seemed to love the attention and she followed me around so I could rub her head and neck.

  I put on her rope halter and tied the lead rope like reins and I rode her bareback down to the tack room, where I tied her up so I could grab her bridle. I had checked her bumps when I had been messing around with her in her stall and they don't seem to have changed so I still cannot ride her with a saddle. 

  I decided to ride Phoenix bareback so I put on her western bridle with split reins and hopped on my girl. We went for a trail ride and it was super fun!  We started off down the road like normal when Phoenix started doing that weird stopping thing. I kept urging her to continue and slowly but surely we headed down the road.

  I'm still on a quest to figure out what is bothering her but for now I'm just dealing with the problem. Instead of continuing straight, I led Phoenix down a side dirt road that went by fields, houses, and orchards. She was doing well and really only spooked at a dog that surprised her by bounding from a house barking. 

  When I felt confident enough, I trotted Phoenix around and I even loped her a little!  It felt great to be confident and trusting enough in Phoenix to be able to let loose and have some fun. 

  We ran around for a little bit and then ran across this dirt lot to make it to the back of the property at 45.  When we got back, I let Phoenix loose into the pen with the cow. It was pretty funny because I was kind of hoping she would mess around with the cow but they totally ignored each other and Phoenix rolled and messed with the dirt. 

  The cow is actually super cute and very nice. He kept coming over to the fence and licking me. His nose was all slimy and his tongue was rough but he was so cute so I couldn't help but to pet him.  

  When I went to grab Phoenix out of the pen to put her away though, the cow started following her and Phoenix kept reaching her nose out to sniff him.  When I can put a saddle on Phoenix again, I think I might just work the cow in the arena. 

  

Lesson and Tuesday

  Phoenix and I went to lesson on Monday and had a great time.  She stood well while I tacked her up and warmed up nice at a walk and trot.  She was a little excited at the lope, so I warmed her up 2 handed and did circles and stuff.  Chris helped us work on our turns and I learned to check her before coming into the barrel and turn her with the inside hand after her body is about halfway past the barrel.  Phoenix did well and we did the pattern a few times at all the gaits.  The first time we loped though, Phoenix bucked at the 2nd barrel and after the 3rd, so Chris and I worked on taking her through and not letting her buck.
  After a few times through, Phoenix and I walked around a little and Chris set up poles.  Phoenix and I walked through the first time and Chris helped us work on the middle turn that always bites us in the butt at YPBRA.  I need to urge her to the left and then turn her with my right hand into the turn.  I never really do the one handed thing because I don't have full control of Phoenix neck reining (she isn't fully trained at it) and I have to keep running through the poles after my turn.  The next time we trotted and we took more time to continue re-doing that one turn so that it didn't suck.
  Chris had me lope (try to slowly lope) through the pattern before Phoenix and I quite.  I ran her up the poles and she turned well and bucked between the first 2 poles, so I pulled back to stop her (that is what Chris had me do to let Phoenix know that bucking is not ok) but for some reason Phoenix reared up and I fell off her backwards.  It happened so fast that I couldn't tell you what happened exactly but I do remember being scared that Phoenix was going to fall backwards on me because I've seen it happen to other racers and the idea of a large horse crushing me (especially after the whole rib break incident) wasn't too inviting.
  Luckily Phoenix kind of stumbled sideways and somehow regained her balance.  Then she proceeded to run down the arena and stand by the other riders.  I got lucky and was ok, just a little shaken up and a small bruise on my back end.  I still can't believe that Phoenix did that and I know that something must have happened because she has never done that before.  At best, during one 4H show that she was especially bratty she did a small rear that was only like halfway up, but this was a full blown rear that almost caused her to fall and I can't help but wonder if I did something that caused her to blow up.
  Phoenix, luckily also unhurt, was totally fine when I remounted her and of course we had to finish a successful pattern at the lope to help our confidence and end on a good note.  But since she kept bucking after that first turn, Chris had me lope her in a circle until she was listening better and then run the pattern from the left instead of the right.  I am considering running her from the left in competition because our bad turn is first and last instead of that weird middle turn, but I also want to be able to get Phoenix to where she can do it either way so we'll see.
  We worked on turns a few more times and then walked the pattern neck reining to cool Phoenix off.  I uncinched Phoenix facing the poles and led her out of the arena to take off her gear and brush her down.  Emily checked to make sure I was ok and helped me untack and brush Phoenix.  When we were all loaded up and ready to go, Phoenix just hopped into the trailer and we took her home to finish the rest of her dinner in her stall.

  Though not quite what expected, Tuesday turned out to be a great day!  School didn't start till 12 due to testing so I was able to go to the ranch in the morning.  Originally I planned to go on a trail ride with Jenny but due to a discovery, that didn't happen.  I groomed Phoenix down and had Jenny look her over when she got there to make sure Phoenix didn't pop anything out of place or whatever after her crazy rear yesterday.  Though Phoenix was sound and everything looked good, Jenny found bumps under Phoenix's belly along where her cinch goes.  I had previously brought those up to Melissa and we settled on them probably being bug bites, though they were pretty big.  

  Turns out that Phoenix is allergic to her new cinch, which is causing her to break out in hives.  Kim commented that she noticed some after I started using it and that she should've brought it up but didn't think about it.  Though it is a pain since the cinch was expensive and I might not get a refund due to have been riding in it, I'm glad we figured out what it was so we could let those go away before I rode her again.  

  Now it made since why Phoenix kept trying to nip me when I was currying her cinch spot that was still there from lesson due to not hosing her off afterwards.  I thought she was just being a butt, but she was trying to tell me that it hurt her.  I feel bad for riding her with it for the last few days and realized that, though we will never be 100% sure if this was actually the cause or not, the pain of the hives being rubbed by the cinch could've eventually hurt her enough that she resorted to rearing and might even be why she started bucking.  

  Long story short, I had to give Phoenix a few days off to let the reaction disappear and buy her a new cinch, otherwise, the reaction would not go away and would eventually rub them into open sores, which hurt more and take longer to heal.  

  So instead of riding my girl, I lunged her.  After I finished lunging her, Jenny put her gelding in with Phoenix and lunged both of them.  It was not only super cool that Jenny could get both of them listening, but she could get her horse to stop and stand waiting for her on the outside while she worked Phoenix.  She worked with Phoenix until she respected her and asked to come in.  It took a few times till Phoenix would stop asking to come in instead of just coming in, but after a little while she seemed to understand what Jenny wanted.  

  When Jenny was done, she had both horses following her and listening to her cues.  It was really cool and she explained what she had done so I would understand it.  She also told me I have good groundwork skills and that I just need to learn more so that I can accomplish a purpose instead of just lunging to lunge.  

  Jenny then let me hop up on her 17hh paint gelding bareback with halter and lead rope reins.  He was super awesome and even waited alongside the fence for me to climb up and slide over on his back.  I was nervous at first that Phoenix would keep messing with us but Jenny explained that when she had put her horse in, she had pushed Phoenix away and established him as the dominant one, so Phoenix should leave him alone.  I was still a tad bit nervous, but Jenny was right and Phoenix just stood in a corner.  

  Jenny's gelding was super fun to ride and he neck reined and rode two handed, so I messed around with both and Jenny helped me to work on my position.  I needed to bring my knees forward a little and to grip with my calves, but relax my feet.  At first this greatly confused me because there is always a huge emphasis on heels down, so I pushed my heels down hard, which also helped me to lock into a grip on the horse, but Jenny explained that I was to tight and I needed to loosen so I gripped more with my calves and moved with the horse instead of being locked in a position.  

  I worked on my position and rode the gelding (I can't recall his name) in a walk and trot in both directions.  He listened well and the only real problem I had was everytime I passed Phoenix he wanted to stop and go into her, so I had to fight with him to keep going, which was a little hard in just a halter but I got him to continue on.  Though he had a large stride, I loved it and I worked on rollbacks with him due to his responsiveness.  He is so good that if you are in the wrong position or unbalanced, that he would stop and not let you go faster.  

  I really wanted to get him into a lope, but he just wouldn't go any faster than a trot, which Jenny explained as him not trusting that I will stay with him due to not being super balanced on him and he really only lopes with her.  After a few more attempts, he got tired and so I walked him a few laps and then dismounted and let him loose to play with Phoenix. 

  Phoenix and the gelding messed around with eachother for a little while and Phoenix even challenged his dominance a few times before Jenny had to take him back to her barn.  After they left, I gave Phoenix a bath since I still had a good amount of time.  Phoenix needed the bath and she felt so smooth and looked so shiny afterwards.  I was also able to scrub those scabby spots on her hind legs and comb out her mane and tail.  

  After she dried, I put her up and it was time for me to go to school.  Later I realized something.  Today was the first day I rode without a helmet.  I hopped up on Jenny's gelding with my cowboy hat on, though it eventually fell off due to being too large.  Then I just rode with my hair free.  I noticed that I wasn't even nervous about it and this again brought up the huge discussion that my dad and I previously had about helmets and how I was old enough to decide for myself.  I'm still not sure what I want to do but I have time and helmets so it will all work out.  

Saturday

  On Saturday, Melissa and I went to Lerma's where I bought Phoenix a need cinch since her old one was falling apart. I wanted to get her one similar to english girths cause I haven't owned any other type but they only had ones that had white undersides with big bumps that were supposed to be more breathable. I ended up getting one and we headed out to the ranch to try it out.

  We settled on a 32 sized cinch and it fit Phoenix well, so after brushing her down, Melissa and I took her into the arena with her western tack on. I wanted Melissa to watch me rise and give me some pointers.  Her first realization was that when I was kicking Phoenix, I was kicking the back cinch instead of her so we removed the back cinch. Then we worked on neck reining and using leg while riding but by this point my legs were starting to rub really bad on the saddle (I had shorts on) so we switched Phoenix into her bareback pad and full cheek snaffle bit on her English bridle. 

  I had recently switched out her corkscrew snaffle for a full cheek snaffle and Phoenix liked the bit better. We worked on keeping a consistent pace and leg. Melissa got on to feel Phoenix so she could help me know what she was doing and I have to say, I wish I had taken a picture. Let me set the scene. 

  Melissa and I had had out FFA banquet the previous night and Melissa ended up sleeping over but it was kind of on the spot so she didn't have any extra clothes with her. She was on Phoenix with the bareback pad with no shoes in nylons, a black pencil skirt, and a horse t shirt I let her borrow. The best part was her skirt was hiked all the way up so I could see some of her underwear. 

  Melissa worked Phoenix in a circle for a little bit until she was listening and gave me some advice (which I don't fully remember). At this point, Melissa had to leave so I just worked on the basics with Phoenix for a little while. 

  We worked more on flatworm and then on flying lead changes which Phoenix actually picked up a few times!  Then I ran barrels a few times and walked her out. 

 I hosed Phoenix off and put her back into her stall where she proceeded immediately to roll and become super dirty. I just hung out in her feed bucket till my dad picked me up. 

Thursday and Friday

  Since Phoenix and I were becoming frustrated over barrels, we decided to take a break and go for a fun trail ride.  I tacked Phoenix up in her Western gear and we headed down the road.  We walked down the rocky path and Phoenix let me trot her after about halfway.  We jumped over a few logs on the side of the road and continued on past some workshops and a church until we reached the main road.  After crossing the road, I let Phoenix out to a trot and eventually a lope.  Throughout our trail ride I randomly checked her and asked her to stop or change gaits to make sure that she was listening. As long as she was listening well, she was allowed to continue running (It was a blast running in the desert and through the dunes).  

  I'm finding myself more relaxed every day and am enjoying Phoenix more and more.  She was great on our ride and listened well.  We trotted and walked home, where I untacked Phoenix and hosed her down.  I also hosed off her pad since it was getting crusty and I hung it up to dry.  When I placed Phoenix back into her stall she immediately rolled and caked herself in dirt.  

  Phoenix was a little more challenging on Friday, though we still had fun riding on the trail (for the most part).  We rode western in split reins again and everything started off fine but she barely wanted to walk down the road and Phoenix kept stopping and refusing to go forward. 

  Several times I had to dismount and walk her a little ways or slap her in the butt with one of her reins to get her to keep walking forward. After we got past the halfway point though, Phoenix was fine and I trotted her into the desert where we loped around for a while. 

  We had some extra time after our normal path so I ran her back towards the road and into the large dunes. Phoenix loves running up and down them. On the way home she was totally fine and actually wanting to run faster but I kept her at a walk or trot. 

  I believe she has made some buddies at the ranch so she is becoming a little barn sour. We will just have to work on it because we both love trails. 

Tuesday and Wednesday

  I wasn't able to ride on Monday because my dad was out of town, but Phoenix and I had a great time on Tuesday.  We rode Western and worked on basics and barrels.  I turned Phoenix out first so she could run around and get some bucks out and then I brushed her down and tacked her up.  I worked on desensitizing her from my rope before I rode by getting her used to it touching and flapping around everywhere.  It spooked her at first but she got a little bit used to it by the end.  Though it took awhile till she would let me touch her face with the rope and swing it above her head.
  I rode her in her gymkhana bit (jointed gag bit).  Phoenix did great and we worked on flatwork for a little bit.  She is improving on giving to the bit but is only good at it at the walk and trot.  As soon as we lope, she braces while turning.  We worked on barrel turns at all of the gaits and I also worked on my goat tying dismount.

  As you can see from the above videos, I need work on barrels and goat tying dismounts (don't worry I successfully dismounted at the lope afterwards).  We have a horse show next weekend so hopefully our times and my horsemanship will improve by then. 

  On Wednesday Phoenix and I also worked on barrels and turns.  Overall, she did good and her flatwork is steadily improving but I got frustrated with barrels due to over-practicing them.  After going over the roping from the ground like yesterday, I got on Phoenix with the rope and rode with it through all of the gaits to help her become more comfortable with it.  I started off by throwing the rope off to the sides until she was calm and then I roped a barrel from a stand.  

  Phoenix was totally fine with roping and catching the barrel, but when I yanked on the rope to pull the barrel over, she freaked out and jumped sideways, running off.  I stopped her and held her next to the barrel on the ground as I continuously pulled on the rope and made the barrel tip over.  She freaked out a little, but got more comfortable with it as time went on.  So I hoped back onto her and walked her over to the other barrel across the arena and proceded in roping it.  After a few tries, I successfully roped the barrel but before I could tug on the rope to tip it over, Phoenix spooked and jumped sideways, looping the rope around me.  She ran around the scared around the barrel as I tried pulling her to a stop and finally she ran out to the end of the rope and somehow it fell off me and Phoenix ran down the arena.  

  I calmed her down and made her walk around the barrel and the rope a few times.  She was actually scared to walk over the rope, but she eventually realized it was ok.  I ended after walking the barrel pattern one last time and cooling her off because I knew that we wouldn't get anywhere fighting with eachother and being frustrated over not getting our pattern perfect.  Hopefully the rest of the week would go better and I will eventually be able to progress roping off of my girl.