Cob Jockey

I feel like it's time for a proper review of my barn's TruTex footing, which I mentioned briefly when we put it in a year ago, in November of 2017.  If you remember, footing was the only thing I compromised on initially when I moved Connor to the new barn in May of 2017.  My old barn had gorgeous Thoroturf and GGT rings, so I was definitely spoiled.  But now, our footing is just as good as my old barn's, and for a fraction of the price.

Not my barn.  Wouldn't that be awesome though? PC: TruTex website

First, what is TruTex?  Their tagline is "Making Luxury Arena Footing Affordable".   It's a purpose-made fiber additive that can be added to any kind of existing arena footing to give it the same stability, structure, water retention and shock absorption of any luxury footing brand.  Popular in Europe, it's just starting to catch on in the US.

PC: TruTex website

If you remember, the footing at my new barn was deep and shifty when I got here.  It would be alright the day you watered and dragged it, but quickly fell apart after that, requiring tons of maintenance.

PC above two images: TruTex website

As a rider, on the old, shifty footing a tendon injury was always in the back of my mind, and my very footing-conscious horse was never quite as confident on it as he was at our old barn, especially at the canter.

Before TruTex.  He always felt sticky and unsure of himself on the old footing, especially during tight turns in the canter as shown as the beginning of this GIF when I practically have to kick him out of the turn.

Then we got TruTex.  Our footing is still the same sand we had before, but it rides just like the high dollar footings I was used to from the old barn, no kidding.  And it only cost $3,000 to take our pretty big indoor from deep and shifty, to comparable to the best footing systems in the world.

After TruTex - much more confident on a similar turn.  I kicked him here too, but only to make the distance on the circle of death when we were alternating 4 strides and then 5 strides between the poles.

Over the past year, we've installed it in both the indoor and the outdoor, and I genuinely could not be happier with it.  It's stable under Connor's feet, absorbs shock extremely well, springs back after impact, and immediately after it was installed, Connor felt more confident under saddle than he ever had on the old footing.

From a maintenance perspective, the outdoor stays safely rideable in conditions that would have sent us scurrying for the indoor in the past.  And it requires so much less watering and dragging than it did before we added TruTex.



So besides the fact that it's a great product that's totally transformed my barn's footing and that it's the cheapest way to get high quality footing I know of, why do I think TruTex is going to take the US market by storm in 2019?  Short answer: I don't think any other vendor in the footing market makes it this easy.  If you've ever shopped for footing before, you'll appreciate the following:

• You get a quote by plugging in your arena's dimensions on the website.  Most footing companies require you to go through a sales rep for that kind of info.
• It ships directly to your front door.
• It requires no special tools or skill to install.
• It can rehab any type of existing footing, and doesn't require you to start over completely with your existing arena.
• It's compatible with any kind of sand.

Cross section of an arena with TruTex fibers throughout the sand PC: TruTex website

It was 70 degrees for the first time since October yesterday.  I spent my workday like this:


And my after work time like this:

This time of year, with this kind of sunlight, it's impossible to take a bad picture of this place.  Even if it includes the manure area.

FBR isn't usually out there on Tuesdays, but she knows I am, and she knows I'll give her a ride home since her house is on my drive home, so she asked if she could come out with me.  I said sure, and that she could practice braiding while I cleaned my tack.  Since it's warm, and tack cleaning sounded fun.

Side note: She's totally obsessed with braiding.  Since I taught her two weeks ago, she's been watching YouTube videos about braiding and reading the book I gave her.  I'm pretty sure she does braids in her sleep right now.

Not only do both rings get dragged every day, they also drag this sacrifice paddock and the track to the pastures.  Can't wait til there are leaves on these trees!

I tacked up pretty fast since it's only light out until about 7 and I wanted to be outside.  I'm not sure if it was the wind, the neighbors shooting guns or something else, but Connor was terrible.  Very 'over it'.  Lots of windblown-hair-hitting-ears head shaking.  Finally I got what I thought was a decent canter, and from the rail I heard FBR say, "That was a really nice canter," so I ended there.  Nothing productive was going to happen that night.

She had asked if she could cool him out again, but I think was intimidated by the trouble I had with him, and wasn't on him too long.

Connor: "Whyyyyyyyyyyyy?"

Sorry for dropping off the face of the planet - a five day business trip to Michigan isn't conducive to, well, anything.

I came back to the barn to something new!


THAT is our salvation this winter.

I have written before about our terrible indoor footing.  How I feel bad for complaining about footing when I know I'm lucky to have an indoor at all.  But it was sold to us six-ish years ago as this fancy lifetime dust-free arena footing, and within a couple of years, it had broken down badly.  Choking dust no matter how much we watered it, and so deep and shifty there were areas of the arena we couldn't use.  It caused Connor to lose all impulsion, and his work in the indoor is never great.

We reached out to the manufacturer, since it clearly was defective, and they were not helpful at all.  They offered some additive for an additional $xx,xxx.  Uh, no.  So we avoided riding in the indoor unless we had to (so, November-March) and didn't complain, but it sucked.

(I will not publicly shame the first manufacturer, but if you are looking to buy footing ever, PM me and I'll tell you who to avoid.)

Then.  This week.

Not totally mixed in yet, but it will be - trainer is dragging it between every ride until it fully mixes and settles.

This happened!  A manufacturer worked with us to determine that this fluffy stuff would successfully mix into the busted footing to stabilize it and kill the dust.  They did tests to make sure of it ahead of time.  So bales of this stuff arrived and the manufacturer spent "a really long time" (multiple days) mixing and fixing it.

Some fluff that landed on the wall.

It is.

Amazing.

My thoughts are 1) It feels like I'm riding on top of the footing rather than through it like it felt before.  and 2) We're actually going to be able to make Dressage progress this winter.  I'm actually going to have impulsion in the indoor.  3) I actually enjoyed riding in the indoor for the first time ever.

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!

Trainer's thoughts: Look at the takeoff point!  There are no huge holes, it's all still level after a whole lesson!  I'm actually going to be able to hold jump lessons in here now.

They also mixed in a bale of stiffer green fluffy stuff in the more unstable spots.

As if that wasn't enough (it was, really really it was) Christmas-in-October isn't over.  They're also expanding the outdoor by maybe 12 feet down the long side and 10 feet down the short side!  So we'll be able to set up the full Dressage ring in there now, as well as set some good courses.

They haven't started that project yet, this is what it looks like today.  They are taking out the existing arena fence on the right, and expanding the arena to cover where the track is now, so the arena will go all the way to the white board fence on the far right.  The track will get moved accordingly to the right.  Then it is also being expanded toward the photographer by 10 feet.

I will make this brief, but I want to remember what I figured out during my practice ride in the outdoor today:

Look at that blue sky!  Spring is coming!

- Never give him a chance to give me less than the quality of work I know he can give me; if four good trot strides are all he can give me before he gets distracted by pasturemates and throws his head up, accept three good trot strides and bring him back down to a good quality walk before asking again.  Eventually it will be five strides, then half of a circle, then a full 20m circle, etc.
- If he's not paying attention, give him something to pay attention to every few strides.
- Remember to use the tools in my toolbox (turns on the forehand/haunches, rein-back, shoulder-in, leg yields, etc) rather than tensing up through my shoulders in an effort to make him soften and yield.

I think with a green horse, like with a dog, they'll revert back on things they already know how to do when placed in a "new" location, and that's what I'm experiencing with him in the outdoor.  Just have to persevere and figure him out, then I'll get good stuff out of him like I did at the end of today.

They moved the Dressage ring that is usually in the grassy field into the outdoor in order to practice for a show this weekend.  It looks so classy like this.

I finally got smooth, uncomplicated canter transitions out of him.  Canter transitions that weren't hesitant, that didn't make a huge fuss over the fact that I was asking him to canter - they just happened.  Was it tiredness, or is he actually getting used to the idea of cantering?  No idea.  The first couple weren't so good, but they got progressively better.  Finally, we have a canter with which to work with. 

Tonight, for the first time since last fall, I rode in short sleeves (no sleeves, actually) and I believe that's why my trainer identified the tension in my biceps and elbows.  I'm still struggling with the idea of finding the right balance between too much contact/not enough contact and needing heavier contact in order to develop light contact.  I will be the first to admit that as a result of my changing ideas about contact, I was probably headed toward developing a heavy hand and a heavy-mouthed horse.  But my trainer's constant refrain of "elastic elbows" tonight absolutely cured that, and gave me the elastic-mouthed horse I've been looking for all along.

I'm extremely exhausted after that, and staying up to watch the IU game.  Here, have a terrible pony picture because my DSLR is still broken.  (I know, I know...)

View from the new loft!

Bonus picture.

Today's lesson was awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwesome!  But first:

I finally gave in and started pulling, days after telling my trainer I was leaving it long.  I have enough of an uphill battle for credibility riding a 13.3hh pony in an adult eventing barn, and decided I didn't want to be "That Guy" anymore.  Plus, that mane is just looking shaggy, and it's typically a shade between "dirt brown" and "mud brown", and I'm sort of a lazy groomer so...yeah.  I'm happier with it pulled.  Or I will be, when I finish pulling it in approximately two weeks.  I'm a fast puller, and that 8 inch section took me 45 minutes!  Pulling thick manes is no joke.

In our lesson today, I finally saw some real progress.  She asked me to drive the energy from my seat forward up into the space between my hands - not the hands themselves, which is an important distinction - and to remember that it takes both the energy from the hind end and the "capturing" of the hand to create real contact.  For most of the lesson, I had him lightly and consistently in my hand and between my aids for minutes at a time instead of seconds, and it felt like everything we've been working on for the past few months came together and made sense for both of us.  Those lines of communication opened up and became crystal clear, where there was confusion before. 

Working on his lightness and contact is interesting because I've never developed that in a horse before, and so I wasn't noticing when he was heavy before.  Now, I'm very aware of when he's heavy, and what makes him heavy.  Today, I would refuse to do a movement if he was heavy, because I've come to recognize that dead feeling as a lack of communication between the two of us.  In those moments, Connor is saying, "Hey, this is hard, I don't wanna, do it for me?" and then putting on headphones and tuning me out.  Then I have to massage the inside rein, add inside leg and half halt with the outside rein to get him back.  Sometimes, that takes a little while, but today I felt like I finally had control over getting it back instead of just asking and hoping he understood me.

We finished with canter transitions, and I felt him get tired-heavy.  After our third transition (and they were really not bad) he got very heavy and I struggled to get him back.  That's just young horse/lack of muscling, though.  I know he needs more conditioning rides, and more rides in general, but I'm always going to be limited by the barn being so far away.

And did I mention this entire ride was outside???

It's been a while, hasn't it?  It's been a rough week at work and at the gym, and with my normal weekday riding lesson moved to Sunday due to an outside clinician, I haven't seen the pony in a week!  But I fixed that today, with an outdoor ride.  But first!  It's time for our first monthly body condition photo! 

He's coming out of winter very nicely, looking like a pony that has spent a good deal of time with his face buried in a round bale.  I'd say he's about a six on a body condition score right now, and this is with getting a handful of Tribute Kalm N' EZ and a scoop of flaxseed once a day.  Love these hardy breeds!  Topline muscling is improving, and will continue to do so as he learns better how to carry himself.

Now for the blooper reel, aka all of the pictures I had to take in order to get the semi-decent one above.  Why is it so easy to get pictures of this pony in which his head looks massive and his body looks tiny?  More than any other horse I've owned, he's so good at making himself look awful in photos.

Massive head, tiny body, no feet.

Distracted head-shaking pony (but a nice shot of his lovely shoulder angles).

Is it just me?  I think he looks like a hot dog with legs here.  A cute hot dog, but a hot dog nonetheless.

Well...this just didn't go well at all.

Today was our second ride in the outdoor.  You may remember the first outdoor arena ride.  He wasn't spooky today, but he had a quick walk going and was much more interested in turning his head to look at his pasturemates than anything else. 

I decided to use that very fast, forward walk to my advantage by very dramatically asking for that walk plus more, to where he was almost breaking into a trot, and then very dramatically slowing the pace of my gliding seatbones to ask for a more compressed walk.  It took once or twice, but those big, dramatic, flag-waving signals were exactly the stimulus he needed to focus on me, and to realize that the outdoor means work just like the indoor does.  Subtlety would have been lost on his brain today.

So the lesson was primarily an elementary walk school, with lots of transitions within the gait, and down to the halt, and lots of figures.  I asked for softening on the inside rein, and I focused on giving him a consistent, obvious "space" in which he was to work - this space did not allow for turning his head to look at his friends in their pasture, as he found out.  When I had what I wanted everywhere except in the very far corner nearest his pasture, I asked for the trot, and was stunned to find that he gave me a steady, appropriate, non-rushing rhythm.  It seemed that walk work really put him in the right frame of mind for work, even outside.

In the end, it's all about communication.  He's like a kindergartener that doesn't understand the difference between playtime and work time.  I'm the teacher trying to come up with the words to tell him that we can have class on the playground or on a field trip just the same as we do in the classroom.  And we really do get a little closer with every outdoor ride.

My pony has a confidence problem.

As John put it today, he's so cocky out in the field, but put him in a situation in which he's remotely uncomfortable and he turns into a nervous, hyper-sensitive version of his normal self.  It's completely Jekyll  & Hyde, almost as if I had two different horses.  Even though he knows and trusts me, I still have to catch him both in the field and in his stall as if I were approaching my wild Mustang I trained in college, because a too-aggressive step forward on my part will make him throw his head up and roll his eyes white.  My trainer walking around in her long coat during a lesson causes him to curve his body away from her and give her the evil eye.  Austen walking toward him with a camera when we were stopped on the rail caused him to shake like a mountain lion was chasing him.

You get the point.


To work through this, I'm following a simple rule: never put him in a situation in which he will ultimately lose.  It may take him a little while to realize that there is a way to win, and that he will win, and it may be scary in the meantime, but in the end, I always want this horse to feel like he is the winner of any situation I put him into. 

Today, I took him to the little Dressage arena we have set up in the open grass field across the road from the barn and schooled him there.  After beginning with a spook at a Kildeer that flew up underneath us, he was on edge, so I put him to work, at the walk, entirely with things he is familiar with and good at already.  Halt-walk-halt transitions, shoulder-in on the straight, 20m circles, giving more on the inside rein.  I asked consistently and evenly, and watched his ears for a sign of life while I tried to gain his attention.  Finally, about 20 minutes into the ride, he flicked an ear back at me during a transition, and immediately became lighter in the bridle.  After another ten minutes of work in which he was about 75% focused on me, I called it a day, dismounted in the grass ring facing away from the barn, and led him across the street.  Can't be too predictable!

Just like the effort and practice we put into our figures and gaits inside the arena, his confidence is not going to come together overnight.  Only with many long hours of hacking, desensitization (to a point), and confidence-building situations will Connor begin to believe in himself.  In the end, though, even if it takes me years to have a pony that doesn't give the rearranged chairs in the corner of the arena a funny look every time we pass them, I would much rather have an overly-sensitive pony than an overly-dull pony.  I didn't purposely fall in love with the breed that breathes fire for nothing!

After Thursday's success, I was hoping that I could get some more of that nice trot on Saturday.  It was an unbelievable 60 degrees here in southern Indiana in January, and our gorgeous outdoor footing was just perfect, so I decided to take him outside.  Should be a good work day, right?

BOING!

Nope!

My reactive little pony had never been in the outdoor before, and was paying attention to everything but me.  He also spooked in place at the sight of his own shadow moving on the white barn, and then proceeded to spook or look at it every time we passed after that.  I just laughed and pushed him through it into a long canter.  We haven't been able to do that in the indoor since the footing and size makes it hard for him.

The rest of the ride looked something like this:

"Hi, I'm a giraffe.  Did I mention I'm a giraffe today?"

As far as he overtracks, it's amazing that he doesn't interfere, though I have thought about precautionary bell boots.

Just past the spooky place.

You can see the white spot on the top of his hindquarters here.  I call it his Rorschach blot - everyone who sees it sees something different in it.

He's reaching so far under himself with that right hind!

Just starting to listen to me.

Terrible picture, but my husband thinks he looks like two men in a horse suit in this picture.

So cute, it's stupid.

For more photos from this set, see our Flickr page, which is linked above.