Here's your ass...

The point of moving to the new barn was that I would ride more.  It's closer to my house and has a covered arena...so even though we were having huge amounts of rain I could still ride!  Except my horse was psycho.  So......

Actually, I did ride him a few times.  I was proud of myself for riding him through the attempts to buck and rear and freak out being separated from Jessie who was screaming his fool head off back at the barn.  To me, my attempts at riding were great...I rode him until he was able to go on the bit somewhat quietly for a couple of circles.  To my trainer, they were ridiculous little attempts that barely made a dent in the issue.  Which was ok with me, because that's why I moved to that barn...so that I could learn more, faster!

So my first lesson at the new barn I asked my trainer to ride Shamrock.  It was glorious.  Shamrock basically had his ass handed to him for 45 minutes and came out of it a changed horse with a new found focus.  And a need for a nap.

Being a working member of society and not a nutcase is tiring...

(I want to add that my trainer is amazing and while disciplined and expecting a lot of the horses he knows how hard to push and uses his incredible timing more than anything...no force or gadgets for Shamrock, just good old fashioned half halts and expectations).

Home sweet home...

The new stable was amazing.  Large, roomy stalls.  Covered arena.  All weather jump ring.  Large dirt ring.  Grassy field to ride in.  And dirt paddocks with good drainage.  Life was perfect.  Right?

Except PSSM means that my horse doesn't always approach change logically.  He is also crazy, possessive of Jessie.  Freaking out if Jessie leaves his sight...and...apparently, since the move...if *he* leaves Jessie's sight!  Yay!

At least the barn cat liked me...or my stuff...

Shamrock loved hanging out in his stall, with Jessie directly across from the aisle!!!

Jessie was pretty comfortable as well!

Did I mention the stalls are roomy?  Shamrock is positively swimming in his!

Moving on...

I had really enjoyed the year I spent at our barn...but a few issues popped up, leading to me deciding to move my guys to a different stable.  The biggest issue was that I really, really, really wanted to board at the stable my trainer worked out of.  I had been planning on making the move in the summer, but ended up doing it in March.  Because it was raining...it started raining and I wasn't able to ride or work Shamrock.  Not to mention he was living in a mud pit and couldn't be moved to the pasture because there was still *grass*.  So I moved Shamrock and Jessie to Retama Equestrian Center.

Oh look, another PSSM symptom!

During the winter I discovered another PSSM symptom.  Cold impacts him more than "regular" horses.  Basically if it's below 50 degrees he needs a blanket.  Fortunately I have a lot of winter blankets in his size since I had a mare that wore the same size in Ohio before I got Shamrock.

Of course, she was a mare...and I bought everything in purple that I could find...fortunately he looks great in purple!!!

Weirdo...

Shamrock has many endearing qualities...one of them is his tendency to nicker at me when I am dismounting.  We worked throughout the winter and he continued to improve.  Staying on the bit longer and longer.  And also coming back to being on the bit after resisting much more quickly!

Trucking along...

So we kept working, sometimes I rode 4 times a week...sometimes I rode 2.  I didn't have a good handle on what he needed, exercise wise.  He was definitely improving though, and that was huge!

Help!

One of the best things I did for Shamrock and I was to take him to a desensitization clinic.  We spent the first half of the day doing ground work, then the second half under saddle.  After a little longeing once we arrived Shamrock did *amazing*.  I never thought he would do so well!  It was a huge confidence boost for me and allowed me to trust him again.  He accepted all of the spooky objects, walked into a kiddie pool filled with empty plastic bottles, through pool noodles, and we even drug obstacles around!  He did great, and we followed it up with a lesson on trailer loading...he's loaded great since that lesson, so we were able to start trail riding again!

The next time we went trail riding Shamrock did fantastic.  He was relaxed and fun to ride...I was even able to ride him on a loose rein, and I didn't have to worry about getting him to load while leaving!

The most amazing thing about this picture is that it was taken *before* we went on our trail ride!!!