Why We Shouldn't Be So Hard on Mares

I see a lot of people post on various social media with typical "mare problems" and I just wanted to give a little insight on why I think we should be more sensitive to our mare's little idiosyncrasies. In my opinion, and I think many would agree with me, mares and geldings are very very different creatures. I have worked with both over the years, and it is apparent that mares have special needs. But ladies, don't we have special needs as well? I relate my mares "problems" to my own issues as a women. We have our "times of the month" and times where we become super hormonal or sensitive for no apparent reason to our male counter parts. We must acknowledge that many of these "problems" our mares are facing, are the same that we deal with, only they don't have chocolate to eat or Romantic Comedies to watch. For Pete's sake, they don't even have Nicholas Sparks on their side!

What I can tell you from my experience in owning a mare for over three years, is that they need to be handled differently than geldings. The old saying "tell a gelding, ask a stallion, discuss it with a mare" is true to the core. Remember people, discuss things with your mare! Be sensitive! 

Contrary to what my equestrian friends may say, my mare is pretty easy to handle and ride compared to some real doozies out there. I have heard horror stories about mares being as "bad" or unpredictable as stallions (which I have never really worked with stallions, so I am not an expert by any means in that area). That being said, my mare is 19 and still acts like a green horse often. She is very opinionated and will let me know very clearly if she is not going to tolerate the situation. She has broken many halters in our "discussions" about whether she would allow her ears to be clipped, or if she actually ties in general for that matter. Her ground manners are only good about half the time, she tends to drag me around on the lead line most of the time. Some days she is perfect under saddle, and other days she is clearly not having it. Maybe she has cramps that day, you don't know! She gets cranky, and since she doesn't have the aforementioned Nicholas Sparks novels or chocolate brownie ice cream, she races to her stall to take solace in her gelding neighbors. I can't blame her, sometimes I just need a hug or to spend a day snuggled in bed too.

This all being said, I know my mare isn't perfect, but it really bothers me when people call her "crazy." I honestly find it offensive. If she is crazy for just being a female horse, then its a wonder more of us female humans have not been locked away at the looney bin. I get sensitive and new things often give me anxiety, I am pretty sure my mare is feeling these same things.

2013 Show Season Recap and Recent Updates

It has been over a year since I posted. So here are the main points from last year's show season as well as recent updates.

Since our first shot at beginner jumpers at the IEHJA Fall Festival 2012 went so well, Gigi and I continued to show in the beginning jumpers division throughout the 2013 show season. We showed at Pepperglen Farms (Norco, CA) , Parkside Horse Shows (at Ridge Riders Arena: Covina, CA), and Horseshows U.S.A. (Norco, CA) We did very well!

Our first Beginner Jumpers show of the season was in February in Norco at their big city arena the George Ingalls Equestrian Center. This was our first time showing at this facility. I was very nervous, as this way only my second time showing jumpers EVER, but we managed to end the show on a good note with a second place in the Power & Speed round. We had rails down in the other rounds. Here we are after the show:

Horseshows USA at the George Ingalls Equestrian Center

We went to two of the three shows in the Parkside show series and we ended up end of season Reserve Champion for the series! At Parkside we took home Champion in the first show of the season and Reserve Champion in the second! Gigi was awesome! Here we are taking home lots of blues and the Championship at the first Parkside Show of 2013.

Champion in the Beginner Jumpers at the April 2013 Parkside Horse Show

Here is our Power & Speed round from the first Parkside Horse Show back in April 2013.



We also showed in the Beginner Jumpers at Pepperglen Farms. Prior to the Pepperglen show, we trailered in for a day of schooling. We played around with some interesting jumps: including the bank jump in the middle of the main arena and this triple bar that Gigi felt the need to soar over:

Gigi took flight over this 2'6 triple bar liver pool

My leg slipped back a bit over this jump because I wasn't expecting her to over jump it by 3 feet! The jumper courses for the Pepperglen show were EXTREMELY challenging. The most challenging combination was a jump up onto a bank, over a vertical on top of the bank, down the bank, then over a natural fence.

Below is one of the videos from that show, the tricky combination is near the end of the video. This was the Power & Speed round. We had a rail down (the vertical on top of the bank) and also failed to pass through the timers so we got DQ'd. MY BAD! It was still fun though.:



In summer 2013 I moved Gigi to a stable closer to my house due to on going car issues. We moved back to the first barn I had her at: Anaheim Equestrian Center (aka Rancho del Rio). Lucky for me they started doing a show series there! Last year they didn't have a jumper division so we just did the Low Jr/Am Hunter division. We were only able to make one show in for the AEC 2013 show season. We managed a 1st in the equitation over fences for the division. It was kinda nice to wear a hunt coat again.
 

Our new/old home at Rancho del Rio

1st in Equitation Over Fences

They did add jumpers to the AEC shows this year for the 2014 season, but the low division is 2'9! That is way higher then we are used to showing at. Beginner jumpers is only 2'3. At the first show this season was at the end of March. We filled some flat classes in the Rusty Stirrup division and did really well! Gigi has historically not been good in flat classes, she tends to get too fast (hence our switch to jumpers). I think it helped that he hadn't done any jumping yet for the day, so Gigi was fairly calm for the two flat classes, we ended up taking Champion for the Rusty Stirrup division! The jumper division was 2'9 and although we only showed at 2'3 in our previous jumper shows, we gave it a shot and hoped for the best, here is the video:



We had a refusal near the end of the course, but honestly it was my fault. The turn to the jump was tricky as the fence was not far off the rail. I didn't prepare her enough for the jump. Oh well, as they say, better luck next time! The next show is at the end of May, I think we may forgo the jumper division, as 2'9 is a wee bit high for my poor arthritic 19 year old mare! I think we will try our hand at hunters again, and go for end of season champion in the Rusty Stirrup division.

I promise to post more this year!!!

Beginner Jumpers Reserve Champion!

Our show season ended at the end of October with the IEHJA Fall Festival Horse Show. I am so proud of how far she has come along since the begining of 2012. We showed in the jumper division for the first time! Here are our results from the show:

Green Rider Hunter over Fences - 7th
Pumpkin Patch Hunter Derby - 7th (out of 17 riders!)

Beginner Jumpers Table II Section B (first section) - 4th
Beginner Jumpers Table II Section B (second section) -4th
Beginner Jumpers Table II Section C - 1st

Reserve Champion Beginner Jumpers

Gigi has been showing potential as a jumper more so than a hunter. Next show season we will be showing more jumper classes!



Here is our winning round!!!

Bit Choices

So one important factor in transforming Gigi has been changing her bit. Finding the right bit for a horse can be extremely tricky, especially a sensitive horse like my mare! There are so many choices of mouthpiece, cheek piece, curb, curb chain, conventional, unconventional... it's a lot to take in. And each one does something slightly different, and trying to figure out what that something is has been a nightmare. I have looked at books on bits, I have read everything I can find on the internet, and I have even consulted a trainer. The majority of what I have read seems to indicate the simpler the bit the better. However, these people have not ridden my mare!

Loose Ring Snaffle

When I rode Gigi for the first time out in Cherry Valley her old owners had me ride in a loose ring smooth snaffle. This is a very mild bit. The mouth piece is smooth and jointed. The loose ring cheek pieces allow for a lot of movement of the reins, allowing for a soft contact. Mare was running away with me with her head in the air. She would brace against the bit, chomp, and canter around with her mouth open while I tugged on the reins.

French Link Eggbutt Snaffle

After riding in this bit for a long time and seeing that it was not working, we changed to the eggbutt French link. I got this bit after reading about how some horses find the single jointed bits uncomfortable. The joint causes a "nutcracker" effect which slams into their palate, causing pain. I had a feeling this may be happening to her. So we switched to the French link. She seemed to be more comfortable for a while, but we were riding in an extremely small arena at the time, so she couldn't really run away either.




Once we moved to our current show barn, I had the help of a trainer. She suggested I try riding in a bit with leverage. Leverage bits not only exert pressure on the bars and tongue of the horse, the also distribute pressure to the horse's pole. Since Gigi was running around with her head in the air, pole pressure was much needed. After speaking with my trainer, we decided to try a jointed kimberwick. Not only would it apply leverage, this bit also has a curb chain. So on top of the extra force from leverage, the curb action of this bit makes every 1 lbs of pressure on the reins feel like 10 lbs of pressure in the horses mouth. And the outcome of using a kimberwick on Gigi? Mare with breaks! The first day we put it on she slide stopped dead between two fences. After riding her in the kimberwick for about 6 months though she really started figuring things out. The kimberwick did wonders. I felt like I had control over my horse. However, over time Gigi has learned how to avoid the curb action by sucking back and over bridling. So it is once again time to change bits.

Jointed Kimberwick

Also, a kimberwick is not a long term solution to the problem. Kimberwicks are considered "unconventional" according to USEF/USHJA rules. For show hunters the bits allowed are snaffles and pelhams. That's it! Some websites I looked at said that it is possible for a judge to mark you down for using a kimberwick, others said its not an issue. I think it probably depends on what level you are competing at. At my teenie tiny local shows I go to, in the 2ft. green rider division, the judge probably doesn't care that much. But I don't want to risk this being a factor long term. Plus I don't like the way the kimberwicke looks on Gigi. The curb chain is ugly.

Enter the full cheek slow twist. I have ridden many horses in a slow twist. It is by no means a strong bit, but the twist makes it a little more powerful than say the loose ring smooth snaffle. I really like the look of the full cheek. Depending on who you talk to and what website you look at, the full cheek feature doesn't "do" anything very different from any other snaffle cheek piece. The main function of the full cheek is so that the bit cannot be pulled through the horses mouth. Some people believe that the smaller full cheek rings allow for a small amount of leverage you wouldn't get from any other snaffle cheek piece. I am not really concerned with leverage anymore since Gigi has learned to keep her head down, and I would really like to move back to "conventional" hunter bits. So I go with the full cheek slow twist.

Full Cheek Slow Twist

At first, Gigi responds really well to the slow twist. She seems just as manageable in it as the kimberwick which makes me really happy. After about a week of riding in the slow twist, she becomes sensitive in the mouth and jiggy (at the walk). I don't know if it is the harshness of the twisted mouth piece or just bad riding on my part but I decide to take the safe route and graduate her back down to the French link. So for now we are riding in the French link, but I think I may be switching back to the slow twist for shows. I am hoping to avoid using the kimberwick for now!

Before and After

So we have come a long way since our first show last year. Gigi has gained a lot of weight and muscle and filled out very nicely. Overall right now she is doing very well. She is still forward most of the time, but there are good days and bad days. Mostly what I am working on is exercises to build up her body. My theory with this is the more in shape she is the more comfortably she will move, and the better she will look! The stronger her body is, the easier it will be to get her mind to relax.

I have jumped her up to 2'9 now and we can course at 2ft to 2'3 (mostly verticals, not as comfortable with oxers yet). As you can see in the bottom photo she doesn't jump very evenly yet. This was about a 2'6 oxer and her knees aren't even. We have been doing some gymnastic exercises but she hasn't been very fond of them. Last week I tried doing a trot pole to a crossrail, no stride to a small vertical and two strides to a small vertical but she was having a very difficult time with it. She did it eventually, after I took out the trot pole and let her canter in. I know gymnastics are supposed to start from the trot. This is something we will work on.

She is much more relaxed going to the right than the left, which I think is really weird for an ex-racehorse. My trainer thinks she is just over going to the left because of her long race career. She still pulls at the bit, especially when I do a strong half halt at the canter. She has also started over bridling to avoid my hands and to avoid the bit. We may need to switch up her bit again soon to try to get her more comfortable. Right now she is in a jointed Uxter Kimberwick.

This is us jumping in June:

Gigi - Race horse to Show horse!

In Fall 2011 Gigi began her new career as my show horse. We are registered with the Inland Empire Hunter Jumper association and went to our first show in October 2011. The show was held at Industry Hills Equestrian Center in Industry, CA in a large indoor arena. Though still a little out of shape, Gigi was a trooper. We showed in four under saddle classes (no jumping for us at this show). We managed to get a fourth and a sixth in two equitation classes. Gigi was a little excited in the arena, she was going so fast we basically lapped all the other ponies. Hopefully with more show experience she will get a little more calm and comfortable in the arena.

Our first show

Our second show was early December 2011 at Pepperglen Farms in Norco, CA. Gigi was better behaved at this show than the first show. We competed in the Green Rider division which included two jumping rounds and two flat classes. Gigi was still a little excited to be in the ring and was very quick in the flat classes but over all she did a great job. We managed to take home four second place ribbons and we were reserve champion in our division.

Tired after a long day!

One thing we will be working on is entering and exiting the arena at shows. Gigi goes in the ring fine the first time but she figures out that going in the arena means work! She had to follow other horses into the ring or be lead in by hand for the remainder of the day, which is very inconvenient for me as a rider. I don't like having to force her to go into the arena but I also don't want to keep the judge waiting!!!

Since our last show, Gigi got a long break from training through the holidays. My new goal is to work her at least five days a week to gear up for the next show at the end of March. Also, we are beginning lessons with my trainer starting this week, which will hopefully help a lot with jumping! I purchased a new video camera to film practices and shows to study what we look like to the judge. Videos and pictures to be posted soon!

Copyright Benoit Photo

Speaking of pictures, I contacted the track photographer who shoots races at all the local race tracks. I ordered 8x10 photos of Gigi in the winner circle. It took awhile for the photographer to get back to me on the prices and availability of the photos but I just heard today that they are ready to be shipped! I will be getting those sometime this week!

Elevator Gail: A History

Elevator Gail known as Gigi is a 1995 bay Thoroughbred mare. I purchased her in late Spring 2011. This is not the beginning of her story though, just the beginning of where I came into the picture. When I met Gigi she had already had a fairly successful racing career, had been a momma four times, and had been retrained for a new career.

I found an ad for a "Cute and Confident Hunter Mare" on a horse classifieds website for good price within my budget. I called up the owner and arranged to meet Gigi. My parents and I drove two hours to Cherry Valley, California after I got off work on a Friday. By the time we arrived it was dark and Gigi's owners had to turn on construction flood lights for me to ride her in their arena. I was told Gigi was "off the track." She had been retired from racing to become a broodmare sometime around 2001. After looking up her race records I found out she was raced for many years and earned over $100,000 in purse money. Though she only won four times during her track career, she was what the track people call "in the money" a lot. In other words she would place second or third consistently.

I rode her in the dark, did some lead changes, and jumped some fences. Gigi turned out to be a good little mare. Standing only 15.3 hh it was hard to imagine her having such a long race career. She does have some champions in her blood including the great Mr. Prospector who was the sire to many champions.

Her previous owners said that they had owned her for six years. When they first got her she was to be retrained for jumping and dressage. They called her Gigi because of the way she would hop over fences like the skunk Pepe le Pew, from Looney Toons, hopped through flower beds. They wanted to give her a french name, a la Pepe le Pew, and her barn name became Gigi. Though Gigi had been put into training, she kept gaining weight and her old owner said they had the vet out to check on her. Turns out Gigi was pregnant and about to drop her foal! About two weeks later she gave birth to a little bay filly who was named SheWonTheWest but was called EchoInTheElevator by her old owners. They wanted to register the filly with the latter name but it was too many letters for the Jockey Club registry. Her owners said SheWonTheWest went on to be a successful Eventer.

Gigi also got her registered name in a unique way. There used to be a lady named Gail who ran the Turf Club elevators at Santa Anita and Hollywood Park racetracks. This lady was known as Elevator Gail. Sometime around 1995 a trainer promised the original Elevator Gail he would name a racehorse after her. Gigi was the lucky filly, named and registered Elevator Gail with the Jockey Club Registry. By looking up Elevator Gail in the Jockey Club registry I found her pedigree, race records, and foaling information. I learned that SheWonTheWest was not her first filly. Gigi had been a dam to four foals total. Two colts and two fillies.

And thus began my relationship with Gigi also known as Elevator Gail.

This photo was taken the first week I had Gigi at our first barn in Anaheim, CA