I had to wait a few days to ride after his pre-purchase as he badly needed new shoes. I finally got to ride last night. First, the good stuff - his personality/temperament is too cute. He's not really bothered by anything, which is great. Some bicyclists went flying by, twice, and he didn't even bat an eye. Even Hobbes would have stopped and gawked. The cats were darting around everywhere and he didn't even notice. Can't beat that!
I lunged him for a few minutes to check his soundness after new shoes and to try to get him more responsive and balanced without me interfering. He sucks at the trot to canter transition, but I think most of it is that he needs to get in better shape and lacks the strength to lift into the canter...he sorta runs into it. Now for the bad stuff- he hates contact. I know he's used to being a hunter, but surely they didn't ride him on a loose rein all the time!?! If I pick up a light contact he immediately begins trying to find a way to avoid..invert, overflex, whatever. As soon as I drop the contact and ride on the buckle, he relaxes and his head goes down. His teeth have been checked. I asked his past owner about bits and she said he goes in anything, and I have him in a french link.
So...I have a lesson coming up, but I'll be honest, I'm not really trying to fit him into a box he doesn't like. If he hates contact, maybe I should just go back to the hunters. Maybe I should just trail ride. I'll try the dressage thing for a while, see if he gets it, but if not I have no interest in fighting! So, I'm a little discouraged by this discovery and annoyed by how the hell I missed this? Yes, I'm having some buyers remorse, but I'm hoping it will go away once we get used to each other.
Friday, August 29, 2008
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Dare and Mandros- Catching up
Ive ridden Mandros the past 3 days. Ive been on another computer, so I havent posted. I do have some pictures that I will upload soon.
We tried my saddle on Mandros on Saturday and with some padding and use of shims in a borrowed half pad, it fits. His back isnt symmetrical so we have to add a little more on one side. So now I get to ride in MY saddle. Oh, how Ive missed my saddle. The trot is much easier to sit now that the saddle fits me.
He has been really good the last 3 rides. The half passes have gotten better and better and so has the canter. He hasnt tried to do random flying changes in a while. I really think my saddle is helping me give him clearer signals.
Ive been practicing the first level tests and Im pretty happy with how they are going. The first show is in two weeks so we'll see if Im ready. Hopefully I can learn the second test because I cant find anyone to call it for me. Mandros' owner said she would, but she isnt very good at it. She gets destracted by watching and forgets to call the next movement. haha
We tried my saddle on Mandros on Saturday and with some padding and use of shims in a borrowed half pad, it fits. His back isnt symmetrical so we have to add a little more on one side. So now I get to ride in MY saddle. Oh, how Ive missed my saddle. The trot is much easier to sit now that the saddle fits me.
He has been really good the last 3 rides. The half passes have gotten better and better and so has the canter. He hasnt tried to do random flying changes in a while. I really think my saddle is helping me give him clearer signals.
Ive been practicing the first level tests and Im pretty happy with how they are going. The first show is in two weeks so we'll see if Im ready. Hopefully I can learn the second test because I cant find anyone to call it for me. Mandros' owner said she would, but she isnt very good at it. She gets destracted by watching and forgets to call the next movement. haha
Monday, August 25, 2008
Gabby's got a new pony!
Well, I will have a new one once I get the money wired to his last owner....
But anyway, I got a Skater-pony!
But anyway, I got a Skater-pony!
Sunday, August 24, 2008
Skate AND Hobbes - Phew
Drove all day yesterday to pick up Skate and bring him back. I managed to convince Matt to go with me, so I didn't have to drive all by myself. We did have a few good arguments about which way to go : )
So, Skate is safe and sound at my barn in the stall beside Hobbes. He loaded, hauled, and arrived like a champ. Other than a little snorting and snuffling, he's handled everything really well. He is quite the vocal little guy...and is very social, too. He calls (a bit obnoxiously) when you walk away from his stall. If he's in the cross ties being messed with, he's super relaxed and napping.
I rode them both today...don't know how trainers ride multiple horses, its exhausting. While I had Skate in the aisle getting ready, Hobbes kept staring sadly at me like I was cheating on him. I'm pretty sure it was just a clever ploy to get me to keep shoving treats at him to make myself feel better. As for the ride, Skate was super...not at all concerned about being in a new place. He's a very different ride from Hobbes, much smaller and more forward. He's pretty unbalanced and has no idea how to give to the bit. If you take more than a huntery contact, he inverts. That's annoying. He's also not used to the rider sitting the canter...the hunter perch is preferred. He doesn't do anything, but he seems confused by it all. When I did some sitting trot, he seemed to think I was going to ask for a canter. We need to get used to each other, I suppose. His canter is surprisingly big and suspended for such a little guy. That's nice.
I just putzed around on Hobbes and took him for a canter through the fields...he seemed to enjoy that. I couldn't help but feel a twinge of fear when i realized I much preferred to ride Hobbes over Skate. Is it that I'm used to him and am so comfortable on him? Or am I really have buyers remorse? Yikes...who knows.
Anyhoo...I'll let you all know how the vet check goes tomorrow.
So, Skate is safe and sound at my barn in the stall beside Hobbes. He loaded, hauled, and arrived like a champ. Other than a little snorting and snuffling, he's handled everything really well. He is quite the vocal little guy...and is very social, too. He calls (a bit obnoxiously) when you walk away from his stall. If he's in the cross ties being messed with, he's super relaxed and napping.
I rode them both today...don't know how trainers ride multiple horses, its exhausting. While I had Skate in the aisle getting ready, Hobbes kept staring sadly at me like I was cheating on him. I'm pretty sure it was just a clever ploy to get me to keep shoving treats at him to make myself feel better. As for the ride, Skate was super...not at all concerned about being in a new place. He's a very different ride from Hobbes, much smaller and more forward. He's pretty unbalanced and has no idea how to give to the bit. If you take more than a huntery contact, he inverts. That's annoying. He's also not used to the rider sitting the canter...the hunter perch is preferred. He doesn't do anything, but he seems confused by it all. When I did some sitting trot, he seemed to think I was going to ask for a canter. We need to get used to each other, I suppose. His canter is surprisingly big and suspended for such a little guy. That's nice.
I just putzed around on Hobbes and took him for a canter through the fields...he seemed to enjoy that. I couldn't help but feel a twinge of fear when i realized I much preferred to ride Hobbes over Skate. Is it that I'm used to him and am so comfortable on him? Or am I really have buyers remorse? Yikes...who knows.
Anyhoo...I'll let you all know how the vet check goes tomorrow.
Saturday, August 23, 2008
Kate & Pro - 8/22
We're back! I hadn't ridden in eight days...yikes. But apparently the week-long vacation (with the exception of some lunging) was really good for Pro's brain. He was quiet as a lamb yesterday. Even a tad lazy. I didn't go play by the bunny bush/pole area, but he was calm about the bench. Yeah he looked at it a few times and didn't want to 100% behave, but it was all mild and there was no anger behind it. Even picked up the canter quietly and was listening. :) He seemed fine with me keeping my hands up in their proper position, so I focused a lot on giving him reward pats with my inside hand while NOT letting my outside hand drop as I did it. We worked on transitioning from sitting to posting trot and back, and a few trot-halt transitions without losing energy.
It was nice to have a good ride again. :)
It was nice to have a good ride again. :)
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Andrea and Pro (8/21)
Pro's crew is still alive as well. He got almost a week off on accident (we were out of town, Kate was sick, etc). I think he appreciated it, perhaps even needed it. I don't normally worry too much about giving horses a summer vacation, but perhaps Pro is one of those horses who needs it.
At any rate, he was much better than he had been tonight. Still not perfect and still tested my by the bench and bunny tree, but was willing to give up and work, so that's a lot of progress for him. He wasn't too sure about going round and on the bit after his break, but I kept a firm hold on the outside rein and did the inside leg bumps. I don't have much luck doing big thumps, I seem to just piss him off, so I was doing more frequent, smaller bumps and that seemed to work ok. A couple times I had to tap him with the whip but he didn't even buck when I did it. I finished up working on leg yields. Since I tend to get mentally 'stuck' doing them I tried to make them more interesting for him. So we'd do a 10m circle then three or four steps of leg yield and then let that flow into another 10m circle farther down the rail. It actually really seemed to help a lot with his tendency to counter-bend because of the outside rein contact. He held the bend a lot better when we were doing the circles. Then finished up with rail-quarter line-back to rail leg yields at walk, trot, and canter. Pretty pleased with him, though he obviously needs some more tuning up.
At any rate, he was much better than he had been tonight. Still not perfect and still tested my by the bench and bunny tree, but was willing to give up and work, so that's a lot of progress for him. He wasn't too sure about going round and on the bit after his break, but I kept a firm hold on the outside rein and did the inside leg bumps. I don't have much luck doing big thumps, I seem to just piss him off, so I was doing more frequent, smaller bumps and that seemed to work ok. A couple times I had to tap him with the whip but he didn't even buck when I did it. I finished up working on leg yields. Since I tend to get mentally 'stuck' doing them I tried to make them more interesting for him. So we'd do a 10m circle then three or four steps of leg yield and then let that flow into another 10m circle farther down the rail. It actually really seemed to help a lot with his tendency to counter-bend because of the outside rein contact. He held the bend a lot better when we were doing the circles. Then finished up with rail-quarter line-back to rail leg yields at walk, trot, and canter. Pretty pleased with him, though he obviously needs some more tuning up.
Dare and Mandros, Aug 20th, lesson
I had a lesson today and it went pretty well. We worked on several parts of the first level tests Ill be doing at the upcoming shows.
The owner/my instructor said the leg yeilds were great! And so did the other people watching. I was pretty excited about that. We worked on the lenghtening in the canter and the trot. It was kinda hard to do because we didnt have the whole ring, but we managed and the owner said they both looked good.
When we were about to start the lenghtening in the canter, the other girl in the ring popped her lunge whip, and Mandros spooked really badly. I held on and all was fine, but he was kinda jumpy after that. One of the girls brought her great dane out and he was rustling in the leaves at the same time the whip popped, so after that he kept eyeing the dog. It was dark over where the dog was, so I forgive him.
All in all it was a good lesson. The owner said that I was doing fantasic on him!!! And she is very picky about who rides him and how they ride him, so that means ALOT.
The owner/my instructor said the leg yeilds were great! And so did the other people watching. I was pretty excited about that. We worked on the lenghtening in the canter and the trot. It was kinda hard to do because we didnt have the whole ring, but we managed and the owner said they both looked good.
When we were about to start the lenghtening in the canter, the other girl in the ring popped her lunge whip, and Mandros spooked really badly. I held on and all was fine, but he was kinda jumpy after that. One of the girls brought her great dane out and he was rustling in the leaves at the same time the whip popped, so after that he kept eyeing the dog. It was dark over where the dog was, so I forgive him.
All in all it was a good lesson. The owner said that I was doing fantasic on him!!! And she is very picky about who rides him and how they ride him, so that means ALOT.
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
First Arena Ride
Well Apple and I headed to the arena last night. I hopped on bareback and rode while I helped 2 of the girls with their horses.
I will have to say, all these trail rides have done WONDERS for his forward walk. We were booking it across the arena and it was GREAT. We did tons and tons of lateral work and lots and lots of walking.
I did put some trotting spurts in there and he acted sore the first few steps but once I asked him to get soft and really step, he seemed better. The arena footing isn't that great at all so I'm reluctant to really work him in there. I think we are heading back to our working trail rides. Tonight I don't have lessons so Apple and I will be heading out early for a good long ride. The edge of the fields has much better footing anyway.
The good news is that I think Apple will be fit enough to handle the clinic in September. He will be tacked up a lot for 2 days but as far as the work goes, it will mostly be demonstration moves and very little real work. Lesley also has GREAT footing in her arena so I won't have to worry about anything there.
I might have a new horse to blog about soon. It looks like I am getting a mare that is going to be put through the process of being Apple's back-up and my 2nd working/clinic horse. Wish her luck that she makes it through the program!
I will have to say, all these trail rides have done WONDERS for his forward walk. We were booking it across the arena and it was GREAT. We did tons and tons of lateral work and lots and lots of walking.
I did put some trotting spurts in there and he acted sore the first few steps but once I asked him to get soft and really step, he seemed better. The arena footing isn't that great at all so I'm reluctant to really work him in there. I think we are heading back to our working trail rides. Tonight I don't have lessons so Apple and I will be heading out early for a good long ride. The edge of the fields has much better footing anyway.
The good news is that I think Apple will be fit enough to handle the clinic in September. He will be tacked up a lot for 2 days but as far as the work goes, it will mostly be demonstration moves and very little real work. Lesley also has GREAT footing in her arena so I won't have to worry about anything there.
I might have a new horse to blog about soon. It looks like I am getting a mare that is going to be put through the process of being Apple's back-up and my 2nd working/clinic horse. Wish her luck that she makes it through the program!
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Dare and Mandros, we ARE still alive!
I wasnt able to post when I rode Wednesday, and I didnt ride this weekend because of an out-of-town wedding. So my post will be of Wednesdays ride and todays ride.
Wednesday
He was really good. Very soft and supple. I worked alot on flying changes and they went pretty well. He LOVES doing them, so most of the 'work' we did, was trying to stay at a steady pace, and not changing before I ask. If we work on the changes, and go across the diagonal, sometimes he will change when I havent asked yet.
The half passes are getting better and better. They are more difficult to do at night because only 3/4 of the ring is well lit, so I try and stay out of the darker part. This makes it harder to start down the centerline, do the halfpass, and be done before the dark part of the arena. On the upside, this has forced me to learn to be ready to do them right as I hit centerline with little time for error.
Today
He wasnt as good today. The other girl that rides him doesnt ride him very hard, so when Im out of town, and she rides him, he doesnt get worked as much. He wanted to rush through everything, and poke his nose out. Even when his nose was in, he wasnt soft and supple.
After the tests, we worked on halt to canter, canter to halt. We did a 20 meter circle and I cantered half the circle, and halted on centerline, and repeated. The transitions became alot better. To the left he doesnt pick it up as fast, so we worked that way.
The last ten mintues of the ride he finally gave up and stopped rushing/poking his nose out, etc. What a great ten mintues we had too. The half passes were really good. Probably the best so far! There we alot of distractions too (hammering inside the barn, several teens talking and laughing beside the ring). We ended on that note and I cooled him out, sponged him down, gave him his treats, and put him to bed.
Wednesday
He was really good. Very soft and supple. I worked alot on flying changes and they went pretty well. He LOVES doing them, so most of the 'work' we did, was trying to stay at a steady pace, and not changing before I ask. If we work on the changes, and go across the diagonal, sometimes he will change when I havent asked yet.
The half passes are getting better and better. They are more difficult to do at night because only 3/4 of the ring is well lit, so I try and stay out of the darker part. This makes it harder to start down the centerline, do the halfpass, and be done before the dark part of the arena. On the upside, this has forced me to learn to be ready to do them right as I hit centerline with little time for error.
Today
He wasnt as good today. The other girl that rides him doesnt ride him very hard, so when Im out of town, and she rides him, he doesnt get worked as much. He wanted to rush through everything, and poke his nose out. Even when his nose was in, he wasnt soft and supple.
After the tests, we worked on halt to canter, canter to halt. We did a 20 meter circle and I cantered half the circle, and halted on centerline, and repeated. The transitions became alot better. To the left he doesnt pick it up as fast, so we worked that way.
The last ten mintues of the ride he finally gave up and stopped rushing/poking his nose out, etc. What a great ten mintues we had too. The half passes were really good. Probably the best so far! There we alot of distractions too (hammering inside the barn, several teens talking and laughing beside the ring). We ended on that note and I cooled him out, sponged him down, gave him his treats, and put him to bed.
Monday, August 18, 2008
Guess what?!?
I might have a new pony! Yep, I bought the little horse last weekend...pending a VERY thorough vet check, of course. I paid more than I wanted to, but I keep telling myself its nothing in comparison to what I'll pay over time!
So...here's my newest buddy:
So...here's my newest buddy:
He's a little small for me (15.3)...and has a lot to learn about getting off his forehand and really using himself, but I think he's going to be lots of fun. He's super laid-back and easy going and has done quite a lot in his 7 years. He's even toted a non-horsey husband first-flight w/ the hounds! So, hopefully all goes well with the vet-check next week and I'll be blogging about my new adventures with _____. I've got to come up with a new name. His name is Skater Boy now...but that's a little prepubescent for me ; ) So far, I've come up with Mellow Mood, Copperline, and Chances Are. I'm leaning towards Chances Are, Chance for a barn name. I'm sorta getting ahead of myself, since we've still got to go through the vet check, but I can't help it! Anyhoo...Hobbes is still with me, too. I can't bring myself to take him back to VA. I hacked him bareback on Friday and had such a blast cantering him around...I don't know how I'm going to be able to let him go. I think the bills for two horses should force the issue, unfortunately.
Alright...lets here some updates from ya'll. We're all getting a little slack with the blogging!
Kate & Pro (8/17)
No ride for me today...I caught a cold in DC this weekend that sort of mutated into a stomach virus this afternoon, so I was definitely not up for any riding!!
Yesterday I got back in time to lunge him, which went really well. Less fussing by the bench area, and he settled right into to a pretty rhythmic trot. I worked more on using the outside side rein as my outside rein, and getting him to accept the lunge as my inside rein. I could pull it toward me (flexing his nose a bit) and then release it and he'd drop his headset slightly, relaxing. If he dropped it too much (diving), I'd push him forward with the end of the lunge line and he went back to what was correct. I played with the circle size as well, getting him to move in and out and engage his inside hind leg as the circle got smaller. His canter work was also pretty good.
Just for fun, I let Erik lunge him for a few minutes when I was done. :) Pro instantly thought, "Sweet - let me chug along at the slowest jog I can manage" but Erik figured out how to send him forward. It was cute watching them, since Pro is such a gentleman with voice commands on the lunge. He even got him to canter around quietly!
Hopefully tomorrow I feel better so I can ride. Wednesday's my lesson...
Yesterday I got back in time to lunge him, which went really well. Less fussing by the bench area, and he settled right into to a pretty rhythmic trot. I worked more on using the outside side rein as my outside rein, and getting him to accept the lunge as my inside rein. I could pull it toward me (flexing his nose a bit) and then release it and he'd drop his headset slightly, relaxing. If he dropped it too much (diving), I'd push him forward with the end of the lunge line and he went back to what was correct. I played with the circle size as well, getting him to move in and out and engage his inside hind leg as the circle got smaller. His canter work was also pretty good.
Just for fun, I let Erik lunge him for a few minutes when I was done. :) Pro instantly thought, "Sweet - let me chug along at the slowest jog I can manage" but Erik figured out how to send him forward. It was cute watching them, since Pro is such a gentleman with voice commands on the lunge. He even got him to canter around quietly!
Hopefully tomorrow I feel better so I can ride. Wednesday's my lesson...
Saturday, August 16, 2008
2 Lessons for Surf...and Huey's trotting now!
I'm behind updating again...but my defense is the 92 hours on my timesheet between last sunday and midnight tonight :-P I'm on call again today...but snuck in an early ride again! So, this is a combination of a Huey update and Surf's 2 lessons this week!
Huey trotted for the first time under saddle yesterday...he's been trying to sneak in a few steps of trot when I'm not paying attention, but yesterday was our first intentional trotting :) The old man was so cute...I asked for the trot and his ears perked up as if he was thinking "Really? I can trot? Hooray!" We're going to add in the trot work slowly, starting with 1 minute of trotting out of every 10 minutes of work. The old man feels a bit stiff behind, but it's been a year since he had his hocks done...and being out of work for several months isn't good for the creaky old joints!
Surf has had a busy week in some regards...but more days off than his usual schedule. Surf, like Huey get's pretty creaky and stiff if he doesn't stay in consistent work, so he get's ridden 5 out of every 6 days (I'm on call every 6th day, so that's his day off). This week was jumper show saturday, sunday off, monday dressage lesson, tuesday flatwork, wednesday off, thursday jumping lesson, friday conditioning, saturday off -- and tomorrow will be a long ride, hopefully with a combination of a nice long hack and practicing some of our homework from this week's dressage lesson.
Tuesday's Dressage lesson started with a treat -- Julia (trainer/Surf & Huey owner) asked if I wanted her to get on Surf so she could see what I'd been talking to her about in terms of his stiffness since his time off for the swollen leg. I love watching Julia ride, as she's very elegant and effective -- and she's great about narrating while riding about what she's doing and why. I also love to have the opportunity to stand on the ground and watch my horse go -- to really see what I'm feeling from the saddle looks like from the ground. Watching Surf, it always amazes me how LONG he is -- long legs, long neck, and VERY long back -- which contributes to how hard he is to put together. We spent a lot of the lesson working on getting Surf to be more attentive and responsive to my aids and directions. I have a real tendency to give up my outside rein and to lose his outside shoulder, which then lets him be the giant counter-bend wiggle-worm that he's so very good at being when left to his own devices. I also have a problem keeping him straight and properly bent through the corners...without him leaning on my inside leg. We worked on trotting 10m circles in each corner, then 10m circles at each letter, then coming down centerline alternating 10m circles to the left and right off centerline -- followed by a discussion of how a 10m circle sets you up to come down centerline straight, so to think of coming out of the final turn before centerline as riding that 10m circle. We did some canter work too, but the 10m circle concept was the big take-home point...so Tuesday was spent practicing our 10m circles, because Julia is going to ask us to show her our progress at our next flat lesson.
Thursday was a great jumping lesson...although it was interrupted in the middle by a thunderstorm/hailstorm which sent us scrambling into the nearest pasture and hanging out in the run-in with the other horses until it passed. Granted, we didn't run for cover until the hail started...as I quickly learned with Julia, rain is no excuse to cancel a lesson, as long as the footing is good (her motto is: If I can stand out in it and teach you, you can get out here and ride in it...). Surf was very well behaved standing around in his tack in the shed :) My difficulty with keeping Surf's shoulder from popping out while keeping him from leaning on my leg affects our jumping as well as our dressage ( I know I know, jumping is just dressage with speed bumps!) -- and I tend to lose his engine coming around turns, which leaves us with not enough canter coming to the fences at times...which translates into geting in tight and taking a shorter spot...which I hate and makes me want to throw my upper body at the fence and lean lean lean :P I also have an issue with wide fences...as in oxers with spread, not as in skinnies (I love skinny fences!). So what does our lesson consist of? Jumping spread fences off turns (Julia is Evil, but oh-so-good at targeting our weaknesses!). She set up all kinds of spread fences - oxers, oxers with brick walls under them, not 1 but 2 swedish oxers with liverpools, and a triple bar/fan. Surf was a superstar, and I'm slowly but surely making progress in SITTING UP coming to the fence, giving more with my hands in the last stride (but not giving with my upper body...giving some rein does not equal leaning forward!), and making my self sit up and put my leg on when he gets in close. Julia has told me a hundred times if she's told me once that Surf is honest and athletic enough to get himself over the fence from a tight spot...I just need to let him be able to do it by relaxing, supporting with my leg, and giving him the rein he needs to use his head and neck over the fence -- and darn if he doesn't jump like an A/O hunter when I do all that :P This lesson was probably the best/most consistent I've been with Surf, so it was a very positive experience. We usually end our lessons with a little course, and this was the one from this week:
Pick up a left-lead canter to an oxer/brick wall combo, land going left (and around another fence) hang out on the turn to a vertical with no ground line, then 4 strides to a swedish over a liverpool, roll back to another swedish over a liver pool, go right around another fence to a tall x one stride to some planks, turn left (crossing your line...so we'd never do this in a real course, but there was no other way to get back to our next fence) back to swedish with liverpool #2, keep going right to a triple combination of vertical - 1 stride - oxer - long 2 strides - rolltop/oxer, then done :)
Friday we went out and did trot/canter sets out in the fields and some hill work...mentally relaxing but physically taxing :)
What I've taken away from this week is that in dressage, I need to think for Surf and myself, and Surf has to be willing to listen to me and accept what I'm asking in a disagreement. However, when jumping, I need to be willing to be there for Surf and listen to him (while sitting up, supporting with my leg, and giving with my reins!) when we disagree -- especially about finding our spot to a jump. Surf has much more experience with this whole eventing thing than I do...and he was trained in the "old school" way of creating a horse that could think for himself and get himself and his rider out of a jam...so when it comes to arguing about a spot, go with his decision. If he thinks he needs to get in close, just be there, be supportive, and go with him.
I guess that's why this whole riding thing is a partnership, eh?!?!
Huey trotted for the first time under saddle yesterday...he's been trying to sneak in a few steps of trot when I'm not paying attention, but yesterday was our first intentional trotting :) The old man was so cute...I asked for the trot and his ears perked up as if he was thinking "Really? I can trot? Hooray!" We're going to add in the trot work slowly, starting with 1 minute of trotting out of every 10 minutes of work. The old man feels a bit stiff behind, but it's been a year since he had his hocks done...and being out of work for several months isn't good for the creaky old joints!
Surf has had a busy week in some regards...but more days off than his usual schedule. Surf, like Huey get's pretty creaky and stiff if he doesn't stay in consistent work, so he get's ridden 5 out of every 6 days (I'm on call every 6th day, so that's his day off). This week was jumper show saturday, sunday off, monday dressage lesson, tuesday flatwork, wednesday off, thursday jumping lesson, friday conditioning, saturday off -- and tomorrow will be a long ride, hopefully with a combination of a nice long hack and practicing some of our homework from this week's dressage lesson.
Tuesday's Dressage lesson started with a treat -- Julia (trainer/Surf & Huey owner) asked if I wanted her to get on Surf so she could see what I'd been talking to her about in terms of his stiffness since his time off for the swollen leg. I love watching Julia ride, as she's very elegant and effective -- and she's great about narrating while riding about what she's doing and why. I also love to have the opportunity to stand on the ground and watch my horse go -- to really see what I'm feeling from the saddle looks like from the ground. Watching Surf, it always amazes me how LONG he is -- long legs, long neck, and VERY long back -- which contributes to how hard he is to put together. We spent a lot of the lesson working on getting Surf to be more attentive and responsive to my aids and directions. I have a real tendency to give up my outside rein and to lose his outside shoulder, which then lets him be the giant counter-bend wiggle-worm that he's so very good at being when left to his own devices. I also have a problem keeping him straight and properly bent through the corners...without him leaning on my inside leg. We worked on trotting 10m circles in each corner, then 10m circles at each letter, then coming down centerline alternating 10m circles to the left and right off centerline -- followed by a discussion of how a 10m circle sets you up to come down centerline straight, so to think of coming out of the final turn before centerline as riding that 10m circle. We did some canter work too, but the 10m circle concept was the big take-home point...so Tuesday was spent practicing our 10m circles, because Julia is going to ask us to show her our progress at our next flat lesson.
Thursday was a great jumping lesson...although it was interrupted in the middle by a thunderstorm/hailstorm which sent us scrambling into the nearest pasture and hanging out in the run-in with the other horses until it passed. Granted, we didn't run for cover until the hail started...as I quickly learned with Julia, rain is no excuse to cancel a lesson, as long as the footing is good (her motto is: If I can stand out in it and teach you, you can get out here and ride in it...). Surf was very well behaved standing around in his tack in the shed :) My difficulty with keeping Surf's shoulder from popping out while keeping him from leaning on my leg affects our jumping as well as our dressage ( I know I know, jumping is just dressage with speed bumps!) -- and I tend to lose his engine coming around turns, which leaves us with not enough canter coming to the fences at times...which translates into geting in tight and taking a shorter spot...which I hate and makes me want to throw my upper body at the fence and lean lean lean :P I also have an issue with wide fences...as in oxers with spread, not as in skinnies (I love skinny fences!). So what does our lesson consist of? Jumping spread fences off turns (Julia is Evil, but oh-so-good at targeting our weaknesses!). She set up all kinds of spread fences - oxers, oxers with brick walls under them, not 1 but 2 swedish oxers with liverpools, and a triple bar/fan. Surf was a superstar, and I'm slowly but surely making progress in SITTING UP coming to the fence, giving more with my hands in the last stride (but not giving with my upper body...giving some rein does not equal leaning forward!), and making my self sit up and put my leg on when he gets in close. Julia has told me a hundred times if she's told me once that Surf is honest and athletic enough to get himself over the fence from a tight spot...I just need to let him be able to do it by relaxing, supporting with my leg, and giving him the rein he needs to use his head and neck over the fence -- and darn if he doesn't jump like an A/O hunter when I do all that :P This lesson was probably the best/most consistent I've been with Surf, so it was a very positive experience. We usually end our lessons with a little course, and this was the one from this week:
Pick up a left-lead canter to an oxer/brick wall combo, land going left (and around another fence) hang out on the turn to a vertical with no ground line, then 4 strides to a swedish over a liverpool, roll back to another swedish over a liver pool, go right around another fence to a tall x one stride to some planks, turn left (crossing your line...so we'd never do this in a real course, but there was no other way to get back to our next fence) back to swedish with liverpool #2, keep going right to a triple combination of vertical - 1 stride - oxer - long 2 strides - rolltop/oxer, then done :)
Friday we went out and did trot/canter sets out in the fields and some hill work...mentally relaxing but physically taxing :)
What I've taken away from this week is that in dressage, I need to think for Surf and myself, and Surf has to be willing to listen to me and accept what I'm asking in a disagreement. However, when jumping, I need to be willing to be there for Surf and listen to him (while sitting up, supporting with my leg, and giving with my reins!) when we disagree -- especially about finding our spot to a jump. Surf has much more experience with this whole eventing thing than I do...and he was trained in the "old school" way of creating a horse that could think for himself and get himself and his rider out of a jam...so when it comes to arguing about a spot, go with his decision. If he thinks he needs to get in close, just be there, be supportive, and go with him.
I guess that's why this whole riding thing is a partnership, eh?!?!
Friday, August 15, 2008
Andrea and Pro (8/14) - No profanities!
Well, it's late, so I won't torture everyone with the full story, but Pro was much better tonight. Since the weather was so beautiful I skipped out of work a little early so I'd have more time to spend with him. I tacked him up in his bridle and stole the barn manager's side-reins and surcingle and took him out. I ran the lunge rein through the bit to be my inside rein and put the outside side-rein on and lunged him in front of the bench. Pro gave it some serious looks, but finally settled down somewhat. I got some really nice trot work out of him. Tightened up the outside side rein a bit and that seemed to help. It actually made it click in my head that he LIKES a firm hold on the outside rein so I shouldn't worry about taking one. Same by the bunny tree, but he seemed antsier over there. So my solution was he got to canter until he was willing to trot as he went past the bunny tree. Hah! (Mary, this was my Pepsi-inspired solution).
So, now my evil plan is downward transitions only in front of the bench or bunny tree and those are also dismount spots. So, after making that plan, I dragged him back into the barn and shocked him by putting his saddle and reins on. Back out we went. He was MUCH better under saddle than he's been. There was no flinging sideways, there was only a little head tossing and all of it was easily controllable by giving the inside rein, giving 'polite' bumps with my inside leg, and opening the inside rein just a smidge to help funnel him into the outside rein. I was hoping to just walk/trot for a few minutes, but he'd be good for a few circles and then test me on if I was going to let him slide away, so we kept going. I was very happy though when at the end we could trot around the ring (off the circle!) and not look at the bench or bunny tree.
Kate and I are both out of town for the weekend, so we'll see how his new improved attitude weathers the break in work.
So, now my evil plan is downward transitions only in front of the bench or bunny tree and those are also dismount spots. So, after making that plan, I dragged him back into the barn and shocked him by putting his saddle and reins on. Back out we went. He was MUCH better under saddle than he's been. There was no flinging sideways, there was only a little head tossing and all of it was easily controllable by giving the inside rein, giving 'polite' bumps with my inside leg, and opening the inside rein just a smidge to help funnel him into the outside rein. I was hoping to just walk/trot for a few minutes, but he'd be good for a few circles and then test me on if I was going to let him slide away, so we kept going. I was very happy though when at the end we could trot around the ring (off the circle!) and not look at the bench or bunny tree.
Kate and I are both out of town for the weekend, so we'll see how his new improved attitude weathers the break in work.
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Gabby's Update...
I decided fourth level and above were just not for me...I want to stick with lower level dinky stuff. Kick me off the blog if you want!! Seriously, I'm sorry to dissapoint every one, but I decided not to buy the fabulous RPSI gelding. I might regret it later, but I had a feeling I had a bigger chance of regretting it if I DID buy him. I think he is just TOO big and powerful for me....I need more of an old plug : ) So, if anyone is looking for a really really nice dressage horse, I know where one is.
So...still looking. Going to see a cute little pony for the second time this weekend. He is a saintly 7 yr old TB/QH that has done a little bit of everything and does it all with a smile. He's not fancy, but he is really cute...tiny little ears and the sweetest face.
He'll pack my grandmother around a 3' hunter course. I know almost all of his history as this is another horse that was found through friends. I rode him last weekend and as soon as I sat on him I breathed a sigh of relief...he is just so simple. So, we'll see how the trail ride goes this weekend....
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Bragging on a student....
I got to work Apple again tonight but again, no pictures.
I thought I would brag on one of my students. Her name is Taylor and she is 12yrs old. She owns a VERY difficult horse, Jojo. He has one of the STRONGEST ewe necks I have ever seen. Before they asked me for help he had gotten to the point where at ANY point in time he would take off running sideways and sometimes through/over things. He went through 2 fences before they called me.
We have been working VERY hard the past 2 weeks having 2 lessons a week. This week she was given homework to work on when I am not there and we had another lesson tonight.
Please excuse the training fork......he is VERY VERY strong and scares her a lot.
Nice big trot:
Some of his old habit showing up.....somebody dropped her shoulders. haha At least she can safely stop him now.....before they hit any fences.
A little re-adjusting and getting organized:
Some off the for work.
A very happy girl with her horse that actually LISTENS now!
I spend a LOT of the lesson saying "Shoulder, Shoulder, Abs, Heels!!" I have threatened to write it on signs around the arena. LOL
I thought I would brag on one of my students. Her name is Taylor and she is 12yrs old. She owns a VERY difficult horse, Jojo. He has one of the STRONGEST ewe necks I have ever seen. Before they asked me for help he had gotten to the point where at ANY point in time he would take off running sideways and sometimes through/over things. He went through 2 fences before they called me.
We have been working VERY hard the past 2 weeks having 2 lessons a week. This week she was given homework to work on when I am not there and we had another lesson tonight.
Please excuse the training fork......he is VERY VERY strong and scares her a lot.
Nice big trot:
Some of his old habit showing up.....somebody dropped her shoulders. haha At least she can safely stop him now.....before they hit any fences.
A little re-adjusting and getting organized:
Some off the for work.
A very happy girl with her horse that actually LISTENS now!
I spend a LOT of the lesson saying "Shoulder, Shoulder, Abs, Heels!!" I have threatened to write it on signs around the arena. LOL
Dare and Mandros, Aug 11th
My ride was very interesting on Monday. I rode for about 20 mins and when I started my sitting trot, another girl in the ring asked me to stop so she could see something.
She told me that she has been watching me the past couple rides and noticed that the saddle has been putting me in more of a chair seat. I have noticed this in some of the pictures, but thought it was my problem. The saddle has a somewhat forward flap, instead of going straight down. I got on her horse (and in her saddle) and after shortening the stirups 7 (!!!) holes I started to ride. Her horse is very different from Mandros. Very forward and uphill. It was a nice change.
Anyway, she thought my position looked alot better in her saddle. So, when I got off, we put it on Mandros. I definatly felt a difference with it. She gave me a mini lesson and it went really well. We practiced on getting him in a first level frame. Ive been riding him in a more elevated frame and I cant ride him like that if Im going to show 1st level.
Im bringing my saddle out tomorrow to see if it will fit him if we put some shims in a half pad. Hopefully my saddle will help my position too.
She told me that she has been watching me the past couple rides and noticed that the saddle has been putting me in more of a chair seat. I have noticed this in some of the pictures, but thought it was my problem. The saddle has a somewhat forward flap, instead of going straight down. I got on her horse (and in her saddle) and after shortening the stirups 7 (!!!) holes I started to ride. Her horse is very different from Mandros. Very forward and uphill. It was a nice change.
Anyway, she thought my position looked alot better in her saddle. So, when I got off, we put it on Mandros. I definatly felt a difference with it. She gave me a mini lesson and it went really well. We practiced on getting him in a first level frame. Ive been riding him in a more elevated frame and I cant ride him like that if Im going to show 1st level.
Im bringing my saddle out tomorrow to see if it will fit him if we put some shims in a half pad. Hopefully my saddle will help my position too.
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Kate & Pro - catching up
Okay so after Andrea's difficult ride on Sunday, we decided to double up on Pro yesterday. I started off the ride, with spurs, with Andrea looking on.
The best way I can describe it is that he was MAD. Very, very pissed off. He did not want to have anything to do with focusing. All he wanted to do was crank his face in every direction and gawk at stuff. Gawk at the bench, at the poles, at the fence, at Andrea, at a tiny divot in the sand. And when I say CRANK I mean damn...he's developed some serious neck muscles. It was 100% attitude-angry too, not "I'm hurt" angry. Pure "I don't feel like doing anything you say" angry.
I kept spur-bumping him until he quieted a bit, but he threw some pretty fussy tantrums by the bench and even kicked it a bit once. He would fling himself sideways and crank his neck around. I finally got him decent at the walk and trot, and Andrea got on. He was a bit fussy for her too, but finally realized that with the two of us there, he wasn't going to win. She worked on really getting him to go forward by giving the inside rein and booting with the inside leg and I could tell from his face that for awhile it was "I know what you want, but I'm not doing it" to finally "Alright fine, I'll do it". She even cantered him by the bench and got him looking great.
Tonight was a whole different story. I started off with spurs but could tell after a few circles at the walk that I was going to have to take them off. He still had that "I hate you" attitude and started to kick out when I bumped him with the inside spur. I took them off, tossed them aside, and just went to booting with my inside leg. For some reason he was still strongly attached to the severe neck cranking (for gawking purposes) that he'd had yesterday and when inside rein giving and booting didn't work, I started to use the inside rein and then the tantrums came. He'd FLING himself sideways at 90mph and brace his entire neck against me. Halt, inside rein forward, BOOT forward. He just had a MAJOR issue with something (imagined) by the bench. I moved over to the poles area and he squiggled/squirmed/pranced/scooted by there but I was doing a pretty good job keeping him at least with his head down and going forward. We kept a 10m circle by the poles just to go by (focus on keeping it all soothing and patient) and when he started to balk, he got my inside leg and apparently that just sent him over the edge. He leapt forward into a back-cracking buck that threw me off balance and I bent my fingernail backwards on his neck (insert profanity here).
At that point...I'd completely had it. Went back to the barn, got the lunge line and side reins. Back to the arena, by the bench. Sent him FORWARD at the trot and he scooted by the bench but after a few circles he was more relaxed and rhythmic. Then I focused on not letting him dive down, but keeping his neck where I wanted (watching those topline muscles and mid-neck muscles). It was neat - I let the outside side rein be steady for me, and I used the inside to ask him to give, to reward for correctness, etc. We did a lot of trot-canter-trot transitions as well. Repeated the other direction (still scooty/dumb to start out, but then relaxed) and got him to bend more and flex. By the time we were done, he actually had some nice foam going. So...I guess that was the positive aspect of the ride.
When stuff gets really difficult and we have this "regressing", Gayle reminds me that he will ALWAYS test me. For every ride he's ever had where he got away with stuff, I need to ride him one time. To get rid of his badness completely, I have to ride all of those rides...plus one. Since I started retraining him with Gayle when he was 15...he'll be about 31 before I erase all that. %#*@(!! But what helped today (there were moments of goodness interspersed between his angry tantrums) was keeping "YOU WILL NOT CHANGE MY POSITION" at the forefront of my mind. Per Gayle's suggestion.
Andrea's lesson is tomorrow morning. I'll be there with a camera!!! Wish her luck...
The best way I can describe it is that he was MAD. Very, very pissed off. He did not want to have anything to do with focusing. All he wanted to do was crank his face in every direction and gawk at stuff. Gawk at the bench, at the poles, at the fence, at Andrea, at a tiny divot in the sand. And when I say CRANK I mean damn...he's developed some serious neck muscles. It was 100% attitude-angry too, not "I'm hurt" angry. Pure "I don't feel like doing anything you say" angry.
I kept spur-bumping him until he quieted a bit, but he threw some pretty fussy tantrums by the bench and even kicked it a bit once. He would fling himself sideways and crank his neck around. I finally got him decent at the walk and trot, and Andrea got on. He was a bit fussy for her too, but finally realized that with the two of us there, he wasn't going to win. She worked on really getting him to go forward by giving the inside rein and booting with the inside leg and I could tell from his face that for awhile it was "I know what you want, but I'm not doing it" to finally "Alright fine, I'll do it". She even cantered him by the bench and got him looking great.
Tonight was a whole different story. I started off with spurs but could tell after a few circles at the walk that I was going to have to take them off. He still had that "I hate you" attitude and started to kick out when I bumped him with the inside spur. I took them off, tossed them aside, and just went to booting with my inside leg. For some reason he was still strongly attached to the severe neck cranking (for gawking purposes) that he'd had yesterday and when inside rein giving and booting didn't work, I started to use the inside rein and then the tantrums came. He'd FLING himself sideways at 90mph and brace his entire neck against me. Halt, inside rein forward, BOOT forward. He just had a MAJOR issue with something (imagined) by the bench. I moved over to the poles area and he squiggled/squirmed/pranced/scooted by there but I was doing a pretty good job keeping him at least with his head down and going forward. We kept a 10m circle by the poles just to go by (focus on keeping it all soothing and patient) and when he started to balk, he got my inside leg and apparently that just sent him over the edge. He leapt forward into a back-cracking buck that threw me off balance and I bent my fingernail backwards on his neck (insert profanity here).
At that point...I'd completely had it. Went back to the barn, got the lunge line and side reins. Back to the arena, by the bench. Sent him FORWARD at the trot and he scooted by the bench but after a few circles he was more relaxed and rhythmic. Then I focused on not letting him dive down, but keeping his neck where I wanted (watching those topline muscles and mid-neck muscles). It was neat - I let the outside side rein be steady for me, and I used the inside to ask him to give, to reward for correctness, etc. We did a lot of trot-canter-trot transitions as well. Repeated the other direction (still scooty/dumb to start out, but then relaxed) and got him to bend more and flex. By the time we were done, he actually had some nice foam going. So...I guess that was the positive aspect of the ride.
When stuff gets really difficult and we have this "regressing", Gayle reminds me that he will ALWAYS test me. For every ride he's ever had where he got away with stuff, I need to ride him one time. To get rid of his badness completely, I have to ride all of those rides...plus one. Since I started retraining him with Gayle when he was 15...he'll be about 31 before I erase all that. %#*@(!! But what helped today (there were moments of goodness interspersed between his angry tantrums) was keeping "YOU WILL NOT CHANGE MY POSITION" at the forefront of my mind. Per Gayle's suggestion.
Andrea's lesson is tomorrow morning. I'll be there with a camera!!! Wish her luck...
Morgan and Mister 8/12
Well, today wasn't as good as yesterday :D. Mister and I had a bit of trouble. Tacking up was fine, and we headed down to the bigger ring today. I'm not sure if I mentioned but yesterday I was in a VERY small ring just to get the feel of cantering. My trainer also helped me get him moving yesterday because she had a dressage whip with her on the ground. Today, in the bigger ring was a slight problem. He was feeling extra lazy and getting him to move was a real hassle. He was also being really spooky today. He kept stopping and throwing his head up. Luckily, he's not the type that will run away with you or anything. However, his spooking made me nervous. We worked on leg yielding today (trying to get him to stay on the rail instead of following my instructor like he likes to do) and giving the correct and firm aids to get him to trot when I ask for it the first time, instead of having to battle him for it. We worked in the ring but my trainer saw my nervousness and also figured that I was getting frustrated trying to get him to trot only to have him stop because he's lazy and/or sees something. So, to relax, we headed into the field and walked around like a mini trail ride. That was nice and easy, and I think my trainer definitely understands me and doesn't push me to keep doing something that makes me nervous. After walking around in the field some (with my trainer having a hand on him because the thing spooking him was somewhere in the woods of the field), we both calmed down. I rode around on my own a bit. This was all at a walk. After that, we headed into the ring and I got to ride him bareback! That was awesome. Of course, only at a walk. I haven't ridden bareback since I was a youngin. We did a few steps of posting trot, which I didn't find difficult because to me it just feels the same as posting without stirrups. After that, I got off and cooled him down on my own while my trainer went to teach her next lesson. She thinks I'm independent and is confident in my tacking/untacking abilities so she's comfortable with letting me do my own thing, which I consider an honor. Anyways, not that productive of a lesson, but not counterproductive either. I didn't have to push myself to keep doing something when I was scared, and I really liked that.
You asked for it - Tons of Pictures
Trail Riding Tour 
Through a construction site. They have TONS of great hills that we work on.
Behind the field we go through a neighborhood:
Then we cross the busy street, loop through the business park and come up behind Fast Phil's gat station.
Around another good trotting field and through another neighborhood.
Have to say HI to Apple's Fan Club!
Then through a few front yards, a soccer field, and back to the barn.
All in all it is a great loop. We had a GREAT ride last night. It was about 85 with a warm sun and a nice cool breeze. He is really starting to feel better. Hopefully we will be doing a lot more trotting soon. The vet is coming back in 2-3 weeks to re-evaluate and see if we need stifle injections too.
Since I don't have anyone at the barn to take pictures of me and Apple when I am heading out I took my camera on the ride last night to show off some of what we ride through.
Starting up the driveway:
Through a construction site. They have TONS of great hills that we work on.Around some fields where we get lots of good trotting in:
Behind the field we go through a neighborhood:We stop and see Miss. Kiesha. This is the sweetest cat in the world! She comes running out to see us when we ride by.
Then we cross the busy street, loop through the business park and come up behind Fast Phil's gat station.Around another good trotting field and through another neighborhood.Have to say HI to Apple's Fan Club!Then through a few front yards, a soccer field, and back to the barn.All in all it is a great loop. We had a GREAT ride last night. It was about 85 with a warm sun and a nice cool breeze. He is really starting to feel better. Hopefully we will be doing a lot more trotting soon. The vet is coming back in 2-3 weeks to re-evaluate and see if we need stifle injections too.Monday, August 11, 2008
Pepsi's Continuing Torment- Part 5? : Mane Pulling Time!
My crazy human came out today and made me stand on incredibly tempting grass (but wouldn't let me eat any!) while she pulled my mane. She was sooooo mean- if I even moved a foot once, she made me move it right back where it was! And I kept lowering my head to eat the grass (did I mention how TEMPTING it was??) but she wouldn't let me do that either!
Anyway, after about an hour of standing still she FINALLY let me eat some grass, so I was happy.
PS- stupid blogger hasn't been letting me log in for the past week or so, which is why I haven't been on here! I can VIEW all the blogs, but I haven't been able to make comments or post! Arrrg!
But way to go everyone! More Pepsi progress reports soon...
Anyway, after about an hour of standing still she FINALLY let me eat some grass, so I was happy.
PS- stupid blogger hasn't been letting me log in for the past week or so, which is why I haven't been on here! I can VIEW all the blogs, but I haven't been able to make comments or post! Arrrg!
But way to go everyone! More Pepsi progress reports soon...
Morgan and Mister 8/11
Hi everyone,
Sorry I haven't been around lately! I've missed my last few lessons for various reasons so I haven't needed to post. As many of you may remember I was having confidence issues because of a bad jumping experience. Well, today I didn't jump but I did get a lot of my riding confidence back. I had a new instructor today, as her schedule works better with me than my other trianer for the lease. She will be teaching my private lessons from now on, and my other teacher will be teaching my group lesson. In any case, we went in the small arena today (and by small I mean SMALL), and we worked on cantering. I was so excited because I recieved several compliments about my riding and relationship with Mister. She said I had a good lower leg position, good seat, good hands, and that he listens to me. She also said I have a dressagey seat. Well, first we warmed up as usual. Today I practiced getting my stirrups back (at the walk) without looking down or stopping. Then, I practiced 2 point with and without stirrups. We did a bit of trot work, then moved on to cantering. We had a few issues with him paying attention; Mister saw a person in the distance and started to get nervous, but everything turned out alright. When I got nervous, she made my lesson into a game. I had trouble keeping the canter, so I started out keeping it for 5 strides. Then she introduced the game. I had to try to beat myself and canter more and more each time. Ultimately I got up to 10 which is a great improvement for me. She also helped me by telling me to count the strides out loud (forcing me to breathe). After going both directions for a while, I cooled him down by walking figure 8s then practicing my walk/halt transitions. Overall I had a great lesson, and the game idea helped me greatly. I think Mister trusts me; my mom hurt my feelings a little by strictly telling me how I "need to be the boss" but I think to her being the boss is by being very assertive and at times harsh. He wouldn't move (on the ground when I was leading him to the water bucket), so I asked her to pop him in the butt. When she shouted his name and popped him again I got frustrated and told her to quit it, which is when she told me to be the boss. When he refused to move again I tried a different approach; circling him to get him moving then continuing to where I wanted him to go. I have a trust relationship with him and I'm proud of it because he likes me better than most people. I feel like the circling thing made him respect me more yet did not have the harsh approach of slapping him again and again.
Sorry I haven't been around lately! I've missed my last few lessons for various reasons so I haven't needed to post. As many of you may remember I was having confidence issues because of a bad jumping experience. Well, today I didn't jump but I did get a lot of my riding confidence back. I had a new instructor today, as her schedule works better with me than my other trianer for the lease. She will be teaching my private lessons from now on, and my other teacher will be teaching my group lesson. In any case, we went in the small arena today (and by small I mean SMALL), and we worked on cantering. I was so excited because I recieved several compliments about my riding and relationship with Mister. She said I had a good lower leg position, good seat, good hands, and that he listens to me. She also said I have a dressagey seat. Well, first we warmed up as usual. Today I practiced getting my stirrups back (at the walk) without looking down or stopping. Then, I practiced 2 point with and without stirrups. We did a bit of trot work, then moved on to cantering. We had a few issues with him paying attention; Mister saw a person in the distance and started to get nervous, but everything turned out alright. When I got nervous, she made my lesson into a game. I had trouble keeping the canter, so I started out keeping it for 5 strides. Then she introduced the game. I had to try to beat myself and canter more and more each time. Ultimately I got up to 10 which is a great improvement for me. She also helped me by telling me to count the strides out loud (forcing me to breathe). After going both directions for a while, I cooled him down by walking figure 8s then practicing my walk/halt transitions. Overall I had a great lesson, and the game idea helped me greatly. I think Mister trusts me; my mom hurt my feelings a little by strictly telling me how I "need to be the boss" but I think to her being the boss is by being very assertive and at times harsh. He wouldn't move (on the ground when I was leading him to the water bucket), so I asked her to pop him in the butt. When she shouted his name and popped him again I got frustrated and told her to quit it, which is when she told me to be the boss. When he refused to move again I tried a different approach; circling him to get him moving then continuing to where I wanted him to go. I have a trust relationship with him and I'm proud of it because he likes me better than most people. I feel like the circling thing made him respect me more yet did not have the harsh approach of slapping him again and again.
Dare and Mandros, Aug 10th
I had my lesson today and it wasnt very good. There were ALOT of distractions. There were several horses being ridden in the arena, it was pouring rain, it was supper time, the gator/4-wheeler was going through the ring, etc.
The lesson itself wasnt that productive. We walked, trotted, cantered, nothing new really. He wasnt as good as he normally is, which makes me mad b/c we are doing better in practice, and his owner sees us not doing as well.
His canter was good in the lesson, but when I tried to slow it down, he kept trying to break stride. When I rode him Thursday, he was doing pretty well with it. Just an off day I guess, he was probably tired by then.
He didnt take very long to work through his stiffness today. Last time it took about half the ride to get him working normally, and today it took about 20 mins. I stretched his front leg since that the one that seems to be bothering him. So now Im stretching all but one leg. The left hind b/c thats the one he had surgery on, the right hind because he has been putting more weight on it to get off the left one. And now the left front. Im riding again tomorrow, so I hope he is even better assuming he doesnt hurt himself in the rain/mud.
My husband got a couple pics b4 my camera died, they arent that great, but Ill post anyway.
Sunday, August 10, 2008
I think I've lost my mind...really...(8/10...and 8/9)
I'm on call today at work...for a Sunday, that means I (1) get to the hospital by 9am (2) am soley responsible for 45 psych patients (3) get to do all the psych admissions and consults all over the hospital (4) get to stay here overnight and work as normal tomorrow until federal law says I have to go home by 2pm. But...I rode this morning. One horse, for exactly 32 minutes, but the barn is 45 min each way from home/work, add in catching/grooming/tacking/cooling out/putting away time, and you can get a ballpark idea of what time I got up this AM. Was it worth it? You bet it was :)
Huey is progressing well in his walking rehab...despite a setback last week when we tried him out with a new pasture buddy, which lasted all of 10min before the new buddy was rearing up and sinking his teeth into Huey's neck and withers :( That bought Huey several days off since his poor withers puffed up like a balloon, and there was no way I could put a saddle on that! Huey will trot for the first time this friday...so I am VERY excited. He seems to be getting a little bit bored with the walk work...as am I. I know it's good for both of us...and his walk and suppleness have really improved...but I think we're both looking forward to the far distant day when we get cleared to go for a nice gallop :)
I took Surfie to a jumper show yesterday, as we've been having some stadium "issues." Apparently I've decided that throwing myself up on Surf's ears will make him stop putting in a dinky little stride before the jump...when I know I know I know I need to SIT UP (insert very loud voice of Trainer here) and SUPPORT HIM WITH MY LEG (again, insert loud trainer voice). So while everyone at home was off at the Fair Hill HT, we packed up and went to a local schooling show. We did the 3' jumpers (we'd signed up for the 3'3"-3'6" but were the only ones in the class, so we dropped down so they wouldn't have to set another course for us) and put in 3 solid rounds. We weren't going for speed (eventhough the 3 classes were Speed, Power and Speed, and Table 2 sect b), as I wanted to jump the courses as if I was jumping at an event...so nicely forward but not always taking the tightest turns. We had 1 "Flyby" where I went past our jump having gotten my courses confused...but the other 2 rounds were clear and without our usual sticky spots, so I was happy. I just need to remember to:
1) SIT UP
2)PUT MY LEG ON
3)not have my hands in my lap...carry my hands or plant them in his withers/neck
4)not be afraid of the Swedish Oxer...think of it as a x-rail in the air :)
We ended up with a 4th in the Table 2 sec b, a 4th in the Speed, and a 3rd in the Power and Speed...not too shabby for intentionally trying to go at a slower pace.
We've got a little break from shows, as I've got to work the next few weekends (and I'm going on VACATION!!!!), but we're doing a great schooling HT at the VA Horse Center labor day weekend and I'll start lessons with Jimmy Wofford again in September -- what a treat!
Huey is progressing well in his walking rehab...despite a setback last week when we tried him out with a new pasture buddy, which lasted all of 10min before the new buddy was rearing up and sinking his teeth into Huey's neck and withers :( That bought Huey several days off since his poor withers puffed up like a balloon, and there was no way I could put a saddle on that! Huey will trot for the first time this friday...so I am VERY excited. He seems to be getting a little bit bored with the walk work...as am I. I know it's good for both of us...and his walk and suppleness have really improved...but I think we're both looking forward to the far distant day when we get cleared to go for a nice gallop :)
I took Surfie to a jumper show yesterday, as we've been having some stadium "issues." Apparently I've decided that throwing myself up on Surf's ears will make him stop putting in a dinky little stride before the jump...when I know I know I know I need to SIT UP (insert very loud voice of Trainer here) and SUPPORT HIM WITH MY LEG (again, insert loud trainer voice). So while everyone at home was off at the Fair Hill HT, we packed up and went to a local schooling show. We did the 3' jumpers (we'd signed up for the 3'3"-3'6" but were the only ones in the class, so we dropped down so they wouldn't have to set another course for us) and put in 3 solid rounds. We weren't going for speed (eventhough the 3 classes were Speed, Power and Speed, and Table 2 sect b), as I wanted to jump the courses as if I was jumping at an event...so nicely forward but not always taking the tightest turns. We had 1 "Flyby" where I went past our jump having gotten my courses confused...but the other 2 rounds were clear and without our usual sticky spots, so I was happy. I just need to remember to:
1) SIT UP
2)PUT MY LEG ON
3)not have my hands in my lap...carry my hands or plant them in his withers/neck
4)not be afraid of the Swedish Oxer...think of it as a x-rail in the air :)
We ended up with a 4th in the Table 2 sec b, a 4th in the Speed, and a 3rd in the Power and Speed...not too shabby for intentionally trying to go at a slower pace.
We've got a little break from shows, as I've got to work the next few weekends (and I'm going on VACATION!!!!), but we're doing a great schooling HT at the VA Horse Center labor day weekend and I'll start lessons with Jimmy Wofford again in September -- what a treat!
Kate & Pro (8/9) and (8/10 with SPURS!)
So after Pro decided to be very naughty, distracted, and disobedient on Friday, I knew I had to do something different to get his attention. Friday was just a battle of wills - he was INSISTENT that there was something awful and spooky in all parts of the arena. The bench, the poles, the tree, the fence... Even with giving my inside rein forward and booting the snot out of him repeatedly (WHOMP WHOMP WHOMP WHOMP) he just wasn't caring a bit. I think we walked the entire ride, and I only stopped when he finally gave a bit. Otherwise, his ears were perked straight and his neck was tense and rigid.
Yesterday - spurs! I couldn't find my old spurs but Tara dug through her tack trunk and found smooth rowels. Admittedly, rowels weren't *exactly* what I was hoping for with my first spur ride on Pro...(I even asked her - "Do you happen to have spurs? Any kind except rowels will do!"). Oh well, I could always take them off mid-ride if needed.
I was grateful to Gayle's teaching of "keep the leg off until you need it" once I got on, realizing how easy it was to keep the spurs separate from his sides until I needed them. His face must've been hysterical when I first rolled the spur gently across his side with my inside foot - he'd wanted to look at the fence, and I said no. No bucking, though! He tried to look again and I gave him a light bump, "no no, pay attention". Within a few minutes, I had him more within my hands and in front of my leg. Woohoo!! Again, I spent a lot of time making sure my hands were in their correct place (which feels oddly saddleseat-ish...but I know that's just my body telling me lies!). it helped to have Erik on the ground who could tell me when my elbow-bit line was actually straight. Gayle taught him how. :) This continued into the trot - keeping my line straight, bumping him lightly with my inside spur if needed. Considering that the leg whacking from Wednesday's lesson left my peroneal muscles inflamed (side of my calves)...it was MUCH nicer to be able to just nudge with my spur. And it got a lot better response!!! He wasn't as fussy about me not "diving" with my hands so maybe that's a bit of progress. Overall, huge improvement over Friday's ride.
Yesterday - spurs! I couldn't find my old spurs but Tara dug through her tack trunk and found smooth rowels. Admittedly, rowels weren't *exactly* what I was hoping for with my first spur ride on Pro...(I even asked her - "Do you happen to have spurs? Any kind except rowels will do!"). Oh well, I could always take them off mid-ride if needed.
I was grateful to Gayle's teaching of "keep the leg off until you need it" once I got on, realizing how easy it was to keep the spurs separate from his sides until I needed them. His face must've been hysterical when I first rolled the spur gently across his side with my inside foot - he'd wanted to look at the fence, and I said no. No bucking, though! He tried to look again and I gave him a light bump, "no no, pay attention". Within a few minutes, I had him more within my hands and in front of my leg. Woohoo!! Again, I spent a lot of time making sure my hands were in their correct place (which feels oddly saddleseat-ish...but I know that's just my body telling me lies!). it helped to have Erik on the ground who could tell me when my elbow-bit line was actually straight. Gayle taught him how. :) This continued into the trot - keeping my line straight, bumping him lightly with my inside spur if needed. Considering that the leg whacking from Wednesday's lesson left my peroneal muscles inflamed (side of my calves)...it was MUCH nicer to be able to just nudge with my spur. And it got a lot better response!!! He wasn't as fussy about me not "diving" with my hands so maybe that's a bit of progress. Overall, huge improvement over Friday's ride.
Friday, August 8, 2008
Trail Ride w/ the Moose...
So, I went out on a trail ride with the giant gelding, aka the Moose (cause he's so tall and leggy with antler ears!). I really have mixed feelings about the experience...I must admit, he was spookier than I expected he would be. Now, some excuses for him were that he was with another horse that was pretty spooky and he was wearing a fly mask due to the evil deer flies. You know, he wasn't nervous or tense at all about the situation...he was very relaxed, actually. He just happened to do a few of those giant spook in place moves over the deer that kept friggin popping up in front of us - and the tiny rabbit - and then he moved onto one big spook and pivot over something silly I never even saw. Squirrel, maybe? I know for most people his minor spooking wouldn't be a big deal...unfortunately, spooking is something that really gets to me. In order for me enjoy riding, I have to have full trust that my horse isn't gonna spook at everything. I've had too many falls from spooky horses. Its just something I dislike immensely.
On one hand, he's such a neat horse and really fun to ride. On the other hand, he's so fun to ride because he's really BIG and powerful, so unfortunately, anything he does unexpectedly can quickly turn into a disaster. We trotted and cantered around a big cross country field and he was really good...nice and adjustable...but, he stumbled at the canter once and got the horse sillies and tossed his head around for a few seconds. Now, on Hobbes, this would have been no big deal, but on this horse, since he's just so big and strong, I had a moment where I was certain I was gonna eat the dirt. We worked through it, I picked my stirrup back up and took a deep breath and we carried on. The horse sillies don't bother me at all, its more my lack of ability to easily ride through them on him.
On the good side, his owner had me take him over some maiden CC jumps (including a dreaded ditch) and he was a superstar...very fun. I bet he would be awesome to start out my eventing career with (if I ever really want to).
Sooo...after being all long-winded, now I'm just confused. Because he's at the very top of my price range, I'm a little more resistant to just overlook little things that aren't perfect. I don't think he's overpriced or anything, I think he is a really nice horse and I don't think the opportunity to have such a nice horse that you can afford comes along that often. My issue is more that something about him makes me nervous...probably that he's just so big and powerful. I don't know if I'm a confident enough rider to deal with silly little things that would be NO BIG DEAL on any other horse. Argh.
On one hand, he's such a neat horse and really fun to ride. On the other hand, he's so fun to ride because he's really BIG and powerful, so unfortunately, anything he does unexpectedly can quickly turn into a disaster. We trotted and cantered around a big cross country field and he was really good...nice and adjustable...but, he stumbled at the canter once and got the horse sillies and tossed his head around for a few seconds. Now, on Hobbes, this would have been no big deal, but on this horse, since he's just so big and strong, I had a moment where I was certain I was gonna eat the dirt. We worked through it, I picked my stirrup back up and took a deep breath and we carried on. The horse sillies don't bother me at all, its more my lack of ability to easily ride through them on him.
On the good side, his owner had me take him over some maiden CC jumps (including a dreaded ditch) and he was a superstar...very fun. I bet he would be awesome to start out my eventing career with (if I ever really want to).
Sooo...after being all long-winded, now I'm just confused. Because he's at the very top of my price range, I'm a little more resistant to just overlook little things that aren't perfect. I don't think he's overpriced or anything, I think he is a really nice horse and I don't think the opportunity to have such a nice horse that you can afford comes along that often. My issue is more that something about him makes me nervous...probably that he's just so big and powerful. I don't know if I'm a confident enough rider to deal with silly little things that would be NO BIG DEAL on any other horse. Argh.
Andrea and Pro (8/7)
Pro overload for all you blog readers today. :)
Pro and I ended up riding around 7 last night, which with the clouds meant the light was starting to get iffy. Pro immediately seized on that as an excuse to spook at everything. Typically rides that start out with 3 spooks in less than 1/4 of the arena do NOT go well, but this was a rare exception.
First we worked on going forward (hands separated to funnel the energy forward, whip on the inside so he'd stop trying to run sideways, legs OFF but there for him to run into if he tried to scoot). Once we did that then I tried doing the inside leg bumping/giving inside rein to get him soft. It would work some, but then he'd find something to be scared of and his entire body would invert. So I used my new tool (which I'm aware I'm over using, but but but it WORKS) of leg yielding. He had to leg yield until he was doing it properly (not over bent, not just scooting sideways, but actually properly bent and THINKING) and then he'd get to go straight and forward. Well, we didn't spend a whole lot of time going straight for the first part of the ride, but eventually he got tuned into me and as long as I didn't let my attention wander, he was happy to cooperate.
We did quite a bit of work on circles once he'd softened. I was trying to make sure to keep my hands up since Kate gave me advance warning of how her lesson had gone. So we'd do soft, up, forward, straight and if any of those things got lost on the circle I'd ask for a step or two of leg yield. Especially at the trot I could feel him rebalancing through the leg yield and going much better. So then I cantered him. While holding the whip. I'll admit I wasn't sure how that would go. He tried to fall through his inside shoulder, but I'd ask for a leg yield at the canter and he'd sort of stumble and then there'd be a stride where I could feel him fixing his legs during the elevated moment, and then, omg, BALANCE. We never did more than one or two leg yield steps at the canter, but by the end of the ride we could canter a 15m circle and I probably could have done 10 if we weren't both getting tired. Just to prove he was still Pro though, I couldn't walk him out on a loose rein because he'd try to spook at stuff.
So, was overall really happy with him by the end. I actually got to use the whip for a reminder once or twice without him trying to run for the hills, his canter was amazing, and he even was willing to go forward at a much better tempo at the trot while staying soft and round. Now, anyone want to attempt to explain to me how to get him to bend IN to the canter so I can leg yield? I kept catching myself bringing the outside rein in and that's obviously not correct. I'm guessing it means we need to work more on bending with our seat/legs and less with our hands, but when I'm not supposed to use legs I just end up confused. :) Luckily I've got a lesson scheduled for next Wed, so it should help if Pro will not pitch a fit like last time.
Pro and I ended up riding around 7 last night, which with the clouds meant the light was starting to get iffy. Pro immediately seized on that as an excuse to spook at everything. Typically rides that start out with 3 spooks in less than 1/4 of the arena do NOT go well, but this was a rare exception.
First we worked on going forward (hands separated to funnel the energy forward, whip on the inside so he'd stop trying to run sideways, legs OFF but there for him to run into if he tried to scoot). Once we did that then I tried doing the inside leg bumping/giving inside rein to get him soft. It would work some, but then he'd find something to be scared of and his entire body would invert. So I used my new tool (which I'm aware I'm over using, but but but it WORKS) of leg yielding. He had to leg yield until he was doing it properly (not over bent, not just scooting sideways, but actually properly bent and THINKING) and then he'd get to go straight and forward. Well, we didn't spend a whole lot of time going straight for the first part of the ride, but eventually he got tuned into me and as long as I didn't let my attention wander, he was happy to cooperate.
We did quite a bit of work on circles once he'd softened. I was trying to make sure to keep my hands up since Kate gave me advance warning of how her lesson had gone. So we'd do soft, up, forward, straight and if any of those things got lost on the circle I'd ask for a step or two of leg yield. Especially at the trot I could feel him rebalancing through the leg yield and going much better. So then I cantered him. While holding the whip. I'll admit I wasn't sure how that would go. He tried to fall through his inside shoulder, but I'd ask for a leg yield at the canter and he'd sort of stumble and then there'd be a stride where I could feel him fixing his legs during the elevated moment, and then, omg, BALANCE. We never did more than one or two leg yield steps at the canter, but by the end of the ride we could canter a 15m circle and I probably could have done 10 if we weren't both getting tired. Just to prove he was still Pro though, I couldn't walk him out on a loose rein because he'd try to spook at stuff.
So, was overall really happy with him by the end. I actually got to use the whip for a reminder once or twice without him trying to run for the hills, his canter was amazing, and he even was willing to go forward at a much better tempo at the trot while staying soft and round. Now, anyone want to attempt to explain to me how to get him to bend IN to the canter so I can leg yield? I kept catching myself bringing the outside rein in and that's obviously not correct. I'm guessing it means we need to work more on bending with our seat/legs and less with our hands, but when I'm not supposed to use legs I just end up confused. :) Luckily I've got a lesson scheduled for next Wed, so it should help if Pro will not pitch a fit like last time.
Kate & Pro - lesson (8/6)
I had my nice photographer (Erik!) there for my lesson on Wednesday. He wanted to come so he could see how nice Pro is for Gayle. Well...Pro had different ideas. We started off fairly nice, reviewing the inside/outside rein rules and playing at the walk. Then Gayle explained the next step...told me all about how Pro has gotten me QUITE nicely trained to drop my hands just a few inches. He's actually conditioned me to do this!!! And here I thought *I* was training him. Nope. He used to put up a huge fuss about putting his head down. Once he realized that was futile, he figured that if he had to put his head down, he would (subtly!!) only put it down if my hands were lower, so he could slack off a bit and be on his forehand.
He actually has me on a negative reinforcement schedule (meaning, he keeps his head up until I drop my hands, and then he "rewards" me by dropping his head!!). Anyway, so Gayle has explained how horses are negative reinforcement animals. Meaning, you train them best by applying an aversive stimulus until they give you what you want - and then you reward them by removing that aversive stimulus. So, when Pro was spooking - we'd kick him repeatedly with the inside leg until he relaxed, and then we'd stop kicking. Turns out HE'S training ME now!!!
So at the trot, she explained this, and then had me put my hands up to their proper place. He immediately puts his head up. Not giraffe-level, but still. He was clearly saying, "Mom we've been through this...be a good mommy and put your hands back down so I'll put my head down." I didn't. You could almost see the aghast-ness in his eyes as he realized I'd figured him out. Then he was MAD. Ohhhhhhhh was he mad. Gayle said that he wasn't doing anything new - her horse tries to get her to drop her hands, other horses do it, too. She said ponies are famous for it. But I can't let him get me to drop my hands, nope.
We tried to do figure-eights but since he was already pissy about my hands, he threw a MAJOR tantrum by the bunny tree. We pushed through it a few times (Gayle had me just kick with inside leg, push my inside hand forward) but eventually he just stopped, threw a fit, and flung himself sideways. Such a toddler!! Gayle had us move to the other end of the arena (thankfully - she said that I wasn't paying her to work through silly tantrums) and he quieted.
My left shoulder was killing me - he was hanging on it - so while going to the left, Gayle had me let go of the left rein. Which was SO hard to do...I was so frustrated that he wasn't bending left (practically counterbent) but Gayle persisted and had me let go. Eventually at the end of the lesson, we got him going softly.
***I'll try to upload the videos later today - they're being stubborn!!
Dare and Mandros Aug 7th
Well, Mandros is still tight. When I got out there, I tacked up and it started to rain. So I asked the owner if there was a different saddle I could use in the rain. Thankfully she had one. So, I changed saddles and headed out.
He was stiff but not as bad as yesterday. I warmed up for longer than usual and did tons of laterals. When I trotted he was very off to the left, but once I got him off the forehand, he was better. He kept fighting to stay on the forehand. I elevated him and made him pick up his back/withers, and he gave in. To the right is feels almost normal. The canter was pretty good both ways.
Towards the end of the ride, I asked him to piaffe and he didnt want to stay round. Once I was able to keep him round, we did several nice sets of piaffe. By this time he didnt feel off at all. I tried some trot half-passes and they went great. Maybe the trick is to get him elevated and to piaffe, then ask for the half-passes. Im having a lesson Sunday, so Im going to ask to work on the half-passes then.
He was stiff but not as bad as yesterday. I warmed up for longer than usual and did tons of laterals. When I trotted he was very off to the left, but once I got him off the forehand, he was better. He kept fighting to stay on the forehand. I elevated him and made him pick up his back/withers, and he gave in. To the right is feels almost normal. The canter was pretty good both ways.
Towards the end of the ride, I asked him to piaffe and he didnt want to stay round. Once I was able to keep him round, we did several nice sets of piaffe. By this time he didnt feel off at all. I tried some trot half-passes and they went great. Maybe the trick is to get him elevated and to piaffe, then ask for the half-passes. Im having a lesson Sunday, so Im going to ask to work on the half-passes then.
Thursday, August 7, 2008
Finally, a pic of me riding...
Okay, so here is finally a picture of me riding. She took several, but my legs were horrible in all of them but this one (and I know, I am really leaning forwards). BUT after taking some pics, my friend answered some questions I had about my posture and how I was working with him, and she helped me pick myself up a bit more (I know my hands improved a bunch, and so did my legs).Either way, today I rode for the first time in a dressage saddle. And I learned that the way I've been holding the reins (and am in this pic) was allowing him to just pull them right through my fingers, which would account for why I kept thinking his head was sticking out a bunch. He looked and felt much nicer after she helped me, and I wish I'd had her get the camera back out. Oh well... we'll try that another day. Just wanted to share this with ya'll!
And I've been really busy, but I am trying hard to keep up with everyone's posts, and encouraging/commenting whenever possible. So please bear with me :-) I am so jealous of ya'll that get to ride every day... I can only ride Thursdays and Saturdays, but sure do wish I could every day. I bet that would help me improve tenfold. haha...
Hobbes is SO lazy!
I rode last night and good grief...that was a workout! I was relieved when the barn owner came over to chat so I could have a break from trying to get the big oaf to move. I did throw my cc saddle on so we could canter over some eensy jumps...that got him slightly moving. But only slightly.
I'm heading back to mebane tonight to take the big gelding out on a trail ride. Hopefully I can hop him over a few tiny jumps, too. If all goes well I should be on my way to a vet check and maybe horse ownership again! Am I ready? Yikes! I keep listening to all this talk about recession and layoff's and the crap economy...is it smart to be spending my life savings on a horse? Hmmm....
I'm heading back to mebane tonight to take the big gelding out on a trail ride. Hopefully I can hop him over a few tiny jumps, too. If all goes well I should be on my way to a vet check and maybe horse ownership again! Am I ready? Yikes! I keep listening to all this talk about recession and layoff's and the crap economy...is it smart to be spending my life savings on a horse? Hmmm....
Dare and Mandros aug 6th
First off, Id like to say that Im not sure why I dated my last post as 8/7. I really have no idea. I remember looking at the calender when I dated the post. Oh well.
Anyway, I rode today and it did not go well. I missed my ride Monday and the owner told me that the other girl who rides Mandros hasnt been coming out. So, he hasnt been ridden since Saturday. He is supposed to be ridden everyday to keep his leg from tightening back up.
He was so tight tonight that he felt dead lame. The owner was there and told me to work him out of it. She said he wasnt lame, he was just tight from not being ridden. So I walked about 20 mins or so and did alot of laterals to get him stretching. Then we troted and he very off. I had a hard time getting him off the forehand. Once I really pushed and brought the inside rein out for a couple seconds, he got off the forehand and wasnt as off. After we got through the falling on the forehand thing, he was alot better. I cantered a little and it wasnt that great but it was ok considering how the trot was.
When I got off I stretched both back legs. We were just stretching the one that had surgery, but the vet/chiro was there a couple days ago and said both were tight. I rinsed him off and sponged some liniment on his legs and hips.
Hopefully he will bounce back quickly. Another girl at the barn told me the shows she was going to soon and told me I was welcome to come along. So, hopefully this was just a minor setback and he will be fine soon. Im going to ride tomorrow if the other girl doesnt, I left her a message, so we'll see.
Anyway, I rode today and it did not go well. I missed my ride Monday and the owner told me that the other girl who rides Mandros hasnt been coming out. So, he hasnt been ridden since Saturday. He is supposed to be ridden everyday to keep his leg from tightening back up.
He was so tight tonight that he felt dead lame. The owner was there and told me to work him out of it. She said he wasnt lame, he was just tight from not being ridden. So I walked about 20 mins or so and did alot of laterals to get him stretching. Then we troted and he very off. I had a hard time getting him off the forehand. Once I really pushed and brought the inside rein out for a couple seconds, he got off the forehand and wasnt as off. After we got through the falling on the forehand thing, he was alot better. I cantered a little and it wasnt that great but it was ok considering how the trot was.
When I got off I stretched both back legs. We were just stretching the one that had surgery, but the vet/chiro was there a couple days ago and said both were tight. I rinsed him off and sponged some liniment on his legs and hips.
Hopefully he will bounce back quickly. Another girl at the barn told me the shows she was going to soon and told me I was welcome to come along. So, hopefully this was just a minor setback and he will be fine soon. Im going to ride tomorrow if the other girl doesnt, I left her a message, so we'll see.
Monday, August 4, 2008
There is Hope
This weekend was crazy! Saturday it was almost too hot to even stand outside in the shade. Apple did NOT get worked. Sunday was MUCH prettier. It was muggy in the morning but then it cooled off some and there was hardly any humidity.
I had 4 lessons yesterday and rode 2 new horses in for training. Afterwards I put my brand new saddle pad on Apple, tacked him up and got ready to head out. One of the other boarders guilted me into babysitting her and her pony out on ther trail. So we headed out for a SLOW ride. It was good for Apple, he really likes to work other horses and there were spots that we had to pony the pony( haha) and I think it helped him mentally. Physically it wasn't very challenging and shorter than I had wanted to ride.
There were a few steps in the ride that felt like he might be sore but then there wouldn't be one for a long time. Those of you that have brought a horse back into work............do you find that they tend to "step sore" if they THINK it will hurt?? It seemed like that is what was happening, when there would be a footing change the first step especially with the hind left would seem very sore but then there wouldn't be another bad step.
I will try to get someone to take pictures tonight. I need to at least get some of the horses I have in for training.
I had 4 lessons yesterday and rode 2 new horses in for training. Afterwards I put my brand new saddle pad on Apple, tacked him up and got ready to head out. One of the other boarders guilted me into babysitting her and her pony out on ther trail. So we headed out for a SLOW ride. It was good for Apple, he really likes to work other horses and there were spots that we had to pony the pony( haha) and I think it helped him mentally. Physically it wasn't very challenging and shorter than I had wanted to ride.
There were a few steps in the ride that felt like he might be sore but then there wouldn't be one for a long time. Those of you that have brought a horse back into work............do you find that they tend to "step sore" if they THINK it will hurt?? It seemed like that is what was happening, when there would be a footing change the first step especially with the hind left would seem very sore but then there wouldn't be another bad step.
I will try to get someone to take pictures tonight. I need to at least get some of the horses I have in for training.
Dare and Mandros 8/7
I rode pretty late on Saturday so I didnt get any new pictures. It was too dark and my camera doesnt like the dark.
Mandros was being fussy the whole ride and I kept trying to feel if he felt lame/off and he was fine. He didnt want to get into a frame, he kept poking his nose out. The frame got better as the ride when on. I cantered him and put him into a frame and then trotted again and he kept it from then on.
He was being weird about doing the trot halfpasses too. He wouldnt move over off my leg, and when I booted him, he thought that meant piaffe. So the next couple of halfpasses, he tried to piaffe. They got better after a couple times and I quit once he did them "okay". I cantered somewhere in there, and it went fine. We mostly worked on the trot halfpasses. I need to remember to stay unlocked on the reins. Sometimes when I get ready to do a movement, I lock on the reins. So, I have to remember that and Ive got to ask him to really move over and stop doing it half-ass. haha, he's doing the halfpass, half-ass. thats kinda funny. He also tries to rush through it. I need him to move over, not more forward.
Anyway, I figured out why he was being a butthead the whole ride. He had to PEE!! I dont know why this horse wont pee or poop under saddle. I stopped a couple times to take a drink, so he could have peed then. We got to the washstall and he peed and pooped there.
Mandros was being fussy the whole ride and I kept trying to feel if he felt lame/off and he was fine. He didnt want to get into a frame, he kept poking his nose out. The frame got better as the ride when on. I cantered him and put him into a frame and then trotted again and he kept it from then on.
He was being weird about doing the trot halfpasses too. He wouldnt move over off my leg, and when I booted him, he thought that meant piaffe. So the next couple of halfpasses, he tried to piaffe. They got better after a couple times and I quit once he did them "okay". I cantered somewhere in there, and it went fine. We mostly worked on the trot halfpasses. I need to remember to stay unlocked on the reins. Sometimes when I get ready to do a movement, I lock on the reins. So, I have to remember that and Ive got to ask him to really move over and stop doing it half-ass. haha, he's doing the halfpass, half-ass. thats kinda funny. He also tries to rush through it. I need him to move over, not more forward.
Anyway, I figured out why he was being a butthead the whole ride. He had to PEE!! I dont know why this horse wont pee or poop under saddle. I stopped a couple times to take a drink, so he could have peed then. We got to the washstall and he peed and pooped there.
Sunday, August 3, 2008
Kate & Pro - 8/2
What a good pony...I was so pleased with our ride tonight that it only lasted about 20min!!!
We started off on our regular walk circle, focused on getting my outside/inside reins into their proper roles, and getting my seatbones plugged in. As usual, he tried to evade my reins and scooted around erratically so I couldn't plug in. Within a few minutes though, he realized I wasn't kidding so he started to behave, and felt pretty good. I tested him with a bit of counter-bend each direction and he stayed soft. It's a good way to get my outside rein "remembering" what the proper feel should feel like. I "find it" in the counterbend, and keep it as I softly bring him around to the normal bend.
He tried to scoot and squiggle by the poles/bunny tree, but I insisted that his head stay DOWN. That seemed to help him realize that his foolishness was just silly. I moved to a 20m trot circle and he felt really great - a few walk transitions, still feeling soft. Lots of praise!!! Then I moved to a figure-eight (which headed straight toward the poles/tree) and kept in mind Gayle's advice about riding proactively, rather than reactively. Just focused on doing things correctly, not fixing things he's doing wrong or actively preventing mishaps and spooks. It worked!!! He almost started to give the nervous eye to the poles but I just redirected my thoughts to keeping the figure-eight correct, and he settled right down. I was so pleased!!!!
I ended with a few trot-walk transitions without leaning/pulling and he did them so beautifully that I just couldn't justify pushing the ride any harder. I let him walk out, and then let Erik hop on and work on his posting. Pro was so sweet - he stayed wonderfully long/low the whole time and was so steady for Erik. I think he enjoys Erik riding him because he doesn't have to work too hard. :) And Erik even learned his diagonals today - woohoo!!!! I explained them once, and he immediately got them right. I'm such a proud girlfriend. :)
We started off on our regular walk circle, focused on getting my outside/inside reins into their proper roles, and getting my seatbones plugged in. As usual, he tried to evade my reins and scooted around erratically so I couldn't plug in. Within a few minutes though, he realized I wasn't kidding so he started to behave, and felt pretty good. I tested him with a bit of counter-bend each direction and he stayed soft. It's a good way to get my outside rein "remembering" what the proper feel should feel like. I "find it" in the counterbend, and keep it as I softly bring him around to the normal bend.
He tried to scoot and squiggle by the poles/bunny tree, but I insisted that his head stay DOWN. That seemed to help him realize that his foolishness was just silly. I moved to a 20m trot circle and he felt really great - a few walk transitions, still feeling soft. Lots of praise!!! Then I moved to a figure-eight (which headed straight toward the poles/tree) and kept in mind Gayle's advice about riding proactively, rather than reactively. Just focused on doing things correctly, not fixing things he's doing wrong or actively preventing mishaps and spooks. It worked!!! He almost started to give the nervous eye to the poles but I just redirected my thoughts to keeping the figure-eight correct, and he settled right down. I was so pleased!!!!
I ended with a few trot-walk transitions without leaning/pulling and he did them so beautifully that I just couldn't justify pushing the ride any harder. I let him walk out, and then let Erik hop on and work on his posting. Pro was so sweet - he stayed wonderfully long/low the whole time and was so steady for Erik. I think he enjoys Erik riding him because he doesn't have to work too hard. :) And Erik even learned his diagonals today - woohoo!!!! I explained them once, and he immediately got them right. I'm such a proud girlfriend. :)
Gabby reverts back....
to intro level. Those of you that said I'd be shunned if I make it to fourth or higher will be pleased to hear that I've actually been demoted down to intro : )
My lesson this morning with Lynn Leath was highly entertaining...and enlightening. I've been riding Hobbes for so long, I haven't realized how shi++y my seat is. Maybe I should go back to hunters where you just keep it out of the saddle. Anyhoo...the RPSI gelding was great. He was thoroughly confused by my aids, but he was perfectly content to tote me around and was very well-behaved.
We started figuring out the trot and I'm feeling okay about that...but damn the canter. He's got a big 'ol stride and my uneducated seat was confusing him. We got a lot of canter, canter, trot, canter....every time I tried to sit tall, he'd break to the trot. I guess I'm sitting tall but blocking with my seat, which he is annoyingly attuned to. Things got better and I think I'll get it, but grrr...it was sorta embarrassing to suck so much.
So, without further ado, here's a classic example of my inability to get my body to obey. No, I wasn't asking for the trot! Turn the sound on...Lynn sounds like she's gonna snap! Also of note, the wierd arena fencing...listen for the loud clanging of my stirrup. We kept careening around like a bumper car off that damn fence!:
My lesson this morning with Lynn Leath was highly entertaining...and enlightening. I've been riding Hobbes for so long, I haven't realized how shi++y my seat is. Maybe I should go back to hunters where you just keep it out of the saddle. Anyhoo...the RPSI gelding was great. He was thoroughly confused by my aids, but he was perfectly content to tote me around and was very well-behaved.
We started figuring out the trot and I'm feeling okay about that...but damn the canter. He's got a big 'ol stride and my uneducated seat was confusing him. We got a lot of canter, canter, trot, canter....every time I tried to sit tall, he'd break to the trot. I guess I'm sitting tall but blocking with my seat, which he is annoyingly attuned to. Things got better and I think I'll get it, but grrr...it was sorta embarrassing to suck so much.
So, without further ado, here's a classic example of my inability to get my body to obey. No, I wasn't asking for the trot! Turn the sound on...Lynn sounds like she's gonna snap! Also of note, the wierd arena fencing...listen for the loud clanging of my stirrup. We kept careening around like a bumper car off that damn fence!:
And a quick bit of some so-so trot work:
I've got way more videos, but they take forever to upload...anyhoo. I'm going to go back this week to take the gelding on a trail ride, but if he's as good as he is over everything else, I'm sold. Errr...bought, rather.
Andrea and Pro (8/1)
Kate and I traded days, so Pro got stuck with me two days in a row. Though Thursday it was muggy, if less hot thanks to an afternoon storm, so all I did was go out and wave the dressage whip around him to see what he thought. He isn't scared of it, just very responsive. I didn't want to get him TOO desensitized to the whip though so once he calmed down some we left it alone.
Friday we took that to the next level and RODE with the whip. 95% of the ride was much worse than normal, but the remaining 5% was probably 50% better, so I think in the long run it'll be worth it. He spent a lot of time butt scooting and it felt like he was really rushing, but if I thought about it objectively I had to admit that it was probably a more honest tempo for the trot and walk. He can tend to get sticky even when he's going forward. We spent almost the entire ride doing some sort of lateral work because he'd relax and his back would pop up under me whenever we'd come off of a leg yield or a circle. So we'd do about 10 strides of some sort of non-straight line, then 2 strides of straight, then back to some different bending exercise ;). We ended on a very nice, good tempoed, good impulsion sitting trot that I could collect or lengthen just with my seat. Hopefully if we can ride him with the whip for a week or so he'll decide that we're not going to use it for whatever the heck someone else used it for with him and chill. He's pretty smart, so I think he might.
Friday we took that to the next level and RODE with the whip. 95% of the ride was much worse than normal, but the remaining 5% was probably 50% better, so I think in the long run it'll be worth it. He spent a lot of time butt scooting and it felt like he was really rushing, but if I thought about it objectively I had to admit that it was probably a more honest tempo for the trot and walk. He can tend to get sticky even when he's going forward. We spent almost the entire ride doing some sort of lateral work because he'd relax and his back would pop up under me whenever we'd come off of a leg yield or a circle. So we'd do about 10 strides of some sort of non-straight line, then 2 strides of straight, then back to some different bending exercise ;). We ended on a very nice, good tempoed, good impulsion sitting trot that I could collect or lengthen just with my seat. Hopefully if we can ride him with the whip for a week or so he'll decide that we're not going to use it for whatever the heck someone else used it for with him and chill. He's pretty smart, so I think he might.
Friday, August 1, 2008
Hobbes n' Me
We rode last night...and man was it humid! I was dripping sweat after a few minutes. Hobbes was a good boy, as always, although SUPER lazy. The only way to get him moving was to pretend we were gonna do lead changes and then sneak in a simple change. That gets him riled up every time..hee hee.
I mostly worked on keeping him as forward as I possibly could and keeping my equitation correct, which it wasn't. I had one of those rides where you feel totally discombobulated...none of your limbs work correctly and you feel like you're just a-flopping every which way. Hate those rides. I was either gripping with my thighs or my calves were way out of line. I was leaning forward and collapsing one way or the other. I couldn't keep my outside rein steady, my whip kept getting caught, and my eyes were anywhere but on my track. Needless to say, it was a bit discouraging. I desperately need this upcoming lesson on Sunday, especially if I'm gonna make it to fourth level by Monday. Snicker.
I mostly worked on keeping him as forward as I possibly could and keeping my equitation correct, which it wasn't. I had one of those rides where you feel totally discombobulated...none of your limbs work correctly and you feel like you're just a-flopping every which way. Hate those rides. I was either gripping with my thighs or my calves were way out of line. I was leaning forward and collapsing one way or the other. I couldn't keep my outside rein steady, my whip kept getting caught, and my eyes were anywhere but on my track. Needless to say, it was a bit discouraging. I desperately need this upcoming lesson on Sunday, especially if I'm gonna make it to fourth level by Monday. Snicker.
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