I may be the strange one of the crowd but I LOVE riding alone. I got to the barn yesterday and there wasn't anyone around at all. I got Desi out and after getting her all pretty I took saddle fit pictures. I am pretty good with english saddles but much better with western. Go figure that my really nice expensive saddle doesn't fit her at ALL. So I rode in my cheapy.
Since there was nobody around after we warmed up and went over our previous lessons: standing, turning off leg, stopping with my seat and NOT when I say "Good girl", and moving those pesky shoulders over.
I held the buckle and let her trot and trot and trot. At first she stayed on the rail and was very unsure about her speed. If I took a bigger breath she would slow down she wouldn't just move out. So I would push her if she lagged or felt like she was going to walk. After about a mile or so she settled into a very nice rythmic trot. Then decided that was boring and did what I wanted her to do.......headed for the gate. The nice thing about her is she is SUPER sensative. So when she would head at it directly I would just my voice and click to her, when she would go past it I got quiet. I only used my legs to keep her trotting. After 2-3 times she avoided the gate like the plague! If we were tracking left she would go towards the middle of the arena about 15' before the gate and go back on the rail 15' after the gate. LOL I have a SMART mare!
We probably trotted a good 4 miles yesterday. Tonight we will go back to bareback and hopefully start alternating. I want both of us in killer shape! I took some conformation shots of her tonight to hopefully compare in a few months to see if muscle has improved some of her weaker areas.
Anyone want to buy a County Stabilizer?? LOL I listed it on Ebay. Ideally I will get enough to get a nice CC that fits her(under $700) and then take the rest and my western saddle and get the Wade saddle of my dreams.(western)
Look how smart I am! I found the EDIT button! Ok, here are her confo shots. Feel free to pick her apart.
What I see:
Roachy
Weak Pasterns
her front cannon bones attach to the ouside of her knees
cow hocked
Since there was nobody around after we warmed up and went over our previous lessons: standing, turning off leg, stopping with my seat and NOT when I say "Good girl", and moving those pesky shoulders over.
I held the buckle and let her trot and trot and trot. At first she stayed on the rail and was very unsure about her speed. If I took a bigger breath she would slow down she wouldn't just move out. So I would push her if she lagged or felt like she was going to walk. After about a mile or so she settled into a very nice rythmic trot. Then decided that was boring and did what I wanted her to do.......headed for the gate. The nice thing about her is she is SUPER sensative. So when she would head at it directly I would just my voice and click to her, when she would go past it I got quiet. I only used my legs to keep her trotting. After 2-3 times she avoided the gate like the plague! If we were tracking left she would go towards the middle of the arena about 15' before the gate and go back on the rail 15' after the gate. LOL I have a SMART mare!
We probably trotted a good 4 miles yesterday. Tonight we will go back to bareback and hopefully start alternating. I want both of us in killer shape! I took some conformation shots of her tonight to hopefully compare in a few months to see if muscle has improved some of her weaker areas.
Anyone want to buy a County Stabilizer?? LOL I listed it on Ebay. Ideally I will get enough to get a nice CC that fits her(under $700) and then take the rest and my western saddle and get the Wade saddle of my dreams.(western)
Look how smart I am! I found the EDIT button! Ok, here are her confo shots. Feel free to pick her apart.
What I see:
Roachy
Weak Pasterns
her front cannon bones attach to the ouside of her knees
cow hocked
9 comments:
This is so funny:
"stopping with my seat and NOT when I say "Good girl""
Skate does the same thing.
Sounds like she is a smarty-pants. Good for her!
Wow, she sounds like she is doing really awesome!!! YAY!
I would LOVE your saddle, if I could AFFORD it!
The conformation shots are a good idea, so you will have a good comparison. The only problem is that you took pictures, and yet I don't see any...??? *grin*
Gabby it is funny until you are riding bareback and get SLAMMED into those whithers. OUCH
Christie, I was going to come back and post them but now I can't see how to edit my post. :(
Hmmm, I know there is a way...
What size is the County Stabilizer? I"m looking for one!
17.5" Medium Tree, Keyhole Tree, Spring Tree it is in excellent condition.
Darn - I need a 16" medium wide - daughter is now jumping the 5-year old QH. We got an almost-new Wintec close contact on Ebay for $200.to use for now - but I'm sooo wanting the County Stabilizer for long-term use.
I definitely prefer riding alone - much quieter, more ring space! Ah those shoulders, I can empathize. She does sound smart, and that's a good thing for what you want her for! Sounds like she has a really high trainability factor, as Gayle would say. ;) Very eager to learn.
I like riding alone too. I like having the arena to myself.
I dont think her pasterns are bad, the other things you mentioned look true but they arent things that are horrible.
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