A sloppy return to work

...but thankfully only sloppy in terms of the arena! :)

I was QUITE close to skipping the ride tonight but thankfully I was motivated by knowing that 1) it would be pretty bad to skip the first ride of the year when one of my top resolutions is to be better about riding more consistently! and 2) I wanted to make the blog members proud. :) Besides, I was all ready to go with my NEW half-chaps and NEW winter riding gloves! So despite the arena looking more like a lake than an arena, and despite the darkness, I tacked up and headed out.

Within the first minute Pro had a big spook by the fence but we immediately returned to business. I had to laugh at him - I think he was feeling "ew, icky!" about the arena slop because his walk was HUGE. Or maybe it was the time off. Either way, he was stepping big! I tried to transform that energy and big step into something positive, so we worked on un-kinking his neck. Even with the vacation, I'm noticing how much quicker he's able to figure out the un-kinking process. Secretly, I think he likes it! ;) So after about 10 minutes, we were happily sloshing through the slop, stretching out and tracking up. I worked on plugging in my seatbones and most importantly, keeping my lower legs off his sides so that my seat felt deep and secure. He was happy to puff up underneath me and stretch out his neck. He was a bit goosey by the bunny tree for a few minutes but we did some small circles (turning 100% off those outside aids!) and I reminded myself to stay OFF my inside rein, as tempting as it was to try and take it. He was much better (of course) and got over it quickly.

I hope everyone else has a resolution to ride more this year! :) And just for fun, here are my 2009 goals. What are yours?

1) Ride more consistently! No excuses! ;)
2) Continue to reduce my dependence on my inside rein. Perhaps I need an Inside Rein Intervention?
3) Continue to develop a wonderful new relationship with my outside rein!
4) Start lateral work...?
5) Eventually have lessons where Pro and I canter! :)

Giraffe Head to Snow Plow

What happened here? Last month I had Skate's head in my lap - now it's dissappeared to somewhere between his knees! So he was a very good pony...I'm happy to report. I just find it funny that his head has done a 180 down to the ground. Now he's no longer afraid of the bit, he's hauling on it downward. What the heck?

I rode during the day Saturday (daylight rocks!) while the new western pleasure paint was out in the arena. Spurs jingling, silver blinging - Skate had no idea what that was! He kept trying to follow him around the arena with his eye...lots of work on bending is what that got him.

I took him on a short ride down the road for a change of scenery and he was perfect. Even though we left the other two horses in the arena. Nary a whinny or spook.

Good Snow Plow.

Pro Day 3

My goal was to get in 4 rides last week, I made 3 because the ring was soup when I went out so I just helped with chores and worming horses. Yesterday Pro got a very long ride, though, so I think that's ok. He'd been asking for a long ride all week, he just never really settled into a groove, so I went out yesterday determined to ride for awhile.

Everything went really well, he got a little bit rounder through his back as we rode. After I asked him to trot we had to re-establish the nice, round back. I ended up getting annoyed with his half-effort and gave him a little tap with the whip on the inside and he actually accepted his correction and snapped his back up under me. That was very satisfying since the past couple rides when I'd correct him with the whip he'd turn into a drama llama. I decided that since things were going so well there was no reason to not push it and did quite a bit of canter work as well. We got some chewing even during the canter and the transitions up and down were pretty smooth. I asked for more transitions than I normally do in a ride just to keep him on his toes. Unfortunately he still just assumes that canter figure-8's are a prelude to flying changes. It was actually MORE work to do correct simple changes than the flying ones, he'd do a half-beat of trot and then swap leads at the mid-point. I started asking him to canter the outside halves of the figure-8 circles and trot the inside halves, then working towards just trotting the middle point. He probably could have done decent flying changes, he was pretty collected, but I figured that'd be bad to do on principle.

Kate should be back out to the barn tomorrow, so there will be a second opinion on post-holiday Pro soon. :)

Pro's Blustery Day

I don't know about the rest of you guys, but we seem to be in the middle of a wind storm here in Durham. I headed out to the barn around 10:30 or so and it was breezy, but not that bad. When I got to the barn, the horses were spooking all by themselves out in the field. Just what everyone wants to see when they go to ride, isn't it? I debated lunging vs riding and finally decided to trust Pro and ride. Just at a walk so my butt would be in the saddle at all times.

We got some pretty good walk work in. I think it helped that I was grounded to the walk so I was focusing on it more. I'm still refiguring out my position so I've been trying to mostly leave Pro alone. If I get in the right position he's pretty honest about going correctly. After about 30 minutes a dead tree across the pond came booming down which spooked everybody. Pro took about two hops sideways and then stared it down. I hopped off to make sure Grey Horse hadn't run over her owner (they were tacking up inside) and then we headed back out with them to finish our ride. Pro went right back to work and we even did a little bit of trotting before calling it a day. He spooked leading him back down to his paddock and then ran around like a lunatic for a minute, so I'm very pleased he didn't do that when I was on him.

Happy New Years everyone!

Back to work for Pro

But first, a picture of Lyric (on the right) a 13yo Arabian and Sugar a 29yo TWH/pony cross. Lyric is really Flashs Image which makes him some sort of weird half-2nd cousin to Pro through Magnum Spatz. Lyric is a much more minimally marked sabino. We bought him 12 1/2 years ago to be a replacement to Sugar, who you can see is still going strong. Part of my Christmas involved putting up a round pen for my mom, so hopefully both horses will be in better shape next time I get down. They were dirty, fluffy, and way over due to have their feet done because their farrier had some sort of throat surgery done, so it wasn't really a good time to get conformation shots. Lyric is actually very cute even though he looks funky here.

So, now on to Pro's ride yesterday! I dragged Greg along for more pictures (we got a SLR camera from his parents so this way I got pictures and he got to play with the new toy). I didn't tempt fate with the dark, but asking for good pictures after a week off was probably a bit much. He did fairly well though. He clearly remembered the concepts we'd been working on, but he wasn't really sure he wanted to put forth actual effort on them. So he sort of half-faked them for the beginning of the ride, staying very tight in his shoulders.

So over the poles we went! At the trot he kept trying to fling himself over them like a jump (which I sadly do not have pictures of) which amused me. He did eventually loosen up somewhat. Just in time to decide that he had worked more than enough and we were GOING to stop right then. Umm, no Pro, we weren't. If it'd been more than 20 min of riding I'd be shocked. I'll spare you the giraffe-face pictures, but here's him looking cute again.

In fact, he did so well that I even cantered him in one direction. He's getting much more balanced through his canter from all the trot work. There were moments where his back actually felt round under me. I'm not sure if this is one of those or not, but he had decent suspension at least! All in all it was a pretty good ride and I'm looking forward to another this afternoon. Gotta get him back in shape for his mommy!

Mini-break Over!

As I was getting ready to head to the barn last night, I spied my full-seats, which I never wear. For whatever reason, I decided to put those on. Man, those are some goofy pants - could they come up any higher? If they did, they could serve as both breeches and a sports bra.

So I head out to inform Skate his vaca is over. He comes out of his stall willingly, albeit muddy. (Good news - the new blanket is still holding up) I get him tacked up and decide we'll go to the outside ring since the footing is newly dragged. Nevermind only half of the lights are working - talk about shadows. Still - its good to keep him on his toes.

I went ahead and lunged him first to get the sillies out. He was an angel tracking left and I almost just hopped on him then, but decided I'd better go both directions. Pffffttt - good thing I did! He was a complete fool in the other direction. I'm glad I had gloves on - every WALK command turned to canter - faster - faster - drag damn anchor (me) across ring - have hissy fit - walk. What the hell? I know that is his worse direction - he is much more unbalanced and is always trying to crane his head out and bulge the shoulder in. I think it was my constant corrections on the line for that maneuver that kept pissing him off. Oh well. I finally got an ok trot - walk transition and decided to hop on.

He really wasn't that bad. He certainly needed some reminders - my whip got used frequently as he was attempting the 'ol titanic turns (where the back end seems to swing way out) and at first I was half halting like a water skiier. After the monotony of 4 thousand figure eights, he chilled out. This is where the random donning of the fullseats saved me. We walked down to the end of the ring on a loose rein when both of us saw 'something' flash over to the left. Its funny how you think, "crap - he's gonna bolt" just early enough to be able to get in a second of panic before it actually happens. So he did his spin and bolt - my foot came out of the stirrup and my entire upper body was parallel to the ground - however, my bum was nicely stuck : ) Thank-you, unflattering breeches.

After that we walked past the flashing thing - which was the laminated dressage letter that had torn and was flapping in the wind. Once he realized what it was, he seemed embarrassed and put his head down (in shame, I like to think).

The rest of the ride was uneventful, thank goodness. I can't really complain - he had over a week off and then I come out and stack the odds against him (cold, windy, poor lighting, I was riding like a weeble wobble, etc, etc). So, I'll just say the ride was as good as can be expected : )

Merry Christmas!

And a Happy New Year, too. Skate is taking a mini-break from working and is probably doing his best to annihilate his new blanket and turnout boots.

The little turdlet now is forced to get armored up prior to turnout due to his amazing knack at wacking his hind cannon bones. How does a horse get that many bumps in such a short amount of time? He came to me with the prettiest cleanest legs - and now they look like mogul slopes. How do you get rid of those bumps that seem to originate from within the bone?

Oh - and I can't give you a long term durability report yet, but at first glance, I'm rather pleased with the SmartPak thinsulate turnout - it's only 1200 denier (was hoping for 1680 ballistic nylon) but it's filled with thinsulate insulation instead of the usual heavy poly-fill stuff. That results in a midweight (equivalent to a 220 g fill) turnout that is as light as a sheet.

Well, I'm back to my Corona and sunshine here in Key West - I hope everyone is having an equally relaxing holiday season.

Silly Pepsi- Levades are for Lippizaners!

So...I know I haven't been on here much lately, but here's an update. ;)

With exams at full-force, I hadn't been able to get out to the barn for over a week, almost a week and a half. For me, that's like not breathing for a week. And for Pepsi, that's like leaving a toddler alone with no babysitter for that long as well. In other words, the next time you go out, expect to have fun. ;)

So, I went out a few days ago and he was surprisingly calm walking to the barn. Once we got there though and he caught sight of all of the geldings running and playing in the pasture he just couldn't take it. I tried for about a minute and half to get his attention back on me before I realized that we needed some SERIOUS round pen work! So, off we went.

I took off his halter (I don't normally, but I just decided to this time) and he went RUNNING AND LEAPING AND BUCKING around that pen like never before. It was really funny and quite adorable, but he was supposed to listen to ME. So, I asked him to move forward and he took off like a shot- hand galloping around the round pen, blowing and snorting. Uh-huh. That's nice horse. Now pay attention to ME. I asked for a change of directions. You'd have thought I chased after him with the Triton of Death. He SLID to a stop, turned on a dime, gave a HUGE leaping buck, snorted, and galloped off.

Ok. So this is going to take a while.

We did some more changes of directions (for his reaction, see above) and then finally after about the 8th time he started to settle and at least pay attention to me. I wouldn't say he was listening, but at least he realized that I was there in the round pen with him. ;)

Next, I started asking for some transitions, which he promptly ignored. So I promptly demanded a nice, forward canter until he got tired and DID start listening. Then we did some transitions and more changes of directions, until his head was nice and low, he was listening to me the entire time, AND he responded promptly. Once he settles, I'm finding that I'm starting to be able to control the SPEED of his gaits now...it's only a little bit at a time, but it's a start. (And compared to a year ago, it's a HUGE thing!!)

Anyway, we came back in, I finished grooming him, and let him graze for a bit before I put him back up. :D

PS- that time spent in the paddock worked! He's lost at least 50 pounds, maybe even 75! Yay! No more pudgy pony!

Pro to Prometeo

Pro was very good for his last ride before his Christmas break. I was hoping to get out today to ride (can we say gorgeous weather?) but I think my preparations for Christmas have gotten in the way. Last night was a good way to end anyway.

During Kate's lesson we asked Gayle about how long developing self-carriage takes (typical horse with typical training and typical gaits: 1 year) and what age she thought Pro was in each of his gaits (5yo walk, 5yo trot, 3yo canter). I think Pro is determined to develop self-carriage in record time. Last night was my first night attempting the poles and while Pro's caught on that he shouldn't chip at them, he wasn't really working as hard as he could have at them. I blame myself, it'd been a week since I rode and I know various parts of my body were all out of whack.

I gave up on the poles for the day and just worked on my 20m circle getting myself readjusted. Pro of course was all like "FINALLY!" when I got my seat bones even and pointing down, shoulders and hips open up front, toes wiggly to avoid squishing him, contact on the outside rein, less contact on the inside rein, etc etc. Took it up to the trot and he was very forward, still round, but he had a little more impulsion than he normally does, so he kept throwing himself off his balance. He was very cute, he'd start to get all panicky about where his feet were until I'd loosen the inside rein so he could chase the bit and then he was like "oh! I have it!" and get super proud of himself. We also progressed from just our normal 20m circle to figure-8s and then to serpentines for a little bit just to up the difficulty a smidge. He handled it like a champ. So then I asked him to try the poles at a trot and he just thought he was the most amazing horse ever for trotting over the poles. No chips, nice steady rhythm... I'll admit it, I thought he was the most amazing horse ever as well.

The funny part about the ride was after he really got going I'd look down and be surprised by how close the ground looked. He had so much power you'd think he was bigger. And... I totally just busted myself for thinking bigger = more power. Big Horse at the barn proves that's not necessarily true.

Anyway, I may give an update on my mom's Arab (and post pictures for comparison purposes) but if not, Merry Christmas everyone!

Reminder of blog rules

Just a gentle reminder...

The purpose of this blog was to be a group where people not only track and celebrate their own personal progress, but also support everyone else with their progress. This blog will not work if people only post about their own progress and never (or very infrequently) comment on other people's progress.

Here's a reminder of the initial rules, from my post on NCHN:
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Here are some rough, premature "guidelines" that I think/hope will help things move along smoothly:

1) One entry per ride. That way, we can keep the "clutter" down so no one's ride gets lost in the mix.

2) As much as possible, try to leave a comment on everyone's entry, even if it's brief or just a "Yay!" quick type comment. It's not much of a motivational help if you type out an entry and it gets ignored.

3) Be encouraging! I know I'm excited for this, and I hope you all are, too!

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I hope you all can understand why these rules/guidelines were put in place. It really IS frustrating to spend a long time typing out a detailed entry and have it be ignored. I know I've been bad about getting to comments promptly (I'll try to be better!!!), but I make sure to read and comment on every single post on here before I post an entry of my own.

I love having everyone here but if you disagree with this guideline, which is fine, maybe an individual blog would be better to track your individual progress. If you have any questions, please send me a PM on NCHN.

Thanks - this blog has been wonderful and I've enjoyed tracking everyone's progress so much! :)

The Old Man Still Has Some Springs :)

Well, as a bit of a break from the ongoing battle of Hannah vs. Surf over stadium jumps, it was old man Huey's turn for a jumping lesson. I've been trying to limit the pounding I put on his legs, as I'd like him to last through several more seasons...so I only jump him in lessons (probably once every 2 weeks or so). I figure that this horse knows how to jump, knows his job, and the part of the equation that needs work is ME...and we can work on me with Surf, since both of us need frequent practice on our issues, that are quite specific to us as a partnership. Huey, really, is not a complicated ride over fences once he decides that he's willing to work with you...apparently if he doesn't like you, forget it. You can't do anything with him (I've heard some horror stories about past lessors...). However, once he's on-board with the partnership, and you figure out his little quirks (developing a tick more canter than you think you need, as he's got more heart than scope, floating him a bit of rein in the approach to give him the freedom to really use his head, again due to the more heart than scope issue, etc.), he's amazing over fences...and a total blast to ride :)

Since Huey is really game for jumping anything, anytime, anywhere, we were the guinea pigs for a new set of exercises...

When Julia says you're the guinea pig, you're always in for a surprise. The jumps set up didn't look like much at first - a simple gymnastic in the middle, and 4 fences around the outside. First we played around over single fences, just getting warmed up and working on Huey not getting super excited that we're jumping again...and working on controlling him from my seat/leg rather than my hands. To help with this, I've been jumping him on the snaffle ring of his bit (he goes in a 3-ring elevator/bubble bit/whatever you call it for jumping...and the leverage action on the lower rings is great for xc!). Next we started to focus on the fact that the 4 outside fences were all set at angles...which has the effect of surprising the horse...and thus setting them up for an added stride if you're not clear with your line and your aids. We worked on having a straight approach to an angled fence...so that your line is straight, but you jump the fence on an angle, since it's at an angle to your line. First we jumped the angled fences individually...taking this time to work on the scary nature of the fences, since there was an oxer over a liverpool, an oxer with boxes underneath, a set of flower boxes, and the scary rainbow jump. Then we worked on jumping pairs of angled fences - first on a bending line riding each fence perpendicularly - so that A to B rode in 5 and C to D rode in 6. Next we worked on making the fences line up with a straight line from center to center...which means you jump the fences on an angle so A to B becomes a 4 and C to D becomes a 5. Huey much preferres to shorten his stride and always add, so it was a challenge to push him into a more open stride. J and I have been working on getting me to the point where I can ask huey for the bigger step at home, but also teaching me to be quiet and let him add if he needs to add when we're at shows to put together a smoother, more comfortable ride. This exercise was good for my eye...as my eye is a big problem. I have a hard time letting go of the hunter mentality to pick a spot, and I have a tendency to look down through turns or at fences I'm worried about, thus causing all the horse's energy to fall out from under me. We worked on the concept of, when you turn onto a line where the fences are not set perfectly straight to each other, finding your line where the standards of the fences line up...then putting your eye back down on each individual obstacle in turn, and riding in the "jimmy style" where you look at each fence until it dissappears between their ears, then look for the next individual fence. The weird thing about this is that you can see the entire line when you line up the standards, but the "line" dissappears when you look back at each individual fence...which makes you set up your line early and commit to trusting the line even when you can't see it anymore...and really riding on feel and riding the good canter that you've hopefully established. It's a strange sensation...try it and you'll see. It's very hard to trust the line when you can't see it anymore...especially for someone like me who likes to micromanage :P

After playing with the angled fences, it was on to the next exercise...which I initially thought was a rather dull x - 1stride -1stride gymnastic. Boy was I wrong! We rode through the gymnastic normally first...then the fun began. Let's see if I can explain. Those little Orange dots in the diagram are cones. 1st, you started at the cone near D, trotting to the left, going between 3 and D and trotting over fence 1 (the x)...which means you had to go between 2 and 1 to get to 1, which is only an average 1-stride amount of space. Then we landed with a R lead canter, went around the cone near C (going between 1 and C) to canter fence 3, the oxer. Then we landed cantering left, around the cone to jump over fence 2, going between fences 1 and A on landing. Talk about having to be good with your eye. We worked on treating the space you had to go between fences as a jump, focusing there as well as on the jumps. Then we went back to the D cone and reversed the exercise - going R, trot the X, left lead canter back over 3, right lead canter over 2. Of course J had to make it harder after that :P Starting at the D cone, you jumped fence 1, R lead canter over 2 landing between 3 and B, left lead canter over 3 landing between A and 1. Of course, we reversed that exercise too. Again, working on sharpening my eye...treating each fence individually, but looking for the line on landing, treating the space between fences like 3 and B or 1 and A through which we had to pass as a separate obstacle.

What a Workout! This afternoon is a flat lesson with Surfie...and tomorrow Surfie jumps with his buddy Paris, but we'll probably have a new set of torture exercises set up by then!

Who bought me a sporthorse???

I no longer own Pro, a 14.3h chestnut Arabian. I own Prometeo, a 16h chestnut sporthorse. :) With huge gaits!!!!!!!!

My lesson on Saturday was great, once we got going. Pro started off very much in an "I don't feel like working today" mode. Well, I was in an "I paid $$ for Gayle to come today, so you WILL work" mode!! Gayle decided to try something new rather than fight through his mood. She brought out two trot poles and made a cross out of them. So the pole that laid across the other pole had one down side, one raised side. She then took Pro's inside rein and helped guide him around and over the poles. Up over the high end, the low end, over the spot where they crossed, etc. At first he was mortified as he stumbled through, kicking the poles and tripping a bit, but then he sorted it out and became fascinated with this new "puzzle". Gayle said it was really beneficial for him, as he had to move his pelvis and shoulders in unique ways, figuring out the poles. He wasn't allowed to shorten his stride and chip before the poles, but he had to be bold and step confidently. Eventually as he got better, I kept mixing it up by asking him to change bend as he walked over the uneven parts and asking him to move off my outside aids as he turned around and walked back and forth.

Here's where the genius part comes in. After about 10-15min of doing this and making it more complicated for him, Gayle had me leg-yield onto a circle and pick up the trot. Immediately, he picked up a forward, attentive trot!!!! I was blown away at her genius. :)

We addressed the usual tricky things - positional things, hands up, not squooshing him with my legs, moving my arms from the shoulders, etc. Then on a large figure-eight at the trot we worked on getting him to fully open up.

Gayle with her usual words of zen - "You don't truly have control until you let go."

I'm pretty sure there's a ton of deeper meaning attached to that. :) But right then I was just trying to wrap my head around it in dressage-terms. Considering his Arab Western Pleasure background, Pro is a SAINT about reaching for the bit. Which he reliably does once I've established a connection. He never reaches for it when he's doing his llama-chicken impression! ;) We're working on transitioning over from an "inside rein fix" to a "leg/whip" fix for dealing with attentional issues. A lot of the time, he gets it! If he starts to pick up his head, the current fix involves a quick reflexing of his poll with the inside rein (not so much that it turns his neck, but just flexes his poll). We're trying to transition him to move forward and pay attention again just from a quick tap of the whip or from the leg.

After a few figure eights, he was moving huge!!! Such lofty gaits, such suspension. :) And being such a good boy attention-wise.

For the past two rides this week I've used the poles to warm up. Tonight, I only needed them for about 5 minutes before he was attentive and on my aids. Hands up, no squooshing! :) It paid off in the trot...he felt so huge. I was talking to Gayle on Saturday about how I feel like he's going to have very expressive gaits that will come out as he progresses. He just feels so sport-horsey! And tonight I was SO proud of him - it was dark and part of our figure-eight was in the part of the arena where the lightbulb has gone out in the light...so he was an attentive, quiet angel, even in the dark! :)

The other neat part of Saturday was watching Gayle ride Gray Horse at the barn - Andrea came too. Gayle lunged her first (stumping us with a surprise pop quiz about the training scale and other such things) and then we got to watch her ride. It was neat, considering how much overlap there was between her ride and the stuff we're working on with Pro. Very educational!!!!

"On the bit"!

I had a lesson Saturday morning and I had requested some lunging help. We started out with that - and added some sliding reins for a few minutes to (as my instructor says) show Skate the way. He seemed to get it...and sorta stretched down, but we suspect it was mostly to avoid the bit, not seek contact.

-Let me interject here with a comment - I don't fully understand why any horse would "seek" contact, really. Yes, I understand that quiet, elastic contact isn't painful, but if I were a horse I would likely spend more time avoiding that metal thing in my mouth than seeking it ; ) That cliche has just never been clear to me -

After he was going nicely on the lunge, we moved on to riding. Worked on spiral in to turn on the haunches back to spiral out to get him moving off my leg. I have great difficulty with this exercise. It requires so many different aids at once that I get frazzled quickly and tense up. Plus, I am not whispering with my leg - I'm screaming, which throws my balance off and pisses Skate off! Must work on whispering. Lord knows that horse is sensitive enough, its not like he needs anything loud.

Once he was moving in and out and stepping under himself nicely, we went back out to the rail and worked on bending - through the corners and in the middle of each side. Lo and behold - Skate turned into super dressage pony with this maneuver! All of a sudden, after a few minutes, we got Skate "ON THE BIT!". He was stretching INTO contact, using his back, and his trot was leap years ahead of what it used to be (short and choppy). This is a huge turning point for the little guy as you all know he has spent the last few months (not to mention his entire career) avoiding the bit like the plague.

We were both bummed that we had no video to document this moment. My instructor swears there will come a time when I will get frustrated with only a few strides of Skate NOT being on the bit out of an entire ride on the bit instead of being thrilled with the few measly strides of on the bit like I am now. Ha. Can't wait for that day!

Skate Redeems Himself!

I went out tonight with low expectations as the horses were all in due to the massive downpours all day long. I took the little horse into the indoor and just prepared myself to have a crazy pony flying around at the end of the lunge line. To my surprise, he was quiet, relaxed, and darn obedient! Only a couple of uncalled for transitions - but even those were quietly done. Ha.

So I went ahead and hopped on...and his good pony behavior continued to undersaddle work. He was gnawing on the bit like a lunatic, but I've learned to ignore that. Otherwise, he was great. Quiet transitions, extremely balanced, and best of all - stretching down! No giraffe head at all! As a side note, his canter has gotten so much better than when I first got him; I actually look forward to it now instead of dreading the wild unbalanced careening of before.

I think whoever commented on consistent riding was spot on - I've been religious about not giving him more than 2 days off recently. I prefer every other day, but sometimes that just ain't gonna happen. Now, if I could just get to the gym as often as I get to the barn....

Anyway, Skate was fabulous. I gave him loads of treats and praise and left feeling much better. Good therapy session : )

Ok, I guess I should at least update...

on Skate's progress, or lack thereof. He has been a bit of a brat lately. I have a bad feeling it is saddle-fit related, so I am trying to get a fitting done. Then again, I'm probably giving him too much benefit of the doubt - he's probably just feeling his oats. His back does not palpate sore at all, nor does he care when you bring out the saddle, shift weight, etc.

I had gotten so annoyed at his giving me the middle finger when I asked him to change gears that I have gone to the lunge line. I am not a terribly patient person (is dressage the right sport for me?) and when my horse repeatedly ignores or acts out at my requests, I can't help but get frustrated. Rather than do something stupid and just setting back our under saddle work, I have decided to work on Skate's brattiness on the lunge. Turns out he thinks he should pick the gait/speed/etc there, too : )

"Walk, you say? Nope...I think trot is in order."
"Trot? No, no, you mean canter!!"
"How about a trot now?....Huh? Walk? I can't hear you! I can't hear you!"

So, we're working on listening. Again, I get frustrated. I have to keep taking deep breaths so I don't snap and undo training. I did once the other day: he continued to walk after I had asked him clearly to trot - so I popped the whip towards him and ended up with a nutty pony zooming around snorting for 5 minutes. Great.

Anyway, I think I need a lesson soon to get back on track. Life has been one giant jumble of stuff lately and I haven't had time to focus on anything. I'm just going through a general frustration with my riding. I really wish I had more people to ride with a bounce info off of...