Merry Christmas everyone!
Paco stayed with us since Wednesday and we brought him back today. It was really nice having him and everything, but I have to admit, I'm glad I can sleep in my own room again!
Since we all stayed up so late last night celebrating Christmas, we slept in and got out to the stables late today. We didn't really have time to do much, so we just gave everyone their Christmas carrots and let them all run in the arena and play. I decided that I wanted to ride on Harry bareback while my mom lunged him. He was such a good boy! I thought he'd act up a little bit because it would be the first time that I had ever done something like that, but he was such a sweet heart! He didn't try to take off or anything! I was so proud of him.
Then my brother, after seeing me, tried with Nina. I need to strengthen my arm muscles, because seeing him just hop and swing over Nina and mount was really disheartening after having to use the mounting block! So I walked him around and lunged him on Nina, then he got two lead ropes, stuck them on her halter, and rode her around.
Brie knew it was coming. =] So she half cantered/half largo'd a couple of times, reversed, and then decided she was done.
Meanwhile, the pregnant mare across from Brie is looking quite large! We're all taking bets on when she'll have her baby. I'm betting on New Year's Eve!
Give your horses and families Christmas hugs for me!
Sunday, December 26, 2010
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Days 112 & 113
Saturday
Didn't go out last Sunday because of a huge snowstorm. No one's been let outside because the ground is icy, so of course Brie, Nina, and Harry loved running around in the arena while no one was here today! Ray is in Memphis and no one was out, so we let them all play. We let Brie run around first and she had a grand old time, bucking and squealing all on her own, then we stuck Harry in with her. She kept racing him and trying to make him run into the tractor in the corner! Thankfully he's quick and smart and never ran into it, though Brie did manage to stretch her leg in some ungodly direction to try and kick at him as she ran by! We let Nina in on the fun, poor little fatty, she only made it around the arena once before she stopped and wanted to just chill with Brie. Paco chased them all around and made them run. Once again, someone said that Brie should be put on the track. I swear, she was born the wrong breed! Should've been a Thoroughbred.
I rode Nina first! I was so happy! She has a very ploppy gait, kind of just moseys along but it's really cute. She takes some getting used to -- I never get to ride her so I have to figure her out! I knew she was having problems tossing her head when you're trying to make her flex, so I worked on that with her until she was being quiet about it. We did some figure 8's, some patterns in the sand, just things to relieve her boredom of going around in circles all day when my brother rides her (he stayed home, by the way. Sick.) and eventually she kept her head down and collected for me. Her gait sounded wonderful on the board, no breaks or bumps. She worked pretty hard for not doing so much by my standards! She was sweating up a storm!
Paco rode Harry. I didn't pay attention to him much because I was trying to concentrate on Nina, but my mom said that Harry looked nice. No problems, as usual recently. His speed was a little on the fast side, but that was Paco letting him have some fun. Paco must miss having him to ride, because he rode for a long time and then gave Harry a full bath! Thankfully the barn is heated, and we made him stand in the shower stall with a fleece cooler blanket on for at least a half hour to make sure he was okay.
My mom had some problems with Brie's gait going across the board. It was very odd and she was blaming it on my cantering her all the time. I figured that I wouldn't canter her today and just work on making her understand that when someone wants her to gait, she has to gait and not try to sneak in a couple canter strides. She was pretty good after some resetting of her mind doing some patterns. I rode all without stirrups. And when she went over the soundboard she sounded perfect. Since she sounded so good, I decided to do some cantering in a circle, not the entire arena, to work on speed, and she did really well (as did I, without any stirrups!). Hopefully she'll get the hang of not wanting to bolt into a canter/gallop and keep it more lopey and relaxed soon.
Sunday
Boy are my legs sore from yesterday's no stirrup riding.
I rode Nina again today. Pretty much the same deal as yesterday, except today I worked more on making her round her reverses instead of taking them stiff like a board. She's a smart girl, so it only takes a couple of tries with whatever I want and she gets the idea. She was a little excited today though! She tried to sneak a canter in the corner, except her's is so different from Brie's because it's so short and cute you barely notice it! Brie's canter stride is about 3 times the canter stride of Nina. It's pretty adorable, watching Nina canter because she has such short legs!
I rode Harry too today. In fact, I was the only one who rode at all today! Harry was MAGNIFICENT today. I haven't had a good, clean-gaited, high performance ride like that from him in about a month, so I was thoroughly pleased. It was like he gave me a Christmas present of a fantastic ride today.
My mom, Paco, and I were all talking about the horses and how far they've come. We talked mostly about Harry and how psycho he was when we first got him. Paco attributes a lot of it to the fact that he's gelded and most of the testosterone has calmed down, but it's definitely that we're so nice to him. We love on him and everything, but we don't let him walk all over us. He's definitely successfully turned into a family horse and turned out to be the cuddliest one out of all them and the most attached to us as a family. I feel like Brie and Nina, while they are attached to us a great deal, are more attached to each other in a human-like big sister/little sister kind of way, while Harry is more focused on everything we're doing. We like to walk them around in the arena every so often without leadlines and see if they'll follow us. Brie and Nina follow us but most of the time they get distracted by little things in the arena that they decide are more interesting than watching us run around the arena, but now no matter what else is in the arena or going on, Harry always follows us around. Always focused on us. It's really sweet to see that he's turned out to be such a good horse.
I was thinking about Brie too. It seems like impossible how hard she was for me to deal with when I first started this blog. Or the one or two month time period where she'd try to kick me every time I went in her stall to go get her and how now she comes up to the door to greet me when I go to halter her. Or how I used to beg to ride Nina after Brie for a "nice relaxing end to my day", when now I look to Brie for that because she's calmed down so much. It's just really rewarding to look back and see how far I've come with them. That's probably the best Christmas present I'll get this year.
I hope you all have a Happy Holiday, since I won't be writing again until after Christmas!
Didn't go out last Sunday because of a huge snowstorm. No one's been let outside because the ground is icy, so of course Brie, Nina, and Harry loved running around in the arena while no one was here today! Ray is in Memphis and no one was out, so we let them all play. We let Brie run around first and she had a grand old time, bucking and squealing all on her own, then we stuck Harry in with her. She kept racing him and trying to make him run into the tractor in the corner! Thankfully he's quick and smart and never ran into it, though Brie did manage to stretch her leg in some ungodly direction to try and kick at him as she ran by! We let Nina in on the fun, poor little fatty, she only made it around the arena once before she stopped and wanted to just chill with Brie. Paco chased them all around and made them run. Once again, someone said that Brie should be put on the track. I swear, she was born the wrong breed! Should've been a Thoroughbred.
I rode Nina first! I was so happy! She has a very ploppy gait, kind of just moseys along but it's really cute. She takes some getting used to -- I never get to ride her so I have to figure her out! I knew she was having problems tossing her head when you're trying to make her flex, so I worked on that with her until she was being quiet about it. We did some figure 8's, some patterns in the sand, just things to relieve her boredom of going around in circles all day when my brother rides her (he stayed home, by the way. Sick.) and eventually she kept her head down and collected for me. Her gait sounded wonderful on the board, no breaks or bumps. She worked pretty hard for not doing so much by my standards! She was sweating up a storm!
Paco rode Harry. I didn't pay attention to him much because I was trying to concentrate on Nina, but my mom said that Harry looked nice. No problems, as usual recently. His speed was a little on the fast side, but that was Paco letting him have some fun. Paco must miss having him to ride, because he rode for a long time and then gave Harry a full bath! Thankfully the barn is heated, and we made him stand in the shower stall with a fleece cooler blanket on for at least a half hour to make sure he was okay.
My mom had some problems with Brie's gait going across the board. It was very odd and she was blaming it on my cantering her all the time. I figured that I wouldn't canter her today and just work on making her understand that when someone wants her to gait, she has to gait and not try to sneak in a couple canter strides. She was pretty good after some resetting of her mind doing some patterns. I rode all without stirrups. And when she went over the soundboard she sounded perfect. Since she sounded so good, I decided to do some cantering in a circle, not the entire arena, to work on speed, and she did really well (as did I, without any stirrups!). Hopefully she'll get the hang of not wanting to bolt into a canter/gallop and keep it more lopey and relaxed soon.
Sunday
Boy are my legs sore from yesterday's no stirrup riding.
I rode Nina again today. Pretty much the same deal as yesterday, except today I worked more on making her round her reverses instead of taking them stiff like a board. She's a smart girl, so it only takes a couple of tries with whatever I want and she gets the idea. She was a little excited today though! She tried to sneak a canter in the corner, except her's is so different from Brie's because it's so short and cute you barely notice it! Brie's canter stride is about 3 times the canter stride of Nina. It's pretty adorable, watching Nina canter because she has such short legs!
I rode Harry too today. In fact, I was the only one who rode at all today! Harry was MAGNIFICENT today. I haven't had a good, clean-gaited, high performance ride like that from him in about a month, so I was thoroughly pleased. It was like he gave me a Christmas present of a fantastic ride today.
My mom, Paco, and I were all talking about the horses and how far they've come. We talked mostly about Harry and how psycho he was when we first got him. Paco attributes a lot of it to the fact that he's gelded and most of the testosterone has calmed down, but it's definitely that we're so nice to him. We love on him and everything, but we don't let him walk all over us. He's definitely successfully turned into a family horse and turned out to be the cuddliest one out of all them and the most attached to us as a family. I feel like Brie and Nina, while they are attached to us a great deal, are more attached to each other in a human-like big sister/little sister kind of way, while Harry is more focused on everything we're doing. We like to walk them around in the arena every so often without leadlines and see if they'll follow us. Brie and Nina follow us but most of the time they get distracted by little things in the arena that they decide are more interesting than watching us run around the arena, but now no matter what else is in the arena or going on, Harry always follows us around. Always focused on us. It's really sweet to see that he's turned out to be such a good horse.
I was thinking about Brie too. It seems like impossible how hard she was for me to deal with when I first started this blog. Or the one or two month time period where she'd try to kick me every time I went in her stall to go get her and how now she comes up to the door to greet me when I go to halter her. Or how I used to beg to ride Nina after Brie for a "nice relaxing end to my day", when now I look to Brie for that because she's calmed down so much. It's just really rewarding to look back and see how far I've come with them. That's probably the best Christmas present I'll get this year.
I hope you all have a Happy Holiday, since I won't be writing again until after Christmas!
Saturday, December 11, 2010
Day 111
Even though today was pretty cold, it was a great day. I only rode Brie, and it was chill.
Brie was such a good girl today. She never tried to break into a canter and we actually WALKED for quite some time. Worked on some leg yields and serpentines without speeding up. She even walked next to Harry without wanting to race him!
Not much else to say except that today's ride was extremely relaxing. =] Hope you have good rides this weekend as well!
Brie was such a good girl today. She never tried to break into a canter and we actually WALKED for quite some time. Worked on some leg yields and serpentines without speeding up. She even walked next to Harry without wanting to race him!
Not much else to say except that today's ride was extremely relaxing. =] Hope you have good rides this weekend as well!
Sunday, December 5, 2010
Days 109 & 110
Saturday
We took some cute pictures of everyone out in the snow today! Here are just a few =]
Since we were on a time limit today, I only got to ride Brie. Her canter is coming around...except now all she wants to do is canter! I have to work on getting her to listen to me instead of getting excited and wanting to bolt all of the time!
Sunday
I RODE EVERYONE TODAY! YAYY!
I started Harry. He's sooo much better lunging now, it's magnificent! For the most part, he's good. I have to read up on how to tighten his gait. I know he can give me so much more, I just don't know how to ask for it. I don't want to fail him. Good thing I have winter break coming up so I can spend quite a bit of time researching and learning new techniques.
Then I hopped on Nina. What a cutie. Her walk is so bouncy and fun, just not when you're in a hard saddle! That Australian saddle is so hard on my butt. She was a very good girl: very responsive, kept her head down, gaited beautifully across the board.
Brie. What a baby. She needs to learn how to listen!! She gets so excited when we start working on something new (i.e. cantering), that's all she wants to do! While her canter was beautiful today, it was unacceptable that she took off for it on her own without me asking her to. What should I do? Spend one day on her listening skills and the other on her cantering skills? It's just so difficult when I can only go out two days a week. I'd get so much more done if I could go out more. I can only work with what I have though.
I can't wait for break to start. My only final is tomorrow afternoon and after that I'm a free woman! I plan on reading up on dressage for Brie and Classic Fino training for Harry. Hope my brain doesn't explode from all that information!
We took some cute pictures of everyone out in the snow today! Here are just a few =]
Brie running
Harry investigating the snow
Nina mid-roll
Dashing through the snowww
Brie dug through the snow to reach the grass. Fatty.
Harry's just so photogenic!
A good romp.
Since we were on a time limit today, I only got to ride Brie. Her canter is coming around...except now all she wants to do is canter! I have to work on getting her to listen to me instead of getting excited and wanting to bolt all of the time!
Sunday
I RODE EVERYONE TODAY! YAYY!
I started Harry. He's sooo much better lunging now, it's magnificent! For the most part, he's good. I have to read up on how to tighten his gait. I know he can give me so much more, I just don't know how to ask for it. I don't want to fail him. Good thing I have winter break coming up so I can spend quite a bit of time researching and learning new techniques.
Then I hopped on Nina. What a cutie. Her walk is so bouncy and fun, just not when you're in a hard saddle! That Australian saddle is so hard on my butt. She was a very good girl: very responsive, kept her head down, gaited beautifully across the board.
Brie. What a baby. She needs to learn how to listen!! She gets so excited when we start working on something new (i.e. cantering), that's all she wants to do! While her canter was beautiful today, it was unacceptable that she took off for it on her own without me asking her to. What should I do? Spend one day on her listening skills and the other on her cantering skills? It's just so difficult when I can only go out two days a week. I'd get so much more done if I could go out more. I can only work with what I have though.
I can't wait for break to start. My only final is tomorrow afternoon and after that I'm a free woman! I plan on reading up on dressage for Brie and Classic Fino training for Harry. Hope my brain doesn't explode from all that information!
Sunday, November 28, 2010
Day 108
Ever had a day that's completely unbelievable?
That happened to me today.
It was the strangest thing. I was thinking about Andre more than usual today, and as we were reminiscing about him on the way home, my mom got a call from an unknown number. Jokingly, I said "Hey, it's Andre, call him back!" So she did.
It was Andre.
I couldn't believe it! I screamed when I heard it was him! I've missed him so much, despite the tiny falling out he had with my family. He's essentially taught me all that I know and I definitely couldn't have gotten as far as I have with Harry, or even Brie for that matter, if it were not for him. I can't even conceptualize how lucky I am to have had him as a mentor from such a young age, pretty much turning me into a horse trainer at age 12, giving my brother and me his secrets, jokingly telling us that we would be his legacy.
He has a couple of clients and has built an indoor on his property, and his Querida has turned all white and birthed a foal a couple months ago! His own baby is getting big, now at 13 months. It's hard to imagine that we've been on our own for over a year now and are doing so well, also owning a third horse!
Away from the shock of the day, onto training. I started and worked Brie first. Her legs are looking kind of stocky. Is it possible that's from cantering? Do horses' legs do that when they're being trained to canter? Am I doing something wrong and over-stressing her muscles? I'll have to do some research. We mostly walked and corto'd today, and she picked up her own canter while she was on a loose rein. It was a fantastic speed too! But I had her stop after a couple of strides, not wanting to agitate her legs any further.
No Nina. Again.
Harry was significantly better today. They are all definitely happier once they've had their playtime outside first. He was not as collected, but at least he wasn't goofing around with his back legs today. We have a good three, maybe four more months to figure him out for show season, so I plan on taking things slowly.
That happened to me today.
It was the strangest thing. I was thinking about Andre more than usual today, and as we were reminiscing about him on the way home, my mom got a call from an unknown number. Jokingly, I said "Hey, it's Andre, call him back!" So she did.
It was Andre.
I couldn't believe it! I screamed when I heard it was him! I've missed him so much, despite the tiny falling out he had with my family. He's essentially taught me all that I know and I definitely couldn't have gotten as far as I have with Harry, or even Brie for that matter, if it were not for him. I can't even conceptualize how lucky I am to have had him as a mentor from such a young age, pretty much turning me into a horse trainer at age 12, giving my brother and me his secrets, jokingly telling us that we would be his legacy.
He has a couple of clients and has built an indoor on his property, and his Querida has turned all white and birthed a foal a couple months ago! His own baby is getting big, now at 13 months. It's hard to imagine that we've been on our own for over a year now and are doing so well, also owning a third horse!
Away from the shock of the day, onto training. I started and worked Brie first. Her legs are looking kind of stocky. Is it possible that's from cantering? Do horses' legs do that when they're being trained to canter? Am I doing something wrong and over-stressing her muscles? I'll have to do some research. We mostly walked and corto'd today, and she picked up her own canter while she was on a loose rein. It was a fantastic speed too! But I had her stop after a couple of strides, not wanting to agitate her legs any further.
No Nina. Again.
Harry was significantly better today. They are all definitely happier once they've had their playtime outside first. He was not as collected, but at least he wasn't goofing around with his back legs today. We have a good three, maybe four more months to figure him out for show season, so I plan on taking things slowly.
Saturday, November 27, 2010
Day 107
Sooooo cold today!
We bought Harry a Christmas halter. His is green and Brie and Nina's are red. I'll have to take some pictures to show you! While I just brushed off Harry and lunged him, he lunged really well! He started off kind of crazy, but I just let him go, figured it was excess energy. He was sure full of it today, he kept pulling me while I was riding him, but I'll get to that in a bit.
I rode Brie first. It's so nice to ride Brie--she's really calmed down since I started really working with her such a long time ago, it feels like. She responds really well to weight shifting and leg yielding for turns. I'm trying to teach her how to pivot on her hind legs. It'll take some time and some figuring out what the heck I'm doing, but we'll get there. Her canter is coming along nicely too. We worked on slowing it down a bit today so she's not too much like a bat out of hell and then we worked on lead changes. She's automatic! I reverse her and she takes a couple of strides in gait to collect herself and then switches without much effort from me! Maybe she's missed her calling all along. It's the funniest thing too--when I lunge her, she trots but then when I ride her she gaits! Silly horse.
No Nina =[ Maybe tomorrow.
Harry's been having some difficulty keeping his back legs in step with the front legs this past week. So instead of trying to collect him, I let him move out and learn how to keep everything in sync that way...I'm not sure if that was the right thing to do if I'm trying to promote him going Fino, but I'd rather have him be comfortable and know what he's doing that forcing him into something just because I want it. Boy, was he pulling today! I think he's ready to be worked on just one rein, but I'll have to see about that. It was so cute, he wanted to largo really badly but then when he got up to speed he couldn't keep his back legs in time with the front at that speed either! So we just settled for a corto. Afterwards, while I was trying to cool him, I let him have a loose rein and he just corto'd around forever, completely responding to shifts in my weight for turns. It was a fantastic surprise! We did all sorts of serpentines and spelling out things in the sand. I just hope that he figures out his legs soon enough. I'm sure he will.
We bought Harry a Christmas halter. His is green and Brie and Nina's are red. I'll have to take some pictures to show you! While I just brushed off Harry and lunged him, he lunged really well! He started off kind of crazy, but I just let him go, figured it was excess energy. He was sure full of it today, he kept pulling me while I was riding him, but I'll get to that in a bit.
I rode Brie first. It's so nice to ride Brie--she's really calmed down since I started really working with her such a long time ago, it feels like. She responds really well to weight shifting and leg yielding for turns. I'm trying to teach her how to pivot on her hind legs. It'll take some time and some figuring out what the heck I'm doing, but we'll get there. Her canter is coming along nicely too. We worked on slowing it down a bit today so she's not too much like a bat out of hell and then we worked on lead changes. She's automatic! I reverse her and she takes a couple of strides in gait to collect herself and then switches without much effort from me! Maybe she's missed her calling all along. It's the funniest thing too--when I lunge her, she trots but then when I ride her she gaits! Silly horse.
No Nina =[ Maybe tomorrow.
Harry's been having some difficulty keeping his back legs in step with the front legs this past week. So instead of trying to collect him, I let him move out and learn how to keep everything in sync that way...I'm not sure if that was the right thing to do if I'm trying to promote him going Fino, but I'd rather have him be comfortable and know what he's doing that forcing him into something just because I want it. Boy, was he pulling today! I think he's ready to be worked on just one rein, but I'll have to see about that. It was so cute, he wanted to largo really badly but then when he got up to speed he couldn't keep his back legs in time with the front at that speed either! So we just settled for a corto. Afterwards, while I was trying to cool him, I let him have a loose rein and he just corto'd around forever, completely responding to shifts in my weight for turns. It was a fantastic surprise! We did all sorts of serpentines and spelling out things in the sand. I just hope that he figures out his legs soon enough. I'm sure he will.
Sunday, November 21, 2010
Day 106
Oh Brie. Now that we've started canter training, that's all she wants to do! Not okay, especially when no one else wants to canter her during their ride. We have to work on listening skills. We tried to work a corto inside and then went outside to jump ditches and canter. What a silly mare.
I rode Harry today too. I actually started on him. Our lunging was nice, a couple of fishtails, but we did very well. He's listening very nicely. His gaiting today was rather odd though. All of his hooves weren't in sync at all, even when I hopped off and let my mom try to fix that. I guess everyone has those days though, don't they.
I'm so excited for Thanksgiving break! My irregular weekends have finally ended! I can't wait to start going on Saturdays and Sundays from now on. I didn't go yesterday because I went to the NU VS U of I game at Wrigley, which we lost horribly. It was so depressing, I can't even begin to tell you. Oh well, all I can look forward to is this upcoming weekend of normalcy!
I rode Harry today too. I actually started on him. Our lunging was nice, a couple of fishtails, but we did very well. He's listening very nicely. His gaiting today was rather odd though. All of his hooves weren't in sync at all, even when I hopped off and let my mom try to fix that. I guess everyone has those days though, don't they.
I'm so excited for Thanksgiving break! My irregular weekends have finally ended! I can't wait to start going on Saturdays and Sundays from now on. I didn't go yesterday because I went to the NU VS U of I game at Wrigley, which we lost horribly. It was so depressing, I can't even begin to tell you. Oh well, all I can look forward to is this upcoming weekend of normalcy!
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Day 105
I rode everyone today!
Paco rearranged Brie, Nina, and Harry so they're all next to each other. It's small, but it made me happy. Harry used to be across from them, so now it's like they're a little family, all together!
We let them all out in a paddock together. I'm so pleased to see that they all get along =] No injuries!
I started off on Brie today. Her jump boots keep slipping and turning around! So I'm just going to leave them off until we start actually jumping. I practiced trying to get her to slow her canter down a little bit, but she was soooo crazy fast today! She was a good girl though. I think she likes getting all this excess speed out of her system.
I finally got to ride Nina today! She's a bit of a challenge trying to keep her head down but her gait was really nice. She has super tight turns that aren't very rounded, so I mostly worked on bending.
Harry was fantastic. As usual =] I can't wait until I have enough money to buy a car and then I can drive out to see them whenever I have free time.
Paco rearranged Brie, Nina, and Harry so they're all next to each other. It's small, but it made me happy. Harry used to be across from them, so now it's like they're a little family, all together!
We let them all out in a paddock together. I'm so pleased to see that they all get along =] No injuries!
I started off on Brie today. Her jump boots keep slipping and turning around! So I'm just going to leave them off until we start actually jumping. I practiced trying to get her to slow her canter down a little bit, but she was soooo crazy fast today! She was a good girl though. I think she likes getting all this excess speed out of her system.
I finally got to ride Nina today! She's a bit of a challenge trying to keep her head down but her gait was really nice. She has super tight turns that aren't very rounded, so I mostly worked on bending.
Harry was fantastic. As usual =] I can't wait until I have enough money to buy a car and then I can drive out to see them whenever I have free time.
Sunday, November 7, 2010
Day 104
Tested out our new Passier today! It was nice, just will take a little getting used to. Harry wasn't at his best today...probably because he was getting used to it as well. We did a good job though. I want to work on getting him more flexible though.
Rode Brie for a heck of a long time. I tried out her new boots. They didn't seem to bother her, which is excellent! We might even get bold enough to try those shipping boots again. I just worked a lot with her cardio today and didn't jump. We practiced cantering some more and went out around the arena instead of just the pole. We still need to slow down a bit, but we're getting there. We have all winter. And she wasn't even hot at the end of it! She's coming along.
We're putting Nina and Brie on a diet though. Nina's just plain fat and Brie's neck is getting a little hard again, a sign that her sugar is a little high, which can't happen. Poor girl, she only gets a handful of grain now with her hay.
Rode Brie for a heck of a long time. I tried out her new boots. They didn't seem to bother her, which is excellent! We might even get bold enough to try those shipping boots again. I just worked a lot with her cardio today and didn't jump. We practiced cantering some more and went out around the arena instead of just the pole. We still need to slow down a bit, but we're getting there. We have all winter. And she wasn't even hot at the end of it! She's coming along.
We're putting Nina and Brie on a diet though. Nina's just plain fat and Brie's neck is getting a little hard again, a sign that her sugar is a little high, which can't happen. Poor girl, she only gets a handful of grain now with her hay.
Saturday, November 6, 2010
Day 103
Not much today. The farrier was out. Nina was such a good girl for him. She didn't try to kick him or anything! She was scared though, she kept snorting, but she was good and stayed pretty much calm. I was so proud of her!
We really just lunged all of them for exercise today, since we were tied up with the farrier and now we have a short amount of time on Saturdays. Harry's lunging really well, my mom did a great job with him while I was at school.
I rode Brie bareback while my mom lunged her. We were trying to get her to canter while lunging, but she was being a sass and just kept waltzing on back into my mom. Oh well.
We bought a new saddle! A Passier! We got it on sale and I'm super excited to use it tomorrow. It's going to be Harry's new saddle. I'm pretty sure he's calm enough now that I won't need the horn/handle on the Colombian saddle to hang on to should he start rearing/bucking. He's such a good boy lately =] We also got a new saddle pad for Nina's Aussie saddle. And Brie? We got her jump boots. I'm not entirely sure how she'll react to them...she flipped when we tried to put shipping boots on her once. I think she'll be okay with these since they're significantly smaller. They're really nice and cushy too.
Hopefully for Christmas I can ask my Grandpa to build me a set of jumps. Nothing fancy, just two posts with a bar basically is all I'm looking for. I can't wait to ride tomorrow, and sleep a little later in the morning. I had to wake up at 630 this morning! Alas, the life of a horse trainer.
We really just lunged all of them for exercise today, since we were tied up with the farrier and now we have a short amount of time on Saturdays. Harry's lunging really well, my mom did a great job with him while I was at school.
I rode Brie bareback while my mom lunged her. We were trying to get her to canter while lunging, but she was being a sass and just kept waltzing on back into my mom. Oh well.
We bought a new saddle! A Passier! We got it on sale and I'm super excited to use it tomorrow. It's going to be Harry's new saddle. I'm pretty sure he's calm enough now that I won't need the horn/handle on the Colombian saddle to hang on to should he start rearing/bucking. He's such a good boy lately =] We also got a new saddle pad for Nina's Aussie saddle. And Brie? We got her jump boots. I'm not entirely sure how she'll react to them...she flipped when we tried to put shipping boots on her once. I think she'll be okay with these since they're significantly smaller. They're really nice and cushy too.
Hopefully for Christmas I can ask my Grandpa to build me a set of jumps. Nothing fancy, just two posts with a bar basically is all I'm looking for. I can't wait to ride tomorrow, and sleep a little later in the morning. I had to wake up at 630 this morning! Alas, the life of a horse trainer.
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Day 102
What a magnificent day!!!
I got my one wish so far: for Colin to see me ride Harry! My mom worked Harry first while I was working with Brie and my brother worked with Nina. Brie really wanted to walk, Whig was a surprise, and so we walked while mom worked. We were just finishing up our rounds of corto and largo when my mom asked if I was ready to ride Harry.
Boy was he phenomenal! We started out walking and I was working with reverses because he still doesn't like to give to the right side. We picked up a fino and went across the board: it was the tightest and loudest he's ever been! I could feel his joy as I rode and all I thought was "wow, I wish Colin comes back and can see" and no less than 10 minutes later he's back! We said hi and I took the board and it gave me so much gratification to know that Colin, Ray, and a new trainer were watching as I tore up that sound board. I only wish I had a camera so I could show you guys!
So after that they all left and I hopped back on Brie and we worked up to our canter. We're working in a large circle around the pole before I ask her to take the entire arena. I also want to get her to slow her canter down a little bit, because she will only go right into a largo if I ask her to slow down a little. Overall, I'm really pleased with our progress.
My progress, however, could use a lot of work. I didn't realize how little I knew about riding hunt seat and it drives both me and my mom insane. I have to really work on my form rather than worrying about teaching Brie because she will jump over anything! We went from a little X to a 1.5 ft today and she just took it perfectly. The only thing that looked ugly was my form! It's so frustrating! I'll just have to keep working on it. We also have to order boots for her, hopefully for Christmas when we order all of them leather name plate halters.
Nina? Well, hopefully I'll be getting to know her and work with her over the winter. I'm not even concerned with training Nina because my mom and brother have done a fantastic job. I just need to learn how to ride her.
I'm so happy with how this weekend went. It's been such a stress reliever, it's all that I needed after everything I've had to put up with since school started. I can't wait until next weekend! The farrier is supposed to be out on Friday.
Happy Halloween!!
I got my one wish so far: for Colin to see me ride Harry! My mom worked Harry first while I was working with Brie and my brother worked with Nina. Brie really wanted to walk, Whig was a surprise, and so we walked while mom worked. We were just finishing up our rounds of corto and largo when my mom asked if I was ready to ride Harry.
Boy was he phenomenal! We started out walking and I was working with reverses because he still doesn't like to give to the right side. We picked up a fino and went across the board: it was the tightest and loudest he's ever been! I could feel his joy as I rode and all I thought was "wow, I wish Colin comes back and can see" and no less than 10 minutes later he's back! We said hi and I took the board and it gave me so much gratification to know that Colin, Ray, and a new trainer were watching as I tore up that sound board. I only wish I had a camera so I could show you guys!
So after that they all left and I hopped back on Brie and we worked up to our canter. We're working in a large circle around the pole before I ask her to take the entire arena. I also want to get her to slow her canter down a little bit, because she will only go right into a largo if I ask her to slow down a little. Overall, I'm really pleased with our progress.
My progress, however, could use a lot of work. I didn't realize how little I knew about riding hunt seat and it drives both me and my mom insane. I have to really work on my form rather than worrying about teaching Brie because she will jump over anything! We went from a little X to a 1.5 ft today and she just took it perfectly. The only thing that looked ugly was my form! It's so frustrating! I'll just have to keep working on it. We also have to order boots for her, hopefully for Christmas when we order all of them leather name plate halters.
Nina? Well, hopefully I'll be getting to know her and work with her over the winter. I'm not even concerned with training Nina because my mom and brother have done a fantastic job. I just need to learn how to ride her.
I'm so happy with how this weekend went. It's been such a stress reliever, it's all that I needed after everything I've had to put up with since school started. I can't wait until next weekend! The farrier is supposed to be out on Friday.
Happy Halloween!!
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Day 101
Just to think, I gave up a month of this for something that wouldn't even last, but I'll get to that.
This sure was an interesting return.
I'll start with the weird stuff first. So Ray rode Harry today...yeah, that's what I said. Crazy, isn't it? My mom was having a bit of trouble with Harry lunging, since she wanted to start him out today, and Ray offered to help lunge him, so she let him. After lunging Harry for a long time and after Harry was sufficiently worked up, Ray asked if he could ride, so my mom agreed. Good news is, as far as I can tell, he didn't screw Harry up--he was still fino-ing across the board. The entire thing was just really strange though. I want to start Harry tomorrow.
I rode Brie for a really long time today! We walked and corto'd and largo'd and went outside in the trail and worked on cantering...she even jumped! Her cantering is getting really good: I'm getting to the point where I don't even have to squeeze, just shift my legs and she picks up the right lead. It's a little harder to the left, but we'll get there. As soon as she has the basic signals down pat, I want to work on flying lead changes.
We jumped a tiny X set up out of wood and traffic cones. She over shot it a couple of times, and my position needs work, but I'm so excited! I'm going to ask my Grandpa to make a set of jumps for me for christmas. I need to learn hunt seat, since all I learned on the team was equitation.
Speaking of the team: I quit. Yeah. I'm not too bummed about it. I'll miss the girls in my lesson the most, but it just became this big political power trip for the exec board, plus I wasn't too pleased with where we were at. No skin off my back, now I have $40 extra to put towards a car every week =] so I can go see my own horses.
I'm really excited to keep jumping Brie though. My mom was an amazing hunter jumper in her day, so she'll give me lessons on position and everything.
I don't know when I'll find time to ride Nina though! My dads shift is changing at work so now we'll have to leave really early on Saturdays. =\ this also means that if I want to stay on a Friday at school, I definitely won't be going out to the barn on Saturdays. I'll have to choose wisely.
Two weeks til the Iowa game, three weeks til the Wrigley game, and four weeks until normalcy.
This sure was an interesting return.
I'll start with the weird stuff first. So Ray rode Harry today...yeah, that's what I said. Crazy, isn't it? My mom was having a bit of trouble with Harry lunging, since she wanted to start him out today, and Ray offered to help lunge him, so she let him. After lunging Harry for a long time and after Harry was sufficiently worked up, Ray asked if he could ride, so my mom agreed. Good news is, as far as I can tell, he didn't screw Harry up--he was still fino-ing across the board. The entire thing was just really strange though. I want to start Harry tomorrow.
I rode Brie for a really long time today! We walked and corto'd and largo'd and went outside in the trail and worked on cantering...she even jumped! Her cantering is getting really good: I'm getting to the point where I don't even have to squeeze, just shift my legs and she picks up the right lead. It's a little harder to the left, but we'll get there. As soon as she has the basic signals down pat, I want to work on flying lead changes.
We jumped a tiny X set up out of wood and traffic cones. She over shot it a couple of times, and my position needs work, but I'm so excited! I'm going to ask my Grandpa to make a set of jumps for me for christmas. I need to learn hunt seat, since all I learned on the team was equitation.
Speaking of the team: I quit. Yeah. I'm not too bummed about it. I'll miss the girls in my lesson the most, but it just became this big political power trip for the exec board, plus I wasn't too pleased with where we were at. No skin off my back, now I have $40 extra to put towards a car every week =] so I can go see my own horses.
I'm really excited to keep jumping Brie though. My mom was an amazing hunter jumper in her day, so she'll give me lessons on position and everything.
I don't know when I'll find time to ride Nina though! My dads shift is changing at work so now we'll have to leave really early on Saturdays. =\ this also means that if I want to stay on a Friday at school, I definitely won't be going out to the barn on Saturdays. I'll have to choose wisely.
Two weeks til the Iowa game, three weeks til the Wrigley game, and four weeks until normalcy.
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Day 100!
I thought that Day 100 would be more exciting and milestone-ish than today really was.
So after a very long time of not going out to the stable because of team stuff, I finally made it out today. I rode Brie a lot and worked Harry a little and cuddled Nina. My mom mostly worked Harry, she's taken him over. We had an issue with him getting freaked out at a flag today while I was riding him, so once he calmed down, I got off. It was my first weekend back and I didn't want to push anything too much, and he did what I wanted him to do so I figured it was best to end on that note.
Brie hasn't been worked in a while, so she was sweating really badly after I rode her a couple of minutes! Little Miss Out of Shape! We corto'd around inside and out and then, after I rode Harry, I got back on her and asked my mom to hold the pisador that way I could teach her how to canter on command some more. She does it really well on the left but not so well on the right. I guess all horses are like that though. She did a pretty good job! I'm really proud of her and I can't wait until we get it a little bit more down pat and can start doing flying lead changes!
All of them are starting to get their winter coats. They're so fuzzy and cute! I wonder if horses can eat candy corn...I want to bring them a treat for Halloween next Sunday!
So after a very long time of not going out to the stable because of team stuff, I finally made it out today. I rode Brie a lot and worked Harry a little and cuddled Nina. My mom mostly worked Harry, she's taken him over. We had an issue with him getting freaked out at a flag today while I was riding him, so once he calmed down, I got off. It was my first weekend back and I didn't want to push anything too much, and he did what I wanted him to do so I figured it was best to end on that note.
Brie hasn't been worked in a while, so she was sweating really badly after I rode her a couple of minutes! Little Miss Out of Shape! We corto'd around inside and out and then, after I rode Harry, I got back on her and asked my mom to hold the pisador that way I could teach her how to canter on command some more. She does it really well on the left but not so well on the right. I guess all horses are like that though. She did a pretty good job! I'm really proud of her and I can't wait until we get it a little bit more down pat and can start doing flying lead changes!
All of them are starting to get their winter coats. They're so fuzzy and cute! I wonder if horses can eat candy corn...I want to bring them a treat for Halloween next Sunday!
Monday, October 18, 2010
Northwestern IHSA Show
So yesterday I was super excited for our home show. I figured I had it in the bag because I know all of the horses. I had three horses that I wanted to draw: Mr. Bubbles, Dutchess, or Cameo.
I got Mr. Bubbles! I was so confident (overly confident...) that I would win my class simply because he was a know-it-all, push-button horse. I let myself get over confident and ended up getting 6th place...the only good thing about that is that I at least beat a couple other people.
One girl on the team says that it's not about winning ribbons and that it's about having fun. I have to disagree. I mean, I'm still in it to have a good ride, but I'm especially looking to win ribbons. I guess that the "not winning ribbons" attitude only happens when you win (or maybe lose) all the time, and since I'm almost always stuck in the middle around 4th or 5th place, I really like winning those blue ribbons.
Basically, what went wrong was that I got a little too close to the judge and picked up the wrong lead. I couldn't even tell...my mom keeps telling me that I need to stay on the rail too, but everyone on the team says "Oh, no, stay in the middle or on the quarter line, it'll attract the judge's attention." I did that yesterday and got 6th. I stayed on the rail on Saturday and got 1st. I think I'll go with my mom's judgment from now on, she was show jumping for longer than those girls were alive...She made a good point though: when you amble around in the middle you look like you have no idea what you're doing.
I have a question for all you English discipline people out there: How tight of a reverse do you do? In Paso shows, our reverse has to be super tight because the horse is supposed to be very flexible and supple at the pole. Nell's been telling me that I'm hurting her horses by reversing tight and that if I want to reverse, I'm supposed to reverse across the middle of the arena...I highly disagree with her, especially after yesterday when I reversed across the arena and every one else reversed on the rail. I'm not too pleased, to say the least.
Anyways. I was thinking of just working on the flat for my lessons, but I figured since Brie's not going to be shown too much because we only have a 2 horse trailer and 2 younger horses, I'll continue teaching her how to canter and what not and practice lead changes with her and keep using my $40 a week on working on jumping. I can't wait to go to the barn this weekend and return to some sense of a normal training regimen once football season's over.
I got Mr. Bubbles! I was so confident (overly confident...) that I would win my class simply because he was a know-it-all, push-button horse. I let myself get over confident and ended up getting 6th place...the only good thing about that is that I at least beat a couple other people.
One girl on the team says that it's not about winning ribbons and that it's about having fun. I have to disagree. I mean, I'm still in it to have a good ride, but I'm especially looking to win ribbons. I guess that the "not winning ribbons" attitude only happens when you win (or maybe lose) all the time, and since I'm almost always stuck in the middle around 4th or 5th place, I really like winning those blue ribbons.
Basically, what went wrong was that I got a little too close to the judge and picked up the wrong lead. I couldn't even tell...my mom keeps telling me that I need to stay on the rail too, but everyone on the team says "Oh, no, stay in the middle or on the quarter line, it'll attract the judge's attention." I did that yesterday and got 6th. I stayed on the rail on Saturday and got 1st. I think I'll go with my mom's judgment from now on, she was show jumping for longer than those girls were alive...She made a good point though: when you amble around in the middle you look like you have no idea what you're doing.
I have a question for all you English discipline people out there: How tight of a reverse do you do? In Paso shows, our reverse has to be super tight because the horse is supposed to be very flexible and supple at the pole. Nell's been telling me that I'm hurting her horses by reversing tight and that if I want to reverse, I'm supposed to reverse across the middle of the arena...I highly disagree with her, especially after yesterday when I reversed across the arena and every one else reversed on the rail. I'm not too pleased, to say the least.
Anyways. I was thinking of just working on the flat for my lessons, but I figured since Brie's not going to be shown too much because we only have a 2 horse trailer and 2 younger horses, I'll continue teaching her how to canter and what not and practice lead changes with her and keep using my $40 a week on working on jumping. I can't wait to go to the barn this weekend and return to some sense of a normal training regimen once football season's over.
Saturday, October 16, 2010
Augustana IHSA Show
I guess all that hard work with Jimmy has paid off. Know why?
BECAUSE I WON FIRST PLACE!
Yes! I've finally won first place in the IHSA circuit! Granted, I've only been to one other show to win a first place at, but I'm so excited that I won today! And I'm even more excited for tomorrow because it's at our home barn and I know the horses. I have three in mind that I'd love to get: Mr. Bubbles (love), Dutchess (super fun) or Cameo (pretty much my twin). It'd also be cool if I got Jimmy. I feel like I owe him a good exhibition since he's helped me gain strength in my leg so I was able to win today!
The horse I rode, Trinny, was written up as "LOTS OF LEG. Crop: Yes. Spurs: Yes (over fences)" so naturally when I saw I had him and the other girl in my division had someone who's description when something like this "LIGHT LEG. Crop: No. Spurs: Definitely not" I was a little worried. But I got in the mindset of something between "Brie just stopped in the middle of the ring again. Hell no." and "Come ON JIMMY MOVE!" and did fantastically. I got a trot and a canter fairly quickly and on the right leads too! Admittedly, I did break stride from a canter into a trot right before the judge called for a walk, but she obviously didn't see me. I did get my diagonal wrong once, though, but I recognized it and corrected it just as one of my team mates yelled at me to fix it from the sidelines (discretely of course).
And I have a confession. While I heard the numbers being called as I walked out of the arena, all I was expecting was 4th place and when my other team mate in the class got called 4th, all I could think of is that I missed my number and was called 5th OR maybe I was excused but as the judge got to 2nd place and it hit me that I could possibly be pinned 1st, I jumped up in the air super high as she called "And first place goes to rider 116, Alexa from Northwestern University! Congratulations!" I can't even explain to you the feeling of joy I felt inside when I heard that and I hugged the first person I could recognize.
Not to mention that I got some prizes =] I got a gift certificate to a tack shop, shoe polish, and a packet of Mrs. Pasture's horse cookies, three, just enough for Harry, Brie, and Nina.
I can only go into tomorrow with extra positive energy. I'm so thankful for today.
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Equestrian Team Day 16
Ugh. I got stuck with Jimmy again.
But we did make progress. I pretty much got him to canter within 10 strides. Not perfect, but an improvement from last week where he wouldn't canter at all on the right track around the arena.
One thing that really bugs me, though, is that while NU has a lesson going on, there's another girl with the other instructor in the ring getting a semi-private with our group. Not cool. Especially when we have to watch out for her while we're all doing one thing and her instructor is telling her to do another.
And the thing that bothers me the most about a horse is when he yanks his head forward and pulls you. It's my pet peeve.
So my last IHSA show for 2010 is this weekend. It really bums me out that we only have four shows a year. It kind of really sucks unless you place high and get points. My goal for this weekend is to place at least 4th. I will not take any crap from these school horses simply because as school horses, they shouldn't give you any.
As much as I'll want to continue showing, I can't wait to get back to jumping. I've been working on the flat for the past month because I wanted to improve my chances for placing at these shows.
Oh and one more thing: I relearned diagonals again! It's so hard to get used to them, especially after coming from Pasos who don't trot. Wish me luck this weekend!
But we did make progress. I pretty much got him to canter within 10 strides. Not perfect, but an improvement from last week where he wouldn't canter at all on the right track around the arena.
One thing that really bugs me, though, is that while NU has a lesson going on, there's another girl with the other instructor in the ring getting a semi-private with our group. Not cool. Especially when we have to watch out for her while we're all doing one thing and her instructor is telling her to do another.
And the thing that bothers me the most about a horse is when he yanks his head forward and pulls you. It's my pet peeve.
So my last IHSA show for 2010 is this weekend. It really bums me out that we only have four shows a year. It kind of really sucks unless you place high and get points. My goal for this weekend is to place at least 4th. I will not take any crap from these school horses simply because as school horses, they shouldn't give you any.
As much as I'll want to continue showing, I can't wait to get back to jumping. I've been working on the flat for the past month because I wanted to improve my chances for placing at these shows.
Oh and one more thing: I relearned diagonals again! It's so hard to get used to them, especially after coming from Pasos who don't trot. Wish me luck this weekend!
Sunday, October 10, 2010
Day 99
I didn't really get to ride Harry today =[ my mom and Paco rode him. He doesn't want to flex his head to the right or really walk for them, so they worked on it. It wasn't even worth me to work with him because, until football season is over, weekends are irregular. Like next weekend, I'm going to a school horse show again. Hopefully I do better this time. Gary said he'd try to make it out to come and watch me. Part of me hopes he doesn't because I don't want him to think less of me because of the quality of the school's barn compared to the beauty of his.
I did get to ride Brie a lot today! That made me really happy. She's had a two week break because everyone's been focused on Harry. She was actually pretty good today. I didn't want to do too much because she hasn't been exercised in a while. We walked around in the round pen with Harry and then when we went inside, she wanted to largo so I let her largo her little heart out and stretch her legs. Then I took all of her tack off except for a bithanger and we ride bareback. It was hard, but ultimately good for my balance and her just to change it up a bit.
I can't even imagine what it would be like if I went away to school in another state and had to leave them behind. Even Nina. It makes me so sad that I never get to ride her, especially because I actually partially own her. But we went for a stroll on a lead rope and I let her eat grass. I wish I had my own car, that way I could drive out on Thursdays when I don't have class, or even Tuesdays after my one class of the day.
Maybe I'll start working Tuesdays. I'll pick up a little extra money every paycheck. I'm pretty sure I'll still need Thursdays to catch up on Wednesday night's homework I miss because of the lesson.
I need a car.
I did get to ride Brie a lot today! That made me really happy. She's had a two week break because everyone's been focused on Harry. She was actually pretty good today. I didn't want to do too much because she hasn't been exercised in a while. We walked around in the round pen with Harry and then when we went inside, she wanted to largo so I let her largo her little heart out and stretch her legs. Then I took all of her tack off except for a bithanger and we ride bareback. It was hard, but ultimately good for my balance and her just to change it up a bit.
I can't even imagine what it would be like if I went away to school in another state and had to leave them behind. Even Nina. It makes me so sad that I never get to ride her, especially because I actually partially own her. But we went for a stroll on a lead rope and I let her eat grass. I wish I had my own car, that way I could drive out on Thursdays when I don't have class, or even Tuesdays after my one class of the day.
Maybe I'll start working Tuesdays. I'll pick up a little extra money every paycheck. I'm pretty sure I'll still need Thursdays to catch up on Wednesday night's homework I miss because of the lesson.
I need a car.
Saturday, October 9, 2010
Secretariat
So I didn't train today, but I did do something horse related that I really was excited about.
I went to see the new Secretariat movie!
It was fantastic. It was mostly about the woman, Penny Tweedy, who owned him and how she defied the typical housewife stereotype by going with her instincts, from which foal to keep to how to train him for the final leg of the Triple Crown. I actually cried while watching the Belmont Stakes scene of the movie, not out of sadness, but out of sheer amazement that an animal, an earthly creature, was able to run that fast, was that powerful.
My mom got to witness that on TV. I wish that horses were as prevalent in American culture as they were in the times of War Admiral, Seabiscuit, and Secretariat.
And with that, I leave you with the amazing, live 1973 coverage of the race.
I went to see the new Secretariat movie!
My mom got to witness that on TV. I wish that horses were as prevalent in American culture as they were in the times of War Admiral, Seabiscuit, and Secretariat.
And with that, I leave you with the amazing, live 1973 coverage of the race.
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Equestrian Team Day 15
Guess who I got paired with? Yeah, Jimmy, again.
He was actually better this time. I rarely had to actually kick him rather than just heeling him. It was nice. The ring was super crowded though --- it's good that I decided to stick with splitting up the 7pm group. It's such a tiny ring and it doesn't help that there are a bunch of jumps in the middle, especially when you're trying to pass someone on the rail.
So Jimmy yesterday was a success. It was the most successful Jimmy-ride I've had so far and I'm proud of it! He didn't want to canter to the right, but we'll get there. I was actually looking forward to riding Dutchess and was bummed when I didn't get her. Oh well. Maybe next week.
If there is a next week. I might quit soon. I'm thinking of possibly buying my own jumper (or maybe even a Warmblood...forsake jumping as a whole and try dressage for a while) and moving to this absolutely gorgeous barn for lessons with said new jumper/dressage horse. It's like 15 minutes away from where I am now. Gorgeous, I tell you, gorgeous. Like the Taj Mahal.
I'm super jealous of this one girl on the team --- she has her own car and gets to go ride her horses 5 days a week, plus do lessons with us! If only, if only...maybe I should quit lessons and just start saving money for a car again, give up the semi-annual sale fund and turn it back into the F150 fund.
He was actually better this time. I rarely had to actually kick him rather than just heeling him. It was nice. The ring was super crowded though --- it's good that I decided to stick with splitting up the 7pm group. It's such a tiny ring and it doesn't help that there are a bunch of jumps in the middle, especially when you're trying to pass someone on the rail.
So Jimmy yesterday was a success. It was the most successful Jimmy-ride I've had so far and I'm proud of it! He didn't want to canter to the right, but we'll get there. I was actually looking forward to riding Dutchess and was bummed when I didn't get her. Oh well. Maybe next week.
If there is a next week. I might quit soon. I'm thinking of possibly buying my own jumper (or maybe even a Warmblood...forsake jumping as a whole and try dressage for a while) and moving to this absolutely gorgeous barn for lessons with said new jumper/dressage horse. It's like 15 minutes away from where I am now. Gorgeous, I tell you, gorgeous. Like the Taj Mahal.
I'm super jealous of this one girl on the team --- she has her own car and gets to go ride her horses 5 days a week, plus do lessons with us! If only, if only...maybe I should quit lessons and just start saving money for a car again, give up the semi-annual sale fund and turn it back into the F150 fund.
Sunday, October 3, 2010
Madison IHSA Show - Day 2
The last day of showing was definitely better.
We had a great judge today. Our riders took high point and reserve high point riders of the day! Congrats, girls!
I, on the other hand, only got a 6th.
I have to admit, I wasn't that crushed. It was my first time competing in this discipline and I wasn't expecting much. All I wanted out of this class was to get my horse to canter without having to kick a bazillion times and you know what? I did it! The girl in the class before me, not from my school, looked like she had a hard time getting him to canter but my brother gave me a good inspiration: "Just pretend it's Brie and she stopped in the middle of the ring AGAIN." It definitely gave me the desire to show that horse who's boss.
My ride was good and I felt beautiful when we cantered, we even got the correct lead! And I never had to correct my diagonals because they were perfect today. He was just a really bouncy ride and I had a hard time sitting deep in the seat and keeping my heels down, so among trying to get my stirrups back to the balls of my feet, I stopped concentrating on keeping him cantering so he trotted...and I still never got my stirrups back where they needed to be.
I feel like as much as I would love to pat myself on the back and ride easier horses at Nell's, I need to be put on the bouncier ones that she has in order to be competitive in the next show...which is at our barn! Home advantage! I only have two lessons until that show so I need to make them count. I'm not even worried about improving my jumping right now: I need to focus on the flat that way I can point up out of there as fast as possible!
We had a great judge today. Our riders took high point and reserve high point riders of the day! Congrats, girls!
I, on the other hand, only got a 6th.
I have to admit, I wasn't that crushed. It was my first time competing in this discipline and I wasn't expecting much. All I wanted out of this class was to get my horse to canter without having to kick a bazillion times and you know what? I did it! The girl in the class before me, not from my school, looked like she had a hard time getting him to canter but my brother gave me a good inspiration: "Just pretend it's Brie and she stopped in the middle of the ring AGAIN." It definitely gave me the desire to show that horse who's boss.
My ride was good and I felt beautiful when we cantered, we even got the correct lead! And I never had to correct my diagonals because they were perfect today. He was just a really bouncy ride and I had a hard time sitting deep in the seat and keeping my heels down, so among trying to get my stirrups back to the balls of my feet, I stopped concentrating on keeping him cantering so he trotted...and I still never got my stirrups back where they needed to be.
I feel like as much as I would love to pat myself on the back and ride easier horses at Nell's, I need to be put on the bouncier ones that she has in order to be competitive in the next show...which is at our barn! Home advantage! I only have two lessons until that show so I need to make them count. I'm not even worried about improving my jumping right now: I need to focus on the flat that way I can point up out of there as fast as possible!
Saturday, October 2, 2010
Madison ISHA Show - Day 1
This is ridiculous.
Okay so first off, I had a horrible ride. We draw our mounts out of a box and I drew probably the slowest horse ever. It makes me feel better to know that every rider did poorly on him, though. Not as bad as I did--the girl who has a weak leg because if you kick a Paso you'll die. It was a challenge to even get him to trot! It was hard getting him to canter too, even after using a crop. But apparently I didn't use my leg or my crop hard enough. Hopefully I get a better mount tomorrow. I was so disappointed, I can't even begin to tell you.
But to make matters a little bit better, the entire team didn't do so hot. Not that I know the difference, but we're "equitation" riders and the judge was a "hunter" judge. Since we all rode equitation we all placed extremely low, if at all, mostly keeping to 5th and 6th place with our senior rider taking a 4th place. As an experiment, we made our newest member and last rider, who normally rides hunter seat, ride as she naturally does. And guess what?! She won 3rd place!!
Hopefully tomorrow is a better day for all of us. I really hope that I get a better mount tomorrow. I can't stand slow horses, they're so hard to work with!
Okay so first off, I had a horrible ride. We draw our mounts out of a box and I drew probably the slowest horse ever. It makes me feel better to know that every rider did poorly on him, though. Not as bad as I did--the girl who has a weak leg because if you kick a Paso you'll die. It was a challenge to even get him to trot! It was hard getting him to canter too, even after using a crop. But apparently I didn't use my leg or my crop hard enough. Hopefully I get a better mount tomorrow. I was so disappointed, I can't even begin to tell you.
But to make matters a little bit better, the entire team didn't do so hot. Not that I know the difference, but we're "equitation" riders and the judge was a "hunter" judge. Since we all rode equitation we all placed extremely low, if at all, mostly keeping to 5th and 6th place with our senior rider taking a 4th place. As an experiment, we made our newest member and last rider, who normally rides hunter seat, ride as she naturally does. And guess what?! She won 3rd place!!
Hopefully tomorrow is a better day for all of us. I really hope that I get a better mount tomorrow. I can't stand slow horses, they're so hard to work with!
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Equestrian Team Day 14
Yesterday was my first lesson with the team back at school. It was a great first lesson, I absolutely loved my group yesterday. One girl's new and lives not too far from where I do. Total fun fest, we laughed the entire time driving. It's nice being back with some girls.
I had my lesson on a brand new horse! It was his first lesson too, his name's Mr. Bubbles. Isn't that adorable? Anyways, in short, he was probably the best ride I've ever had at Nell's. He was incredibly light on the bit, barely needed any encouragement on the leg, and had the smoothest canter I've ever felt. He was a little package of perfection! And he was a whopping 23 years old! Been there, done that, I suppose that's why he's so fantastic. Some horses when they're that old can be so dreary, but he was just full of life and energy. I hope I get to ride him more often. We worked mostly on the flat since that's what I'll be competing in this weekend. I took one jump at the end and he was kind of like "Uhmmmm no" and slowed incredibly and popped over the fence. I think maybe that's just a fitness issue, he is a bit of a gramps after all. I can't wait to ride him when he's more in shape, he seems like the overall perfect ride.
I'm so looking forward to the show this weekend, even if I am only competing on the flat. I only have one very small goal: beat this one girl at NIU. Even if I get second to last place and she gets last place, I'll be so happy. Wish me luck! I'll be writing all weekend and post as soon as I get back!
I had my lesson on a brand new horse! It was his first lesson too, his name's Mr. Bubbles. Isn't that adorable? Anyways, in short, he was probably the best ride I've ever had at Nell's. He was incredibly light on the bit, barely needed any encouragement on the leg, and had the smoothest canter I've ever felt. He was a little package of perfection! And he was a whopping 23 years old! Been there, done that, I suppose that's why he's so fantastic. Some horses when they're that old can be so dreary, but he was just full of life and energy. I hope I get to ride him more often. We worked mostly on the flat since that's what I'll be competing in this weekend. I took one jump at the end and he was kind of like "Uhmmmm no" and slowed incredibly and popped over the fence. I think maybe that's just a fitness issue, he is a bit of a gramps after all. I can't wait to ride him when he's more in shape, he seems like the overall perfect ride.
I'm so looking forward to the show this weekend, even if I am only competing on the flat. I only have one very small goal: beat this one girl at NIU. Even if I get second to last place and she gets last place, I'll be so happy. Wish me luck! I'll be writing all weekend and post as soon as I get back!
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Day 98
I have a Fino horse!!
That's right! Harry is Fino! While I was working concessions yesterday, my mom worked with Harry and told me he went Fino. We went out today and I had to see him.
My mom lunged him outside in the round pen while I lunged Brie in the grass next to it. I got on and my mom went in to tack Harry up while I just walked Brie inside and in the outdoor arena. When I came back in, mom was lunging him inside. He isn't fighting lunging any more! Maybe he was just testing me. So my mom and Harry and Brie and I went back outside. My brother and Nina later joined us. My mom went into the round pen and worked on walking and teaching Harry to turn with her weight while Nina and Brie worked on walking calmly around the pen.
Harry was pretty excited but my mom is no nonsense. We all went back in and my brother and I watched as she worked with Harry. She reverted back to holding her hands up higher like how Andre did, because Andre DID break Harry, after all. Bam! He was collected and beautifully Fino. He did have to get into the rhythm a bit, but after a few passes on the board, he was absolutely perfect!!
I rode him and he was fantastic. He seems so much happier working like this. All we can do now is work with him to keep all his legs in sync and not push him or he might burn out. That's perfectly fine, we have all winter. As a treat, we all went out on trail. By the time we got back he wasn't even sweating, he was completely cooled down.
I'm super excited to see where this goes. Next week I'm going to my first IHSA show with the team. Wish me luck! I only get one practice in this week before we leave for Madison!
That's right! Harry is Fino! While I was working concessions yesterday, my mom worked with Harry and told me he went Fino. We went out today and I had to see him.
My mom lunged him outside in the round pen while I lunged Brie in the grass next to it. I got on and my mom went in to tack Harry up while I just walked Brie inside and in the outdoor arena. When I came back in, mom was lunging him inside. He isn't fighting lunging any more! Maybe he was just testing me. So my mom and Harry and Brie and I went back outside. My brother and Nina later joined us. My mom went into the round pen and worked on walking and teaching Harry to turn with her weight while Nina and Brie worked on walking calmly around the pen.
Harry was pretty excited but my mom is no nonsense. We all went back in and my brother and I watched as she worked with Harry. She reverted back to holding her hands up higher like how Andre did, because Andre DID break Harry, after all. Bam! He was collected and beautifully Fino. He did have to get into the rhythm a bit, but after a few passes on the board, he was absolutely perfect!!
I rode him and he was fantastic. He seems so much happier working like this. All we can do now is work with him to keep all his legs in sync and not push him or he might burn out. That's perfectly fine, we have all winter. As a treat, we all went out on trail. By the time we got back he wasn't even sweating, he was completely cooled down.
I'm super excited to see where this goes. Next week I'm going to my first IHSA show with the team. Wish me luck! I only get one practice in this week before we leave for Madison!
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Day 97
We are the owners of the reincarnation of Houdini.
That's right. Harry Gardener is actually Harry Houdini, but I'll get to that.
I lunged Harry for about an hour total between me and my mom. I went out in the round pen and lunged him out there. I'm going to ask Gary if we can move the round pen inside once it gets cold out before it starts snowing. After that, we reverted back to lunging on the pole. First, he snapped the pisador again! So I tied that back up for decorative purposes, since it's pretty much shot now, and got my Parelli line to lunge him with. He only pulled out a couple of times, but boy those times were strong! The first time, he almost pulled the pole out of the ground! It rotated!
The second time Harry pulled back, he slipped out of his jaquima and his bit and just stood there looking at me with my jaw dropped and a rope in my hand, all "haha you look stupid, but my trick was magnificent!"
After that, I tightened the jaquima and my mom wanted to lunge him. He pulled out a bit on her but then he calmed down, so I got on.
I was a tiny bit nervous and, again, kept telling myself "I won't get hurt, I won't fall" until I relaxed myself and forgot. He didn't want to reverse clockwise, so my mom suggested working on one wall reversing into the wall, that way he was up against a corner when he reversed clockwise. I did that for a good 20 minutes or so and then took him back out in the rail.
In order to keep him on his toes and prevent him from thinking about all the ways to make me cry those strange, yet amusing noises of yesterday, I made him write words in the sand. It's really weird: he doesn't like going in circles clockwise, but he has no problem turning clockwise to make a letter I have in my mind.
Then, the ultimate test: we went on trail. We all went out into the wooded trails in the back of the property and rode around. He actually behaved quite well, even better than Brie! After some time playing back there and getting bitten up by bugs, we headed in. Mom gave him a bath while I rode Brie.
We worked inside mostly, because she was kind of cuckoo today for my mom. I got her to calm down by relaxing back into a walk like we usually do before we start, and then we went out into the outdoor arena. This was a little bit of a challenge that i Sanhedrin fix because Brie likes to sidestep out the door, running over everyone in the way. After she did that, I made her march right back in and go out straight. I just walked down to one end of the arena and wanted to walk back out straight into the indoor, but again she sidestepped almost into a lawnmower, so we turned around and she actually walked calmly back in. After one more round in the indoor, we went out straight again and into a grass paddock, then back. She was kind of hoppy, so I had to keep stopping her and going, but she went straight! Then we just walked and cooled. I was so proud of her! It made me feel all happy and warm inside knowing that I accomplished that little thing with her.
I only got to brush Nina today. I'm perfectly happy with that, because usually I never even get to do that. I wish I could ride her, but all my time is consumed with Harry's craziness. I barely get to ride Brie. As long as Nina still gives me her horsey hugs, though, I'll always be happy with her.
That's right. Harry Gardener is actually Harry Houdini, but I'll get to that.
I lunged Harry for about an hour total between me and my mom. I went out in the round pen and lunged him out there. I'm going to ask Gary if we can move the round pen inside once it gets cold out before it starts snowing. After that, we reverted back to lunging on the pole. First, he snapped the pisador again! So I tied that back up for decorative purposes, since it's pretty much shot now, and got my Parelli line to lunge him with. He only pulled out a couple of times, but boy those times were strong! The first time, he almost pulled the pole out of the ground! It rotated!
The second time Harry pulled back, he slipped out of his jaquima and his bit and just stood there looking at me with my jaw dropped and a rope in my hand, all "haha you look stupid, but my trick was magnificent!"
After that, I tightened the jaquima and my mom wanted to lunge him. He pulled out a bit on her but then he calmed down, so I got on.
I was a tiny bit nervous and, again, kept telling myself "I won't get hurt, I won't fall" until I relaxed myself and forgot. He didn't want to reverse clockwise, so my mom suggested working on one wall reversing into the wall, that way he was up against a corner when he reversed clockwise. I did that for a good 20 minutes or so and then took him back out in the rail.
In order to keep him on his toes and prevent him from thinking about all the ways to make me cry those strange, yet amusing noises of yesterday, I made him write words in the sand. It's really weird: he doesn't like going in circles clockwise, but he has no problem turning clockwise to make a letter I have in my mind.
Then, the ultimate test: we went on trail. We all went out into the wooded trails in the back of the property and rode around. He actually behaved quite well, even better than Brie! After some time playing back there and getting bitten up by bugs, we headed in. Mom gave him a bath while I rode Brie.
We worked inside mostly, because she was kind of cuckoo today for my mom. I got her to calm down by relaxing back into a walk like we usually do before we start, and then we went out into the outdoor arena. This was a little bit of a challenge that i Sanhedrin fix because Brie likes to sidestep out the door, running over everyone in the way. After she did that, I made her march right back in and go out straight. I just walked down to one end of the arena and wanted to walk back out straight into the indoor, but again she sidestepped almost into a lawnmower, so we turned around and she actually walked calmly back in. After one more round in the indoor, we went out straight again and into a grass paddock, then back. She was kind of hoppy, so I had to keep stopping her and going, but she went straight! Then we just walked and cooled. I was so proud of her! It made me feel all happy and warm inside knowing that I accomplished that little thing with her.
I only got to brush Nina today. I'm perfectly happy with that, because usually I never even get to do that. I wish I could ride her, but all my time is consumed with Harry's craziness. I barely get to ride Brie. As long as Nina still gives me her horsey hugs, though, I'll always be happy with her.
Saturday, September 18, 2010
Day 96
Surprise!!! I got to go out to the stables today! School was being a bore so I went out.
Let's say today wasn't the greatest because I know better.
Harry was psycho. I know it's because I didn't lunge him enough. So we went off and he was okay doing his warmup circles in the counter clockwise, but immediately tried to rear when we went clockwise. I did probably the worst thing imaginable: cried. Yeah, I cried because I was scared. All I could think of was "this horse is gonna kill me". So my mom got off of Brie and we worked.
We went over to the pole and she took the pisador (thank the Hispanics for their inventions) and we lunged. She put the rope around the pole so it would pull on Harry if he pulled her. He kept pulling back to rear again and again and I actually had to kick him to get him to move. Once he settled down, we reversed to the counterclockwise. Of course he was an angel in that direction. We reversed again and he kept pulling and pulling that he snapped the pisador! He didn't go up, though, when he snapped it. Mom tied it back together and we continued on. After a while more of some pulls and kicks, he calmed down for real. She sent me out onto the rail and we managed to walk for a bit before gaiting. I have to admit, my grip on the reins was tight. He tried to go up once but I made him stop. Half wanting to get off, I kept telling myself "I will not get hurt, I will not get hurt" until I calmed myself down. We then gaited as usual and everything was fine. I even loosened my grip considerably by the end. He just needs a lot, A LOT of lunging before riding.
It makes me think back to the Brie Archives, before I even started this blog. We did all sorts of crazy things with her, most of them that people would deem us seriously insane for doing. Example? We'd turn her out in the arena at a full gallop and my brother would go in, sit, and then lay down in the sand while she was running. She'd immediately stop, walk curiously over to him, and sniff like a dog at his hair. He was about 10 at this stage.
Or the time she reared on me, the very first time. I haven't seen my mom as angry at a horse since then until today. After I jumped off once she was down, my mom took the pisador and made her lunge, spinning like a dervish, all while angrily hitting her own leg with her free hand.
Back then, like with the galloping thing, us kids, especially me, didn't know any better. I really thought I was invincible. Helmet? What helmet? I was going for a gallop along the property, or for a mounted stroll in an overflowing red flamenco dress around the fairgrounds at 10pm while cars were leaving. But now, now that I've experienced what could happen should a horse rear and land on it's side, crushing my leg, how I wouldn't be able to walk like when I had knee surgery; or the pain that I saw my mom suffer from a pinched nerve, how she could barely use the left side of her body, that could happen from falling off a horse as well.
But it has to come down to a cautious place between being over-scared and just plain stupid.
Let's say today wasn't the greatest because I know better.
Harry was psycho. I know it's because I didn't lunge him enough. So we went off and he was okay doing his warmup circles in the counter clockwise, but immediately tried to rear when we went clockwise. I did probably the worst thing imaginable: cried. Yeah, I cried because I was scared. All I could think of was "this horse is gonna kill me". So my mom got off of Brie and we worked.
We went over to the pole and she took the pisador (thank the Hispanics for their inventions) and we lunged. She put the rope around the pole so it would pull on Harry if he pulled her. He kept pulling back to rear again and again and I actually had to kick him to get him to move. Once he settled down, we reversed to the counterclockwise. Of course he was an angel in that direction. We reversed again and he kept pulling and pulling that he snapped the pisador! He didn't go up, though, when he snapped it. Mom tied it back together and we continued on. After a while more of some pulls and kicks, he calmed down for real. She sent me out onto the rail and we managed to walk for a bit before gaiting. I have to admit, my grip on the reins was tight. He tried to go up once but I made him stop. Half wanting to get off, I kept telling myself "I will not get hurt, I will not get hurt" until I calmed myself down. We then gaited as usual and everything was fine. I even loosened my grip considerably by the end. He just needs a lot, A LOT of lunging before riding.
It makes me think back to the Brie Archives, before I even started this blog. We did all sorts of crazy things with her, most of them that people would deem us seriously insane for doing. Example? We'd turn her out in the arena at a full gallop and my brother would go in, sit, and then lay down in the sand while she was running. She'd immediately stop, walk curiously over to him, and sniff like a dog at his hair. He was about 10 at this stage.
Or the time she reared on me, the very first time. I haven't seen my mom as angry at a horse since then until today. After I jumped off once she was down, my mom took the pisador and made her lunge, spinning like a dervish, all while angrily hitting her own leg with her free hand.
Back then, like with the galloping thing, us kids, especially me, didn't know any better. I really thought I was invincible. Helmet? What helmet? I was going for a gallop along the property, or for a mounted stroll in an overflowing red flamenco dress around the fairgrounds at 10pm while cars were leaving. But now, now that I've experienced what could happen should a horse rear and land on it's side, crushing my leg, how I wouldn't be able to walk like when I had knee surgery; or the pain that I saw my mom suffer from a pinched nerve, how she could barely use the left side of her body, that could happen from falling off a horse as well.
But it has to come down to a cautious place between being over-scared and just plain stupid.
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Day 95
I went on an actual trail ride today!
First off, I expected Harry to be a little psycho today and that was no disappointment. I should've just went into the round pen to lunge first but I gave him a chance. He lunged okay in the arena but wanted to throw me off, playing with me. So we went into the round pen and I let him run like a bat out of hell. After he got all of that out of his system, I rode in the round pen. We worked clockwise mostly, since that's been the side that he wants to throw me off on and never wants to ride on the rail. He was working well and my mom and brother rode Brie and Nina out on a trail in the woods then came back.
Paco came out to watch me with Harry and said that I should go on trail. I said I didn't think it was a good idea since Harry was kind of skittish, so he asked if he could ride Harry. So I rode Nina and Paco rode Harry and mom rode Brie and we all went out on trail. It was so fun! Brie and Nina were relaxed and even Harry was doing well with Paco.
But sadly, as we walked back to the stable, Ray saw Paco and started reprimanding him for riding Harry, since Ray doesn't like us at all and wants to see us all "out on the back 40 by ourselves" as someone once put it. I think it was smoothed over, but I really hope that there aren't any problems because this week they'll be stuck in Georgia for the Nationals until the end of next week or so. Good luck to Gary and Georgina in their classes!
Harry will be a wild child once again when I get back to riding him in a weekend. I expect some minor temperament issues until normalcy resumes after Thanksgiving. Hopefully he's not too mean to my family while I'm away, that little punk!
First off, I expected Harry to be a little psycho today and that was no disappointment. I should've just went into the round pen to lunge first but I gave him a chance. He lunged okay in the arena but wanted to throw me off, playing with me. So we went into the round pen and I let him run like a bat out of hell. After he got all of that out of his system, I rode in the round pen. We worked clockwise mostly, since that's been the side that he wants to throw me off on and never wants to ride on the rail. He was working well and my mom and brother rode Brie and Nina out on a trail in the woods then came back.
Paco came out to watch me with Harry and said that I should go on trail. I said I didn't think it was a good idea since Harry was kind of skittish, so he asked if he could ride Harry. So I rode Nina and Paco rode Harry and mom rode Brie and we all went out on trail. It was so fun! Brie and Nina were relaxed and even Harry was doing well with Paco.
But sadly, as we walked back to the stable, Ray saw Paco and started reprimanding him for riding Harry, since Ray doesn't like us at all and wants to see us all "out on the back 40 by ourselves" as someone once put it. I think it was smoothed over, but I really hope that there aren't any problems because this week they'll be stuck in Georgia for the Nationals until the end of next week or so. Good luck to Gary and Georgina in their classes!
Harry will be a wild child once again when I get back to riding him in a weekend. I expect some minor temperament issues until normalcy resumes after Thanksgiving. Hopefully he's not too mean to my family while I'm away, that little punk!
Friday, September 10, 2010
Equestrian Summer
So I haven't been doing regular posts like I did during the school year about my lessons with the team, partially because I've been focusing more on training.
Oh and by the way, those dressage dreams are over until I can buy a Warmblood. Apparently, you will lose a Paso's gait if you teach them dressage. What I don't understand is why the woman wrote the book on "Classical Training for the Paso Fino" if she says right in the introduction that Pasos and other gaited breeds aren't very successful with dressage. Uhmmmm kay?
Let's see. A summary of my summer.
I rode Cameo a whole bunch. From her, I learned how to keep a horse from refusing a jump.
I rode General once. I wasn't too keen on riding him when I did because his hoof looked nasty, and I told Nell that, but he was an okay ride. Very bouncy trot. From him, I learned to not work at posting and that you just have to go with the rhythm of the horse. The horse will propel you and you don't need to work your inner thighs all too much to post. Also, I learned that posting should not appear to go up and down, but rather rock back and forth.
I rode a Saddlebred/Arab cross, Dutchess, twice. From her, I learned that it is absolutely necessary to time your jumps and lift yourself up while in the air, otherwise you could possibly fall off. I also learned from her that you NEED to keep your heels down. I didn't and lost my stirrup almost every time over a jump. Thankfully, I managed to stay on. "If I go down, you're going down with me."
Today, my last lesson of the summer, I rode Two Socks. I only rode him once before when I was learning diagonals because, conveniently, he has two socks on the left side of his body.
Oh boy. I need to get a stronger leg, that's what I learned from him! I thought I had it after my adventures with Jimmy, but apparently not. My mom said she never saw a horse come away from a jump trotting...well today she did, that's how slow he was going. I thought that his trot was very nice on the flat, but apparently his "breakneck speed was that of death". I have to see if I can use spurs in the IHSA shows, because personally I find crops too hard to deal with. And with today's performance, I'm pretty sure that my next lesson will land me on Jimmy again. Fantastic.
I've already started lesson coordination. I even made a neat little form to send out as an email that will automatically fill into a spreadsheet. I'm kind of an organization nut like that. And I already have my lesson during the fall quarter in mind and pretty much secured. I'll only get one practice in before the show, but it's not like I'm going to be jumping at these shows. The points for this system are ridiculously hard! They make it so hard to point up in a year, and I'm only doing three shows. Even if I take first in all my classes, I'm still pretty sure I won't have enough points to jump next year. Oh, the frustration. So all my goal is to beat my NIU rival.
I'm all set with my show clothes. I bought a lovely new coat, all black, with gold buttons and velvet collar. My mom's was too small. Can you believe it! My mom was even skinnier than I am when she was younger! I have to vacuum myself a bit into her white breeches, but they look good, especially with her show shirt. Thank goodness it's no-sleeved. I have a beautiful pin for my ratcatcher and I tried on her tall boots today which fit perfectly. All I have to do is bring them to the shoemaker's to repair the sole a little bit, possibly add some traction to the bottoms because I kept loosing my stirrup again today, even though my heels were down.
I won't be out to train tomorrow. I have to work that football game. Go Wildcats!
Oh and by the way, those dressage dreams are over until I can buy a Warmblood. Apparently, you will lose a Paso's gait if you teach them dressage. What I don't understand is why the woman wrote the book on "Classical Training for the Paso Fino" if she says right in the introduction that Pasos and other gaited breeds aren't very successful with dressage. Uhmmmm kay?
Let's see. A summary of my summer.
I rode Cameo a whole bunch. From her, I learned how to keep a horse from refusing a jump.
I rode General once. I wasn't too keen on riding him when I did because his hoof looked nasty, and I told Nell that, but he was an okay ride. Very bouncy trot. From him, I learned to not work at posting and that you just have to go with the rhythm of the horse. The horse will propel you and you don't need to work your inner thighs all too much to post. Also, I learned that posting should not appear to go up and down, but rather rock back and forth.
I rode a Saddlebred/Arab cross, Dutchess, twice. From her, I learned that it is absolutely necessary to time your jumps and lift yourself up while in the air, otherwise you could possibly fall off. I also learned from her that you NEED to keep your heels down. I didn't and lost my stirrup almost every time over a jump. Thankfully, I managed to stay on. "If I go down, you're going down with me."
Today, my last lesson of the summer, I rode Two Socks. I only rode him once before when I was learning diagonals because, conveniently, he has two socks on the left side of his body.
Oh boy. I need to get a stronger leg, that's what I learned from him! I thought I had it after my adventures with Jimmy, but apparently not. My mom said she never saw a horse come away from a jump trotting...well today she did, that's how slow he was going. I thought that his trot was very nice on the flat, but apparently his "breakneck speed was that of death". I have to see if I can use spurs in the IHSA shows, because personally I find crops too hard to deal with. And with today's performance, I'm pretty sure that my next lesson will land me on Jimmy again. Fantastic.
I've already started lesson coordination. I even made a neat little form to send out as an email that will automatically fill into a spreadsheet. I'm kind of an organization nut like that. And I already have my lesson during the fall quarter in mind and pretty much secured. I'll only get one practice in before the show, but it's not like I'm going to be jumping at these shows. The points for this system are ridiculously hard! They make it so hard to point up in a year, and I'm only doing three shows. Even if I take first in all my classes, I'm still pretty sure I won't have enough points to jump next year. Oh, the frustration. So all my goal is to beat my NIU rival.
I'm all set with my show clothes. I bought a lovely new coat, all black, with gold buttons and velvet collar. My mom's was too small. Can you believe it! My mom was even skinnier than I am when she was younger! I have to vacuum myself a bit into her white breeches, but they look good, especially with her show shirt. Thank goodness it's no-sleeved. I have a beautiful pin for my ratcatcher and I tried on her tall boots today which fit perfectly. All I have to do is bring them to the shoemaker's to repair the sole a little bit, possibly add some traction to the bottoms because I kept loosing my stirrup again today, even though my heels were down.
I won't be out to train tomorrow. I have to work that football game. Go Wildcats!
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Day 94
I won't be able to go out this Saturday. I have to work the home opener football game for the team. Sigh.
I also have to start planning lessons with Nell on Friday. Might as well get it out of the way, right? Because I'd like to get at least two more lessons in before the Madison show in October. I won't be out next Saturday (possibly Sunday too) either because of move-in.
Basically, it's like this:
Sept 18th: 2nd day of move in
Sept 19th: Possibly go to train, probably not
Sept 25th: Work the football game
Sept 26th: Most likely go home to train
Oct 2nd and 3rd: U of Wisconsin @ Madison show
Oct 8th-11th: Possible trip to Albuquerque, NM
Oct 16th and 17th: Show @ NU/Augustana
Oct 23rd: Homecoming game
Oct 24th: Home
Then
Nov. 13th: Iowa game
Nov 20th: Last game of the season @ Wrigley Field
Both of which are, personally, not an option.
Harry definitely limped today when I took him out to the paddock over the rocks. We've concluded that he just has tender frogs and might possibly need shoes next time the farrier is out to keep him off of the frogs. So we left him out in the grassy pasture to relax. He gets Saturday off too, so I know what I'll be in for on Sunday!
It was just my mom and I today since my brother went back to school. We decided to go for a trail ride. My mom took Nina (lucky...) and I took Brie. We went straight out into the outdoor arena first and she just wanted to canter away, but I wouldn't let her because she has to listen to me! So I tried to make her walk and she was doing okay until we went out on trail. I don't think she's ever crow hopped as much as she did today! She even started a little bit of a rearing dance, so once she put the brakes on for about the millionth time, I got off. No, not to walk back in defeat, but I lunged her right there out on the grass, got back on, and went into the indoor. We largo'd around there and when she tried to break into a canter I stopped her. We went out the back for a little bit, then back into the arena to largo some more, then out into the outdoor to largo some more. Finally we went back into the arena to cool down and she walked beautifully. I even got her to go outside and stay still so I could pick my sweatshirt up off of the fence. I think she was just mainly full of energy today, but still...just because I'm teaching her to canter properly doesn't mean that she can burst out any time she likes!
Maybe we should practice with a lunge line once the end of October rolls around for a little more structure...
I also have to start planning lessons with Nell on Friday. Might as well get it out of the way, right? Because I'd like to get at least two more lessons in before the Madison show in October. I won't be out next Saturday (possibly Sunday too) either because of move-in.
Basically, it's like this:
Sept 18th: 2nd day of move in
Sept 19th: Possibly go to train, probably not
Sept 25th: Work the football game
Sept 26th: Most likely go home to train
Oct 2nd and 3rd: U of Wisconsin @ Madison show
Oct 8th-11th: Possible trip to Albuquerque, NM
Oct 16th and 17th: Show @ NU/Augustana
Oct 23rd: Homecoming game
Oct 24th: Home
Then
Nov. 13th: Iowa game
Nov 20th: Last game of the season @ Wrigley Field
Both of which are, personally, not an option.
Harry definitely limped today when I took him out to the paddock over the rocks. We've concluded that he just has tender frogs and might possibly need shoes next time the farrier is out to keep him off of the frogs. So we left him out in the grassy pasture to relax. He gets Saturday off too, so I know what I'll be in for on Sunday!
It was just my mom and I today since my brother went back to school. We decided to go for a trail ride. My mom took Nina (lucky...) and I took Brie. We went straight out into the outdoor arena first and she just wanted to canter away, but I wouldn't let her because she has to listen to me! So I tried to make her walk and she was doing okay until we went out on trail. I don't think she's ever crow hopped as much as she did today! She even started a little bit of a rearing dance, so once she put the brakes on for about the millionth time, I got off. No, not to walk back in defeat, but I lunged her right there out on the grass, got back on, and went into the indoor. We largo'd around there and when she tried to break into a canter I stopped her. We went out the back for a little bit, then back into the arena to largo some more, then out into the outdoor to largo some more. Finally we went back into the arena to cool down and she walked beautifully. I even got her to go outside and stay still so I could pick my sweatshirt up off of the fence. I think she was just mainly full of energy today, but still...just because I'm teaching her to canter properly doesn't mean that she can burst out any time she likes!
Maybe we should practice with a lunge line once the end of October rolls around for a little more structure...
Sunday, September 5, 2010
Day 93
Harry was still limping today. The farrier had already left to go to the airport so he couldn't test Harry. I took him out and lunged him a little bit but he wasn't doing very well clockwise today. We decided to give him the day off. We put him in the small paddock and took out Brie and Nina to brush them outside next to Harry's paddock. Brie was happy as a clam eating away at all of the grass she wanted.
I finally got to ride her today!!! I rode for quite a long time too. We worked inside like normal and then I tried a little bit of a canter with her. Out of three times she picked it up right on cue once. I was happy. We ran a hit in the outdoor arena and then my brother, Nina, Brie and I went out to trail ride a bit. We were doing well until we decided to do some serpentines around some trees. Brie had a meltdown. We stayed standing there for a couple minutes and then hopped back over to the barn. I corto'd a bit inside and then largo'd back in the outside arena. She got a good workout today and even though she had a little meltdown I was so happy. I miss riding Brie all the time for a long time because now I have to train Harry. I really hope he gets better soon and this can work itself out.
Now I have to read up on training Pasos for dressage!
I finally got to ride her today!!! I rode for quite a long time too. We worked inside like normal and then I tried a little bit of a canter with her. Out of three times she picked it up right on cue once. I was happy. We ran a hit in the outdoor arena and then my brother, Nina, Brie and I went out to trail ride a bit. We were doing well until we decided to do some serpentines around some trees. Brie had a meltdown. We stayed standing there for a couple minutes and then hopped back over to the barn. I corto'd a bit inside and then largo'd back in the outside arena. She got a good workout today and even though she had a little meltdown I was so happy. I miss riding Brie all the time for a long time because now I have to train Harry. I really hope he gets better soon and this can work itself out.
Now I have to read up on training Pasos for dressage!
Saturday, September 4, 2010
Day 92
The farrier came out today. We weren't there for when Nina got her hooves done, but Paco said that she was really good and that what we did with the bucket a while back really did help. The farrier got the other two horses done really quickly.
I wanted to go right out into the outdoor arena, so my mom and Nina and Harry and I went out. As usual so far, we still need to work on the lunging but he got through it. I got on as usual and wanted to walk around the arena first but he seemed a little excited so we did circles. That's when the worry started. He went well one way, clockwise, but after a few turns counterclockwise he started bucking really hard. I lost my stirrup and was seriously considering jumping off when I finally got his head to the side and at a standstill. This little spectacle really threw me off track because if he wanted to dump me, his preferred method has so far been by rearing. He never bucked before. So my mom said she'd walk Nina along side me and we would just walk the rail.
It went okay until we got to the end of the ring where he started getting excited again. I did clockwise circles in the corner and when I asked for counterclockwise I felt him getting ready to buck again. I got off and lunged him. Seemed to be no problem. My mom suggested letting him get it out of his system in the round pen, but on our way out of the arena he started limping really badly once we hit the rocks. Even Ray seemed concerned and said that we should ride inside because Harry might be sore from the farrier. So I walked along him until I noticed his limp went away and got on. With the intention of just going once each way and then letting him rest, he started bucking me again when I went to reverse counterclockwise and when I got him to stop I felt him getting serious in his intentions to dump me: he started dancing in the front so I hopped off and just lunged him a couple times then went in.
Now when I was brushing him I noticed a scratch on his back right leg, still kind of red, so I put some wound spray on it. When I went to touch it after I untacked, he held that leg up. But then again he did the same on the other side. Could that be part of his problem? Or is it just hoof tenderness? Then again, he did have a little limp at the state fair. Could it be just his hoof as a problem or something further up his leg, if not the scratch? When I talked to Jane about it, she said it may be an abscess. Taco had one and it lasted him for 6 weeks. It's a result of a stone bruise, which may be possible in this case because we did spend two hours of rearing while trying to get him in the trailer for the fair. Tomorrow we're going to have the farrier pressure check Harry. Maybe he'll even have the heat check instrument.
I hope Harry's okay and that it was just tenderness from bring trimmed. We never used to ride on trimming day until recently. I think we should start that again.
As a result of starting that precaution again, Brie lucked out. She got a total spa day, carrots included, and was perfectly fine with it. When I visited a stable yesterday, I got an idea as I heard them talk about their dressage school horses. What if I trained Brie for dressage? She wouldn't have the anxiety of seeing other horses in the ring since they test individually. She already does a sidestep pretty well as her preferred way to return to the barn from a trail ride. The only thing I'd have to really work on is the thing I'm most nervous about: teaching her to trot. I'm afraid that it might screw up her flawless gait that Andre worked hard to ensure. I could possibly ruin her both ways if she ends up not being any good at dressage. I have to find out for sure if teaching her to trot will affect her gait. If it won't, then I'll have dressage dreams on my mind!
I wanted to go right out into the outdoor arena, so my mom and Nina and Harry and I went out. As usual so far, we still need to work on the lunging but he got through it. I got on as usual and wanted to walk around the arena first but he seemed a little excited so we did circles. That's when the worry started. He went well one way, clockwise, but after a few turns counterclockwise he started bucking really hard. I lost my stirrup and was seriously considering jumping off when I finally got his head to the side and at a standstill. This little spectacle really threw me off track because if he wanted to dump me, his preferred method has so far been by rearing. He never bucked before. So my mom said she'd walk Nina along side me and we would just walk the rail.
It went okay until we got to the end of the ring where he started getting excited again. I did clockwise circles in the corner and when I asked for counterclockwise I felt him getting ready to buck again. I got off and lunged him. Seemed to be no problem. My mom suggested letting him get it out of his system in the round pen, but on our way out of the arena he started limping really badly once we hit the rocks. Even Ray seemed concerned and said that we should ride inside because Harry might be sore from the farrier. So I walked along him until I noticed his limp went away and got on. With the intention of just going once each way and then letting him rest, he started bucking me again when I went to reverse counterclockwise and when I got him to stop I felt him getting serious in his intentions to dump me: he started dancing in the front so I hopped off and just lunged him a couple times then went in.
Now when I was brushing him I noticed a scratch on his back right leg, still kind of red, so I put some wound spray on it. When I went to touch it after I untacked, he held that leg up. But then again he did the same on the other side. Could that be part of his problem? Or is it just hoof tenderness? Then again, he did have a little limp at the state fair. Could it be just his hoof as a problem or something further up his leg, if not the scratch? When I talked to Jane about it, she said it may be an abscess. Taco had one and it lasted him for 6 weeks. It's a result of a stone bruise, which may be possible in this case because we did spend two hours of rearing while trying to get him in the trailer for the fair. Tomorrow we're going to have the farrier pressure check Harry. Maybe he'll even have the heat check instrument.
I hope Harry's okay and that it was just tenderness from bring trimmed. We never used to ride on trimming day until recently. I think we should start that again.
As a result of starting that precaution again, Brie lucked out. She got a total spa day, carrots included, and was perfectly fine with it. When I visited a stable yesterday, I got an idea as I heard them talk about their dressage school horses. What if I trained Brie for dressage? She wouldn't have the anxiety of seeing other horses in the ring since they test individually. She already does a sidestep pretty well as her preferred way to return to the barn from a trail ride. The only thing I'd have to really work on is the thing I'm most nervous about: teaching her to trot. I'm afraid that it might screw up her flawless gait that Andre worked hard to ensure. I could possibly ruin her both ways if she ends up not being any good at dressage. I have to find out for sure if teaching her to trot will affect her gait. If it won't, then I'll have dressage dreams on my mind!
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Day 91
It just occurred to me that I only have one Wednesday left going to the stable until I go back to school. That I only have one entire weekend left before I go back to school. Next Saturday I have to do fund-raising for the equestrian team. And it's only hit me today that I'll be gone for almost all of October's weekends. I'll only get one weekend that month. So now I have a huge issue to face...
Who's going to ride Harry?
He's so easy for me to handle now. It's amazing how far we've come since April. I like to think that my work with him did more than his testosterone levels decreasing from being gelded in February did. I have to take full advantage of this weekend, finding someone to ride him, either my brother or my mom (maybe even my dad...). I can't help feel like while I'll be gone, one of them will always be a bit neglected. My dad doesn't usually ride, so that leaves my mom and my brother to split 3 horses between themselves.
Will Harry even remember me come November? How much will he have changed? I'm really only worried about him because Brie is...well...she's not changing much. She's had her attitude for 9 years already, so I don't think it's going any where. I can read her like a book. But Harry...I'm more than reluctant to let him go. If only we could afford to board closer to school! I could ride almost every day.
Enough of my sadness. Let's talk about training.
We got Harry a new jaquima and changed things up with the barbada and bosal (please refer to Paso Fino encyclopedia link). His bosal is stronger now and has a ring sticking out for me to lunge him from. I can say it worked out pretty well! He only pulled out once and he didn't travel much as he circled like he usually does. He was perfectly in gait today, although a little fast paced. I'm so proud of him though! We all went on a mini trail ride through the back of the property and while I remained on guard for him to spook at the slightest thing, he was perfectly fine! He walked most of the time until he saw the barn on the way back, then he started moving a little quicker, but nothing extreme like Brie. She was giving my mom an arm workout! And Nina, she just plopped along like always.
But wait. I forgot to say how we started this day: by putting all three of them in the same paddock. Yes folks, even though Brie seems to dislike Harry, I put them all in the same paddock. It was slightly unnerving and ended up within a minute we began to try catching them all, but it was progress. First, Brie and Nina chased Harry around. I believe Nina was playful but Brie was a little aggressive with her ears pinned back. She took a few nips at his butt but never went after him when they skidded to a stop in one of the corners. It was Nina who then had a problem with Harry rubbing up against her (because boys have cooties, don't you know) so she got in a little kick to his butt. I figured that as long as no one was lunging for each others throats then it was fine. Then Harry proceeded to chase Nina and Brie around. I think it was a good first time exposure all at once. No one got hurt, but they were breathing super hard afterwards from all that running! I might try again on Saturday and see if they can handle being nice to each other for a little longer than 5 minutes.
I didn't get to ride Brie or Nina today because we were pressed for time. No one wants to get stuck in rush hour traffic. I'm just thrilled about Harry's new jaquima. Finally he doesn't have to ruin his show bridle or be stuck with one where the cheek straps keep sliding into his eyes!
Who's going to ride Harry?
He's so easy for me to handle now. It's amazing how far we've come since April. I like to think that my work with him did more than his testosterone levels decreasing from being gelded in February did. I have to take full advantage of this weekend, finding someone to ride him, either my brother or my mom (maybe even my dad...). I can't help feel like while I'll be gone, one of them will always be a bit neglected. My dad doesn't usually ride, so that leaves my mom and my brother to split 3 horses between themselves.
Will Harry even remember me come November? How much will he have changed? I'm really only worried about him because Brie is...well...she's not changing much. She's had her attitude for 9 years already, so I don't think it's going any where. I can read her like a book. But Harry...I'm more than reluctant to let him go. If only we could afford to board closer to school! I could ride almost every day.
Enough of my sadness. Let's talk about training.
We got Harry a new jaquima and changed things up with the barbada and bosal (please refer to Paso Fino encyclopedia link). His bosal is stronger now and has a ring sticking out for me to lunge him from. I can say it worked out pretty well! He only pulled out once and he didn't travel much as he circled like he usually does. He was perfectly in gait today, although a little fast paced. I'm so proud of him though! We all went on a mini trail ride through the back of the property and while I remained on guard for him to spook at the slightest thing, he was perfectly fine! He walked most of the time until he saw the barn on the way back, then he started moving a little quicker, but nothing extreme like Brie. She was giving my mom an arm workout! And Nina, she just plopped along like always.
But wait. I forgot to say how we started this day: by putting all three of them in the same paddock. Yes folks, even though Brie seems to dislike Harry, I put them all in the same paddock. It was slightly unnerving and ended up within a minute we began to try catching them all, but it was progress. First, Brie and Nina chased Harry around. I believe Nina was playful but Brie was a little aggressive with her ears pinned back. She took a few nips at his butt but never went after him when they skidded to a stop in one of the corners. It was Nina who then had a problem with Harry rubbing up against her (because boys have cooties, don't you know) so she got in a little kick to his butt. I figured that as long as no one was lunging for each others throats then it was fine. Then Harry proceeded to chase Nina and Brie around. I think it was a good first time exposure all at once. No one got hurt, but they were breathing super hard afterwards from all that running! I might try again on Saturday and see if they can handle being nice to each other for a little longer than 5 minutes.
I didn't get to ride Brie or Nina today because we were pressed for time. No one wants to get stuck in rush hour traffic. I'm just thrilled about Harry's new jaquima. Finally he doesn't have to ruin his show bridle or be stuck with one where the cheek straps keep sliding into his eyes!
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Day 90
It's official! We finally own Harry! Gary signed him over to us today and I couldn't be more happy!
Plus I got to ride all three today!!
First off, I cleaned out the tack box. I finally found my other glove, so they worked out well. I'll probably only use them until i retrain myself to hold the reins like I normally did, and at the lessons only. I cleaned Harry's saddle so it looks all shiny like new.
Lunging was better today than yesterday but still needs improvement. He started off vey excited, like yesterday, but he worked it out. He kept trying to rush the corners so I had to keep halting him and restarting. My mom noticed as I rode that he had a skip in his back left hoof but it kept coming and going so I didn't think anything of it. My brother rode Harry today too. I instructed him on what to do and it looks like the only problem they had was going over the soundboard without rushing it. Then my mom got on and she rode a bit before going over the board and then again at a walk, during which his hoof was then noticeably dragging so she got off and gave him a bath and put liniment on his legs. There was no swelling or heat, so it has to be either in his muscles or his hoof. The farrier comes out in a week, I think, so we'll have him take a look then if this problem persists.
While my brother was riding Harry, I got to ride Nina! She is like no other horse I've ever ridden. She's so hard to operate! You have to keep on her and keep her alert and focused on what you're doing or she breaks into a trot. After a good amount of time I think I got the hang of it. We took the board a few times and each time I got better at figuring out what she needed. I'm honestly just happy using her as a trail horse, but I guess I need to keep learning on how to show her.
Brie! I'm so happy I got to ride my baby today. She got really spoiled in the past few weeks from not being pushed into what she needs to do and just kind of running amok. We worked in the indoor until she stopped trying to pull me around and then we went outside and I insisted on walking. She did pretty well. When she walked for a bit I let her corto. We went all along the back and front of the property and on our way back I decided to let her get the speed out of her system. What was meant to be a canter turned into a gallop one way and I was jerked forward when she stopped. Stayed on! Then we cantered very nicely in the opposite direction, I was so proud of her. She snorted away so happily. Then we WALKED calmly back to the stable for her bath, which she thoroughly enjoyed. It's the funniest thing watching horses quiver their lips when you scratch them.
So today was good. I only hope that Harry's leg can fix itself because we really don't know what's wrong with it. Hopefully a week of rest will fix it.
Plus I got to ride all three today!!
First off, I cleaned out the tack box. I finally found my other glove, so they worked out well. I'll probably only use them until i retrain myself to hold the reins like I normally did, and at the lessons only. I cleaned Harry's saddle so it looks all shiny like new.
Lunging was better today than yesterday but still needs improvement. He started off vey excited, like yesterday, but he worked it out. He kept trying to rush the corners so I had to keep halting him and restarting. My mom noticed as I rode that he had a skip in his back left hoof but it kept coming and going so I didn't think anything of it. My brother rode Harry today too. I instructed him on what to do and it looks like the only problem they had was going over the soundboard without rushing it. Then my mom got on and she rode a bit before going over the board and then again at a walk, during which his hoof was then noticeably dragging so she got off and gave him a bath and put liniment on his legs. There was no swelling or heat, so it has to be either in his muscles or his hoof. The farrier comes out in a week, I think, so we'll have him take a look then if this problem persists.
While my brother was riding Harry, I got to ride Nina! She is like no other horse I've ever ridden. She's so hard to operate! You have to keep on her and keep her alert and focused on what you're doing or she breaks into a trot. After a good amount of time I think I got the hang of it. We took the board a few times and each time I got better at figuring out what she needed. I'm honestly just happy using her as a trail horse, but I guess I need to keep learning on how to show her.
Brie! I'm so happy I got to ride my baby today. She got really spoiled in the past few weeks from not being pushed into what she needs to do and just kind of running amok. We worked in the indoor until she stopped trying to pull me around and then we went outside and I insisted on walking. She did pretty well. When she walked for a bit I let her corto. We went all along the back and front of the property and on our way back I decided to let her get the speed out of her system. What was meant to be a canter turned into a gallop one way and I was jerked forward when she stopped. Stayed on! Then we cantered very nicely in the opposite direction, I was so proud of her. She snorted away so happily. Then we WALKED calmly back to the stable for her bath, which she thoroughly enjoyed. It's the funniest thing watching horses quiver their lips when you scratch them.
So today was good. I only hope that Harry's leg can fix itself because we really don't know what's wrong with it. Hopefully a week of rest will fix it.
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Day 89
We didn't have very much time to ride today. We went to a sale today! We had a 50% off coupon for everything we bought at the Saddle Shop. Harry needed a new saddle pad so I bought him a southwestern looking wool blanket that looks quite dashing on him, if I do say so myself. We bought Nina an Australian stock saddle because her show saddle is getting beat up from everyday use. I didn't get to try it out because we had to cut the underflaps so they wouldn't rub up against Nina's skin, which took up a good chunk of time.
Harry wasn't too hot today. I'm now working on just lunging inside the riding arena like every other horse can do. We had a few pullouts, but he calmed down. We went straight outside in that arena to work and boy was he excited! He rarely gaited, just like in the show. He didn't want to walk either. So everytime he broke into that excited crow hop, I stopped him or made a circle. He raced down the soundboard, so we worked on calmly walking across it and when he did we ended on that note.
It was kind of painful to ride today because yesterday at my lesson I got and then popped a blister all in a half hour on the outside of my ring finger. I had a bandaid and gloves on today, but it still hurt. Now I either have to retrain myself a different way to hold the reins or wear gloves while riding hunt seat. Lovely. If I hadn't listened to Nell's nagging about putting the reins between my pinky and my ring finger and just held them all in my palm like I used to, I wouldn't have had this problem.
Harry wasn't too hot today. I'm now working on just lunging inside the riding arena like every other horse can do. We had a few pullouts, but he calmed down. We went straight outside in that arena to work and boy was he excited! He rarely gaited, just like in the show. He didn't want to walk either. So everytime he broke into that excited crow hop, I stopped him or made a circle. He raced down the soundboard, so we worked on calmly walking across it and when he did we ended on that note.
It was kind of painful to ride today because yesterday at my lesson I got and then popped a blister all in a half hour on the outside of my ring finger. I had a bandaid and gloves on today, but it still hurt. Now I either have to retrain myself a different way to hold the reins or wear gloves while riding hunt seat. Lovely. If I hadn't listened to Nell's nagging about putting the reins between my pinky and my ring finger and just held them all in my palm like I used to, I wouldn't have had this problem.
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Day 88
Today we went out in hopes of practicing getting Harry in the trailer AND being able to have some time to ride. Well, we spent the entire time trying to get him in the trailer. It wasn't a very hectic process; actually, it was quite laid back. We took out the divider and turned it into a one horse trailer first, that way it wouldn't seem so claustrophobic-looking. For about an hour, I stood/sat at the top of the ramp, encouraging him to come up. He kept digging the ground in front of it and hitting it with his hooves but never actually stepped up on it.
After that hour of waiting and food-bribing a la John, Paco came over and said "Let me give it a go". He kept gently tugging Harry and Harry kept slightly rearing. After about a half hour of that, Paco got Harry to get up onto the ramp but he wouldn't go forwards into the trailer. He made a loop of the lead rope around Harry's nose and led him in that way. After that, Harry was loading in and out perfectly! So now it was my turn.
He did a few good loads while I was leading him and then he got a little frustrated so Paco took him again. We shut Harry in the trailer and he was a little nervous about the butt bar. After a few minutes of standing there, we unhooked the bar so we could unload him, but Harry just pulled and released the quick release ties and slid down the ramp on his butt. Now he's scared of going in the trailer! It was just stubbornness before, but now he's actually scared! He'll go all the way up the ramp but never in. After another half hour of trying to get him to go back in, Paco said Harry was too worked up over it to keep trying today, so I hosed him down and stuck him back in his stall. Best words for this situation: "When you fall on your butt, don't you know you're supposed to get back up and try again?"
After that hour of waiting and food-bribing a la John, Paco came over and said "Let me give it a go". He kept gently tugging Harry and Harry kept slightly rearing. After about a half hour of that, Paco got Harry to get up onto the ramp but he wouldn't go forwards into the trailer. He made a loop of the lead rope around Harry's nose and led him in that way. After that, Harry was loading in and out perfectly! So now it was my turn.
He did a few good loads while I was leading him and then he got a little frustrated so Paco took him again. We shut Harry in the trailer and he was a little nervous about the butt bar. After a few minutes of standing there, we unhooked the bar so we could unload him, but Harry just pulled and released the quick release ties and slid down the ramp on his butt. Now he's scared of going in the trailer! It was just stubbornness before, but now he's actually scared! He'll go all the way up the ramp but never in. After another half hour of trying to get him to go back in, Paco said Harry was too worked up over it to keep trying today, so I hosed him down and stuck him back in his stall. Best words for this situation: "When you fall on your butt, don't you know you're supposed to get back up and try again?"
Sunday, August 22, 2010
State Fair
Day 1
We were leaving at 11.
Yeah okay. It took two sweaty, 90 degree hours to get Harry in. I ended up not even putting him in. My dad reeled him in like a fishing line over the bar at the front of the trailer. It was complete nonsense for two hours: rearing and pulling and head tossing!
I ended up missing my first class, which was against all of the trainers. I was able to make the second class I was signed up for though! I think it was Pleasure Amateur Owners. There were 16 signed up and guess what! I got 6th place! He performed perectly and never once skipped out on me. The crowd roared when I was asked to back up. I was so thrilled and proud of Harry. This was our very first class together.
Afterwards, my brother rode Nina in Performance Youth and he took 4th place. She just snaps into show mode when she gets there, she absolutely knows what she's there for.
Day 2
Two classes today. I had Performance Youth and then the Performance Stakes class. Since I didn't get a place high enough for money yesterday, I wanted to win some today.
There were...I wanna say 10 kids in my Youth class. Harry skipped a couple of times and I kept trying to get him on the rail but he was going sideways. He wasn't paying attention to me and kept looking up at the audience. We got honorable mention.
I was going to ride Nina in the Pleasure Schooling class, since my brother didn't want to, but after riding her in the warmup for a while, I decided I didn't want to go in and make a fool of myself because I don't know how to correct her as well as my mom or brother do, so my mom rode her and took 4th again. She beat out Ray, so that pretty much made her entire year.
I definitely started warming Harry up too early for the Stakes class. I started when my brother was warming up Nina for the Performance Stakes class (they took 8th by the way). Close to the start of the class, I had to keep squeezing him on because he wanted to stop. In the class he never stopped skipping but we rode nicely on the inside of the rail and get this: there were 20 entries!!! We broke into a canter a few times but we diet get disqualified! Overall, I think it was a pretty good first show experience. He never got kicked out.
Day 3
Going home. Harry wouldn't load into the trailer still even with Annie and her mom Karla helping, so before we went to try a tranquilizer, Jane suggested that we take Taco out of their trailer and just switch horses on the ride back. So now Harry is in Karla's 2 horse trailer, all spaciously set up without the divider and Nina and Taco are having a lunch date in ours. It was too cute when Taco got in. He and Nina started nickering to each other in the most adorable way.
We were leaving at 11.
Yeah okay. It took two sweaty, 90 degree hours to get Harry in. I ended up not even putting him in. My dad reeled him in like a fishing line over the bar at the front of the trailer. It was complete nonsense for two hours: rearing and pulling and head tossing!
I ended up missing my first class, which was against all of the trainers. I was able to make the second class I was signed up for though! I think it was Pleasure Amateur Owners. There were 16 signed up and guess what! I got 6th place! He performed perectly and never once skipped out on me. The crowd roared when I was asked to back up. I was so thrilled and proud of Harry. This was our very first class together.
Afterwards, my brother rode Nina in Performance Youth and he took 4th place. She just snaps into show mode when she gets there, she absolutely knows what she's there for.
Day 2
Two classes today. I had Performance Youth and then the Performance Stakes class. Since I didn't get a place high enough for money yesterday, I wanted to win some today.
There were...I wanna say 10 kids in my Youth class. Harry skipped a couple of times and I kept trying to get him on the rail but he was going sideways. He wasn't paying attention to me and kept looking up at the audience. We got honorable mention.
I was going to ride Nina in the Pleasure Schooling class, since my brother didn't want to, but after riding her in the warmup for a while, I decided I didn't want to go in and make a fool of myself because I don't know how to correct her as well as my mom or brother do, so my mom rode her and took 4th again. She beat out Ray, so that pretty much made her entire year.
I definitely started warming Harry up too early for the Stakes class. I started when my brother was warming up Nina for the Performance Stakes class (they took 8th by the way). Close to the start of the class, I had to keep squeezing him on because he wanted to stop. In the class he never stopped skipping but we rode nicely on the inside of the rail and get this: there were 20 entries!!! We broke into a canter a few times but we diet get disqualified! Overall, I think it was a pretty good first show experience. He never got kicked out.
Day 3
Going home. Harry wouldn't load into the trailer still even with Annie and her mom Karla helping, so before we went to try a tranquilizer, Jane suggested that we take Taco out of their trailer and just switch horses on the ride back. So now Harry is in Karla's 2 horse trailer, all spaciously set up without the divider and Nina and Taco are having a lunch date in ours. It was too cute when Taco got in. He and Nina started nickering to each other in the most adorable way.
Sunday, August 15, 2010
Day 87
As expected, Harry was much better today. He was calm and collected and I got compliments from Ray. He worked perfectly well with the tack change. We had to punch extra holes in the bridle because his face is so tiny. Brie's saddle looked really nice on him. He was very relaxed and did wonderfully on the soundboard after the first pass. He tends to break gait in the middle, Paco suggested lightly tugging him to one side that way it keeps his attention. I hope we place high in the State Fair!
Nina was fantastic in the board today. Her head is finally coming down more where it's supposed to be.
Brie and I had an adventure today. I was too tired to fully tack her up so I just got the bit hanger and a rein and we went! Walking of course. Completely bareback, my thighs are killing me! I have to give major props to anyone who can jump horses bareback or even ride at a full gallop bareback like in the movies. They must have thighs of steel!! I'm kind of sad that we have to leave Brie home but I think maybe she'll like the vacation away from Nina (and especially Harry). One more practice before the show!!
Nina was fantastic in the board today. Her head is finally coming down more where it's supposed to be.
Brie and I had an adventure today. I was too tired to fully tack her up so I just got the bit hanger and a rein and we went! Walking of course. Completely bareback, my thighs are killing me! I have to give major props to anyone who can jump horses bareback or even ride at a full gallop bareback like in the movies. They must have thighs of steel!! I'm kind of sad that we have to leave Brie home but I think maybe she'll like the vacation away from Nina (and especially Harry). One more practice before the show!!
Saturday, August 14, 2010
Day 86
There has to be an off day once in a while.
There was a little barn reunion today. It was good for Harry because he has to get used to lots of other horses riding around with him. After lunging him in the round pen and then a little more in the arena, he's getting the hang of it. I'm just a little worried about finding a good, clear spot to lunge him at the fair.
Speaking of the fair, I can't believe it's next weekend! I have so much work to do! I have to work tomorrow with the show bridle and Brie's saddle since that's the one I'll be using.
Anyways so back to Harry. He still won't walk on the wall. I'm settling now for just going straight on the inside of the arena. As long as I'm out of everybody's way and not causing a distraction, hopefully it won't matter. He wasn't gaiting properly today. It was kind of like Brie's crow feet but less extreme. Maybe it's from trying to get him to tighten up a little bit but now I'm just going to get him to do a consistent corto and largo. We can work on Fino all winter. He kept screwing up on the soundboard but hopefully tomorrow he'll do better since Saturdays are always warm-ups. I've started working more with a single rein and he seems to be adjusting to that pretty well.
Nina is doing much better. I didn't get to ride her today since now we're getting down to pre-show mode. I can't wait til the fall and I get to start working more with Nina for the winter.
Canter fest with Brie today!! I didn't go out because it was super hot, plus the landscapers were out with the industrial mowers.
There was a little barn reunion today. It was good for Harry because he has to get used to lots of other horses riding around with him. After lunging him in the round pen and then a little more in the arena, he's getting the hang of it. I'm just a little worried about finding a good, clear spot to lunge him at the fair.
Speaking of the fair, I can't believe it's next weekend! I have so much work to do! I have to work tomorrow with the show bridle and Brie's saddle since that's the one I'll be using.
Anyways so back to Harry. He still won't walk on the wall. I'm settling now for just going straight on the inside of the arena. As long as I'm out of everybody's way and not causing a distraction, hopefully it won't matter. He wasn't gaiting properly today. It was kind of like Brie's crow feet but less extreme. Maybe it's from trying to get him to tighten up a little bit but now I'm just going to get him to do a consistent corto and largo. We can work on Fino all winter. He kept screwing up on the soundboard but hopefully tomorrow he'll do better since Saturdays are always warm-ups. I've started working more with a single rein and he seems to be adjusting to that pretty well.
Nina is doing much better. I didn't get to ride her today since now we're getting down to pre-show mode. I can't wait til the fall and I get to start working more with Nina for the winter.
Canter fest with Brie today!! I didn't go out because it was super hot, plus the landscapers were out with the industrial mowers.
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Days 84 & 85
By the time I post this, I going to feel really bad for keeping this for so long. I've just been waiting for a chance to put up the videos and pictures on my computer.
Day 84 - Saturday
Today was the day to face the scariest thing ever: the trailer.
We weren't even going to bother with Brie because we all know we would've been there all day and we already have a great way to get her in without any problems: We blindfold her! Now I know some people might say "Wait, you have to blindfold your horse to get her in the trailer? That hardly seems like she trusts you at all!" Well to you I say this: Can you blindfold your horse and get them into an enclosed, tight space, while still trusting that they won't freak out and squish you? Yeah...didn't think so. To me, that represents the ultimate in trust on both ends.
Anyways Nina just waltzes in as usual. No problems. Harry's been in a trailer before but we've never loaded him or brought him anywhere so we wanted to test out his skills before the State Fair in a couple of weeks. He went in perfect the first time and then we realized that must've been a fluke. He did the typical planting his feet in the ground and wouldn't go up the ramp.You'd think it'd be less scary because we have a ramp on our trailer right? Wrong! So after much grunting and bribing, he still wasn't moving. Annie and her friends showed up for a bit to gather up Jane and we found our solution to get Harry in the trailer: Jump up and down behind him like a bunch of crazies and he'll load in just fine! Now all we need is a mob on trailering day...
After locking him in there for a bit by himself (we weren't too sure about locking Nina in there with him just yet...) we let him out and after he nervously stepped down the ramp we turned him out into the grassy pasture that I've ridden with him in. He ran like crazy and shook off his nerves. I then walked in and he proceeded to follow me everywhere around the pasture (except into the shed) like a total sweetheart. I think he likes me. =]
Riding was great, as it has been for the past couple of weeks. I'm so pleased with Harry. His lunging in the arena is getting there, but it's a HUGE improvement from last month when he kept trying to run me over and rear up and escape. I even got a nice canter out of Brie. She was happy as a clam after that.
Day 85 - Sunday
We brought the camera today! Yay! My dad, the unofficial camera man that he is, took a bazillion pictures of us but I'll show you the best.
On our Borders trip this past week, my mom picked up this adorable book.
The idea is that you read it every day for a year. It's full of all sorts of knowledge, from breed characteristics to health issues, it's such a great buy. I recommend every horse owner or lover buy it. On the weekends, it gives you fun activities to do with your horses. For the first weekend of the book, it told us to just go on a walk with our horses. That's exactly what we did.
It was fun and different. Mom got Harry, my brother got Brie, and I got Nina (yay!) and we walked the back of the property. It was a great bonding experience for all of us. My brother got a taste of what handling Brie is like (mega hyper and NEEDS TO BE IN FRONT AT ALL TIMES or she might explode), my mom got to get to know Harry outside of just brushing him and I got to bond with Nina outside of just feeding her carrots!! As we walked back to the stable, Paco and Ray pulled up getting back from Ohio this weekend. Paco came out and watched us as we all took turns lunging Nina, Brie, and Harry like I'd been working with Harry: just a carrot stick and a round pen. Nina and Harry went along just fine, but Brie was being a stinker about it. She's so spoiled and never asked to do anything like that (she automatic lunging in the arena) so it was good that she got to use her brain a bit today.
I started off as usual on Harry. My mom has given Nina up to my brother for him to start and train (it's about time that he learn how on his own!) and she worked with Brie. It's the first time that I can remember her starting Brie in a while and Brie was, of course, being spoiled and trying to get away with everything and anything, including running Harry over and trying to kill him. She does not like boys...or horses other than Nina. So we're working on that, but not pushing it very much because we don't want any injuries. Harry's actually scared of her! She's such a bully.
Then my brother and I switched. Our words to each other before we started: "Don't do much, he/she's really simple and just goes." YEAH RIGHT! Nina was trotting! Not gaiting! And my brother was complaining about some problem with Harry. Sound board? We both sounded horrible!
Switching, our words: "YOU SCREWED UP MY HORSE!" But we got them back.
It took a little longer to get Harry back. He gets so excited when he hears the sound board. But he finally did it.
Afterwards, mom cooled Harry and I got on Brie. Canter city, baby!
After she was all tired out, my brother and I just roamed around the arena, reminiscing about Andre and Nina and Brie played tag as we rode without reins or stirrups. They finally got that full bath I'd been promising all of them and after smelling wonderful for about 10 minutes, they all promptly rolled. Oh well...it was nice while it lasted!
Day 84 - Saturday
Today was the day to face the scariest thing ever: the trailer.
We weren't even going to bother with Brie because we all know we would've been there all day and we already have a great way to get her in without any problems: We blindfold her! Now I know some people might say "Wait, you have to blindfold your horse to get her in the trailer? That hardly seems like she trusts you at all!" Well to you I say this: Can you blindfold your horse and get them into an enclosed, tight space, while still trusting that they won't freak out and squish you? Yeah...didn't think so. To me, that represents the ultimate in trust on both ends.
Anyways Nina just waltzes in as usual. No problems. Harry's been in a trailer before but we've never loaded him or brought him anywhere so we wanted to test out his skills before the State Fair in a couple of weeks. He went in perfect the first time and then we realized that must've been a fluke. He did the typical planting his feet in the ground and wouldn't go up the ramp.You'd think it'd be less scary because we have a ramp on our trailer right? Wrong! So after much grunting and bribing, he still wasn't moving. Annie and her friends showed up for a bit to gather up Jane and we found our solution to get Harry in the trailer: Jump up and down behind him like a bunch of crazies and he'll load in just fine! Now all we need is a mob on trailering day...
After locking him in there for a bit by himself (we weren't too sure about locking Nina in there with him just yet...) we let him out and after he nervously stepped down the ramp we turned him out into the grassy pasture that I've ridden with him in. He ran like crazy and shook off his nerves. I then walked in and he proceeded to follow me everywhere around the pasture (except into the shed) like a total sweetheart. I think he likes me. =]
Riding was great, as it has been for the past couple of weeks. I'm so pleased with Harry. His lunging in the arena is getting there, but it's a HUGE improvement from last month when he kept trying to run me over and rear up and escape. I even got a nice canter out of Brie. She was happy as a clam after that.
Day 85 - Sunday
We brought the camera today! Yay! My dad, the unofficial camera man that he is, took a bazillion pictures of us but I'll show you the best.
On our Borders trip this past week, my mom picked up this adorable book.
The idea is that you read it every day for a year. It's full of all sorts of knowledge, from breed characteristics to health issues, it's such a great buy. I recommend every horse owner or lover buy it. On the weekends, it gives you fun activities to do with your horses. For the first weekend of the book, it told us to just go on a walk with our horses. That's exactly what we did.
Nina and I
Harry in his natural state.
I think this is the funniest picture. Look at both of their faces! My brother and Brie.
I started off as usual on Harry. My mom has given Nina up to my brother for him to start and train (it's about time that he learn how on his own!) and she worked with Brie. It's the first time that I can remember her starting Brie in a while and Brie was, of course, being spoiled and trying to get away with everything and anything, including running Harry over and trying to kill him. She does not like boys...or horses other than Nina. So we're working on that, but not pushing it very much because we don't want any injuries. Harry's actually scared of her! She's such a bully.
Then my brother and I switched. Our words to each other before we started: "Don't do much, he/she's really simple and just goes." YEAH RIGHT! Nina was trotting! Not gaiting! And my brother was complaining about some problem with Harry. Sound board? We both sounded horrible!
Switching, our words: "YOU SCREWED UP MY HORSE!" But we got them back.
It took a little longer to get Harry back. He gets so excited when he hears the sound board. But he finally did it.
Afterwards, mom cooled Harry and I got on Brie. Canter city, baby!
After she was all tired out, my brother and I just roamed around the arena, reminiscing about Andre and Nina and Brie played tag as we rode without reins or stirrups. They finally got that full bath I'd been promising all of them and after smelling wonderful for about 10 minutes, they all promptly rolled. Oh well...it was nice while it lasted!
Sunday, August 1, 2010
Day 83
A new trainer, Colin, was up at the stables today. I think he came from Florida, but he works at the Paso stable down the street about 20 min away. I'm real disappointed that I didn't get the chance to talk to him because I've only seen him work from a distance about 3 years ago before I was seriously into training. Too bad we're not going to Ohio.
Anyways. I'm working with lunging a lot with Harry. My goal is to get him to lunge in the arena without having to use the round pen since there won't be one in a show warmup arena. I did basically the same thing as yesterday except he was better in the arena and we didn't have to go back out. He was tightening his gait fantastically today and his board sounded phenomenal. Too bad Colin wasn't in the arena at the time, I wonder if he would've said anything. Harry's largo is great! He'll definitely be ready for performance classes next year.
Do I even need to mention Nina?
Brie was really excited outside today. She broke into a canter a few times, but I got her back. We went in the puddle again today. She didn't want to leave it! It was the funniest thing and she kept splashing the water. Needless to say, she needed a bath.
While today I was a bit disappointed that I didn't get to pick another trainer's brain, I'm very pleased with how Harry is coming along and how Brie is starting to conquer some fears.
Anyways. I'm working with lunging a lot with Harry. My goal is to get him to lunge in the arena without having to use the round pen since there won't be one in a show warmup arena. I did basically the same thing as yesterday except he was better in the arena and we didn't have to go back out. He was tightening his gait fantastically today and his board sounded phenomenal. Too bad Colin wasn't in the arena at the time, I wonder if he would've said anything. Harry's largo is great! He'll definitely be ready for performance classes next year.
Do I even need to mention Nina?
Brie was really excited outside today. She broke into a canter a few times, but I got her back. We went in the puddle again today. She didn't want to leave it! It was the funniest thing and she kept splashing the water. Needless to say, she needed a bath.
While today I was a bit disappointed that I didn't get to pick another trainer's brain, I'm very pleased with how Harry is coming along and how Brie is starting to conquer some fears.
Saturday, July 31, 2010
Day 82
It's so good to be riding again. After only a week on vacation, I've missed my horses so much. I could've easily traded my vacation in Hawaii for a week at the stable.
Harry was so full of it after not being exercised for a week and a half. It was refreshing, a nice little mental challenge for both of us, having to work to be on the same wavelength. Normally it would probably annoy me, but it was nice after a week away. We went out to the round pen, which was extremely muddy after some storms, and worked. He took off speeding when I sent him out after I took off the line and he slipped and fell on his rear. All I could see in my mind was him snapping his legs if we kept it up so I called him in. Paco, who was watching, told me to keep working in there and that the mud would help him with his balance. I sent him back out and he lifted his tail, using it like a rudder. He slowed and started using his back legs more noticeably. After about 30 minutes of lunging off rope outside just using my carrot stick and speaking commands, I went into the arena to lunge. Once inside, he didn't want to go out, he kept his front on top of me, especially clockwise. So after a few good tries we went back out and worked specifically on clockwise for a while off rope. Once he was working well, I put the line back on and he started hanging on me again. I kept after him, waving the carrot stick behind him to push him onwards and eventually he went out. Last step was putting the carrot stick aside and just using my arm to push him out. He went well and after using just arm signals and speech to get him to reverse and go out we went back in the arena. No carrot stick.
He was fantastic! He walked! He never tried to pull out on me. Such a good feeling. He was a little excited when I first got on to ride, but he calmed down and we even managed to go outside in the arena and one of the paddocks to ride. The only problem I'm having now is getting him to ride on the rail. No matter how I push with my leg he won't move onto the rail unless he's walking, never while gaiting. Suggestions? I have a month to work on this before the State Fair, no pressure for next week because I'm pretty sure we're not going to the Ohio show anymore.
Never ever get to ride Nina!! =[
I was so proud of Brie today though. We rode outside and I got her to go through a big scary puddle!! It had to be the scariest puddle she ever saw AND there was a frog sitting next to it that we didn't even squish. I also found out while getting her to step in it that she responds soooo much better to leg pressure than bit pressure while turning. When we first saw it and I used the bit more to turn her she was sidestepping. As soon as I eased up for a second and pressed my leg, boom, turned on a dime. We had a good romp outside and after marching back through the puddle, we headed back in for a shower. I really need to wash them all tomorrow. Just looking at them makes me feel all dusty and gritty, no matter how much we clean them.
While we were gone, a farrier from Florida came up and we had our horses trimmed. Nina didn't even need to be sedated! I'm so happy that our work with her has been paying off. Either that or she doesn't like girl farriers. He fixed the huge cracks in Harry's hooves that he got from riding outside. Now we need to put some Rainmaker on his hooves when we're out so they get stronger.
Harry was so full of it after not being exercised for a week and a half. It was refreshing, a nice little mental challenge for both of us, having to work to be on the same wavelength. Normally it would probably annoy me, but it was nice after a week away. We went out to the round pen, which was extremely muddy after some storms, and worked. He took off speeding when I sent him out after I took off the line and he slipped and fell on his rear. All I could see in my mind was him snapping his legs if we kept it up so I called him in. Paco, who was watching, told me to keep working in there and that the mud would help him with his balance. I sent him back out and he lifted his tail, using it like a rudder. He slowed and started using his back legs more noticeably. After about 30 minutes of lunging off rope outside just using my carrot stick and speaking commands, I went into the arena to lunge. Once inside, he didn't want to go out, he kept his front on top of me, especially clockwise. So after a few good tries we went back out and worked specifically on clockwise for a while off rope. Once he was working well, I put the line back on and he started hanging on me again. I kept after him, waving the carrot stick behind him to push him onwards and eventually he went out. Last step was putting the carrot stick aside and just using my arm to push him out. He went well and after using just arm signals and speech to get him to reverse and go out we went back in the arena. No carrot stick.
He was fantastic! He walked! He never tried to pull out on me. Such a good feeling. He was a little excited when I first got on to ride, but he calmed down and we even managed to go outside in the arena and one of the paddocks to ride. The only problem I'm having now is getting him to ride on the rail. No matter how I push with my leg he won't move onto the rail unless he's walking, never while gaiting. Suggestions? I have a month to work on this before the State Fair, no pressure for next week because I'm pretty sure we're not going to the Ohio show anymore.
Never ever get to ride Nina!! =[
I was so proud of Brie today though. We rode outside and I got her to go through a big scary puddle!! It had to be the scariest puddle she ever saw AND there was a frog sitting next to it that we didn't even squish. I also found out while getting her to step in it that she responds soooo much better to leg pressure than bit pressure while turning. When we first saw it and I used the bit more to turn her she was sidestepping. As soon as I eased up for a second and pressed my leg, boom, turned on a dime. We had a good romp outside and after marching back through the puddle, we headed back in for a shower. I really need to wash them all tomorrow. Just looking at them makes me feel all dusty and gritty, no matter how much we clean them.
While we were gone, a farrier from Florida came up and we had our horses trimmed. Nina didn't even need to be sedated! I'm so happy that our work with her has been paying off. Either that or she doesn't like girl farriers. He fixed the huge cracks in Harry's hooves that he got from riding outside. Now we need to put some Rainmaker on his hooves when we're out so they get stronger.
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Day 81
One word to describe today: phenomenal.
Gary and Georgina were out today. It's been such a long time since we were united! We talked about the Youth Mundial, which is the kids' world championships, in Puerto Rico last week. Georgina sadly didn't place but they said the USA team didn't really do so well anyways compared to the Latin countries. Figures.
Lunged Harry like yesterday. While lunging him, it occurred to me that he has a big horse body and tiny little horse legs. You don't notice it at first, but it's kind of funny when you do. He's cute in that way. He worked amazingly on his own and did an great board. I took him in the outdoor, which in the walk on the gravel from the indoor to the outdoor led in a huge split in his hoof. He worked well out there though and didn't want to take off. Outside we worked on our largo and he's got it pretty down pat. He never broke into a canter. I think I'll put him in pleasure the rest of this year, maybe one performance class in Ohio in three weeks, but we'll continue working on largo control until next year.
After the outdoor, I took him into one of the grassy paddocks next to the outdoor arena that had some decently sized trees and we walked. I didn't want to just go out in the open yet. We went back in and he worked very nicely, better than ice expected, riding next to three other horses. All in all, he had a great day and I am so proud of him!
Brie was giving my brother a bit of a hard time, but that's probably because he doesn't ride her often and didn't know how to handle her since before I started working with her. She was great for me. We went around the property again, raced up "the mountain" in back and zig sagged around the hay field in front.
Life and weekends are so much happier now that I know what to do with Brie. She's just fantastic outside and in good moods most of the time now. Win win situation!
Gary and Georgina were out today. It's been such a long time since we were united! We talked about the Youth Mundial, which is the kids' world championships, in Puerto Rico last week. Georgina sadly didn't place but they said the USA team didn't really do so well anyways compared to the Latin countries. Figures.
Lunged Harry like yesterday. While lunging him, it occurred to me that he has a big horse body and tiny little horse legs. You don't notice it at first, but it's kind of funny when you do. He's cute in that way. He worked amazingly on his own and did an great board. I took him in the outdoor, which in the walk on the gravel from the indoor to the outdoor led in a huge split in his hoof. He worked well out there though and didn't want to take off. Outside we worked on our largo and he's got it pretty down pat. He never broke into a canter. I think I'll put him in pleasure the rest of this year, maybe one performance class in Ohio in three weeks, but we'll continue working on largo control until next year.
After the outdoor, I took him into one of the grassy paddocks next to the outdoor arena that had some decently sized trees and we walked. I didn't want to just go out in the open yet. We went back in and he worked very nicely, better than ice expected, riding next to three other horses. All in all, he had a great day and I am so proud of him!
Brie was giving my brother a bit of a hard time, but that's probably because he doesn't ride her often and didn't know how to handle her since before I started working with her. She was great for me. We went around the property again, raced up "the mountain" in back and zig sagged around the hay field in front.
Life and weekends are so much happier now that I know what to do with Brie. She's just fantastic outside and in good moods most of the time now. Win win situation!
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