Sunday
I rode Harry today! I started and finished with him. I could tell a huge difference in him from his free longe, he was very calm and collected and seemed very determined in his movement. It was hard to get used to riding him, since before I was encouraging him to be very relaxed and loose and to just go with what he feels, but that makes him walk and gait very pokey which is not good for show. So I have to now keep constant leg on him and be reminding him with the reins to keep gaiting by putting a little more pressure on them and check them if he starts to pace.
The first couple passes on the board were kind of pokey and then sounded even worse in comparison with the new Fino stallion who was also riding at the time. But after I readjusted myself to use more leg and rein, our last pass over the board was phenomenal. He sounded almost as good as Nina! So I was very proud of him. I can't wait to continue working on him now that I've figured out what to do with him and see how good he gets!
Monday, January 21, 2013
Sunday, January 13, 2013
Days 274 & 275
Saturday
Brie was pretty stiff today, which might have had something to do with the weather. It was unseasonably warm today and although it was a nice surprise, I'm sure it affected everyone in some way. Except Nina! She was working fantastically! If only Brie and Harry could be more like her.
That's not entirely true. Harry looked like he was working really well. I didn't get the chance to ride him today, but I'm planning on it for next weekend. I think that the same groundwork program that we did with Harry would be good for Brie. Maybe not to give her a month off like he did, but to incorporate it into what she's doing now. She really needs to refocus herself and remember what she's supposed to be doing, not just running around all of the time, especially if I want to bring her to show this year. After this summer, I don't know when I might be able to go to another horse show again, or even ride again, once I go to law school in the fall, so I have to make the best of it now! That means enjoying every weekend and every ride to the fullest. I want Brie to be in great condition, physically and mentally, for this show season that way in case there is an empty spot in someone's trailer, she can take it! Maybe after a couple of years of not showing, she will forget how scary the shows were for her.
Sunday
The farrier came out today, which is Brie's favorite day! I think she really likes getting her hooves trimmed, she just looks so happy. While we were waiting for the farrier, I took Harry and the giant exercise ball that we have in the tack room and brought them into the arena. I wanted him to sniff it and eventually push it with his nose, but we got to sniffing it. I let him go up to it and pet him when he did. I started pushing the ball towards him but he was getting scared, so I started kicking the ball away from him and making him follow me and the ball so that way it would perk his interest. It seemed to work! He really needs to get over his timidness and now that he is better after his month off, I think that the next step is really focusing on overcoming his fears on the ground. Especially since they are so simple, like being scared of balls and tarps! Even puddles. We're going to work on those a lot because once we move (hopefully) out West, he'll have to get used to all sorts of new things, especially for trail rides!
Brie was pretty stiff today, which might have had something to do with the weather. It was unseasonably warm today and although it was a nice surprise, I'm sure it affected everyone in some way. Except Nina! She was working fantastically! If only Brie and Harry could be more like her.
That's not entirely true. Harry looked like he was working really well. I didn't get the chance to ride him today, but I'm planning on it for next weekend. I think that the same groundwork program that we did with Harry would be good for Brie. Maybe not to give her a month off like he did, but to incorporate it into what she's doing now. She really needs to refocus herself and remember what she's supposed to be doing, not just running around all of the time, especially if I want to bring her to show this year. After this summer, I don't know when I might be able to go to another horse show again, or even ride again, once I go to law school in the fall, so I have to make the best of it now! That means enjoying every weekend and every ride to the fullest. I want Brie to be in great condition, physically and mentally, for this show season that way in case there is an empty spot in someone's trailer, she can take it! Maybe after a couple of years of not showing, she will forget how scary the shows were for her.
Sunday
The farrier came out today, which is Brie's favorite day! I think she really likes getting her hooves trimmed, she just looks so happy. While we were waiting for the farrier, I took Harry and the giant exercise ball that we have in the tack room and brought them into the arena. I wanted him to sniff it and eventually push it with his nose, but we got to sniffing it. I let him go up to it and pet him when he did. I started pushing the ball towards him but he was getting scared, so I started kicking the ball away from him and making him follow me and the ball so that way it would perk his interest. It seemed to work! He really needs to get over his timidness and now that he is better after his month off, I think that the next step is really focusing on overcoming his fears on the ground. Especially since they are so simple, like being scared of balls and tarps! Even puddles. We're going to work on those a lot because once we move (hopefully) out West, he'll have to get used to all sorts of new things, especially for trail rides!
Monday, January 7, 2013
Day 273
Sunday
Didn't make it out yesterday because we were taking down the Christmas decorations!
Brie has this weird sticky spot on her flank and she doesn't want anyone to touch it. She nearly kicked my mom and I while we were trying to clean it, so I fed her carrots while my mom cleaned it off and put some medicine on it. I hope it's nothing! It was kind of hot when I touched it, but I hope it's not anything serious.
She was very full of energy when I when to longe her. She was bucking and galloping so fast, I had to reel her in and put her on the long line. After much running around, she finally calmed down. She is getting better at standing for the mounting block! Each day I work with her to stand still for me, she gets better at it, so I am very pleased with that. After all of that running, she was very calm and easy to work with today. She never tried to pull me and was willing to work with me. We worked on slowing down her corto and on not spinning her reverses and things went great!
Then I got on Harry. It is going to take some getting used to him again. I barely rode him for 30 minutes but I was frustrated. I just have to remember to be patient and not expect him to be amazing, especially after his time off. After failed attempts at a corto, I settled for just walking him without him pulling away from me. After that I was done. As long as I remember to be patient, I know we will make amazing progress. I just have to work for it!
Didn't make it out yesterday because we were taking down the Christmas decorations!
Brie has this weird sticky spot on her flank and she doesn't want anyone to touch it. She nearly kicked my mom and I while we were trying to clean it, so I fed her carrots while my mom cleaned it off and put some medicine on it. I hope it's nothing! It was kind of hot when I touched it, but I hope it's not anything serious.
She was very full of energy when I when to longe her. She was bucking and galloping so fast, I had to reel her in and put her on the long line. After much running around, she finally calmed down. She is getting better at standing for the mounting block! Each day I work with her to stand still for me, she gets better at it, so I am very pleased with that. After all of that running, she was very calm and easy to work with today. She never tried to pull me and was willing to work with me. We worked on slowing down her corto and on not spinning her reverses and things went great!
Then I got on Harry. It is going to take some getting used to him again. I barely rode him for 30 minutes but I was frustrated. I just have to remember to be patient and not expect him to be amazing, especially after his time off. After failed attempts at a corto, I settled for just walking him without him pulling away from me. After that I was done. As long as I remember to be patient, I know we will make amazing progress. I just have to work for it!
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