Saturday
Only two more days left!!!
Thursday was Nina's birthday! Happy 7th Birthday, Nina! =] She still is a little baby horse to me <3 p="">
I didn't really work Brie today. We mostly just kind of walked around a bit to stretch out in the indoor and then went outside to go find where my mom and brother went. My mom was working Harry in the round pen and he looked good! If there was a round pen class, he would win it. I don't get how he is perfectly okay going in a circle and pretty much okay going around outside, but when he is in the arena, if he largos, he has a tendency to pace.
After my mom was done, we went for a walk around outside. All was going well until we started to come back. My brother just lets Nina go wherever she wants to outside, even if it's away from us, but Harry always wants to be by Nina so if she starts to go away, he wants to catch up to her. Well Nina started to walk back to the barn and Harry was back with me and Brie, a ways away from Nina. We were walking back to the barn too, but Harry wanted to catch up to Nina. My mom let him go into a largo but he tried to start cantering. First of all, Harry doesn't even have the coordination to do a canter. Really, it's true! He never picks up the right lead! And it takes him a while to pick it up. So as he was trying to pick up his canter, my mom started bouncing in the saddle and started to fall over. She almost righted herself, but not enough, so she rolled out of the saddle and into the grass. Thankfully, she is okay.
When that happened, Harry turned around and looked at her on the ground and backed up a little bit before standing still and putting his head towards the ground. He was looking at her like, "Momma? What are you doing down there??" It was the cutest face! I was scared he was going to bolt, but he just stood there as I got off Brie and went over by him to hold him and help my mom up. She got back on and rode Harry back to the barn by the outdoor arena and worked him in there for a while, but he was pretty shaken up after she fell off so he wasn't really cooperating. We brought them all in and brushed them off before we gave them some giant carrots for Nina's birthday.
Sunday
Happy Mother's Day! I made my mom pancakes today before we went to the barn.
I worked Brie today. She was a little canter-y on the corners, so I was working on slowing that down. She was coming along great! I really want to show her at Michigan.
Mom and Harry worked more in the round pen before we walked around outside for a bit. Brie has gotten this nasty habit now of trying to race to the little hill in the back as soon as we get out the door. She likes to look over everything. But she has to know that she can't do that if I don't want her to do that! No one fell off today, which is great =]
We came in and Jane was having a hard time with Taco. She just got a new jaquima for him and he was acting up and cantering the board and generally not listening to her. My mom adjusted it because it was pretty tight and then raised the bit because that was pretty low. No wonder he was being weird, he was uncomfortable in the face and lax in the mouth! After that he was a little better for Jane, but still was being weird and spinning the reverse back onto the board, so my mom offered to get on.
Taco was super good with my mom! He was gaiting and looked fantastic. Super fabulous. I forgot how pretty he could look. And he sounded like a train! If that was a class, he would've one first place. After my mom got off, Jane got back on and he was better for her, but she needs to work on faking him out before he reverses back onto the board because he anticipates it and spins it, which could lead to Jane falling off if he goes too fast. After her short little trial, she was satisfied with him being nice to her and got off.
Then she offered him to me. I haven't ridden Taco in a long time, not since last year when I was trying to train to bring him to the State Fair because Paco was complaining about it. Paco didn't want anyone else to ride Taco and complained to Jane that I was screwing Taco up, even though he was getting better with me at the time. So I got mad and just stopped. So I was iffy when Jane asked me to ride him, but I did after my mom pressed me on. Taco was like a dream! He wasn't pulling like he used to, he was practically floating. I would love to show him, but I don't know if I want to deal with the sass and remarks from people about what I do when I ride him.
Finally, I don't know whether we're going to go to a Parelli clinic or the Michigan show...if we went to the Michigan show, I could show Brie for the first time in years, and I'd really like to because she's coming along great. I would also miss my friend's graduation...If we went to the Parelli clinic, we would bring Harry, and I think it would be beneficial for him in the long run. I could then potentially go to my friend's graduation. I really don't know what to do. I was so set on showing Brie this year and I'm not sure if I'll have the chance to again this season if I don't go to Michigan. I don't know what to do.
Showing posts with label Birthday. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Birthday. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 14, 2013
Monday, March 18, 2013
Days 286 & 287
Saturday
Yesterday was Brie's birthday!!! She is now 12 years old. It's incredible to think we've had her since she was 3. She truly is the reason for this blog and is the motivation behind all of my efforts to become a better horse trainer and to help others work with their horses. I've learned so much from her and although I've shed some tears over excusals and bad days, I've gained so much more happiness. She is incredibly smart and loving. I only wish that, when I have my own kids, that I will have a horse as special as Brie for them to learn from.
Enough with that before I cry, haha. For her birthday, we brought her a banana and split up the remainder of those Stud Muffins from Harry's birthday last week. It was only my mom and I today, so we didn't ride Nina. Out of the three of them, Nina is probably the only one who will be totally normal with an extra day off. I brushed her off and longed her for a while. My brother never longes her, just hops on and rides, so she was very hoppy and bouncy! I think it made her happy though =]
I rode Brie while my mom rode Harry. She is coming along better, getting way more relaxed walking. I'm finding that having a deeper seat and keeping my hands low is really effective on keeping her steady and her head collected, although it still could use some more work. I might use the draw reins next weekend and see how that goes, but mostly I just do more flexing and circling, but not too much because she gets dizzy easily.
We got ear poms for Harry. Not entirely sure if they worked, because he is pacing again! =[ I rode him and he paced pretty much the whole way, but kept wanting to bolt and go fast, but then we all know that he will pace in a largo too...We really don't know what to do, and it's awful to leave feeling like a failure, especially when you know he's not doing it out of spite. He genuinely wants to do what you ask him, but he just is not gaiting too well. Only in gait over the sound board, and in Pleasure classes they don't have sound boards, so it doesn't even matter. He will never place if he is so visibly pacing.
Sunday
Getting to the end here. Day 287. 13 days left before I officially close this blog. I don't think that will be after show season starts, so I might add a Show Season Summary at the end of the summer. I just can't leave this open-ended! Depending on where I end up for law school, if I end up here I might create a "Notes from a Horse-Trainer (In Training) Part 2", but we'll see.
After some research, we found that Harry is pacing because he has a hollow back. This is fixed by having a slightly lower neck position. Right now his neck is pretty high but his head is tucked and collected so he looks fine, but it's affecting his gait. There might also be some muscle tension, but we can't call out a chiropractor or a massage therapist because they're expensive =/ so we might just put lineament on his back and rub him a little and see what that does.
Brie was fantastic today. Near the end of our work, I felt her really suck herself under and collect, raise her back up and it was phenomenal. I tried to notice what I did differently, if I did anything, but it seemed like I was doing the same as usual! Have to keep noticing the little things until I figure it out.
My brother rode Harry and he was a little upset that he couldn't get him to stop pacing either. My mom used the draw reins and said they worked a bit, but my brother couldn't feel it so he took them off and Harry wasn't much better either.
I rode Nina today instead and she was harder to ride this time than last time! It was hard for me to keep her head set. I guess I should probably add in a ride on her at the end of the days so that I know what I'm doing if I get the chance to show her this season!
After all of the disappointment over Harry, it's hard to be sad when you realize how much he loves us. Some people say it's impossible for a horse to love people, because we're people and they're animals, but you can really tell that he loves us. He was still hot when we were going to put him away, so my mom put a rope around his neck and led him into the arena to walk him around just like that. She dropped the rope and kept walking and he followed her along everywhere! My dad has the video, but didn't send it to me, otherwise I would put it on here. After she got tired, I went in and walked around and he followed me too. I could abruptly turn and change directions and do serpentines, make like I was going one way and then go the other, and no matter what, he followed me! He even stopped when I stopped. And just the look on his face while he was following us was so sweet. Yep, he definitely loves us. That makes up for everything.
Yesterday was Brie's birthday!!! She is now 12 years old. It's incredible to think we've had her since she was 3. She truly is the reason for this blog and is the motivation behind all of my efforts to become a better horse trainer and to help others work with their horses. I've learned so much from her and although I've shed some tears over excusals and bad days, I've gained so much more happiness. She is incredibly smart and loving. I only wish that, when I have my own kids, that I will have a horse as special as Brie for them to learn from.
Enough with that before I cry, haha. For her birthday, we brought her a banana and split up the remainder of those Stud Muffins from Harry's birthday last week. It was only my mom and I today, so we didn't ride Nina. Out of the three of them, Nina is probably the only one who will be totally normal with an extra day off. I brushed her off and longed her for a while. My brother never longes her, just hops on and rides, so she was very hoppy and bouncy! I think it made her happy though =]
I rode Brie while my mom rode Harry. She is coming along better, getting way more relaxed walking. I'm finding that having a deeper seat and keeping my hands low is really effective on keeping her steady and her head collected, although it still could use some more work. I might use the draw reins next weekend and see how that goes, but mostly I just do more flexing and circling, but not too much because she gets dizzy easily.
We got ear poms for Harry. Not entirely sure if they worked, because he is pacing again! =[ I rode him and he paced pretty much the whole way, but kept wanting to bolt and go fast, but then we all know that he will pace in a largo too...We really don't know what to do, and it's awful to leave feeling like a failure, especially when you know he's not doing it out of spite. He genuinely wants to do what you ask him, but he just is not gaiting too well. Only in gait over the sound board, and in Pleasure classes they don't have sound boards, so it doesn't even matter. He will never place if he is so visibly pacing.
Sunday
Getting to the end here. Day 287. 13 days left before I officially close this blog. I don't think that will be after show season starts, so I might add a Show Season Summary at the end of the summer. I just can't leave this open-ended! Depending on where I end up for law school, if I end up here I might create a "Notes from a Horse-Trainer (In Training) Part 2", but we'll see.
After some research, we found that Harry is pacing because he has a hollow back. This is fixed by having a slightly lower neck position. Right now his neck is pretty high but his head is tucked and collected so he looks fine, but it's affecting his gait. There might also be some muscle tension, but we can't call out a chiropractor or a massage therapist because they're expensive =/ so we might just put lineament on his back and rub him a little and see what that does.
Brie was fantastic today. Near the end of our work, I felt her really suck herself under and collect, raise her back up and it was phenomenal. I tried to notice what I did differently, if I did anything, but it seemed like I was doing the same as usual! Have to keep noticing the little things until I figure it out.
My brother rode Harry and he was a little upset that he couldn't get him to stop pacing either. My mom used the draw reins and said they worked a bit, but my brother couldn't feel it so he took them off and Harry wasn't much better either.
I rode Nina today instead and she was harder to ride this time than last time! It was hard for me to keep her head set. I guess I should probably add in a ride on her at the end of the days so that I know what I'm doing if I get the chance to show her this season!
After all of the disappointment over Harry, it's hard to be sad when you realize how much he loves us. Some people say it's impossible for a horse to love people, because we're people and they're animals, but you can really tell that he loves us. He was still hot when we were going to put him away, so my mom put a rope around his neck and led him into the arena to walk him around just like that. She dropped the rope and kept walking and he followed her along everywhere! My dad has the video, but didn't send it to me, otherwise I would put it on here. After she got tired, I went in and walked around and he followed me too. I could abruptly turn and change directions and do serpentines, make like I was going one way and then go the other, and no matter what, he followed me! He even stopped when I stopped. And just the look on his face while he was following us was so sweet. Yep, he definitely loves us. That makes up for everything.
Monday, March 11, 2013
Days 284 & 285
Saturday
Yesterday was Harry's 8th birthday!! Naturally, today we had to celebrate =] We bought him special cookies, not those cheapie treats that they sell in the feed stores. They're called Stud Muffins!
He definitely enjoyed them. They seemed kind of sticky like peanut butter is when dogs eat it, because he kept sticking his tongue out.
Today was also farrier day. Nina had to be tranquilized, so we couldn't ride her, but my mom and I rode Brie and Harry for a short time after they were trimmed. I rode Brie, and she was super full of energy today! Her head is coming down better and I need to look for supplements that will help her gain muscle in her back end, because her butt is not as round and muscular as Harry's and Nina's. Her's is kind of not hollow but not filled in either. I think that increased muscle will also help with her arthritis.
Sunday
Today I got to ride Harry AND Nina!! What a treat! I rode Brie first. I'm really working on sitting back and deep in the saddle and not letting my hands get to high or lean too far forward. I think it helps with her balance. I feel weird, I constantly keep changing my seat with Brie. I feel like this current trend is going more back to her roots whereas I was sitting more forward during my jumping lessons and then a little further back after those ended. Now I'm finally really sitting back and deep again and I think it's helping with her headset a little bit.
Harry, we've decided, is going to go into Pleasure class. Rather than trying to work him up to be all excited for Performance class and risk him losing his gait, we'll settle for the pokey relaxed gait he seems to like right now and put him in Pleasure and see how he does. If he wins, it'll be a good choice! He is a lot more calm when I'm not trying to get him to move quicker but stay in gait. He didn't break much at all so that was fantastic. He is also walking very nicely finally. All we have to work on now is getting him to largo!
Nina was a blast. She is so funny, she will get into races with Brie if they're going side by side. She has a pretty fast largo! Not as fast as Brie though, but she will do wonderfully in Pleasure and Performance.
For the shows this year, we're seriously talking about bringing Brie! Our first show is the Midwest Classic in May down in St. Louis and we're thinking of bringing Harry and Nina to that one, since it's more competitive. Then the second show is in Michigan in June and we're thinking of bringing Brie and Nina to that one because it's more relaxed and while it's still competitive, not a lot of the big barns go to it so it's more smaller barns and families for a calmer atmosphere that I think Brie will like. She was in Michigan before though...tried to run back to the barn while I was still on her. But that was years ago. We have a little system in place. I think that as long as I longe her on the line for a bit and keep myself calm and just go in with the goal of making it through the class and staying as relaxed as possible, we will do well.
Yesterday was Harry's 8th birthday!! Naturally, today we had to celebrate =] We bought him special cookies, not those cheapie treats that they sell in the feed stores. They're called Stud Muffins!
He definitely enjoyed them. They seemed kind of sticky like peanut butter is when dogs eat it, because he kept sticking his tongue out.
Today was also farrier day. Nina had to be tranquilized, so we couldn't ride her, but my mom and I rode Brie and Harry for a short time after they were trimmed. I rode Brie, and she was super full of energy today! Her head is coming down better and I need to look for supplements that will help her gain muscle in her back end, because her butt is not as round and muscular as Harry's and Nina's. Her's is kind of not hollow but not filled in either. I think that increased muscle will also help with her arthritis.
Sunday
Today I got to ride Harry AND Nina!! What a treat! I rode Brie first. I'm really working on sitting back and deep in the saddle and not letting my hands get to high or lean too far forward. I think it helps with her balance. I feel weird, I constantly keep changing my seat with Brie. I feel like this current trend is going more back to her roots whereas I was sitting more forward during my jumping lessons and then a little further back after those ended. Now I'm finally really sitting back and deep again and I think it's helping with her headset a little bit.
Harry, we've decided, is going to go into Pleasure class. Rather than trying to work him up to be all excited for Performance class and risk him losing his gait, we'll settle for the pokey relaxed gait he seems to like right now and put him in Pleasure and see how he does. If he wins, it'll be a good choice! He is a lot more calm when I'm not trying to get him to move quicker but stay in gait. He didn't break much at all so that was fantastic. He is also walking very nicely finally. All we have to work on now is getting him to largo!
Nina was a blast. She is so funny, she will get into races with Brie if they're going side by side. She has a pretty fast largo! Not as fast as Brie though, but she will do wonderfully in Pleasure and Performance.
For the shows this year, we're seriously talking about bringing Brie! Our first show is the Midwest Classic in May down in St. Louis and we're thinking of bringing Harry and Nina to that one, since it's more competitive. Then the second show is in Michigan in June and we're thinking of bringing Brie and Nina to that one because it's more relaxed and while it's still competitive, not a lot of the big barns go to it so it's more smaller barns and families for a calmer atmosphere that I think Brie will like. She was in Michigan before though...tried to run back to the barn while I was still on her. But that was years ago. We have a little system in place. I think that as long as I longe her on the line for a bit and keep myself calm and just go in with the goal of making it through the class and staying as relaxed as possible, we will do well.
Monday, March 14, 2011
Day 132
Sunday
I had my camera today but it was super low on battery and only let me take a few pictures =[
We let them out to play again. We're waiting for the big paddock to dry out that way they can really run around!
And what angers me the most about low camera battery is that I thought I got this great video of my brother freaking out and jumping off of Nina, but it just got the end and beginning shots.
After he got on, we were like "Okay! Make her walk!" so off she went, but then Harry saw her walking away and got crazy and started bucking, so Nina got excited and bolted around the paddock. My brother got freaked and jumped off and onto the fence border next to Brie's paddock. It was hilarious (and pretty dangerous) and I wish I had gotten it on camera! All I got was this.
While we were outside, we also went by the trailer. Everyone went in and out except for Harry, of course. But we played the YoYo game until he got super close to the ramp (after about a half hour) and decided to call it quits.
I also have a picture of the baby for you. He's getting so big!
He loves to come up to the bars and rub his head on your hand. So cute!!
Now here's my mystery. I wrote about this last week, but got pictures of it. These are the weird things on his back legs.
This is his left foot. Those spots are kind of raw and get kind of icky like these next pictures.
This is his right foot. That little gunky on the bigger spot comes off when you rub it, and he gets kind of bothered when you do that. We don't really know what they are. We think they might be scars from when he fell through the hay trailer. The little gunks kind of look like plantar warts, but I don't know, can horses get warts??
Onto training, I rode Harry today. Colin was there for a while, and I was so embarrassed that by the time he was leaving I still hadn't gotten Harry to stand still next to the mounting block. Even though he's tiny enough that I don't need one, it's still a good habit to have, and it took forever for him to do it! He started off in a circle very relaxed and gaiting nicely, it's just that when I tried to go on the wall he kept pulling me towards the sound board and rushing forward. It wasn't the greatest ride, so I decided that we'll stay away from the sound board for a while. Manners are more important than having a great board, at least they are for me! And I believe that once the wall-calmness comes, so will the relaxed gait, so we won't need to keep practicing over the sound board. It really bothers me when people make a big deal over the board instead of actually riding anyways.
After we rode, we hosed them all down and had some of Brie's birthday cake! I can't believe she turns 10 on Tuesday! 7 years has gone by so fast. We like to describe her as "growing up to be one of those old ladies on their porch with a shotgun."
So we sang her Happy Birthday and tried to feed her a little bit of frosting, which of course she ate. Harry and Nina both spit it out and made faces once they tasted it. It must've reminded them of wormer!
My mom's car is acting kind of funny, but hopefully she fixes it soon that way I can drive it out sometime during these next two weeks while I'm home! It's supposed to be 60 during this week and I would love nothing more than driving out and giving them all a good scrubbing one afternoon.
I had my camera today but it was super low on battery and only let me take a few pictures =[
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| Harry running in the paddock |
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| Brie in mid-buck |
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| Winner of cutest picture! Don't they look like they're kissing? |
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| We dared him to get on Nina bareback in the paddock. |
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| Great picture, right? |
I also have a picture of the baby for you. He's getting so big!
Now here's my mystery. I wrote about this last week, but got pictures of it. These are the weird things on his back legs.
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Onto training, I rode Harry today. Colin was there for a while, and I was so embarrassed that by the time he was leaving I still hadn't gotten Harry to stand still next to the mounting block. Even though he's tiny enough that I don't need one, it's still a good habit to have, and it took forever for him to do it! He started off in a circle very relaxed and gaiting nicely, it's just that when I tried to go on the wall he kept pulling me towards the sound board and rushing forward. It wasn't the greatest ride, so I decided that we'll stay away from the sound board for a while. Manners are more important than having a great board, at least they are for me! And I believe that once the wall-calmness comes, so will the relaxed gait, so we won't need to keep practicing over the sound board. It really bothers me when people make a big deal over the board instead of actually riding anyways.
After we rode, we hosed them all down and had some of Brie's birthday cake! I can't believe she turns 10 on Tuesday! 7 years has gone by so fast. We like to describe her as "growing up to be one of those old ladies on their porch with a shotgun."
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| Post bath with her carrot cake! |
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Day 130
We celebrated Harry's birthday today, since it's actually on Tuesday. Next Tuesday is Brie's birthday too! I go on break next week, maybe I'll be able to go out some during the two weeks I'm off.
So for Harry's birthday he got somewhat of a break. Firstly, I wish I had my camera today. He has some scabby things goin on around his back ankles. We put some salve on them and are gonna watch to see if they spread. I really have no idea what they are and hopefully it's not a problem =\
He lunged really nicely today. Harry is a good horse to teach patience. I can't even count how many times I had to stop myself and just take a deep breath because I started anticipating some of his bad habits, so of course he started getting jumpy until I calmed myself.
After much convincing, I got him to go over the scary white poles on the leadline and he does the cutest little pops over it when I'm on his back. We have to fix that, but it's a start! He's so clumsy too, he almost always knocks the poles with his feet when he goes over.
Today I implemented all of Colin's advice, and I'm sure if I had about an hour more to ride it would've worked really nicely--I only got about a half hour once we stopped speculating about his ankles and the ground polework. I had very light contact and I actually felt him go from very up in the back all over the place with his gait to settling down and relaxing into his gait. It was pretty amazing, I'd never felt that before! Keeping this up will hopefully work. We shall see.
Jane was there today too! I now have an excuse to mess around with even more horses. She asked me to lunge Taco when I come out if I can, that way he doesn't go for huge periods without really using his brain, since she and Annie have been busy lately. She asked me to ride him way back when, but as I got more involved with Harry, I didn't have any time. Hopefully this quarter at school is slow and I can stay longer on weekends to work.
So for Harry's birthday he got somewhat of a break. Firstly, I wish I had my camera today. He has some scabby things goin on around his back ankles. We put some salve on them and are gonna watch to see if they spread. I really have no idea what they are and hopefully it's not a problem =\
He lunged really nicely today. Harry is a good horse to teach patience. I can't even count how many times I had to stop myself and just take a deep breath because I started anticipating some of his bad habits, so of course he started getting jumpy until I calmed myself.
After much convincing, I got him to go over the scary white poles on the leadline and he does the cutest little pops over it when I'm on his back. We have to fix that, but it's a start! He's so clumsy too, he almost always knocks the poles with his feet when he goes over.
Today I implemented all of Colin's advice, and I'm sure if I had about an hour more to ride it would've worked really nicely--I only got about a half hour once we stopped speculating about his ankles and the ground polework. I had very light contact and I actually felt him go from very up in the back all over the place with his gait to settling down and relaxing into his gait. It was pretty amazing, I'd never felt that before! Keeping this up will hopefully work. We shall see.
Jane was there today too! I now have an excuse to mess around with even more horses. She asked me to lunge Taco when I come out if I can, that way he doesn't go for huge periods without really using his brain, since she and Annie have been busy lately. She asked me to ride him way back when, but as I got more involved with Harry, I didn't have any time. Hopefully this quarter at school is slow and I can stay longer on weekends to work.
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