Saturday
We switched Harry's bit today back to Nina's expensive bit. I went back and read posts from this time last year, when he was doing really well, to try to solve his pacing problem and that was one of the changes we had made and he was gaiting really well. So we did that today and he didn't pace at all in a corto! He had a hard time doing a largo, though. He's not a very fast largo horse, so all we can really do is make sure his corto is super slow, that way there is a difference in speed when they ask for a largo.
My mom and I both rode Harry, plus my mom rode him outside for a bit, so he was super tired when we were finished. I hosed him off and of course the first thing he did was roll around in his stall after that!
I also rode Brie, which was nice to do after not having ridden her for a couple of weeks. She gave me a bit of a hard time trying to mount, and I started getting angry and it wasn't working even more...so I really made myself relax, I pet her for a bit, which calmed both of us down, and after that she let me get on quickly. Just goes to show that anger will not get you anywhere!
Brie is doing really well and I can't wait to show her! I hope she doesn't have any show anxiety, because then we'll definitely win 1st places!
Update: Sunday
We didn't go out today...my mom had a headache and I was too nervous to drive out by myself...
My mom's also decided that we're not going to St. Louis for the show next week...Harry isn't prepared enough. Even though I would love to bring Brie instead of Harry, since I feel confident in her, we're just not going at all...
Now to wait until Michigan.
Showing posts with label bit changes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label bit changes. Show all posts
Sunday, April 28, 2013
Monday, September 17, 2012
Days 249 & 250
Saturday
I was all excited to try riding Brie without a bit this morning and then we only realized as we were 10 minutes away (and 50 minutes away from home) that we forgot our saddlepads and girths at home...so we couldn't ride. We let them all out to play, stayed a while, brushed them off, and then headed home, disappointed.
Sunday
We remembered everything today! And I decided that, since John had asked about a picture on Taco previously, I would bring my show clothes today so that we could have a little Taco photo shoot. Here are a couple of my favorites.
After our photo shoot, I got on Harry. I was kind of disappointed today with him, not because he was bad, but because I couldn't get him to focus on me. The construction workers were burning garbage outside the barn from the new round pen, so he was jittery because of the smell of smoke. Then he started that awkward sidepassing away from one of the walls again that he hasn't done in a while. And then I just felt like he wasn't responding well to the bit. We switched back to his second bit, where he had been riding with his first bit for a while. I think I might change back to that, because he was not even stopping when I asked him to, which is definitely not good. I was having to use a heavy hand, and I hate doing that, and I know he doesn't appreciate it, so the other bit would be better for him.
Meanwhile, my mom rode Brie without a bit and Brie was being absolutely crazy. She was sticking her nose out like a racehorse and nothing made her set her head back! So I think that adventure is done. She clearly needs a bit.
We got those Easy Boots for her in the mail this past week, so we put them on her to hope that it would absorb some of the impact from kicking the wall, since she's started that up again. Paco says that she kicks a lot in the middle of the afternoon, between meals. My suggestion was to cut up her daily rations into three and give her a lunch, but that's apparently unheard of, so that's not going to happen. Instead, we moved her to the end stall where she has a big view of outside towards the woods. She had a window in her old stall, but it's tiny and now she can fully stick her head out and see a lot of the outdoors. But now she can't see Nina or Harry because we had to scoot them down one stall each so Harry wouldn't be harassed by the other mares, so I hope that's not stressing her out too much.
I was all excited to try riding Brie without a bit this morning and then we only realized as we were 10 minutes away (and 50 minutes away from home) that we forgot our saddlepads and girths at home...so we couldn't ride. We let them all out to play, stayed a while, brushed them off, and then headed home, disappointed.
Sunday
We remembered everything today! And I decided that, since John had asked about a picture on Taco previously, I would bring my show clothes today so that we could have a little Taco photo shoot. Here are a couple of my favorites.
After our photo shoot, I got on Harry. I was kind of disappointed today with him, not because he was bad, but because I couldn't get him to focus on me. The construction workers were burning garbage outside the barn from the new round pen, so he was jittery because of the smell of smoke. Then he started that awkward sidepassing away from one of the walls again that he hasn't done in a while. And then I just felt like he wasn't responding well to the bit. We switched back to his second bit, where he had been riding with his first bit for a while. I think I might change back to that, because he was not even stopping when I asked him to, which is definitely not good. I was having to use a heavy hand, and I hate doing that, and I know he doesn't appreciate it, so the other bit would be better for him.
Meanwhile, my mom rode Brie without a bit and Brie was being absolutely crazy. She was sticking her nose out like a racehorse and nothing made her set her head back! So I think that adventure is done. She clearly needs a bit.
We got those Easy Boots for her in the mail this past week, so we put them on her to hope that it would absorb some of the impact from kicking the wall, since she's started that up again. Paco says that she kicks a lot in the middle of the afternoon, between meals. My suggestion was to cut up her daily rations into three and give her a lunch, but that's apparently unheard of, so that's not going to happen. Instead, we moved her to the end stall where she has a big view of outside towards the woods. She had a window in her old stall, but it's tiny and now she can fully stick her head out and see a lot of the outdoors. But now she can't see Nina or Harry because we had to scoot them down one stall each so Harry wouldn't be harassed by the other mares, so I hope that's not stressing her out too much.
Saturday, August 11, 2012
Day 243
I rode Brie first today, since my mom wanted to try Harry again because of everything that happened with him yesterday. She changed his bit back to the one that he was wearing about a year ago to see if that would make a difference, since he really seems like he's not respecting the bit anymore. I didn't pay much attention to Harry at first, but apparently he was pretty antsy.
Meanwhile, I was trying to walk Brie around outside. I don't understand her. We've gone outside a million times, but every time is like the first time we're going out. I wasn't planning on staying out as long as I did, but I didn't want her to charge the barn. So I would make her stop every time she started to get crazy. Unfortunately, the flowers weren't saved....we were walking by the pond in back and she stepped into the flowers by accident. I tried to get her out of there with both my legs and the reins, but she wasn't having it and ended up side-stepping all the way across the flower bed.
I feel very defeated with Brie. I know she's come a long way in manners in the arena, for the most part, but she still is crazy outside and I'm pretty sure she has the same attitude about shows, but that I can't be certain of. Should I just give up? I don't know what else I could do to try and make her not as excited outside. I've tried everything I can think of and nothing works.
After I managed to get back to the barn without killing myself, I got on Harry for a bit. He's a whole other problem. I don't understand where he went wrong either. Ever since May or April, he has not been the same. He hasn't been as good and I don't know what we're doing wrong, because we're doing the same things. At one point long ago, he got over his aversion to one wall in the arena. Now, suddenly he remembered that he's scared of it and will not for the love of God walk straight on it. When I first got him, he had such a hard time flexing, and we got over that. Now, he won't flex at all easily without giving a fight or trying to rear. Part of me thinks that there's some anatomical problem going on, but I don't know how to find out what it is. Everyone else thinks it's just his attitude, but why would he change so quickly back to being horrible? No one's done anything to him.
In part to end on a good note, I got off of him and walked him outside by hand. We walked around the pond because I know he's scared of it, and he got pretty close to the water's edge by the end of our walk. Then I lengthened his line and ran over the little ditch and he followed me over and although he was hesitant, he jumped right over it. If he couldn't settle his brain inside, I hope that readjusted it outside.
Lastly, I rode Taco outside for Jane. He enjoyed it and after I got back to the barn, Jane got to talking about letting him canter, since he won't be showing for another year, if he even shows next year. Everyone says not to canter Paso Finos, because apparently it messes up their gait, but Taco has a really smooth, slow canter that Jane likes. We wanted to see if it was a 4-beat canter, since there are classes in Colombia called Trote y Galope where the horse trots and canters and they're judged on that instead of the corto, largo, or fino. I took him across the board at a canter and it was in between a 3-beat and a 4-beat, depending on how his back feet landed each stride. Jane's settled on not listening to the people who bring her down and just having fun with Taco. He's had a lifetime of showing and pressure, so now he gets to relax and have fun.
Meanwhile, I was trying to walk Brie around outside. I don't understand her. We've gone outside a million times, but every time is like the first time we're going out. I wasn't planning on staying out as long as I did, but I didn't want her to charge the barn. So I would make her stop every time she started to get crazy. Unfortunately, the flowers weren't saved....we were walking by the pond in back and she stepped into the flowers by accident. I tried to get her out of there with both my legs and the reins, but she wasn't having it and ended up side-stepping all the way across the flower bed.
I feel very defeated with Brie. I know she's come a long way in manners in the arena, for the most part, but she still is crazy outside and I'm pretty sure she has the same attitude about shows, but that I can't be certain of. Should I just give up? I don't know what else I could do to try and make her not as excited outside. I've tried everything I can think of and nothing works.
After I managed to get back to the barn without killing myself, I got on Harry for a bit. He's a whole other problem. I don't understand where he went wrong either. Ever since May or April, he has not been the same. He hasn't been as good and I don't know what we're doing wrong, because we're doing the same things. At one point long ago, he got over his aversion to one wall in the arena. Now, suddenly he remembered that he's scared of it and will not for the love of God walk straight on it. When I first got him, he had such a hard time flexing, and we got over that. Now, he won't flex at all easily without giving a fight or trying to rear. Part of me thinks that there's some anatomical problem going on, but I don't know how to find out what it is. Everyone else thinks it's just his attitude, but why would he change so quickly back to being horrible? No one's done anything to him.
In part to end on a good note, I got off of him and walked him outside by hand. We walked around the pond because I know he's scared of it, and he got pretty close to the water's edge by the end of our walk. Then I lengthened his line and ran over the little ditch and he followed me over and although he was hesitant, he jumped right over it. If he couldn't settle his brain inside, I hope that readjusted it outside.
Lastly, I rode Taco outside for Jane. He enjoyed it and after I got back to the barn, Jane got to talking about letting him canter, since he won't be showing for another year, if he even shows next year. Everyone says not to canter Paso Finos, because apparently it messes up their gait, but Taco has a really smooth, slow canter that Jane likes. We wanted to see if it was a 4-beat canter, since there are classes in Colombia called Trote y Galope where the horse trots and canters and they're judged on that instead of the corto, largo, or fino. I took him across the board at a canter and it was in between a 3-beat and a 4-beat, depending on how his back feet landed each stride. Jane's settled on not listening to the people who bring her down and just having fun with Taco. He's had a lifetime of showing and pressure, so now he gets to relax and have fun.
Monday, June 25, 2012
Days 230 & 231
Saturday
I started off with Brie again and was determined to have as nice of a ride this week as I did last week. It was nice enough out, so I went into the outdoor arena. They did some renovations to the outdoor last weekend. In the outdoor, we only had a sound board going along the length of one of the walls before. Now, we have a pole in the middle of the board, along with a pad of cement shaped in a circle with a diameter of about 20 feet. This is supposed to be used to longe horses. Don't even get me started on it. There are also two poles off to the side for figure 8s and three long wooden mini-fences in another spot. These mini-fences are supposed to be used for serpentines. I saw them as a double-use for cavaletti. So I started Brie off in the outdoor and after I had her longe, I wanted to see if she would go over the cavaletti. She was a little hesitant, but she made it over them. She was walking over with the front feet and then hopping over with both of her back feet. I wanted her to just walk over with her back feet, so I had her continue.
Now maybe this was stupid on my part, but these makeshift cavaletti have a trough in them, like for a flower planter. I didn't think that it would pose any problem. But anything that can go wrong, will go wrong, and as Brie was finally going to walk over the fence with her back legs, one of them tripped in the trough. It's not a very wide trough, but still. Her eyes widened and she knew that she had gotten a little stuck, but thankfully, as I was going over to pick her foot up and out, she lifted it up calmly and stepped over. Then she snorted and wanted to back up over it and got a little stuck with her front hooves as she tried to stand on it going backwards, but she backed off just fine. After much snorting, I didn't want her to think that it was scary (even though I'm not going to send her over those again until they're filled or fixed), so I had her go over them one last time and she was okay.
Once that was done, I got on to ride and start out with some wide figure 8s, but she was feeling very stiff, so I decided to let that go and let her loosen up on the rail before I asked her to bend. Usually she likes to charge the outdoor arena, but she was content with a corto before she slowed down to a walk. I only had to check her at the corners to make sure she didn't start into a canter.
I went in because she was getting pretty hot and find my mom having trouble with Harry. After a couple of laps walking around the arena (a miracle!) on Brie, my mom asks if I would see why he's not cooperating. So I get on, do all my pre-ride checks with him like flexing and wide circles, and go out on the wall asking for a walk (since he was fighting my mom about it). She and I noticed immediately the problem -- he was limping. He was favoring his front right leg and even though I got off and stretched him and checked his hooves for any rocks, he continued to limp, so after a walk around, I got off and bathed him and put on some liniment. Hopefully he will be better tomorrow! Poor Harry.
Sunday
Starting off with Brie again in the indoor today. She is doing super well. She's responding so nicely to my legs and my seat and I have to wonder if it's a change in her or a change in me that has caused this nice behavior! I know that I certainly have changed in my riding style since the beginning of this journey and gone from wanting to make the horse do what I want no matter what to really trying to build partnerships and find a middle ground when I can't convince the horse that I'm right for a reason. Because of how great she's been the past couple of weeks, I'm seriously thinking of bringing her to the State Fair this year if we can find a space for her in a trailer. I feel like now that I've changed my attitude about riding, I know more how to approach a competition situation in order to ensure that Brie stays calm. Thinking back on how I warmed her up in the past, I know that everything I did (forcing her to walk, letting her gallop to "get it out of her system", making her longe for an hour, attempting to give her Calmex that didn't end up working...) was insanely wrong and I would like to try again and make the experience a great one for both of us, even if we don't win any ribbons. My goal is to make her comfortable in the show environment and even if we end up scratching the class because she isn't calming down, I would rather do it at State Fair because the classes are cheap enough to scratch!
Harry was doing much better today. No signs of limping! He was acting a bit wonky because he didn't want to ride on the rail. I think that his gait was great today and his demeanor was nice too while I was riding. It's hard to judge how he's doing sometimes when I ride him after my mom because by the second rider, he's usually tired or annoyed. Even so, it's good that he's getting two riders again because it's almost the same as going through multiple classes at show, which he definitely needs to do.
I've also gotten another horse ward. Jane is feeling pretty discouraged about Taco's abilities and he's been a downright brat the past month for her. He does this thing where he sticks his head really far down or flexes it back behind the stirrup and runs to the middle of the arena and stops. So I asked Jane if I could show him at the State Fair. She said yes and that I could ride him whenever I wanted. Today was the first day of preparation. Jane was having a horrible time because Taco was doing his usual tricks. I try to longe him before I ride to see how he's acting and he is absolutely terrible. He's just about as bad as Harry was when we first got him! He has no respect for the human he's working with. I was going to use the carrot stick to help longe him, but I didn't know if he'd be scared of it, so I decided against it. Since trying to longe him was a joke, I did a quick round of the Porcupine Game to try and establish my authority and he was okay with that.
Then I got on him. I wasn't on for two seconds and he pulls me into the middle. My leg is useless against him, he's so strong. I try to get around the arena a couple of times to no avail, so I decide to go out into the round pen. In the round pen, he's just as bad, but has less space to act up in. My mom brings me over a second rein for the barbada and almost immediately he stops trying to pull his head in and spin into the middle of the pen. It takes a long time before he starts listening to me, but when he finally settles down, he walks really nicely. He has a hard time staying in gait because he likes to go into a canter and canters in place. That would be nice for a Trote y Galope class in Puerto Rico or Colombia, but not in the Paso Fino shows in the United States. I have to break him of this habit. I have to check him a lot in order to keep him in gait and it takes a lot of stopping and starting over when he breaks into a canter, but the last couple of laps around the pen are beautiful. He's listening and not breaking and not trying to pull me anymore. I determine because of the stunts he pulled during his ride, he doesn't respect the bit, so I would like to try and change his bit. I'm thinking of the straight bar that Nina had a couple of years ago that made her head set too high up. I think that this might be a good solution to his tendency to always be pulling his head down in an effort to get away from the bit.
Taco is a highly trained horse, once a National champion, so I definitely think he has seen it all. This is also why I think that getting a bigger bit is the wrong answer to his problems because he is very soft in the mouth. I also think that a harsher noseband is the wrong answer because his nose has been so scarred by different bosals that he won't even care that it's there. I think that possible a braided rawhide barbada might be a good answer, but we can only use the bit rein in shows, so we need to start with the bit. I'm not entirely sure if I'll make it to State Fair with him. It depends on how well he responds to the bar bit and how calm I can get him. It would be nice to go to the show and prove that this old coot can make a comeback, but I would rather have him safe and happy for Jane to ride for her own enjoyment.
I started off with Brie again and was determined to have as nice of a ride this week as I did last week. It was nice enough out, so I went into the outdoor arena. They did some renovations to the outdoor last weekend. In the outdoor, we only had a sound board going along the length of one of the walls before. Now, we have a pole in the middle of the board, along with a pad of cement shaped in a circle with a diameter of about 20 feet. This is supposed to be used to longe horses. Don't even get me started on it. There are also two poles off to the side for figure 8s and three long wooden mini-fences in another spot. These mini-fences are supposed to be used for serpentines. I saw them as a double-use for cavaletti. So I started Brie off in the outdoor and after I had her longe, I wanted to see if she would go over the cavaletti. She was a little hesitant, but she made it over them. She was walking over with the front feet and then hopping over with both of her back feet. I wanted her to just walk over with her back feet, so I had her continue.
Now maybe this was stupid on my part, but these makeshift cavaletti have a trough in them, like for a flower planter. I didn't think that it would pose any problem. But anything that can go wrong, will go wrong, and as Brie was finally going to walk over the fence with her back legs, one of them tripped in the trough. It's not a very wide trough, but still. Her eyes widened and she knew that she had gotten a little stuck, but thankfully, as I was going over to pick her foot up and out, she lifted it up calmly and stepped over. Then she snorted and wanted to back up over it and got a little stuck with her front hooves as she tried to stand on it going backwards, but she backed off just fine. After much snorting, I didn't want her to think that it was scary (even though I'm not going to send her over those again until they're filled or fixed), so I had her go over them one last time and she was okay.
Once that was done, I got on to ride and start out with some wide figure 8s, but she was feeling very stiff, so I decided to let that go and let her loosen up on the rail before I asked her to bend. Usually she likes to charge the outdoor arena, but she was content with a corto before she slowed down to a walk. I only had to check her at the corners to make sure she didn't start into a canter.
I went in because she was getting pretty hot and find my mom having trouble with Harry. After a couple of laps walking around the arena (a miracle!) on Brie, my mom asks if I would see why he's not cooperating. So I get on, do all my pre-ride checks with him like flexing and wide circles, and go out on the wall asking for a walk (since he was fighting my mom about it). She and I noticed immediately the problem -- he was limping. He was favoring his front right leg and even though I got off and stretched him and checked his hooves for any rocks, he continued to limp, so after a walk around, I got off and bathed him and put on some liniment. Hopefully he will be better tomorrow! Poor Harry.
Sunday
Starting off with Brie again in the indoor today. She is doing super well. She's responding so nicely to my legs and my seat and I have to wonder if it's a change in her or a change in me that has caused this nice behavior! I know that I certainly have changed in my riding style since the beginning of this journey and gone from wanting to make the horse do what I want no matter what to really trying to build partnerships and find a middle ground when I can't convince the horse that I'm right for a reason. Because of how great she's been the past couple of weeks, I'm seriously thinking of bringing her to the State Fair this year if we can find a space for her in a trailer. I feel like now that I've changed my attitude about riding, I know more how to approach a competition situation in order to ensure that Brie stays calm. Thinking back on how I warmed her up in the past, I know that everything I did (forcing her to walk, letting her gallop to "get it out of her system", making her longe for an hour, attempting to give her Calmex that didn't end up working...) was insanely wrong and I would like to try again and make the experience a great one for both of us, even if we don't win any ribbons. My goal is to make her comfortable in the show environment and even if we end up scratching the class because she isn't calming down, I would rather do it at State Fair because the classes are cheap enough to scratch!
Harry was doing much better today. No signs of limping! He was acting a bit wonky because he didn't want to ride on the rail. I think that his gait was great today and his demeanor was nice too while I was riding. It's hard to judge how he's doing sometimes when I ride him after my mom because by the second rider, he's usually tired or annoyed. Even so, it's good that he's getting two riders again because it's almost the same as going through multiple classes at show, which he definitely needs to do.
I've also gotten another horse ward. Jane is feeling pretty discouraged about Taco's abilities and he's been a downright brat the past month for her. He does this thing where he sticks his head really far down or flexes it back behind the stirrup and runs to the middle of the arena and stops. So I asked Jane if I could show him at the State Fair. She said yes and that I could ride him whenever I wanted. Today was the first day of preparation. Jane was having a horrible time because Taco was doing his usual tricks. I try to longe him before I ride to see how he's acting and he is absolutely terrible. He's just about as bad as Harry was when we first got him! He has no respect for the human he's working with. I was going to use the carrot stick to help longe him, but I didn't know if he'd be scared of it, so I decided against it. Since trying to longe him was a joke, I did a quick round of the Porcupine Game to try and establish my authority and he was okay with that.
Then I got on him. I wasn't on for two seconds and he pulls me into the middle. My leg is useless against him, he's so strong. I try to get around the arena a couple of times to no avail, so I decide to go out into the round pen. In the round pen, he's just as bad, but has less space to act up in. My mom brings me over a second rein for the barbada and almost immediately he stops trying to pull his head in and spin into the middle of the pen. It takes a long time before he starts listening to me, but when he finally settles down, he walks really nicely. He has a hard time staying in gait because he likes to go into a canter and canters in place. That would be nice for a Trote y Galope class in Puerto Rico or Colombia, but not in the Paso Fino shows in the United States. I have to break him of this habit. I have to check him a lot in order to keep him in gait and it takes a lot of stopping and starting over when he breaks into a canter, but the last couple of laps around the pen are beautiful. He's listening and not breaking and not trying to pull me anymore. I determine because of the stunts he pulled during his ride, he doesn't respect the bit, so I would like to try and change his bit. I'm thinking of the straight bar that Nina had a couple of years ago that made her head set too high up. I think that this might be a good solution to his tendency to always be pulling his head down in an effort to get away from the bit.
Taco is a highly trained horse, once a National champion, so I definitely think he has seen it all. This is also why I think that getting a bigger bit is the wrong answer to his problems because he is very soft in the mouth. I also think that a harsher noseband is the wrong answer because his nose has been so scarred by different bosals that he won't even care that it's there. I think that possible a braided rawhide barbada might be a good answer, but we can only use the bit rein in shows, so we need to start with the bit. I'm not entirely sure if I'll make it to State Fair with him. It depends on how well he responds to the bar bit and how calm I can get him. It would be nice to go to the show and prove that this old coot can make a comeback, but I would rather have him safe and happy for Jane to ride for her own enjoyment.
Sunday, April 22, 2012
Day 216
Yesterday we went to the Midwest Horse Fair and it rekindled my interest in Parelli. So we bought two more halters and leadlines and their Hit the Trail DVD (especially interested after last weekend's fiasco with Brie) and set out today to play some of the games we knew.
We went in the outdoor arena because the indoor was pretty occupied. Brie is a pro at the 3/7 games I've taught her so far. I found out today that we never taught Nina the YoYo Game, so my brother spent the time teaching her that. Harry, while he knows the YoYo Game, sucks at the most basic of all -- the Friendly Game! He's just so scared and thinks that when I swing the rope over by him that I want him to longe so he takes off. We really need to work on that before moving on with anything else. It's really opened up my eyes to how much he doesn't know and just to the extent of how scared he is of everything. I didn't think he would be that scared of the end of his lead rope. Although he did think that the carrot stick was amusing, he kept trying to bite it when I would rub it on him or swish that rope around a little bit.
After everyone played the YoYo Game and we finished freezing in the wind outside, we tacked up to ride. My mom wanted to see how Brie would react to her baby Myler bit, but put it under her tongue and I didn't notice for about 15 minutes into my warm up. So I had to fix it. After I fixed it, she was just not listening at all, so I switched back to her bit that she's been using for a while. She never really wanted to calm down and give me a walk, so I had to keep circling her. Then she didn't want to back up straight, so we did that. My mom decided to switch after Harry bucked, but Brie still wasn't behaving.
Brie apparently got a little better while my mom was on her and Harry calmed down while I was on him. He really is doing nicely. We largo'd today and it was fantastic. Just to feel him go with such a difference in speed, the difference we've been working at, without breaking gait was a great feeling. I can't wait to show him next month! So starting next week we begin preparing for the Midwest Classic. I think that next weekend is our last full weekend of practice before the show, because the week after that the farrier comes out one day and the week after that the vet comes out and by then it's the show the following weekend! I can't wait. I hope we do well.
Also, when we bought the DVD and halters, we signed up for ParelliConnect! I'm using it under my mom's name and will definitely be exploring it duringboring parts of class my free time =]
We went in the outdoor arena because the indoor was pretty occupied. Brie is a pro at the 3/7 games I've taught her so far. I found out today that we never taught Nina the YoYo Game, so my brother spent the time teaching her that. Harry, while he knows the YoYo Game, sucks at the most basic of all -- the Friendly Game! He's just so scared and thinks that when I swing the rope over by him that I want him to longe so he takes off. We really need to work on that before moving on with anything else. It's really opened up my eyes to how much he doesn't know and just to the extent of how scared he is of everything. I didn't think he would be that scared of the end of his lead rope. Although he did think that the carrot stick was amusing, he kept trying to bite it when I would rub it on him or swish that rope around a little bit.
After everyone played the YoYo Game and we finished freezing in the wind outside, we tacked up to ride. My mom wanted to see how Brie would react to her baby Myler bit, but put it under her tongue and I didn't notice for about 15 minutes into my warm up. So I had to fix it. After I fixed it, she was just not listening at all, so I switched back to her bit that she's been using for a while. She never really wanted to calm down and give me a walk, so I had to keep circling her. Then she didn't want to back up straight, so we did that. My mom decided to switch after Harry bucked, but Brie still wasn't behaving.
Brie apparently got a little better while my mom was on her and Harry calmed down while I was on him. He really is doing nicely. We largo'd today and it was fantastic. Just to feel him go with such a difference in speed, the difference we've been working at, without breaking gait was a great feeling. I can't wait to show him next month! So starting next week we begin preparing for the Midwest Classic. I think that next weekend is our last full weekend of practice before the show, because the week after that the farrier comes out one day and the week after that the vet comes out and by then it's the show the following weekend! I can't wait. I hope we do well.
Also, when we bought the DVD and halters, we signed up for ParelliConnect! I'm using it under my mom's name and will definitely be exploring it during
Sunday, April 8, 2012
Day 213
Saturday
I didn't really have a specific goal for today. My mom wanted to ride Harry because he's less bouncy than Brie, and her back hurts, so she rode him. I knew that I wanted to try switching Brie's bit. So I switched it from her baby bit to something else in our bit box that didn't look too severe, but didn't look super ignorable...I should've taken a picture. But anyways, it didn't really work any differently than her baby bit, so sometime when she's not being ridden the same time as Harry, I want to try the bit that we just switched him into on her and see if it makes a difference, that way I know if we should buy another identical one or not.
It took me 30 minutes to mount today.
I could've just hopped around on one leg, one leg in the stirrup, as usual while Brie moves around and swing up onto her. But I figured that since my mom isn't feeling too well lately (and the fact that Brie is supposed to STAND STILL while I mount), that I wasn't going to put up with it today.
We lined up with the mounting block, but I figured I didn't want to get too ahead of myself today, so I made enough space between the block and myself to mount from the ground, but just close enough that she would get the idea that mounting block = standing still. At first, every little step that she took away from the block, I would walk back around and line up again. When that wasn't working, I made her longe, and then come back to line up with the block. We spent most of our morning doing this. I only wanted to accomplish this goal once I started out with it, and it may have taken quite a long time to do it, but when she finally stood still as I put my leg in the stirrup, stood mid-air, and then finally swung my leg over onto her to sit, it was all worth it.
After that, I found out that the bit wasn't working as well as I thought it might. But we walked and corto'd and then worked on not bolting once we get outside. All in all, it was a successful day with Brie.
Once we came back in, my mom asked if I wanted to ride Harry. He is just amazing. I couldn't be more proud of him, and I only hope that he keeps it up for the shows! Even Nick (who laughed at me last week) had to stop and watch as I passed over the board with Harry, we were THAT good =]
I'm really quite annoyed with Gary and Paco though...Gary bought some new horses from Florida, and two of them are with foal, so they're going to be taking up the only two grassy pastures that he has until they foal, so Paco said that no one is going out anymore. The only other paddocks that are there are these little mud ones that aren't as nice as the grass ones...Gary better be putting in other pastures for the rest of the horses, because he never cared about putting any of his previous pregnant mares outside, and now he suddenly does, so no one else gets to go out and have grass. Once again, it's things like this that remind me why I need to be successful enough in life to have my own property.
To end on a nicer note, here are some pictures I took while they were playing in the pastures they won't get to be in anymore. Poor Harry, Nina kicked him square in the chest while they were outside!!
I didn't really have a specific goal for today. My mom wanted to ride Harry because he's less bouncy than Brie, and her back hurts, so she rode him. I knew that I wanted to try switching Brie's bit. So I switched it from her baby bit to something else in our bit box that didn't look too severe, but didn't look super ignorable...I should've taken a picture. But anyways, it didn't really work any differently than her baby bit, so sometime when she's not being ridden the same time as Harry, I want to try the bit that we just switched him into on her and see if it makes a difference, that way I know if we should buy another identical one or not.
It took me 30 minutes to mount today.
I could've just hopped around on one leg, one leg in the stirrup, as usual while Brie moves around and swing up onto her. But I figured that since my mom isn't feeling too well lately (and the fact that Brie is supposed to STAND STILL while I mount), that I wasn't going to put up with it today.
We lined up with the mounting block, but I figured I didn't want to get too ahead of myself today, so I made enough space between the block and myself to mount from the ground, but just close enough that she would get the idea that mounting block = standing still. At first, every little step that she took away from the block, I would walk back around and line up again. When that wasn't working, I made her longe, and then come back to line up with the block. We spent most of our morning doing this. I only wanted to accomplish this goal once I started out with it, and it may have taken quite a long time to do it, but when she finally stood still as I put my leg in the stirrup, stood mid-air, and then finally swung my leg over onto her to sit, it was all worth it.
After that, I found out that the bit wasn't working as well as I thought it might. But we walked and corto'd and then worked on not bolting once we get outside. All in all, it was a successful day with Brie.
Once we came back in, my mom asked if I wanted to ride Harry. He is just amazing. I couldn't be more proud of him, and I only hope that he keeps it up for the shows! Even Nick (who laughed at me last week) had to stop and watch as I passed over the board with Harry, we were THAT good =]
I'm really quite annoyed with Gary and Paco though...Gary bought some new horses from Florida, and two of them are with foal, so they're going to be taking up the only two grassy pastures that he has until they foal, so Paco said that no one is going out anymore. The only other paddocks that are there are these little mud ones that aren't as nice as the grass ones...Gary better be putting in other pastures for the rest of the horses, because he never cared about putting any of his previous pregnant mares outside, and now he suddenly does, so no one else gets to go out and have grass. Once again, it's things like this that remind me why I need to be successful enough in life to have my own property.
To end on a nicer note, here are some pictures I took while they were playing in the pastures they won't get to be in anymore. Poor Harry, Nina kicked him square in the chest while they were outside!!
Sunday, April 1, 2012
Day 212
I decided I wanted to ride Brie again today, for real this time. My mom took Harry and she changed his bit since apparently he had a "baby bit" still on...bits are so confusing. I wonder if it's just the Pasos that are this difficult and have this many bits. So she changed his and that in combo with the soft bosal we changed to yesterday had him looking phenomenal! His board was magnificent, probably the best board we've heard in a while, and his headset was perfect! I can't wait to ride him next weekend and feel it for myself.
Brie, on the other hand, was over due for giving me a tough time. I spent the majority of my time trying to make her walk, and then when I got that, I stupidly made the decision that she deserved a canter for being good...wrong idea. After not practicing it for a while, she went back to taking off like crazy, and wasn't even responding to my leg or body weight when she decided to exit our circle and try to take off around the arena...then when we tried to calm down again and hit the board, she jumped off the end and wouldn't approach it straight on...I think that if I'm serious about getting her back in the show ring, I might have to stop trying to canter her...it just makes her so hyper! I'm thinking about changing her bit too next weekend.
After finally getting a good pass back in the indoor (we rode in the outdoor), I hopped off and, on a whim, decided that I wanted to ride Nina, as my brother was finished with his ride too. I wish every horse were like Nina! This is probably the first time in the 5 years that we've had her that I've actually ridden her to ride her, not just poke around the arena and enjoy a horse who actually walks. She is so powerful! I could feel her little hooves pounding beneath me. She is so willing to do whatever you ask of her. She's just amazing. We had an amazing pass on the board too, and after that we just walked around outside for a little bit with Harry (who was NOT calm) and went back inside to hose off.
After this ride with Nina, I'm hoping that I can ride her in the pleasure mares class if my brother lets me, since he's going to ride her in the performance mares class. I'm sure she'll do well wherever she's placed! Last time I rode her was spur-of-the-moment at the Michigan show last year in the pleasure class and we won a 2nd! And I hadn't even practiced on her! If I get her after I'm done with Harry every weekend until our first show, I'm sure we could be winning 1sts!
Now on a more personal note...I'm really disappointed with everyone at the barn...I feel like no matter where we go, we get laughed at for doing things our own way. When we were training with Andre, people laughed at us for using him. Since then, we've pretty much done everything on our own, and people always talk about us like we're some crazy people who don't know what we're doing...and even though we're winning classes (at least on Nina), they still don't have respect for us. I don't know if it's an industry thing or what, but it's hurtful to feel like you never really have true friends, or even allies, in this business. Like yesterday, I found out that Nick was laughing at me for trying to make Harry unafraid of the tarp last weekend...but I don't see any of his horses walking all over it and playing with it like Nina and Brie do! So what if it's taking Harry a little longer, we didn't go into desensitizing with him straight away like we did with Nina and Brie because, as a 5 year old, we had figured he had already been exposed to all of this. And I don't see too many other horses in costume class with dresses touching the floor (or dresses at all, for that matter).
Or even today, when talking to Paco. I made signs this morning for feed directions to hang on the horses' stalls so that it would be easy for him to remember because we change Brie's feed amounts around whenever she gets too high in sugar or too low in weight, but when my mom approached him about changing Brie's feed, he basically dismissed her and said that no matter what she said, he would do what he wanted to in the end. I was just angry and felt betrayed! Here he's supposed to be our friend, and then he goes and discounts us like this anyways? This is our horse's health we're talking about, and he's not exactly a specialist in horse health and certainly not in Brie's condition.
I hate feeling like we're at the mercy of someone else all of the time...and it makes me really appreciate what we had when Andre was taking care of our horses. Sure he got angry Harry that one time and might have scarred Nina for life in terms of being afraid of farriers, but at least we knew up at Brie and Nina's breeding farm that they were being let out and fed properly.
If anything is encouragement to stay in school and get a good job, this is it. I need to get a job that can support my horses on my own property that way I can ensure that they're being taken care of the right way all of the time.
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