That's right, folks... we're moving. Bags, boxes, cats, horses & all. To Kansas. Sunny & co have a few more weeks in SD while we finish packing & get things horse-proofed. We haven't set departure-day yet, but it's looming.
The house here is a disaster. It's amazing how much stuff one can cram into a not very big house - and since the one we're moving into is smaller, down-sizing isn't just a nice idea, it's a necessity. I'm hoping that once everything is finally pitched, donated or packed I'll be finding more L-ove in my M-ove. Right at the moment I'd just take a sufficiency of boxes the right size!
On the positive side of moving, the new place is an acreage and we'll finally have the horses at home. There's one big pasture already fenced that will do fine for this winter, and a stone run-in shed/barn with a good roof. And a couple smaller spaces that lack fence but will work with
temporary electric for day-time grazing until we can get permanent fence
up. We'll have some fence work to do - mostly cutting trees back - but for now we'll be able to run electric on the inside of the existing fence.
In the meantime, life continues - between getting everything we want to get done here accomplished before the weather turns, and getting the new place move-in ready, there hasn't been much quality pony-time going on. Today we took Rufus to get shoes and Sunny got a trim. A dual-purpose visit, as the farrier was at Eric's and we could check in on Amyra and Thunder.
Rufus stood nicely for his turn. Sunny was not as cooperative, although he did have the excuse of a very rambunctious horse playing in the indoor arena directly behind him. After the third time we'd been peppered by flying chunks of dirt, Eric retrieved Jackson, who was having way to much fun racing around, bucking and snorting.
The word is that Thunder was initially leery, but is coming along. He's unsure of strange men, so that didn't surprise me. After Rufus and Sunny were done and back at the trailer, I went back in to check on Thunder - his stall is very close to the crossties we were using. Sunny had walked in and out without any sign of being aware Thunder was there, but Thunder was anxiously watching down the aisle where Sunny had disappeared. It was sad.
Other than being anxious at having been deserted by his buddy yet again, Thunder looks good and was definitely happy to be rubbed and have his itchy spots scritched. T visited Amyra while I made nice with Thunder, and then we loaded up and headed out.
Hopefully I'll get back over soon and be able to take some pictures of all this progress he's making! In the meantime, back to my boxes.
Showing posts with label Eric's Equestrian Center. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Eric's Equestrian Center. Show all posts
Monday, October 29, 2012
Saturday, October 13, 2012
Thunder goes to school, and Rufus comes to visit
Meet the family's new addition!
Yes, that's Thunder - and now he's really one of my boys! My first order of business? A month at the Eric's to really get him going under saddle. We took him over yesterday.
We collected him - and Sunny. My biggest worry about taking Thunder was having Sunny running the fences, so once we had the boys on board we headed over and to pick up Rufus.
I had a plan...
It was nap time when we got there.
We woke Eyore up - he was laying down behind Buddy, but popped up before I could catch him snoozing.
Rufus was sleeping, too - but unlike Eyore, he wasn't inclined to disturb himself on our behalf.
T woke him up and once he was haltered, convinced him that he really was going to have to stand up. Silly horse!
On board for the first time in over a year - they made a circuit of the pasture before we loaded Rufus.
Doesn't he look thrilled?
At Eric's, we unloaded all three, and turned Thunder out with a small herd Eric's more easy-going horses.
Sunny was not pleased. Rufus was unconcerned. Thunder was baffled, but accepted being sniffed...
And followed...
And sniffed some more... with equanimity.
Rufus was unconcerned. Sunny's initial reaction was very un-sunny, but unfortunately typical of him. But Rufus didn't appear to care. After an initial nose-sniff, he just walked off.
We watched them interact for quite a while, and everything thankfully!!! looked calm.
Yes, that's Thunder - and now he's really one of my boys! My first order of business? A month at the Eric's to really get him going under saddle. We took him over yesterday.
We collected him - and Sunny. My biggest worry about taking Thunder was having Sunny running the fences, so once we had the boys on board we headed over and to pick up Rufus.
I had a plan...
It was nap time when we got there.
We woke Eyore up - he was laying down behind Buddy, but popped up before I could catch him snoozing.
Rufus was sleeping, too - but unlike Eyore, he wasn't inclined to disturb himself on our behalf.
T woke him up and once he was haltered, convinced him that he really was going to have to stand up. Silly horse!
On board for the first time in over a year - they made a circuit of the pasture before we loaded Rufus.
Doesn't he look thrilled?
At Eric's, we unloaded all three, and turned Thunder out with a small herd Eric's more easy-going horses.
Sunny was not pleased. Rufus was unconcerned. Thunder was baffled, but accepted being sniffed...
And sniffed some more... with equanimity.
******
Back at the farm, we unloaded Sunny and Rufus and walked the pair out for a tour of all the gates and fences. All my mental fingers were crossed that the two geldings, who've been ridden, hauled and tied side by side more than once, would be satisfactory company for one another.
Sunny called for Thunder, and Rufus looked around with big eyes, but with halters and leads on they ignored one another. After a full tour, including hay feeder and waterer, we walked them into the bigger of the fields and slipped their halters off.
Rufus was unconcerned. Sunny's initial reaction was very un-sunny, but unfortunately typical of him. But Rufus didn't appear to care. After an initial nose-sniff, he just walked off.
We watched them interact for quite a while, and everything thankfully!!! looked calm.
They meandered around the field, nibbling at whatever green they could find, Sunny occasionally sniffing at Rufus, and Rufus continuing to ignore him. We monitored the situation until nearly dark, and an early a.m. check this morning found them both in dozing in the sun. So far so good!
Monday, October 1, 2012
Lesson Day: Sunny, and other stuff
It's been hectic around here lately. T's home, which - although his year in Kuwait went faster than either of us thought it would - has still been an adjustment for both of us. I was very glad, especially with the way things seem to be going in the Middle East, to have him home. Now if I could just figure out where to store all the paraphenalia that came along with him - lol!
For the past two weeks we've been doing farm chores morning and evening. And if you've ever wondered, 200+ sheep eat a lot. I was closing the gate in the evenings and letting the horses out to eat grass along the driveway, but midway through this week they found the alfalfa bales. Apparently they're much tastier than grass.
So for the few evenings they've been hurrying up to the lot gate when the truck pulls in, and then staring mournfully - and accusingly - at me when I don't let them out to graze. Which I would, if they didn't immediately make a b-line for those enticing alfalfa bales!
I haven't had time to ride much, but I did squeeze in a lesson on Saturday. In preparation, since I hadn't actually saddled Sunny in two weeks, I tacked up English Friday evening after chores and lunged him lightly. I found a new-to-me CWD breastcollar with elastic inserts on ebay for a song a while back, and I wanted to get it adjusted properly for Sunny. Mission accomplished. My thought was that if Eric has us jumping again, I wanted extra assurance that the saddle wasn't slipping (whoever first called a horse's barrel a barrel sure hit the nail on the head there!) but didn't want anything impeding his shoulder, either.
Sunny's still swapping leads to the left, but seemed ready to move out and focus otherwise, and I hopped on afterwards to work on a few stirrup-required things like leg position, two-point, etc. that I haven't worried about since my last lesson.
Pre-lesson at Eric's, C and I rode and chatted for a while catching up on all the goings on. Eric just re-did the outdoor arena fence with big railroad ties and 5-bar sucker rod fence to shoulder height. It's lovely - but the some of the rings of exposed red granite gravel around the post base eat chestnuts, apparently. Sunny was initially convinced that the gravel around the north - and only the north - side post bases would get him and deserved to be snorted at and given a very wide berth. For some reason, the gravel rings on the other three sides weren't dangerous at all when looked at from either direction. Sheesh...
When Eric came out, I quite visiting and collected Sunny up. And promptly heard, "He's off - more than usual - in his right hind. His hock looks a bit puffy..." Sigh. I hadn't noticed anything abnormal when I wrapped his legs. I stopped, got off, and we both took a closer look. Sunny does have capped hocks - not dramatically, but he always has some puffiness. I'm not sure when exactly he managed to bump, kick or otherwise connect with something hard enough to acquire them, but he always a small amount of swelling, and has had for a long time.
He didn't have any heat in his hock, and he didn't seem to mind it being probed, flexed or stretched. The verdict was, keep going, take it easy, and see if he'd warm up out of it. So I got back on much to Sunny's disgust and we finished warming up. Then we did what felt like several hours of sitting trot. From there, Eric had me working on half-passing, which, after I managed to sort out that right is my other left, got dramatically better with each attempt. At least I amused my (small) audience. (C hung out to watch, and Eric's next victim - sorry, student - and her mom had arrived early.) It's always nice when you have an audience to watch you screw up, right?
By that point, Sunny was moving more freely, so Eric had us trot through the cavaletti a few times. By the third loop I could feel him setting up and stretching through his back as we went across - very cool. Then Eric set up a small x for us to trot through. Again, Sunny's first reaction was leave slide marks stopping because, holy cow, mom! That's different than it just was!
The next round, however, I managed to remember to look straight through the standards, and kick! And over he went.
It took a lot less time than the last lesson - only those two complete refusals, and a couple of stalls where I was still able to kick him over. And he only knocked the rails down twice this week. I really wish I'd thought to grab my camera, although I'm sure it wasn't exactly pretty. But it was FUN! We didn't tackle anything much over a foot high - Sunny could comfortably trot over even the rail Eric set up - which was absolutely fine with me. Still a blast!
I don't remember my long-ago jump lessons being fun - more like terrifying. Although the feeling of surprise and relief that I'd survived after every lesson was sort of invigorating....
I'm finding that with the jump to focus on it's not as hard to remember to look up and around my circle, and to keep looking up during transitions. My upward transitions are much, much better than they were. And it's really making me focus on keeping my lower leg consistent, because if I don't Sunny either breaks or we don't get lined up properly for the jump.
We stopped after a particularly enthusiastic effort from Sunny, and he was very pleased to walk his cool down. He was actually sweaty - but not breathing hard at all, since he'd done enough proper jumps to get plenty of breaks throughout. He was very quick to recall that a real "jump" resulted in a chance to walk - lol!
After Sunny was cool, brushed off and napping by the trailer, I went over to visit Amyra and Buddy, who's rejoined the outdoor crew after our show "season" finished. They're both looking fat and shiny and pleased with themselves, and would have happily stood to be fussed over for any length of time. Then it was time to load up and head for home.
Sunday morning Sunny was playing in the pasture with Thunder without favoring anything, and his legs were both cool to the touch with no puffiness anywhere, so I think my lesson here is probably not to do any more lunging the night before a lesson, and try to get more steady riding in so he stays legged up.
For the past two weeks we've been doing farm chores morning and evening. And if you've ever wondered, 200+ sheep eat a lot. I was closing the gate in the evenings and letting the horses out to eat grass along the driveway, but midway through this week they found the alfalfa bales. Apparently they're much tastier than grass.
So for the few evenings they've been hurrying up to the lot gate when the truck pulls in, and then staring mournfully - and accusingly - at me when I don't let them out to graze. Which I would, if they didn't immediately make a b-line for those enticing alfalfa bales!
I haven't had time to ride much, but I did squeeze in a lesson on Saturday. In preparation, since I hadn't actually saddled Sunny in two weeks, I tacked up English Friday evening after chores and lunged him lightly. I found a new-to-me CWD breastcollar with elastic inserts on ebay for a song a while back, and I wanted to get it adjusted properly for Sunny. Mission accomplished. My thought was that if Eric has us jumping again, I wanted extra assurance that the saddle wasn't slipping (whoever first called a horse's barrel a barrel sure hit the nail on the head there!) but didn't want anything impeding his shoulder, either.
Sunny's still swapping leads to the left, but seemed ready to move out and focus otherwise, and I hopped on afterwards to work on a few stirrup-required things like leg position, two-point, etc. that I haven't worried about since my last lesson.
Pre-lesson at Eric's, C and I rode and chatted for a while catching up on all the goings on. Eric just re-did the outdoor arena fence with big railroad ties and 5-bar sucker rod fence to shoulder height. It's lovely - but the some of the rings of exposed red granite gravel around the post base eat chestnuts, apparently. Sunny was initially convinced that the gravel around the north - and only the north - side post bases would get him and deserved to be snorted at and given a very wide berth. For some reason, the gravel rings on the other three sides weren't dangerous at all when looked at from either direction. Sheesh...
When Eric came out, I quite visiting and collected Sunny up. And promptly heard, "He's off - more than usual - in his right hind. His hock looks a bit puffy..." Sigh. I hadn't noticed anything abnormal when I wrapped his legs. I stopped, got off, and we both took a closer look. Sunny does have capped hocks - not dramatically, but he always has some puffiness. I'm not sure when exactly he managed to bump, kick or otherwise connect with something hard enough to acquire them, but he always a small amount of swelling, and has had for a long time.
He didn't have any heat in his hock, and he didn't seem to mind it being probed, flexed or stretched. The verdict was, keep going, take it easy, and see if he'd warm up out of it. So I got back on much to Sunny's disgust and we finished warming up. Then we did what felt like several hours of sitting trot. From there, Eric had me working on half-passing, which, after I managed to sort out that right is my other left, got dramatically better with each attempt. At least I amused my (small) audience. (C hung out to watch, and Eric's next victim - sorry, student - and her mom had arrived early.) It's always nice when you have an audience to watch you screw up, right?
By that point, Sunny was moving more freely, so Eric had us trot through the cavaletti a few times. By the third loop I could feel him setting up and stretching through his back as we went across - very cool. Then Eric set up a small x for us to trot through. Again, Sunny's first reaction was leave slide marks stopping because, holy cow, mom! That's different than it just was!
The next round, however, I managed to remember to look straight through the standards, and kick! And over he went.
It took a lot less time than the last lesson - only those two complete refusals, and a couple of stalls where I was still able to kick him over. And he only knocked the rails down twice this week. I really wish I'd thought to grab my camera, although I'm sure it wasn't exactly pretty. But it was FUN! We didn't tackle anything much over a foot high - Sunny could comfortably trot over even the rail Eric set up - which was absolutely fine with me. Still a blast!
I don't remember my long-ago jump lessons being fun - more like terrifying. Although the feeling of surprise and relief that I'd survived after every lesson was sort of invigorating....
I'm finding that with the jump to focus on it's not as hard to remember to look up and around my circle, and to keep looking up during transitions. My upward transitions are much, much better than they were. And it's really making me focus on keeping my lower leg consistent, because if I don't Sunny either breaks or we don't get lined up properly for the jump.
We stopped after a particularly enthusiastic effort from Sunny, and he was very pleased to walk his cool down. He was actually sweaty - but not breathing hard at all, since he'd done enough proper jumps to get plenty of breaks throughout. He was very quick to recall that a real "jump" resulted in a chance to walk - lol!
After Sunny was cool, brushed off and napping by the trailer, I went over to visit Amyra and Buddy, who's rejoined the outdoor crew after our show "season" finished. They're both looking fat and shiny and pleased with themselves, and would have happily stood to be fussed over for any length of time. Then it was time to load up and head for home.
Sunday morning Sunny was playing in the pasture with Thunder without favoring anything, and his legs were both cool to the touch with no puffiness anywhere, so I think my lesson here is probably not to do any more lunging the night before a lesson, and try to get more steady riding in so he stays legged up.
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
Bareback on a Saturday
Horse time has been mostly a daily check-in for fly spray and nose patting lately. I spent a few hours on Tuesday helping Eric and company get ready to leave for the Iowa Gold Star show (and avoiding my housework), but on Saturday I met E over at Eric's for some riding time.
I pulled in around 9 a.m. and took my time getting hooves picked out and both boys brushed off while I waited for E. We hadn't set a definite time, and she has a lot further to drive then I do, so when I was done I went ahead and wrapped Sunny's legs and tacked him up. I figured since it'd been a few weeks since I'd ridden, I'd let him blow off some steam on the longe line if he wanted to.
He bounced off at a perky trot, but it didn't take him long to wind down. I did ask him to canter in both directions. He looked stiff and flat to the left, and more than once he took the wrong lead first and then switched. Right was better, as has been usual lately. His toes are on the long side, too... all things considered, if I'd been planning for a lesson I'd have canceled, and if I'd planned for a stiff work session I'd have bagged it, but since neither of those things was on the agenda, I decided I wasn't going to feel guilty for riding him.
I'd just gotten on when E pulled in, and while I waited for her to get Mac collected and ready, I worked Sunny through some spirals and body part isolation exercises. I didn't ask him for much collection - mainly just walking and a few rounds at a trot until he was soft and reaching down for the bit and stepping under and over when I asked.
Once E came out - and hopped on bareback - I pulled Sunny's saddle off and joined her. We spent an hour or better just moseying around the arena chatting and laughing at the antics of the one lone chicken that decided to join us. She kept strutting and scratching and flopping down to take dust baths in random spots, generally right in front of an on-coming hoof. Miraculously, she didn't get stepped on, but due more to the horses than any concern she exhibited.
Neither horses nor chicken appeared at all concerned, although I initially had visions of puffed up dustmop trying to fly up Sunny's left nostril... and eventually she wandered off to sun herself elsewhere.
When E and I finished, I saddled Thunder and longed him - his first time in the arena. He tracked around like the trooper he usually is, wide-eyed but listening. Afterward I rode him through and over the ground poles and then we explored the arena for a while. Although he's been hauled over there quite a few times, he's always spent his time guarding the trailer. He checked things out, but didn't seem to concerned about anything - including the rest of the chickens that were clucking and flapping around across the fence from us.
All in all it was a lovely way to spend the morning, and I feel better for the riding time. The farrier's coming this week to do feet, and it looks as if the weather may cooperate by cooling off. I sure hope so!
I pulled in around 9 a.m. and took my time getting hooves picked out and both boys brushed off while I waited for E. We hadn't set a definite time, and she has a lot further to drive then I do, so when I was done I went ahead and wrapped Sunny's legs and tacked him up. I figured since it'd been a few weeks since I'd ridden, I'd let him blow off some steam on the longe line if he wanted to.
He bounced off at a perky trot, but it didn't take him long to wind down. I did ask him to canter in both directions. He looked stiff and flat to the left, and more than once he took the wrong lead first and then switched. Right was better, as has been usual lately. His toes are on the long side, too... all things considered, if I'd been planning for a lesson I'd have canceled, and if I'd planned for a stiff work session I'd have bagged it, but since neither of those things was on the agenda, I decided I wasn't going to feel guilty for riding him.
I'd just gotten on when E pulled in, and while I waited for her to get Mac collected and ready, I worked Sunny through some spirals and body part isolation exercises. I didn't ask him for much collection - mainly just walking and a few rounds at a trot until he was soft and reaching down for the bit and stepping under and over when I asked.
Once E came out - and hopped on bareback - I pulled Sunny's saddle off and joined her. We spent an hour or better just moseying around the arena chatting and laughing at the antics of the one lone chicken that decided to join us. She kept strutting and scratching and flopping down to take dust baths in random spots, generally right in front of an on-coming hoof. Miraculously, she didn't get stepped on, but due more to the horses than any concern she exhibited.
Neither horses nor chicken appeared at all concerned, although I initially had visions of puffed up dustmop trying to fly up Sunny's left nostril... and eventually she wandered off to sun herself elsewhere.
When E and I finished, I saddled Thunder and longed him - his first time in the arena. He tracked around like the trooper he usually is, wide-eyed but listening. Afterward I rode him through and over the ground poles and then we explored the arena for a while. Although he's been hauled over there quite a few times, he's always spent his time guarding the trailer. He checked things out, but didn't seem to concerned about anything - including the rest of the chickens that were clucking and flapping around across the fence from us.
All in all it was a lovely way to spend the morning, and I feel better for the riding time. The farrier's coming this week to do feet, and it looks as if the weather may cooperate by cooling off. I sure hope so!
Monday, July 30, 2012
Tuck and Roll
"Wow! His neck's gotten even better!" Eric hollered to me as Sunny and I worked out way down the long side of the arena. He was retrieving another pair of horses for the farrier working in the barn. I hopped aboard at 10 AM, with my lesson on Buddy scheduled for 11. Well, at least the ride started on an up note.
Sunny was snorty, rolling his eyes at the sound of the sprinkler flicking off the greenhouse, and bouncing sideways at the familiar yellow flags flapping in the pasture across the rail. I did my best to put that energy to work, asking him to really stride up and stretch. Big circles, small circles, counter-bend reverses... I was curious to see if I could get Sunny stepping under himself as precisely as Trinity had for C. It felt good, but who knows.
When he was soft and a bit less inclined to gawp and swerve, I clucked him up to sitting trot and repeated the exercise. Some head flipping and some lugging, but for the most part not too bad. Working trot, ditto. When he was willing to carry himself for stretches at a time without hanging on me, I pushed his hip over, squeezed and kissed him up into a right lead canter.
My goal was to work on rate - I wanted to see if I could rate him back to a steady, slow canter without breaking. It was actually working pretty well. I was using the center of the arena, not the ends because one end hasn't been worked recently and has some crust issues, and the other end has ground poles laid out.
We were on the top end of the arena on the edge of the crusty stuff when... well, I'm actually not completely sure what happened, but one minute we were moving around at a nice easy pace and the next he was flailing around and tipping over. It felt like he tripped, and then when he tried to recover couldn't get traction behind or his feet back underneath him in front. I was no help, since the saddle - and my weight - was in the process of sliding forward over his shoulders - round horses don't have withers to hold the saddle when things go south nose-first.
An eye-blink later, I somehow had my feet out of the stirrups, and when he started to tip right, I just let myself roll left over his shoulder in the opposite direction. When I hit dirt, I just kept rolling, making sure I didn't end up under his feet. We both stood up at the same time. Sunny shook himself off, and nickered at me. I told him "whoa" and he stood there quietly while I checked him over and brushed the sand off of the two of us (well, except for the coating that ended up plastered to the mix of sweat and sunblock I had smeared on anything not covered, and the handful that came home in my bra...).
Once I had the saddle loosened and repositioned, I walked and trotted him - no apparent hitches in his giddy-up, so I got back on. We walked some until I was sure he was four-square under my weight. He seemed fine, so I cued for a lope again. Two easy rounds, staying well off the spot that tripped us up, then down to the trot and some nice serpentines and figure eights with Sunny still moving well and freely.
Wrap-up for the ride was walking the ground poles and some slow motion "spins" - basically, just asking him to yield his shoulder so that he's pivoting around one step at a time without moving his back end. He's starting to really get the hang of it.
When he was untacked and snoozing at the trailer, I took a minute or two to stretch, swig some water, and breathe a deep sigh of relief. Okay, maybe more than one.
A few hours later, I can safely say that I'll more than likely feel the left side of my back tomorrow, but other than that and a spot on the back side of my upper arm/shoulder that feels a bit sunburned - I think the sunblock rubbed off when I landed and then brushed the dirt off - nothing feels off. I'll head out and check Sunny later to see if he's stiffened up anywhere.
Details of my lesson on Buddy later - it wasn't nearly so exciting, thank goodness!
Sunny was snorty, rolling his eyes at the sound of the sprinkler flicking off the greenhouse, and bouncing sideways at the familiar yellow flags flapping in the pasture across the rail. I did my best to put that energy to work, asking him to really stride up and stretch. Big circles, small circles, counter-bend reverses... I was curious to see if I could get Sunny stepping under himself as precisely as Trinity had for C. It felt good, but who knows.
When he was soft and a bit less inclined to gawp and swerve, I clucked him up to sitting trot and repeated the exercise. Some head flipping and some lugging, but for the most part not too bad. Working trot, ditto. When he was willing to carry himself for stretches at a time without hanging on me, I pushed his hip over, squeezed and kissed him up into a right lead canter.
My goal was to work on rate - I wanted to see if I could rate him back to a steady, slow canter without breaking. It was actually working pretty well. I was using the center of the arena, not the ends because one end hasn't been worked recently and has some crust issues, and the other end has ground poles laid out.
We were on the top end of the arena on the edge of the crusty stuff when... well, I'm actually not completely sure what happened, but one minute we were moving around at a nice easy pace and the next he was flailing around and tipping over. It felt like he tripped, and then when he tried to recover couldn't get traction behind or his feet back underneath him in front. I was no help, since the saddle - and my weight - was in the process of sliding forward over his shoulders - round horses don't have withers to hold the saddle when things go south nose-first.
An eye-blink later, I somehow had my feet out of the stirrups, and when he started to tip right, I just let myself roll left over his shoulder in the opposite direction. When I hit dirt, I just kept rolling, making sure I didn't end up under his feet. We both stood up at the same time. Sunny shook himself off, and nickered at me. I told him "whoa" and he stood there quietly while I checked him over and brushed the sand off of the two of us (well, except for the coating that ended up plastered to the mix of sweat and sunblock I had smeared on anything not covered, and the handful that came home in my bra...).
Once I had the saddle loosened and repositioned, I walked and trotted him - no apparent hitches in his giddy-up, so I got back on. We walked some until I was sure he was four-square under my weight. He seemed fine, so I cued for a lope again. Two easy rounds, staying well off the spot that tripped us up, then down to the trot and some nice serpentines and figure eights with Sunny still moving well and freely.
Wrap-up for the ride was walking the ground poles and some slow motion "spins" - basically, just asking him to yield his shoulder so that he's pivoting around one step at a time without moving his back end. He's starting to really get the hang of it.
When he was untacked and snoozing at the trailer, I took a minute or two to stretch, swig some water, and breathe a deep sigh of relief. Okay, maybe more than one.
A few hours later, I can safely say that I'll more than likely feel the left side of my back tomorrow, but other than that and a spot on the back side of my upper arm/shoulder that feels a bit sunburned - I think the sunblock rubbed off when I landed and then brushed the dirt off - nothing feels off. I'll head out and check Sunny later to see if he's stiffened up anywhere.
Details of my lesson on Buddy later - it wasn't nearly so exciting, thank goodness!
Sunday, July 29, 2012
Lesson Day: Buddy, and that post-ride achey feeling
Eric had me warm up slowly, asking for gradually increasing collection and bend. He wanted to see Buddy really stepping up and over underneath himself. Buddy was reasonably amenable, but very fresh. Thankfully over the past few months I've gotten comfortable enough with his level of energy that having a wound-up ball of this particular horse under me didn't completely freak me out.
Good thing, too - the next step was sitting trot. Buddy does NOT glide. He's bouncy. Very bouncy. (C volunteered to tape me, since she was handy and had her video camera, and I'm curious to see how that looked!) There are times being not-so-well endowed is a very good thing. A bra with less compression, and I would have been in pain....
On the plus side, the extra time I've been taking to stretch my calves and hamstrings out ever morning is paying off. Not only was I able to keep my heel well down and my lower leg wrapped solidly around Buddy's barrel, I could actually roll my heels up as needed and still keep the ball of my foot pressing into the stirrup. Hooray!
Moving to working trot, I still had a lot of horse. For the first half of the lesson it was a definite struggle to keep him from hanging on the bit and foraging ahead. The initial few passes of working trot I was posting much too enthusiastically, which didn't help matters any. Guess Buddy wasn't the only bouncy one! But after a reminder to stay low and controlled, he started to settle. Amazing what a difference being deliberate with your seat and weight makes.
Working trot in both direction Eric had me reversing continually across the circle, working on keeping Buddy's rate and frame consistent. I think I maybe managed one (two?) direction changes without a) letting him drop a shoulder, b) having his head pop up, c) looking down, or d) slowing down or speeding up and e) forgetting to switch my diagonals... Oi.
Finally, we moved on. Going right, Buddy is stiffer, particularly cantering. I think additional time walking and stretching would have helped loosen him up, but eventually his gait smoothed out and committed to carrying himself for longer periods rather than hanging on my hands.
Left is his preferred direction, but I have to be careful not to let him over-bend. He tends to want to bulge out with his outside shoulder, so I need more outside leg than going right. While left was better for Buddy collection-wise, it wasn't as good for me position-wise. As usually happens, when I roll my heels up, I didn't keep enough pressure back and down into the balls of my feet, and my stirrups slipped back. Phooey.
On the plus side, I'm getting pretty good at recovering the correct position once we're trotting again, but downward transitions end up being a complete hash of hollow horse and bouncing rider. Not pretty. Still, the first direction was good, so... progress. Back to the stairs and more stretching for me!
We called it quits after a last, semi-decent downward transition series from canter > working trot > collected walk. Buddy was sweaty and blowing. Likewise, me. I walked him for twenty minutes or so and finished up with a nice long rinse with cool water. Buddy' favorite part of the process.
Have to say, I'm not sure how Buddy felt post-ride, but I could definitely tell I'd had a workout. I'd happily have joined him in a soak and a nap!
The day's bonus was getting to watch/tape C's lesson with her lovely bay gelding Trinity. Her style of choice at present is western pleasure. The whole lesson was spent on a very small circle. (In comparison, I was using either half or the whole arena with Sunny, and half with Buddy. Eric had C using one corner, about 1/3 of the half I used.)
Eric had her spend a long time warming up, isolating Trinity's shoulder and hip and asking him to move each in while staying on the same size circle. Trinity has a tendency to attempt to spoof collection by rolling over in front, but taking baby steps with his hind feet rather than rounding up through his back and really stepping under himself.
Using this process, not only was she getting Trinity to isolate and free up each body part as she asked, improving her control, but Eric was also asking C to feel when he was using each properly. When C ultimately asked him to lope off, he was bringing his hip over, lifting his shoulders and back, and using his whole body more correctly.
Honestly? One of the few times I've ever seen a western pleasure lope executed in such a way that the horse is moving oh-so-slowly and actually didn't look crippled in the hind end. Even though Trinity's feet were moving at a snail's pace, the effect was one of lift - suspension - landing. C's lesson wasn't super long, but it was definitely educational.
Good thing, too - the next step was sitting trot. Buddy does NOT glide. He's bouncy. Very bouncy. (C volunteered to tape me, since she was handy and had her video camera, and I'm curious to see how that looked!) There are times being not-so-well endowed is a very good thing. A bra with less compression, and I would have been in pain....
On the plus side, the extra time I've been taking to stretch my calves and hamstrings out ever morning is paying off. Not only was I able to keep my heel well down and my lower leg wrapped solidly around Buddy's barrel, I could actually roll my heels up as needed and still keep the ball of my foot pressing into the stirrup. Hooray!
Moving to working trot, I still had a lot of horse. For the first half of the lesson it was a definite struggle to keep him from hanging on the bit and foraging ahead. The initial few passes of working trot I was posting much too enthusiastically, which didn't help matters any. Guess Buddy wasn't the only bouncy one! But after a reminder to stay low and controlled, he started to settle. Amazing what a difference being deliberate with your seat and weight makes.
Working trot in both direction Eric had me reversing continually across the circle, working on keeping Buddy's rate and frame consistent. I think I maybe managed one (two?) direction changes without a) letting him drop a shoulder, b) having his head pop up, c) looking down, or d) slowing down or speeding up and e) forgetting to switch my diagonals... Oi.
Finally, we moved on. Going right, Buddy is stiffer, particularly cantering. I think additional time walking and stretching would have helped loosen him up, but eventually his gait smoothed out and committed to carrying himself for longer periods rather than hanging on my hands.
Left is his preferred direction, but I have to be careful not to let him over-bend. He tends to want to bulge out with his outside shoulder, so I need more outside leg than going right. While left was better for Buddy collection-wise, it wasn't as good for me position-wise. As usually happens, when I roll my heels up, I didn't keep enough pressure back and down into the balls of my feet, and my stirrups slipped back. Phooey.
On the plus side, I'm getting pretty good at recovering the correct position once we're trotting again, but downward transitions end up being a complete hash of hollow horse and bouncing rider. Not pretty. Still, the first direction was good, so... progress. Back to the stairs and more stretching for me!
We called it quits after a last, semi-decent downward transition series from canter > working trot > collected walk. Buddy was sweaty and blowing. Likewise, me. I walked him for twenty minutes or so and finished up with a nice long rinse with cool water. Buddy' favorite part of the process.
Have to say, I'm not sure how Buddy felt post-ride, but I could definitely tell I'd had a workout. I'd happily have joined him in a soak and a nap!
The day's bonus was getting to watch/tape C's lesson with her lovely bay gelding Trinity. Her style of choice at present is western pleasure. The whole lesson was spent on a very small circle. (In comparison, I was using either half or the whole arena with Sunny, and half with Buddy. Eric had C using one corner, about 1/3 of the half I used.)
Eric had her spend a long time warming up, isolating Trinity's shoulder and hip and asking him to move each in while staying on the same size circle. Trinity has a tendency to attempt to spoof collection by rolling over in front, but taking baby steps with his hind feet rather than rounding up through his back and really stepping under himself.
Using this process, not only was she getting Trinity to isolate and free up each body part as she asked, improving her control, but Eric was also asking C to feel when he was using each properly. When C ultimately asked him to lope off, he was bringing his hip over, lifting his shoulders and back, and using his whole body more correctly.
Honestly? One of the few times I've ever seen a western pleasure lope executed in such a way that the horse is moving oh-so-slowly and actually didn't look crippled in the hind end. Even though Trinity's feet were moving at a snail's pace, the effect was one of lift - suspension - landing. C's lesson wasn't super long, but it was definitely educational.
Sunny Pre-Lesson Ride
No complaints about the weather on Friday - a few fluffy clouds, temp in the upper 70's, a light breeze to keep the bugs away... if only all my riding days were so lovely!
A slight change of plans resulted in Sunny and I having the arena to ourselves for an hour before my lesson. No complaints about that either - although Sunny may have expressed some if I'd asked him, LOL!
I saddled him western, and after a couple trips back to the trailer to retrieve my spurs and apply more fly spray, started warming him up. A series of medium circles in both directions, first asking him to shoulder-in and then for haunches-in, and then some half-passing. When he was striding well under in back and I'd gotten good bend in both directions, we moved on to collected walk on a larger circle.
I focused on looking out and ahead, staying rocked back on my seatbones, trying to really feel each hoof land and his barrel up and round under me without looking down at his head. Not sure how successful I was, but at least I was thinking about it.
I went right first - his good direction. When I cued trot, his head popped up. Not surprising given the dearth of riding time he's had lately, so I spent the next umpteen laps working on getting him to roll over and round up and commit to carrying himself. Eventually we managed a full round in fairly nice form, so I gave him a breather to air up and stretch. Then it was on to canter.
He took the correct lead when I asked him - not a surprise to the right, though. Was it pretty? Eh... Canter is improving incrementally. He's still dropping his inside shoulder, and he's definitely not collected by any stretch of the imagination. But... rate is getting better, and he's staying in gait better, too. There were a few moments of definite roundness, and at no point did he stick his nose way out and fling his head, so... progress. Downward transitions are still heavy in front, but that's as much me as it is him. Overall, I'd say it was satisfactory.
After another walk-break I reversed and we went to work on left. Walk was good. Softness and collection at the trot was steps above where he was going right. Canter? Pffft. No dice. He was back to flinging his nose up and throwing that outside shoulder forward into the wrong lead. It didn't seem to matter how far over I'd put his hip, he was bound and determined to take the right lead, not the left.
He may very well need to be adjusted again. Maybe it's a saddle issue. As round as he is, I don't have a single saddle that fits him well at present.... Or possibly he's just anticipating something is going to hurt, even if it doesn't. He certainly doesn't seem sore anywhere, and running my thumbs down his back and pressing post-ride didn't prompt any reaction. At any rate, it's a problem to be solved before we can move forward.
Rather than push the issue - but not wanting to reward him for refusing to take that lead by stopping - I finished with some serpentines at a working trot using the whole arena, and then cooled out with spiral circles at the walk and some backing using the pole-defined L someone had left set up. Altogether about 45 minutes of solid work.
A slight change of plans resulted in Sunny and I having the arena to ourselves for an hour before my lesson. No complaints about that either - although Sunny may have expressed some if I'd asked him, LOL!
I saddled him western, and after a couple trips back to the trailer to retrieve my spurs and apply more fly spray, started warming him up. A series of medium circles in both directions, first asking him to shoulder-in and then for haunches-in, and then some half-passing. When he was striding well under in back and I'd gotten good bend in both directions, we moved on to collected walk on a larger circle.
I focused on looking out and ahead, staying rocked back on my seatbones, trying to really feel each hoof land and his barrel up and round under me without looking down at his head. Not sure how successful I was, but at least I was thinking about it.
I went right first - his good direction. When I cued trot, his head popped up. Not surprising given the dearth of riding time he's had lately, so I spent the next umpteen laps working on getting him to roll over and round up and commit to carrying himself. Eventually we managed a full round in fairly nice form, so I gave him a breather to air up and stretch. Then it was on to canter.
He took the correct lead when I asked him - not a surprise to the right, though. Was it pretty? Eh... Canter is improving incrementally. He's still dropping his inside shoulder, and he's definitely not collected by any stretch of the imagination. But... rate is getting better, and he's staying in gait better, too. There were a few moments of definite roundness, and at no point did he stick his nose way out and fling his head, so... progress. Downward transitions are still heavy in front, but that's as much me as it is him. Overall, I'd say it was satisfactory.
After another walk-break I reversed and we went to work on left. Walk was good. Softness and collection at the trot was steps above where he was going right. Canter? Pffft. No dice. He was back to flinging his nose up and throwing that outside shoulder forward into the wrong lead. It didn't seem to matter how far over I'd put his hip, he was bound and determined to take the right lead, not the left.
He may very well need to be adjusted again. Maybe it's a saddle issue. As round as he is, I don't have a single saddle that fits him well at present.... Or possibly he's just anticipating something is going to hurt, even if it doesn't. He certainly doesn't seem sore anywhere, and running my thumbs down his back and pressing post-ride didn't prompt any reaction. At any rate, it's a problem to be solved before we can move forward.
Rather than push the issue - but not wanting to reward him for refusing to take that lead by stopping - I finished with some serpentines at a working trot using the whole arena, and then cooled out with spiral circles at the walk and some backing using the pole-defined L someone had left set up. Altogether about 45 minutes of solid work.
Sunday, July 15, 2012
Lesson Day: Buddy
Bonus lesson this week. I wanted to see if I could work some more on the progress I made Wednesday, and since it's supposed to be over a 100' here again for the next while, I checked to see if Eric still had an hour free. Lucky me, he did.
Unfortunately, his opening was at 1 PM, so it was already pretty warm. Buddy was calm and almost sleepy in the crossties, and I was sweaty and hot by the time I had him brushed and tacked up. Eric elected to perch on the fence rather than riding, so I had the arena to myself.
With almost no air moving, we took plenty of time for warm-up. In addition to the usual, Eric had me ask for an exaggerated inside bend in both directions, encouraging Buddy to stretch along his back, stepping under and getting his hip underneath him, moving his shoulder in so he was almost turning on the forehand but still moving forward in a circle.
Once he was bending and giving softly, I widened the circle, still keeping him off the rail but asking him to stay collected and really round his back up. The slow, suspended walk they're asked to do for the show ring still seems slow and over-controlled to me. But we're starting to get it.
Moving on to trot, I concentrated on keeping the ball of my foot in the stirrup, really stretching down into my heels and keeping my hips rolled down. Watching the video that my mom took while she was here, I have a tendency to over-post, so I've been trying to just let Buddy's momentum give me a boost, instead of pushing up myself. And then there's keeping my shoulders back and my ribcage and chin up... Hopefully all of this stuff will eventually become automatic!
Cantering left went okay, although Wednesday's ride was better. It's my roughest gait. When I roll my heels up to ask Buddy to lift his barrel, I can't keep the ball of my foot pressed down and my stirrup ends up sliding back too far. Then, when Eric has me hand gallop in two-point, I end up tipped too far forward and balancing on his neck. It's better when I have tall boots or half-chaps on, because I get better grip with my calves.
So... I asked how to fix it. Apparently, the answer is more practice. And more stretching. I'm to spend some time every day on the stairs stretching out my hamstrings.
We didn't spend as long going right - Buddy was getting tired and hot, and the heat was getting to me, too. I walked him for quite a while, and he was still blowing and sweaty - there was just no air moving to help him cool off. Back in the barn, I pulled his tack and wraps, took him back to his stall to pee - which he doesn't like to do in the cross-ties, and who can blame him! - and then rinsed him off in cool, but not cold, water until he was cooled down. His stall has a fan, and he was more interested in cleaning up his hay when I turned him loose than his bucket, but when I checked on him a bit later his bucket was lower and he was dozing peacefully in his own personal breeze.
I hung out for a while, helping C hang some additional fans and chatting, then headed for the farm to get the boys checked on and fly-sprayed. They were dozing in the shade of the grain bin, content to greet me and be petted. I talked to Eric about working Sunny in the arena this week, but if it gets as warm as they're predicting, I'll give it a miss.
Unfortunately, his opening was at 1 PM, so it was already pretty warm. Buddy was calm and almost sleepy in the crossties, and I was sweaty and hot by the time I had him brushed and tacked up. Eric elected to perch on the fence rather than riding, so I had the arena to myself.
With almost no air moving, we took plenty of time for warm-up. In addition to the usual, Eric had me ask for an exaggerated inside bend in both directions, encouraging Buddy to stretch along his back, stepping under and getting his hip underneath him, moving his shoulder in so he was almost turning on the forehand but still moving forward in a circle.
Once he was bending and giving softly, I widened the circle, still keeping him off the rail but asking him to stay collected and really round his back up. The slow, suspended walk they're asked to do for the show ring still seems slow and over-controlled to me. But we're starting to get it.
Moving on to trot, I concentrated on keeping the ball of my foot in the stirrup, really stretching down into my heels and keeping my hips rolled down. Watching the video that my mom took while she was here, I have a tendency to over-post, so I've been trying to just let Buddy's momentum give me a boost, instead of pushing up myself. And then there's keeping my shoulders back and my ribcage and chin up... Hopefully all of this stuff will eventually become automatic!
Cantering left went okay, although Wednesday's ride was better. It's my roughest gait. When I roll my heels up to ask Buddy to lift his barrel, I can't keep the ball of my foot pressed down and my stirrup ends up sliding back too far. Then, when Eric has me hand gallop in two-point, I end up tipped too far forward and balancing on his neck. It's better when I have tall boots or half-chaps on, because I get better grip with my calves.
So... I asked how to fix it. Apparently, the answer is more practice. And more stretching. I'm to spend some time every day on the stairs stretching out my hamstrings.
We didn't spend as long going right - Buddy was getting tired and hot, and the heat was getting to me, too. I walked him for quite a while, and he was still blowing and sweaty - there was just no air moving to help him cool off. Back in the barn, I pulled his tack and wraps, took him back to his stall to pee - which he doesn't like to do in the cross-ties, and who can blame him! - and then rinsed him off in cool, but not cold, water until he was cooled down. His stall has a fan, and he was more interested in cleaning up his hay when I turned him loose than his bucket, but when I checked on him a bit later his bucket was lower and he was dozing peacefully in his own personal breeze.
I hung out for a while, helping C hang some additional fans and chatting, then headed for the farm to get the boys checked on and fly-sprayed. They were dozing in the shade of the grain bin, content to greet me and be petted. I talked to Eric about working Sunny in the arena this week, but if it gets as warm as they're predicting, I'll give it a miss.
Wednesday, July 11, 2012
Lesson Day: Buddy, and Sunny gets some arena time
I gave Sunny the night off last night, but Thunder and I did the tree weaving thing again. We even ventured out into the road a ways and checked out the mailbox. He would have continued quite happily down the gravel, but I chickened out. I'd started having visions of him suddenly realizing he was all by himself and deciding to head for home. Maybe one day soon I'll catch D going by on the pretty black and white paint he's starting, and fall in with him.
Sunny stood on the hill and watched me hook the trailer up this morning. When I walked out to catch them, he very deliberated turned and walked about twenty steps the other direction, glancing over his shoulder to check if I was really serious about collecting him. Then he heaved a big sigh, turned around and waited for me. Silly.
Getting them fly-sprayed and loaded up was the usual non-event. Every time I watch someone deal with a poor loader I say a little thank you that it's not an exciting part of my riding day!
Arriving at Eric's, I unloaded, made sure they were both securely fastened, and went in to get Buddy ready. There was a big palamino gelding raising a ruckus in the indoor when I cross-tied him. Not a restful horse. He'd back off from the gate twenty feet or so, then run at it sliding to a stop an the last second letting his nose or chin bang against the gate and setting it rattling. Thud-a-da-thud-a-da, thump! clang! bang! SNORT! followed by spin and kick whang!
Buddy was not amused, and wanted to crane around in the direction of all the activity, shaking his head and dancing accompaniment. Thankfully, O swapped out horses before I got to the point of polo wraps, and the next horse wasn't nearly as energetic. Once the palamino was gone, Buddy stopped fidgeting.
Slightly cooler temps and a nice breeze, not to mention an earlier start, made for a more energetic horse, and Buddy was definitely alive underneath me as soon as I settled into the saddle. Eric had me working on channeling all that extra horse into getting Buddy's shoulders lifted and his back up. We had a few moments today that felt close to brilliant. :)
Moving on to sitting trot, I focused hard on keeping my lower leg solid and not bouncing all over the place. Sitting trot is usually not a problem, but Sunny is a lot less bouncy than Buddy! Eventually we made a sufficiently good round of it and Eric asked for working trot. Hooray for posting!
During Saturday's lesson I spent a lot of time working my outside hand, attempting to shake Buddy off of it. He'll hang and get heavy or run through you if you let him. Today, however, the spirit of cooperation appeared to be at work and he was willing to carry his head and balance himself without too many reminders from me. Maybe I'm getting better at catching him before he pops up, too... At any rate, after some working trot/sitting trot transitions, it was up to the canter.
That was far and away better than Saturday. And hand gallop didn't make me feel quite so hung out on the edge of a cliff today, either. I know what the problem is - I lose my lower leg, and then it's 'Hello, cliff!' But I think I'm improving - I wore jeans again, rather than breeches and half-chaps, and my leg stayed pretty much where it was supposed to despite having less grip than the half-chaps provide.
After a breather for Buddy - and me - we switched directions and tackled the same program to the right. Right was better then left. Woo-hoo!
Buddy got a rinse-down in lukewarm water and a cookie - not sure which he enjoyed more, and then I watched the last half of Eric's next lesson while I tacked Sunny up. A rodeo junior queen contestant with a roping horse and a reining pattern to do as part of the queening contest next week... Let's just say "GO!" will not be a problem. Neither will stopping. But finding the lope in the middle? Pony was initially frustrated and confused, and by the time they finished up the little gal was very red in the face, but his ears had started to come forward and he was getting the hang of the program.
Eric had her doing what was basically a half-halt and release as soon as the gelding hesitated and slowed even a smidge. They were both trying really hard, so hopefully they'll get things sorted before their deadline.
A lot of go is definitely not a concern with Sunny - thankfully I remembered my spurs! We warmed up at a walk in both directions with bending, leg yields and some counter-bending, then started walking a big circle to the right; his good direction.
He rolled over at the poll and I could feel his back come up under me. Sweet. We made several circles at a walk then moved on to trot and eventually canter. Transitions to the right were steady and solid. He stayed relatively light and didn't try to poke his nose out too often - but I didn't want to get too excited, because we hadn't gone left yet.
After a pause to air up, I revered him and we started left. Nice round walk, check. Working trot with an inside bend, check. Canter transition... right lead. Darn it!
I dropped him to trot, waited for a corner, made sure my hands were correct and his hip was pushed in, and... right (wrong) again. The third or fourth time he took the left lead and stayed in it until I asked him to trot. A break to air up again, and I asked him for left lead again. No dice.
So.... Either he's sore again, although he seemed perfectly willing to flex his neck in either direction, and his back didn't seem ouchie when I pressed on him post-ride, or I'm doing something wrong (always a possibility), or... who knows. He is taking both leads on the lunge line, and since he's willing to bend for me, I don't think he's as sore as he was before, so that's something at least.
Sunny stood on the hill and watched me hook the trailer up this morning. When I walked out to catch them, he very deliberated turned and walked about twenty steps the other direction, glancing over his shoulder to check if I was really serious about collecting him. Then he heaved a big sigh, turned around and waited for me. Silly.
Getting them fly-sprayed and loaded up was the usual non-event. Every time I watch someone deal with a poor loader I say a little thank you that it's not an exciting part of my riding day!
Arriving at Eric's, I unloaded, made sure they were both securely fastened, and went in to get Buddy ready. There was a big palamino gelding raising a ruckus in the indoor when I cross-tied him. Not a restful horse. He'd back off from the gate twenty feet or so, then run at it sliding to a stop an the last second letting his nose or chin bang against the gate and setting it rattling. Thud-a-da-thud-a-da, thump! clang! bang! SNORT! followed by spin and kick whang!
Buddy was not amused, and wanted to crane around in the direction of all the activity, shaking his head and dancing accompaniment. Thankfully, O swapped out horses before I got to the point of polo wraps, and the next horse wasn't nearly as energetic. Once the palamino was gone, Buddy stopped fidgeting.
Slightly cooler temps and a nice breeze, not to mention an earlier start, made for a more energetic horse, and Buddy was definitely alive underneath me as soon as I settled into the saddle. Eric had me working on channeling all that extra horse into getting Buddy's shoulders lifted and his back up. We had a few moments today that felt close to brilliant. :)
Moving on to sitting trot, I focused hard on keeping my lower leg solid and not bouncing all over the place. Sitting trot is usually not a problem, but Sunny is a lot less bouncy than Buddy! Eventually we made a sufficiently good round of it and Eric asked for working trot. Hooray for posting!
During Saturday's lesson I spent a lot of time working my outside hand, attempting to shake Buddy off of it. He'll hang and get heavy or run through you if you let him. Today, however, the spirit of cooperation appeared to be at work and he was willing to carry his head and balance himself without too many reminders from me. Maybe I'm getting better at catching him before he pops up, too... At any rate, after some working trot/sitting trot transitions, it was up to the canter.
That was far and away better than Saturday. And hand gallop didn't make me feel quite so hung out on the edge of a cliff today, either. I know what the problem is - I lose my lower leg, and then it's 'Hello, cliff!' But I think I'm improving - I wore jeans again, rather than breeches and half-chaps, and my leg stayed pretty much where it was supposed to despite having less grip than the half-chaps provide.
After a breather for Buddy - and me - we switched directions and tackled the same program to the right. Right was better then left. Woo-hoo!
Buddy got a rinse-down in lukewarm water and a cookie - not sure which he enjoyed more, and then I watched the last half of Eric's next lesson while I tacked Sunny up. A rodeo junior queen contestant with a roping horse and a reining pattern to do as part of the queening contest next week... Let's just say "GO!" will not be a problem. Neither will stopping. But finding the lope in the middle? Pony was initially frustrated and confused, and by the time they finished up the little gal was very red in the face, but his ears had started to come forward and he was getting the hang of the program.
Eric had her doing what was basically a half-halt and release as soon as the gelding hesitated and slowed even a smidge. They were both trying really hard, so hopefully they'll get things sorted before their deadline.
A lot of go is definitely not a concern with Sunny - thankfully I remembered my spurs! We warmed up at a walk in both directions with bending, leg yields and some counter-bending, then started walking a big circle to the right; his good direction.
He rolled over at the poll and I could feel his back come up under me. Sweet. We made several circles at a walk then moved on to trot and eventually canter. Transitions to the right were steady and solid. He stayed relatively light and didn't try to poke his nose out too often - but I didn't want to get too excited, because we hadn't gone left yet.
After a pause to air up, I revered him and we started left. Nice round walk, check. Working trot with an inside bend, check. Canter transition... right lead. Darn it!
I dropped him to trot, waited for a corner, made sure my hands were correct and his hip was pushed in, and... right (wrong) again. The third or fourth time he took the left lead and stayed in it until I asked him to trot. A break to air up again, and I asked him for left lead again. No dice.
So.... Either he's sore again, although he seemed perfectly willing to flex his neck in either direction, and his back didn't seem ouchie when I pressed on him post-ride, or I'm doing something wrong (always a possibility), or... who knows. He is taking both leads on the lunge line, and since he's willing to bend for me, I don't think he's as sore as he was before, so that's something at least.
Saturday, July 7, 2012
Lesson Day: Buddy
It's sort of sad when 80' feels cool...
But it was a lovely day today. The flies thought so too, as they were out in force. I'm trying Pyranha fly spray this year, and it seems to work fairly well... for about 10 minutes. But it's (slightly) less expensive than the Endure I used the last two years, and it works just as well, so... It has citronella oil in it, which smells good, but it surely does attract a lot of dust. I'd definitely recommend against using it on any white bits you want to stay bright and shiny..
At any rate, Eric was running behind when I got to the barn, so I hung out and chatted with C while I waited. Not sure where my head was today, but when Eric sent me to retrieve Buddy I returned with his next door neighbor (who I'd just returned to his stall minutes before after his turnout). Sheesh! My only excuse is the barn lights were out to cut down on heat, and Buddy and Fancy both stick their heads right in their halters.
We'll ignore the fact that Fancy's head is several inches longer than Buddy's. he's a good hand taller, doesn't have high white socks, and he's a gold chestnut, not red. Doh! Eric gave me a funny look and asked me if I was planning to ride Buddy, at which point I actually took a good look at poor Fancy who I'd removed from his dinner. It was dark over there, darn it!
Once I had the right horse in the crossties, grooming, polo wrapping all around and tacking up went smoothly. In the outdoor Buddy stood patiently while I got on... and realized I'd forgotten to refresh his fly spray. Thankfully one of the lookers-on took pity on those of us on horseback - I wasn't the only one whose pony needed a second spritz - and made the trek back to the barn for us.
Eric had two of us riding and C was also working her lovely bay gelding. It's a big arena though. And having a joint lesson actually meant I rode longer and Buddy got several nice breathers. It may have only been low 80's, but that's still warm when you're working. And if sweat means anything, we were working!
Buddy had a week off after Region 6, and with this past week in the 100's, I'm pretty sure all of the horses that aren't gearing up for a show in the near future, and/or being started had a break from riding, as well. We warmed up, then spent quite a while working on achieving a collected walk. Eventually he decided it was easier to cooperate than to continue going hollow with his nose stuck out, and we moved on to trot. Where we had the same discussion. He'd commit for long enough to get a release, hold it for a few strides, then pop back up.
Canter on Buddy's part was probably our best gait. On my part? I kept losing my lower leg - lack of practice showing up. When I had him nice and round and cantering evenly, Eric had me move up to hand gallop. Which was kind of a hot mess. If he'd tripped, I'd have gone right over his head. Half-chaps would have been a huge help. Guess what I wasn't wearing.
All in all, not our best lesson ever, but not a complete disaster. Our last couple of transitions were decent, and Buddy definitely enjoyed his bath. I have another set for Wednesday, and I'm taking Sunny/Thunder along so I can use the arena after my lesson. My poor pudgy pony has no idea what's in store for him. :)
But it was a lovely day today. The flies thought so too, as they were out in force. I'm trying Pyranha fly spray this year, and it seems to work fairly well... for about 10 minutes. But it's (slightly) less expensive than the Endure I used the last two years, and it works just as well, so... It has citronella oil in it, which smells good, but it surely does attract a lot of dust. I'd definitely recommend against using it on any white bits you want to stay bright and shiny..
At any rate, Eric was running behind when I got to the barn, so I hung out and chatted with C while I waited. Not sure where my head was today, but when Eric sent me to retrieve Buddy I returned with his next door neighbor (who I'd just returned to his stall minutes before after his turnout). Sheesh! My only excuse is the barn lights were out to cut down on heat, and Buddy and Fancy both stick their heads right in their halters.
We'll ignore the fact that Fancy's head is several inches longer than Buddy's. he's a good hand taller, doesn't have high white socks, and he's a gold chestnut, not red. Doh! Eric gave me a funny look and asked me if I was planning to ride Buddy, at which point I actually took a good look at poor Fancy who I'd removed from his dinner. It was dark over there, darn it!
Once I had the right horse in the crossties, grooming, polo wrapping all around and tacking up went smoothly. In the outdoor Buddy stood patiently while I got on... and realized I'd forgotten to refresh his fly spray. Thankfully one of the lookers-on took pity on those of us on horseback - I wasn't the only one whose pony needed a second spritz - and made the trek back to the barn for us.
Eric had two of us riding and C was also working her lovely bay gelding. It's a big arena though. And having a joint lesson actually meant I rode longer and Buddy got several nice breathers. It may have only been low 80's, but that's still warm when you're working. And if sweat means anything, we were working!
Buddy had a week off after Region 6, and with this past week in the 100's, I'm pretty sure all of the horses that aren't gearing up for a show in the near future, and/or being started had a break from riding, as well. We warmed up, then spent quite a while working on achieving a collected walk. Eventually he decided it was easier to cooperate than to continue going hollow with his nose stuck out, and we moved on to trot. Where we had the same discussion. He'd commit for long enough to get a release, hold it for a few strides, then pop back up.
Canter on Buddy's part was probably our best gait. On my part? I kept losing my lower leg - lack of practice showing up. When I had him nice and round and cantering evenly, Eric had me move up to hand gallop. Which was kind of a hot mess. If he'd tripped, I'd have gone right over his head. Half-chaps would have been a huge help. Guess what I wasn't wearing.
All in all, not our best lesson ever, but not a complete disaster. Our last couple of transitions were decent, and Buddy definitely enjoyed his bath. I have another set for Wednesday, and I'm taking Sunny/Thunder along so I can use the arena after my lesson. My poor pudgy pony has no idea what's in store for him. :)
Saturday, June 2, 2012
Lesson Day: Buddy indoors, and Sunny bends
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| Sunny channels his inner camel |
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| And shows off his flexibility |
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| a lot of time... |
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| Standing and sitting in the bathtub. |
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| It's coming together |
On Thursday, lesson day was chilly and damp. We ended up indoors due to almost two inches of rain the day before leaving the outdoor still draining.
Once again Eric had me focusing consistency and rate, but also on bringing Buddy's back and shoulders up. He's still rolling over at the poll and getting behind the bit rather than actually engaging fully and getting soft and round when I ask him for more collection. So... after some working trot and canter while Buddy had a break to walk, air up and stretch, Eric told me to see how far down I could get him to stretch. Walking "on the buckle" with his head lowered would give him a chance to really stretch his back and neck out - a release from the collection I'd been asking for.
To encourage him to stretch, Eric had me ask for an inside bend, and then as soon as Buddy softened and rolled over at the poll, release to him. It took a few repetitions of bend, soften, release, but by the time we'd walked a few laps his nose approaching the ground and he'd really relaxed.
When I gathered him back up and clucked him back into a trot, Eric had me do the same thing trotting - inside bend, wait for him to soften, then release - to see how low I could get him there. Once we went back to a normal working trot, when I asked Buddy to collect and engage, he was much softer. Pretty cool, actually - I'll definitely have to try it with Sunny.
By the time we called it a ride Buddy was sweaty, I was sweaty, and I could definitely feel my legs protesting. But it's a good sore, right? LOL!
Saturday, May 26, 2012
Lesson Day: Buddy, and Sunny with a chance of cows
This past week has been bathroom week with a side of electrical issues and freezer meltdown - unfortunately, literally on that last. We're now the proud owners of a new chest freezer, the kitchen fan is no longer an light-up-my-life hazard, and the bathroom has been gutted, the new window is in, and it's well on it's way to new paint and tile.
All of which is lovely, but combined with work has meant I haven't had much pony time. A few bareback pasture-go-rounds when I go out to fly spray and that's about it.
Sunny celebrated his 10th birthday on Thursday with an escape into the cow pasture. Someone didn't rehook the electric wire at the gate, and both boys just walked right across a low spot. Thankfully they were fine out with the cows until we got there to retrieve them.
Yesterday was lesson day. It was in the 60's and just barely rainy - much better than last week's wind and 90's! I had a good ride for the most part, although Buddy needs his shoes reset. Not having had time to ride, I'd reviewed the video my mom shot several times through and tried visualizing myself doing things more correctly than I looked to be doing them. Apparently it worked, at least in part.
I made some progress on rating him at the canter and on keeping my seat deep. Eric says I'm starting to use my weight better - which must be why I'm starting to feel more secure. Unfortunately, I'm still tipping forward too much - anyone know if those core exercise work as far as promoting better posture?
Surprisingly for a Friday, the barn was quiet. Buddy got a nice long warm bath post-ride, and I learned to braid a tail. Not so practical for fly season, but he's inside, and has a fan, so... Actually, I'm not a fan of really long, drag-on-the-ground show tails period. One that's nice and thick at fetlock-length looks better - but that's just my opinion, which obviously isn't shared by the majority of the show world!
Happy Memorial Day weekend! Hope everyone's getting lots of quality family time, horse time and riding time!
All of which is lovely, but combined with work has meant I haven't had much pony time. A few bareback pasture-go-rounds when I go out to fly spray and that's about it.
Sunny celebrated his 10th birthday on Thursday with an escape into the cow pasture. Someone didn't rehook the electric wire at the gate, and both boys just walked right across a low spot. Thankfully they were fine out with the cows until we got there to retrieve them.
Yesterday was lesson day. It was in the 60's and just barely rainy - much better than last week's wind and 90's! I had a good ride for the most part, although Buddy needs his shoes reset. Not having had time to ride, I'd reviewed the video my mom shot several times through and tried visualizing myself doing things more correctly than I looked to be doing them. Apparently it worked, at least in part.
I made some progress on rating him at the canter and on keeping my seat deep. Eric says I'm starting to use my weight better - which must be why I'm starting to feel more secure. Unfortunately, I'm still tipping forward too much - anyone know if those core exercise work as far as promoting better posture?
Surprisingly for a Friday, the barn was quiet. Buddy got a nice long warm bath post-ride, and I learned to braid a tail. Not so practical for fly season, but he's inside, and has a fan, so... Actually, I'm not a fan of really long, drag-on-the-ground show tails period. One that's nice and thick at fetlock-length looks better - but that's just my opinion, which obviously isn't shared by the majority of the show world!
Happy Memorial Day weekend! Hope everyone's getting lots of quality family time, horse time and riding time!
Sunday, May 20, 2012
Video: Sunny
I'm still having some issues with uploading video - unfortunately, the longer clips are too big, and they're the ones that show the most.
Kellie asked if I thought the adjustment had helped Sunny - I think so. He's definitely taking both leads out running loose. And even though he's still not taking the left lead as readily under saddle, that's always been his stiffer side. If I remember to be deliberate and consistent with how I cue him he's taking the left lead correctly again. And he's back to flexing his neck both ways and stepping across underneath himself easily, so... on the whole I'd have to say, yes :)
Saturday, May 19, 2012
Lesson Day: Buddy, and are my legs ever tired!
I had company yesterday for my lesson - my mom came along, and took lots of pictures and some high def video that my laptop doesn't like. We picked up the horse trailer and the boys on the way, all of us already sweaty at 11 AM in 90' heat. The wind, gusting past 30 mph, kept it tolerable but the flies were sticking and biting, and it felt like storm coming in.
We arrived early at Eric's with plenty of time to get the horses out and fly spray reapplied. I left the boys tied in the shade of the trailer, and we wandered over to watch the remainder of the lesson before mine. One of Eric's junior riders... maybe someday I'll grow up to ride as well as she does!
We chatted through tacking up, and then it was my turn with Buddy. I decided to try using the Thinline halfpad on Buddy too, right under the riser pad I usually use - not sure how much good it will do, but it's at least some extra cushion and not enough thickness to make a discernible difference in terms of saddle fit/girth length.
I could really tell I'd had some time off, and not in a good way. And I discovered as I attempted to get my foot level with the stirrup to mount that I'd worn jeans with no stretch. Stretchy is much better, especially when your pants are already sticking to you.
Overall, I'd rate my riding this lesson a C+. It was a good lesson work-wise, but I was struggling to keep Buddy round and consistently rated. On the positive side of the column, my canter transitions were felt good and were apparently some of my best yet, so at least that was something. With the heat, I wasn't sorry to have a slightly shorter lesson than normal. Buddy was sweaty, I was sweaty, and we were both ready for a break when we agreed that I was starting to run out of horse.
The shade and the fans in the barn felt wonderful. Buddy got a lukewarm rinse-down, which he thoroughly enjoyed. I got at least my arms wet, which felt pretty darn good.
Then it was Sunny's turn - Eric had a break between lessons for lunch, so I had the arena to myself. I decided to go ahead and use the all-purpose saddle with the Thinline halfpad. He's too fat to try stuffing any more padding underneath there.
Once more into the saddle muttering at the denim stuck to me. It wasn't until I was on that I realized I'd neglected to add spurs to my outfit, but I wasn't getting off again. Which is why practically every picture my mom took has shows my heels rolling up into Sunny's sides.
He was not overly energetic. But he did find lots of things along the edges of the arena to look at.
We did the usual warm-up stuff - bending and moving hips and shoulders in and out in each direction, small circles, some spirals at walk and trot. Then right lead canter, which he of course nailed. Then we reversed and tried left.
Hooray! I'm still having to be really deliberate about setting him up for the left lead, but he's taking it. I think he may still be anticipating it hurting, so hopefully it will get better.
Both directions a couple of times, and that was that. We packed up, loaded up and headed for home.
I may have some video to post later - I can't seem to get it to load at the moment. Maybe I'll have better luck later.
We arrived early at Eric's with plenty of time to get the horses out and fly spray reapplied. I left the boys tied in the shade of the trailer, and we wandered over to watch the remainder of the lesson before mine. One of Eric's junior riders... maybe someday I'll grow up to ride as well as she does!
We chatted through tacking up, and then it was my turn with Buddy. I decided to try using the Thinline halfpad on Buddy too, right under the riser pad I usually use - not sure how much good it will do, but it's at least some extra cushion and not enough thickness to make a discernible difference in terms of saddle fit/girth length.
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| No spurs required |
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| Yee-haw |
Overall, I'd rate my riding this lesson a C+. It was a good lesson work-wise, but I was struggling to keep Buddy round and consistently rated. On the positive side of the column, my canter transitions were felt good and were apparently some of my best yet, so at least that was something. With the heat, I wasn't sorry to have a slightly shorter lesson than normal. Buddy was sweaty, I was sweaty, and we were both ready for a break when we agreed that I was starting to run out of horse.
The shade and the fans in the barn felt wonderful. Buddy got a lukewarm rinse-down, which he thoroughly enjoyed. I got at least my arms wet, which felt pretty darn good.
Then it was Sunny's turn - Eric had a break between lessons for lunch, so I had the arena to myself. I decided to go ahead and use the all-purpose saddle with the Thinline halfpad. He's too fat to try stuffing any more padding underneath there.
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| Can't you just see the enthusiasm rolling off him? |
Once more into the saddle muttering at the denim stuck to me. It wasn't until I was on that I realized I'd neglected to add spurs to my outfit, but I wasn't getting off again. Which is why practically every picture my mom took has shows my heels rolling up into Sunny's sides.
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| I really want my spurs! |
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| A very scary orange cone |
We did the usual warm-up stuff - bending and moving hips and shoulders in and out in each direction, small circles, some spirals at walk and trot. Then right lead canter, which he of course nailed. Then we reversed and tried left.
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| Success! |
Both directions a couple of times, and that was that. We packed up, loaded up and headed for home.
I may have some video to post later - I can't seem to get it to load at the moment. Maybe I'll have better luck later.
Friday, April 27, 2012
Lesson Day: Sunny, Buddy, and best laid plans...
~Sunny~
Sunny, like most horses, goes more easily in one direction. But he'll usually take the correct lead when queued without too much drama. Not yesterday, at least not going left. I worked and worked and worked, and no matter how well I had him set up, he'd just torque his whole body around until he could get his right shoulder forward. Out of probably 35 attempts, I got him to take the correct lead a grand total of twice.
Once he was finally in it, he held it easily enough with no apparent bobbles, without breaking and without protest.
After the second correct effort, Eric had me switch directions and go right - he took that lead easily enough, but kept craning his head to the outside, and he stumbled a couple of times. Something just didn't feel quite right, although he still didn't seem to be actually favoring anything.
I'd had the same issue with canter left on Tuesday when I rode - I blamed it on rider error then, because canter departures are still something I struggle with, and the ground is pretty uneven. But after having me walk and then trot him again in both directions, Eric had me get off, and he tried canter left to see if he could feel where the problem was any better from on top. No luck, but Sunny did exactly the same thing with him to the left that he did with me, which definitively rules out rider error.
Eric flexed him and then had me trot him off, but Sunny trotted off square after that, too. Whatever we poked, pushed, prodded and manipulated, nothing seemed to bother him, but something is definitely wrong. This just didn't feel like naughty-horse attitude. So... we won't be showing on Saturday.
Eric suggested just doing the schooling walk-trot if I still wanted to take him, but given the footing which I know is really deep, the weather, which is crumby, and the two hour trailer ride... no sense pushing things. There will be other shows.
Sunny has an appointment at the vet on Tuesday to see if they can determine what/where the problem is, and if they don't find anything specific, I may make an appointment with the chiropractor. Since Sunny's happy enough running and playing in the pasture, and nothing's sore, warm, swollen or otherwise visibly wrong, he'll get a couple of (more) days completely off until the vet visit, and we'll see what happens.
~Buddy~
After that debacle, it was Buddy's turn. He nickered at me, flipped his mane and snuffled me with every appearance of being pleased to see me, stuffing his nose readily into his halter. His new front shoes rang on the concrete barn floor like a regular-sized horse's instead of the Clydesdale he sounded like before - much better!
I didn't rush grooming, even though he was pretty much clean barring a few flecks of sawdust. He earned a bit of fussing this past weekend, and he enjoys it so thoroughly, it's hard to resist spending an extra few minutes.
Tacked and on board, Eric had me working on rate since that's were I had the most issues at last weekend's show. The familiarity of home is less distracting, but with Buddy rested and refreshed, there was still no shortage of forward to work with. Slowing him down and then maintaining speed until told to change was just as challenging as usual, but he's holding frame and collection on his own for longer. I love that light, floaty feeling when he's carrying himself.
In the smaller indoor my tendency to let my outside leg drift forward was, as always, more pronounced, but to my great relief canter transitions in both directions were smooth. It was a good lesson, not least because with back to back rides it was easy to tell where I'm inconsistent, and where I need to be quicker to adjust to each horse's particular quirks and personality.
And that was my ride time for this week. I'll still go to the show tomorrow and be moral support and an extra pair of hands. Eric's only taking five horses, so I'm guessing things will be a lot lower key. Definitely less stressful for me, that's for sure!
Monday, April 23, 2012
Spring Show, Day Two
Sunday started early, although not as early as it would have had there been horses in halter. By 7 a.m. all the horses had fresh water, morning hay, and the ones in the early classes were getting longed and/or groomed.
Buddy and I were the first ones on C's slate of classes - she was riding her horse Trinity shortly after, so the two of us headed out to the main arena to longe the two horses. Surprisingly, neither of the two wanted to play. Buddy settled into a workman-like trot, not even bothering to snort at the pinto gelding circling at a brisk lope next to us.
The footing where I ended up was deep, and since he didn't show any signs of wanting to bounce around, I let him stay at a trot. I didn't have a watch on, but we did somewhere between 5 and 10 minutes in both directions - long enough for him to be warm-ish and not quite puffing.
Back in his stall with a cooler on, he sighed, cocked a hip and went to sleep. It was a brief nap, however - very quickly it was time for braiding and for tack for him and another quick change for me.
One of the weirdest things about showing with a group? I didn't get to tack my own horse. I saddled, unsaddled, wrapped legs, brushed, watered, fluffed tails, distributed hay, and tacked Buddy for Eric's rides, but for my classes someone else saddled him - I was supposed to stay clean.
I can count on one hand the number of times I've had someone else saddle my horse for me since I was tall enough and strong enough to tighten a cinch myself, and I can honestly say the novelty won't grow on me. While I appreciated the luxury, it was definitely strange.
There was plenty of time to warm up, and Buddy felt smooth and confident under me. I remember thinking, "I hope he feels this good in the class!" I suspect he heard me, because he was certainly suspiciously cooperative - until our class was called.
Once again, I entered first, but this time I managed to count how many were in with me. It was easy enough, since we'd already made most of one lap by the time the other two entered. Circling, I did my best to keep Buddy rated back, but he wasn't interested in slow. His nap was a lot more effective than my morning caffeine!
I did manage to keep him in better frame than the night before, I think, but Eric kept signalling me to slow him down. The best I could do was steady him and try to make my ride look as effortless as it really wasn't. The first canter transition I didn't get his hip in enough and he caught the wrong lead, but I felt it and was able to bring him back to a trot and ask again with better luck. Either the judge missed our bobble or one of the other riders did something more unforgivable, because when she called for a line-up I left the ring with another red ribbon. Her only comment to me? "Fresh this morning, isn't he?" Yup.
E untacked Buddy and threw a cooler on him while I changed. Then it was all hands on deck to get the western pleasure horses and the reiners wrapped, tacked and over to the warm-up ring. C rode and took a blue, but I missed it holding a horse. Eric was in and out, hopping on to warm up the Country English horses and then changing gears to the more sedate western pleasure. I went where pointed, held what was handed to me, ran for electrical tape to fasten wraps and forgotten numbers, and just generally had a great time.
Sunday's judge was a brisk one, and classes clicked by at a steady rate helped by the fact that the numbers were a bit thinner than on Saturday. For some, I think the regional show for Region 10 in Saint Paul is a much closer drive than the the one in Lincoln, Nebraska for Region 6, so they didn't stay.
Eric's second ride on Buddy resulted in another blue ribbon. He made it look effortless. Back in his stall, I took Buddy's mane down for the second time and turned him loose to eat, drink and nap until it was time to get ready again. In the meantime, the six or seven junior riders scrambled in and out of Country English, costume, show hack and western pleasure garb and back in again, sometimes multiple times. Parents scurried around, E and C ticked off classes, shuttled horses, and made the whole machine run smoothly. I don't think either of them sat down once all day for longer than 30 seconds at a stretch.
Time flew by - helped out by the decision to cut the supper break to 15 minutes - and it was time for Buddy and I to go out again. Eric shooed me off to dress, although at least I managed to fly through my change quickly enough to get back in time to at least help get Buddy tacked up. We didn't do much warm-up, I just walked some easy circles in the hold area outside the ring. Buddy was alert and paying attention, and when the gate opened, in we trotted, me prepared for a repeat of the morning's tug-o-war.
What I wasn't prepared for was how tired he was. Our trot was great. The canter transition was correct, but it felt like the transition to hand gallop wasn't coming and wasn't coming, and he broke to trot in front of the judge before I could catch him. I sent him right back up, but when he did it again going the other way, I was pretty sure we wouldn't place well. In fact, we did better than I'd anticipated, ending up with a third place ribbon.
Eric was disappointed, as he'd wanted me to qualify for another class for regionals - I was more than satisfied. Buddy was tired, I was tired, and he gave it a good effort. I just wasn't prepared for him to run out of steam, and I didn't help him enough. Eric saw it too, and although he'd intended to ride him in open hunter pleasure later in the evening, he scratched. Buddy was done.
Once again, someone else pulled tack. I rehung my soggy shirt and breeches, played a completely different kind of tug-of-war getting my boots off, stepped into my jeans and yanked my much slobbered upon, very dirty sweatshirt back over my head. Buddy was standing patiently in his stall, tied and still braided, but it was the work of only a few moments to fingercomb his braids out and resettle him in his blanket. A clean damp rag to wipe off the shiny eye goop, and I turned him loose so he could relax.
The handful of classes left went by in a more relaxed fashion. C showed me how to braid and sock tails, and I helped with that, then made the rounds with more clean damp rags to make clean faces. Parents started trailing by with garment bags full of show clothes. The girls emerged from the dressing room in jeans and sans glittery hair jewelry. Horses dozed standing, hips cocked or in a couple cases, flat out in their stalls. The show was winding down, and with the last of Eric's horses back, suddenly it was time to start packing up.
I stayed to help with the breakdown, both because I hate being one of those people that lets someone else do all the dirty work and because quite frankly I was having a good time. I wasn't the only one. Many hands made lighter work, and by nine the first load of horses was well on the way home, tack was packed, and all of the curtains were down, rugs folded, and everyone had a chance to finally sit down for a bit. With enough hands left to do the final load out, I headed for home, another hour's drive in front of me before I could call it a night.
All in all? It was an interesting experience. Everyone was more than kind, and made me feel really welcome. I learned. A lot. I'm still pretty sure I'm not cut out for showing on that level, but it was an adrenaline trip I won't forget in a hurry.
I took a Tylenol and fell into bed, waking up this morning to the reality of a ton of dirty laundry, a lawn with knee high dandylions, and two lawn mowers that refuse to start. Gotta love Mondays. And Sunny, Thunder and I are going to do this again next weekend? I must be nuts!
Buddy and I were the first ones on C's slate of classes - she was riding her horse Trinity shortly after, so the two of us headed out to the main arena to longe the two horses. Surprisingly, neither of the two wanted to play. Buddy settled into a workman-like trot, not even bothering to snort at the pinto gelding circling at a brisk lope next to us.
The footing where I ended up was deep, and since he didn't show any signs of wanting to bounce around, I let him stay at a trot. I didn't have a watch on, but we did somewhere between 5 and 10 minutes in both directions - long enough for him to be warm-ish and not quite puffing.
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| Nap-time |
Back in his stall with a cooler on, he sighed, cocked a hip and went to sleep. It was a brief nap, however - very quickly it was time for braiding and for tack for him and another quick change for me.
One of the weirdest things about showing with a group? I didn't get to tack my own horse. I saddled, unsaddled, wrapped legs, brushed, watered, fluffed tails, distributed hay, and tacked Buddy for Eric's rides, but for my classes someone else saddled him - I was supposed to stay clean.
I can count on one hand the number of times I've had someone else saddle my horse for me since I was tall enough and strong enough to tighten a cinch myself, and I can honestly say the novelty won't grow on me. While I appreciated the luxury, it was definitely strange.
There was plenty of time to warm up, and Buddy felt smooth and confident under me. I remember thinking, "I hope he feels this good in the class!" I suspect he heard me, because he was certainly suspiciously cooperative - until our class was called.
Once again, I entered first, but this time I managed to count how many were in with me. It was easy enough, since we'd already made most of one lap by the time the other two entered. Circling, I did my best to keep Buddy rated back, but he wasn't interested in slow. His nap was a lot more effective than my morning caffeine!
I did manage to keep him in better frame than the night before, I think, but Eric kept signalling me to slow him down. The best I could do was steady him and try to make my ride look as effortless as it really wasn't. The first canter transition I didn't get his hip in enough and he caught the wrong lead, but I felt it and was able to bring him back to a trot and ask again with better luck. Either the judge missed our bobble or one of the other riders did something more unforgivable, because when she called for a line-up I left the ring with another red ribbon. Her only comment to me? "Fresh this morning, isn't he?" Yup.
E untacked Buddy and threw a cooler on him while I changed. Then it was all hands on deck to get the western pleasure horses and the reiners wrapped, tacked and over to the warm-up ring. C rode and took a blue, but I missed it holding a horse. Eric was in and out, hopping on to warm up the Country English horses and then changing gears to the more sedate western pleasure. I went where pointed, held what was handed to me, ran for electrical tape to fasten wraps and forgotten numbers, and just generally had a great time.
Sunday's judge was a brisk one, and classes clicked by at a steady rate helped by the fact that the numbers were a bit thinner than on Saturday. For some, I think the regional show for Region 10 in Saint Paul is a much closer drive than the the one in Lincoln, Nebraska for Region 6, so they didn't stay.
Eric's second ride on Buddy resulted in another blue ribbon. He made it look effortless. Back in his stall, I took Buddy's mane down for the second time and turned him loose to eat, drink and nap until it was time to get ready again. In the meantime, the six or seven junior riders scrambled in and out of Country English, costume, show hack and western pleasure garb and back in again, sometimes multiple times. Parents scurried around, E and C ticked off classes, shuttled horses, and made the whole machine run smoothly. I don't think either of them sat down once all day for longer than 30 seconds at a stretch.
Time flew by - helped out by the decision to cut the supper break to 15 minutes - and it was time for Buddy and I to go out again. Eric shooed me off to dress, although at least I managed to fly through my change quickly enough to get back in time to at least help get Buddy tacked up. We didn't do much warm-up, I just walked some easy circles in the hold area outside the ring. Buddy was alert and paying attention, and when the gate opened, in we trotted, me prepared for a repeat of the morning's tug-o-war.
What I wasn't prepared for was how tired he was. Our trot was great. The canter transition was correct, but it felt like the transition to hand gallop wasn't coming and wasn't coming, and he broke to trot in front of the judge before I could catch him. I sent him right back up, but when he did it again going the other way, I was pretty sure we wouldn't place well. In fact, we did better than I'd anticipated, ending up with a third place ribbon.
Eric was disappointed, as he'd wanted me to qualify for another class for regionals - I was more than satisfied. Buddy was tired, I was tired, and he gave it a good effort. I just wasn't prepared for him to run out of steam, and I didn't help him enough. Eric saw it too, and although he'd intended to ride him in open hunter pleasure later in the evening, he scratched. Buddy was done.
Once again, someone else pulled tack. I rehung my soggy shirt and breeches, played a completely different kind of tug-of-war getting my boots off, stepped into my jeans and yanked my much slobbered upon, very dirty sweatshirt back over my head. Buddy was standing patiently in his stall, tied and still braided, but it was the work of only a few moments to fingercomb his braids out and resettle him in his blanket. A clean damp rag to wipe off the shiny eye goop, and I turned him loose so he could relax.
The handful of classes left went by in a more relaxed fashion. C showed me how to braid and sock tails, and I helped with that, then made the rounds with more clean damp rags to make clean faces. Parents started trailing by with garment bags full of show clothes. The girls emerged from the dressing room in jeans and sans glittery hair jewelry. Horses dozed standing, hips cocked or in a couple cases, flat out in their stalls. The show was winding down, and with the last of Eric's horses back, suddenly it was time to start packing up.
I stayed to help with the breakdown, both because I hate being one of those people that lets someone else do all the dirty work and because quite frankly I was having a good time. I wasn't the only one. Many hands made lighter work, and by nine the first load of horses was well on the way home, tack was packed, and all of the curtains were down, rugs folded, and everyone had a chance to finally sit down for a bit. With enough hands left to do the final load out, I headed for home, another hour's drive in front of me before I could call it a night.
All in all? It was an interesting experience. Everyone was more than kind, and made me feel really welcome. I learned. A lot. I'm still pretty sure I'm not cut out for showing on that level, but it was an adrenaline trip I won't forget in a hurry.
I took a Tylenol and fell into bed, waking up this morning to the reality of a ton of dirty laundry, a lawn with knee high dandylions, and two lawn mowers that refuse to start. Gotta love Mondays. And Sunny, Thunder and I are going to do this again next weekend? I must be nuts!
Spring Show Day One - Saturday
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| Buddy (a.k.a Shalisahn) |
Thanks to the supreme efficiency of a mother-daughter team who managed the list of who was in what, wearing what, and when, and juggled tack, riders and horses accordingly, Eric was free to stay near the warm-up area either riding or coaching, dispensing encouragement and displaying an amazing amount of patience, not to mention endurance. The exact horse count eludes me, but there were between 15 and 20, and of the 80 classes, he was either riding or had horses and riders in well over half of them. No halter horses, which at least made the mornings a little less early and much less hectic.
Classes ranged between one and six or so entries, so they weren't huge, which was nice. The judge on Saturday was a bit more leisurely with her pacing than Sunday's. Even so, Eric's class with Buddy snuck up and bit us in the butt. Back-to-back classes right before left him no time for warm-up, and a too-loose braid (my fault) on Buddy saw him doing a quick re-braid as they called his class. Luckily, a gate-hold gave him just enough time to be on and in without too much delay.
Even with a very forward Buddy who was still channeling his inner English Pleasure horse, Eric made earning his blue ribbon look easy. I made mental notes on the judge's timing for gait transitions, not that it did me much good, as the judges both days were fans of changing up the order.
I didn't ride until after the supper break, but I kept busy enough during the wait before my class that I didn't have time to be nervous. Mom and daughter were politely cautious, and properly, cautious of my offer to assist at first, but as I said to both of them, "If there's something you think I can do that needs doing, point me at it. If I'm in your way, tell me to get out of it - I won't take offense." And once they determined that I a) meant it, b) knew which bits of a horse to stay out from under, and c) could take direction, they gradually assigned me more responsible tasks.
It seemed like no time at all before Eric was braiding Buddy again while I was off scrambling into breeches and blouse, stabbing myself with the stockpin, and struggling into tall boots. Why does it seem like if they fit properly, they never want to go on - or come off?! Helmet, gloves, and Oh, CRAP! I need a number! Which was still pinned on Eric's hunt coat and thankfully easy to locate, although getting it pinned on resulted in more pin pricks. What felt like no time at all in the warm-up arena, and they were calling my class.
Buddy and I trotted in first, and with no idea who or how many were following us, (and I'm still not sure if it was 5 or 6!) I simply sent him forward at a working trot, trying to keep my rate even. The judge called almost immediately for a canter followed by hand gallop, walk, reverse 4 steps, canter, hand gallop, trot and then had us line up. Rate was a challenge the entire class, and I couldn't quite keep Buddy low enough. Still, I managed to find all my diagonals correctly, we caught both leads, and hand gallop was definitely a GALLOP. I mostly remembered to look up and around my corners, and did my best to make it all look effortless.
It felt like no time at all start to finish, although from taping a couple of classes for other riders earlier in the day, I'd guess it took somewhere between 6 and 8 minutes. I was soaked, Buddy was not. The announcer called Buddy's number - second! - although I had no idea they meant me until I heard my name, as I'd not even looked at the placard I'd pinned on, and probably wouldn't have retained it if I had.
After a minor altercation in which Buddy wanted to exit the ring slightly more hurriedly than I did, Eric expressed himself mildly surprised at our second - he thought I'd be pinned first, but I was more than satisfied with our first outing. In the brief few moments before he turned his attention to the next rider going in, we agreed that I needed to work on rate and not let Buddy build speed down the long sides. Other than that, I was happy, he was pleased, and that was all there was time for.
I'd forgotten to ask anyone to tape my ride, and the light level combined with the dust hanging in the arena made taking pictures of the actual classes pointless (I'd experimented earlier in the day, and I have numerous blurry shots to prove it). Too bad, too, as it was probably my best ride of the weekend.
Friday Pre-Show Ride
Eric trailered horses over Thursday, and by the time T and I arrived for my pre-show ride on Friday everything was set up and the arena was already bustling. The show site was the W.H. Lyons Fairgrounds in Sioux Falls. Big indoor arena and warm-up ring, stalling for a couple hundred horses, bleachers, concessions, etc. It's a nice space, and I've been there enough for various things that I already knew where everything was, which was helpful.
The standard uniform for horses was blankets and Sleazys. The standard uniform for the two-footed crowd was blue jeans and sweatshirts. I felt more than a little overdressed in my breeches and half-chaps, but I still have enough trouble keeping my lower leg where it belongs that I wanted the extra stick-um. Oh well.
Eric had schooling sessions scheduled straight through the day with all of his riders. Unlike some of the other trainers who had two or three riders out at once, he was taking his students one at a time, with only a slight overlap during cool down. T and I were a bit early, but by the time I had my tack hauled in and Buddy polo-wrapped, bell-booted and saddled, he was ready for me.
Buddy seemed to recall his previous outings as a halter horse and with Eric under saddle, because the bright lights and busy surroundings didn't phase him much. He did, however, have plenty of energy from standing in his stall most of the day. Eric hopped on first and made a couple of laps on an obviously fresh horse before he dismounted and sent me back for a longe line. On the line, Buddy hit the gallop button and Eric let him set his own rate and blow off some steam - the arena footing was pretty deep, and it didn't take long before Buddy was ready to slow down.
With the bouncy edge worn off, Buddy settled in and worked nicely for Eric through all three gaits. Then it was my turn. He was a little looky at the far end where some bright orange signs and a yapping dog, combined with all of the usual moving-in activities of another barn were going on, but following the advice to just keep asking fo an inside bend, we made it successfully past. On down the long side we passed the announcer's table with plenty of additional "interesting" stuff to eyeball without incident.
Buddy felt good - I felt like I'd forgotten everything I'd learned. But with a couple of laps under our belts without any real silliness, the butterflies flew away and I could focus. The hardest part was not so much managing Buddy, but avoiding collisions. While common sense and ring etiquette would suggest that riders stay on the same direction around the circle, not everyone subscribed. And with three horses being longed in the middle, what should have been ample space for avoiding disaster became somewhat less generous.
We didn't school overly long. Just enough to figure out where the potential trouble spots would be. All three gaits both directions, and the sense that Buddy was listening and paying attention. I was happy with it.
Then it was back to his stall to untack and a trip to the wash rack for a rinse. Which was an adventure all in itself. Clear across on the far side of the building, it's a low-ceilinged, concrete-floored room big enough for six (well-mannered) horses to be washed simultaneously. Think high school locker room showers, except with tie-rails and hoses. And water that stayed warm for the duration. It also had foot-wide drain grates running the length and width.
Buddy was not thrilled about the grates. And his front shoes made an impressively loud noise on impact with the floor. But the warm water obviously felt good, and he stood nicely for his rinse. I basically just sluiced him down and then slicked the drips off with my hand having forgotten to grab a scraper.
Back at his stall again, once Buddy was dry and redressed in his Sleazy and blanket, he tucked into water and hay. I finished getting my stuff arranged in the tack stall. My first class wasn't until Saturday after the supper break. I'd have a chance to watch Eric ride Buddy in the PB Hunter Pleasure Limit Horse class earlier in the day, and I was eager to see him go and get a better sense of how he'd be in an actual class.
The standard uniform for horses was blankets and Sleazys. The standard uniform for the two-footed crowd was blue jeans and sweatshirts. I felt more than a little overdressed in my breeches and half-chaps, but I still have enough trouble keeping my lower leg where it belongs that I wanted the extra stick-um. Oh well.
Eric had schooling sessions scheduled straight through the day with all of his riders. Unlike some of the other trainers who had two or three riders out at once, he was taking his students one at a time, with only a slight overlap during cool down. T and I were a bit early, but by the time I had my tack hauled in and Buddy polo-wrapped, bell-booted and saddled, he was ready for me.
Buddy seemed to recall his previous outings as a halter horse and with Eric under saddle, because the bright lights and busy surroundings didn't phase him much. He did, however, have plenty of energy from standing in his stall most of the day. Eric hopped on first and made a couple of laps on an obviously fresh horse before he dismounted and sent me back for a longe line. On the line, Buddy hit the gallop button and Eric let him set his own rate and blow off some steam - the arena footing was pretty deep, and it didn't take long before Buddy was ready to slow down.
With the bouncy edge worn off, Buddy settled in and worked nicely for Eric through all three gaits. Then it was my turn. He was a little looky at the far end where some bright orange signs and a yapping dog, combined with all of the usual moving-in activities of another barn were going on, but following the advice to just keep asking fo an inside bend, we made it successfully past. On down the long side we passed the announcer's table with plenty of additional "interesting" stuff to eyeball without incident.
Buddy felt good - I felt like I'd forgotten everything I'd learned. But with a couple of laps under our belts without any real silliness, the butterflies flew away and I could focus. The hardest part was not so much managing Buddy, but avoiding collisions. While common sense and ring etiquette would suggest that riders stay on the same direction around the circle, not everyone subscribed. And with three horses being longed in the middle, what should have been ample space for avoiding disaster became somewhat less generous.
We didn't school overly long. Just enough to figure out where the potential trouble spots would be. All three gaits both directions, and the sense that Buddy was listening and paying attention. I was happy with it.
Then it was back to his stall to untack and a trip to the wash rack for a rinse. Which was an adventure all in itself. Clear across on the far side of the building, it's a low-ceilinged, concrete-floored room big enough for six (well-mannered) horses to be washed simultaneously. Think high school locker room showers, except with tie-rails and hoses. And water that stayed warm for the duration. It also had foot-wide drain grates running the length and width.
Buddy was not thrilled about the grates. And his front shoes made an impressively loud noise on impact with the floor. But the warm water obviously felt good, and he stood nicely for his rinse. I basically just sluiced him down and then slicked the drips off with my hand having forgotten to grab a scraper.
Back at his stall again, once Buddy was dry and redressed in his Sleazy and blanket, he tucked into water and hay. I finished getting my stuff arranged in the tack stall. My first class wasn't until Saturday after the supper break. I'd have a chance to watch Eric ride Buddy in the PB Hunter Pleasure Limit Horse class earlier in the day, and I was eager to see him go and get a better sense of how he'd be in an actual class.
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