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.
Showing posts with label riding lessons. Show all posts
Showing posts with label riding lessons. Show all posts
Monday, October 1, 2012
Saturday, September 8, 2012
Lesson Day: Sunny jumps!
It was 50' this morning - chilly enough for a sweatshirt, and absolutely gorgeous. My lesson was scheduled for 9 a.m., so I had the boys loaded and was on the road not too much past eight.
The cool had Sunny on his toes. After commenting that Sunny appeared to be getting ready for winter - yes, if he was a bear he'd be all set for hibernation - Eric had me walk for not too very long and then bump Sunny into a working trot. It took a few laps for Sunny to soften to me, and he didn't collect as much as when we were working regularly, but he was trying. Canter left was still a no-go, and after a couple right (wrong) lead departures, Eric agreed when I asked if maybe we could wait until after Sunny's seen the chiropractor to really get after him.
Since Sunny was trotting level and solid, Eric had me switch directions and ask for right lead instead. That direction was actually pretty decent. Sunny's finally starting to engage his hind end and round into it, instead of being so heavy on his front end. When we started with lessons a year ago, Sunny was really flat - basically pulling himself around.
I'll admit, when Eric had ask for a gallop and two-point, I didn't push as hard as I think he would have liked, but there was at least some difference between canter and gallop, and Sunny didn't break. So, progress.
I dropped down to a working trot. Eric stood in the center and pondered....
"Do you want to try a jump?" was not a question I was expecting. Okay... do I really want to die today flashed through my mind, but what came out my mouth was, "Sure - I can trot it, right?"
So Eric set the jump standards out for a single jump. For the first few passes he left the three poles flat on the ground for us to first walk, and then trot through. Once Sunny was trotting through with no hesitation, Eric set one end of the middle pole in a cup - half of a very low x-rail - and had us try that.
Sunny has good brakes.
The first couple of approaches were pretty ugly, but for every time Sunny trotted over without hesitating, he got to walk a round. If he refused or balked, around we went again. Bless Sunny's lazy heart, he caught on pretty darn fast that if he went over, he got a break.
Once Sunny was going across the half-x smoothly, Eric raised the bar - literally. He put the other end of the pole in the cup, confronting us with a small single rail jump about 12" off the ground. Just like with the half-x, Sunny started by refusing a couple of times, but when I remembered to look through the standards to the opposite fence, instead of down at the jump, he started trotting over.
And then Eric said, "Okay, now canter."
Um... what? I thought you said we could just TROT!!! And of course, the first couple of times I looked down and Sunny ran out or refused. But lots of leg, remembering to look through the jump, and a four-footed epiphany (oh yeah, if I don't go over, I have to keep working...) later, we managed to canter up, hesitate, and trot over. Which bought Sunny a lap of walking. And on the next cantering attempt, I managed to look ahead, keep my legs on, shove my hands forward at the right moment, and Sunny jumped and cantered on. Where's a spectator with a camera when you need one?
We called that a lesson. I was soaked, having started the lesson in a sweatshirt. Sunny, although puffing slightly, had yet to even break a sweat. It's sad, really.
So is Sunny a jumper - nope - funny thought, though. I fully expect if I point him at a jump in the future, he's going to refuse plenty more times. BUT, I think the point of today's lesson wasn't as much Sunny jumping as it was getting me to stop over-thinking my canter departures and remembering to look up and between Sunny's ears. It was a fun change of pace - I didn't die.
Post-lesson, a couple of friends arrived to ride, and since they didn't have anything strenuous planned, I pulled Sunny's saddle off, unwrapped his polos, and hopped back on. Sunny was more than happy to mosey, we all had a nice ride/chat, and I didn't have to feel guilty for not having accomplished anything.
The cool had Sunny on his toes. After commenting that Sunny appeared to be getting ready for winter - yes, if he was a bear he'd be all set for hibernation - Eric had me walk for not too very long and then bump Sunny into a working trot. It took a few laps for Sunny to soften to me, and he didn't collect as much as when we were working regularly, but he was trying. Canter left was still a no-go, and after a couple right (wrong) lead departures, Eric agreed when I asked if maybe we could wait until after Sunny's seen the chiropractor to really get after him.
Since Sunny was trotting level and solid, Eric had me switch directions and ask for right lead instead. That direction was actually pretty decent. Sunny's finally starting to engage his hind end and round into it, instead of being so heavy on his front end. When we started with lessons a year ago, Sunny was really flat - basically pulling himself around.
I'll admit, when Eric had ask for a gallop and two-point, I didn't push as hard as I think he would have liked, but there was at least some difference between canter and gallop, and Sunny didn't break. So, progress.
I dropped down to a working trot. Eric stood in the center and pondered....
"Do you want to try a jump?" was not a question I was expecting. Okay... do I really want to die today flashed through my mind, but what came out my mouth was, "Sure - I can trot it, right?"
So Eric set the jump standards out for a single jump. For the first few passes he left the three poles flat on the ground for us to first walk, and then trot through. Once Sunny was trotting through with no hesitation, Eric set one end of the middle pole in a cup - half of a very low x-rail - and had us try that.
Sunny has good brakes.
The first couple of approaches were pretty ugly, but for every time Sunny trotted over without hesitating, he got to walk a round. If he refused or balked, around we went again. Bless Sunny's lazy heart, he caught on pretty darn fast that if he went over, he got a break.
Once Sunny was going across the half-x smoothly, Eric raised the bar - literally. He put the other end of the pole in the cup, confronting us with a small single rail jump about 12" off the ground. Just like with the half-x, Sunny started by refusing a couple of times, but when I remembered to look through the standards to the opposite fence, instead of down at the jump, he started trotting over.
And then Eric said, "Okay, now canter."
Um... what? I thought you said we could just TROT!!! And of course, the first couple of times I looked down and Sunny ran out or refused. But lots of leg, remembering to look through the jump, and a four-footed epiphany (oh yeah, if I don't go over, I have to keep working...) later, we managed to canter up, hesitate, and trot over. Which bought Sunny a lap of walking. And on the next cantering attempt, I managed to look ahead, keep my legs on, shove my hands forward at the right moment, and Sunny jumped and cantered on. Where's a spectator with a camera when you need one?
We called that a lesson. I was soaked, having started the lesson in a sweatshirt. Sunny, although puffing slightly, had yet to even break a sweat. It's sad, really.
So is Sunny a jumper - nope - funny thought, though. I fully expect if I point him at a jump in the future, he's going to refuse plenty more times. BUT, I think the point of today's lesson wasn't as much Sunny jumping as it was getting me to stop over-thinking my canter departures and remembering to look up and between Sunny's ears. It was a fun change of pace - I didn't die.
Post-lesson, a couple of friends arrived to ride, and since they didn't have anything strenuous planned, I pulled Sunny's saddle off, unwrapped his polos, and hopped back on. Sunny was more than happy to mosey, we all had a nice ride/chat, and I didn't have to feel guilty for not having accomplished anything.
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.
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!
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 13, 2012
Lesson Day: Buddy
With a newly-chiropractor-adjusted Buddy sporting freshly-shod hooves and a body clip, half of our equation looked show-spiffy. After a week of no riding, I wasn't feeling particularly with-it, unfortunately, and only getting four hours of sleep the night before didn't help.
Buddy had had the previous week off for post-vetting, chiropractor and shoes, and he was feeling good. Since the slow, cadenced walk is a challenge, we worked on that for a while, then moved to trot, which was, as usual, better. Didn't spend too much time there before Eric asked for a trot-canter transition. Correct lead! Hooray! But rate was way too fast. Close legs, shoulders back, seat deep, half-halt... and it worked. We slowed down.
And I could definitely tell that between the adjustment, new shoes, and time off Buddy was moving a lot more freely through his back and having an easier time staying collected. (And since T's brother-in-law adjusted my back while we were in KS over Easter, I can testify to the benefits of getting everything realigned properly!!)
Rather than coach me on everything, Eric spent a lot of the lesson asking for a transition and then pausing before he mentioned anything that should be changed to see if I could correct it myself. I did pretty well, although I still have that collapsing-forward habit, and I need to be quicker to rate Buddy back after his canter transitions. Downward transitions are decent, but again I have a tendency to collapse at the waist - I have to consciously remind myself to breathe and lean back. And I forget. A lot.
We'll practice again on Saturday, Tuesday and Wednesday, and then on Friday at the show grounds. Time sure flies!
And in other good news, we finally have RAIN!!! I can't even bring myself to cringe over the fact that they're forecasting a chance of snow for Monday.
Buddy had had the previous week off for post-vetting, chiropractor and shoes, and he was feeling good. Since the slow, cadenced walk is a challenge, we worked on that for a while, then moved to trot, which was, as usual, better. Didn't spend too much time there before Eric asked for a trot-canter transition. Correct lead! Hooray! But rate was way too fast. Close legs, shoulders back, seat deep, half-halt... and it worked. We slowed down.
And I could definitely tell that between the adjustment, new shoes, and time off Buddy was moving a lot more freely through his back and having an easier time staying collected. (And since T's brother-in-law adjusted my back while we were in KS over Easter, I can testify to the benefits of getting everything realigned properly!!)
Rather than coach me on everything, Eric spent a lot of the lesson asking for a transition and then pausing before he mentioned anything that should be changed to see if I could correct it myself. I did pretty well, although I still have that collapsing-forward habit, and I need to be quicker to rate Buddy back after his canter transitions. Downward transitions are decent, but again I have a tendency to collapse at the waist - I have to consciously remind myself to breathe and lean back. And I forget. A lot.
We'll practice again on Saturday, Tuesday and Wednesday, and then on Friday at the show grounds. Time sure flies!
And in other good news, we finally have RAIN!!! I can't even bring myself to cringe over the fact that they're forecasting a chance of snow for Monday.
Friday, March 2, 2012
Lesson Day: Dancer, and riding in the passing zone
Checked on the boys before I headed over to my lesson yesterday afternoon. The plows were out blading the 6"+ worth of slop off the even the gravel roads, but after the nearly 2" of rain we had before the snow started, the roads were awful. It was a mandatory 4-wheel-drive trip. The boys were happy to see me, and didn't seem to be any the worse for their drenching.
At Eric's there was a horse trailer in the driveway and when I went in I got to meet the owner of another horse Eric has in training. A nice down-to-earth seeming woman, she'd brought another of her horses over to work a bit. I didn't get his details, but a really pretty-headed, petite, but nicely put together sorrel paint she has listed at an upcoming sale. Sharp markings, lovely white face, dark eyes, and initially a bit of an attitude. He hadn't been ridden in a few months, and was not that enthused about the prospect.
She longed him lightly both directions before she got on, and while he never offered to buck, there was a definite hunch to his back. He spent the first half hour wringing his tail and grinding his teeth. I could hear him from all the way around the corner by the cross-ties where I was saddling Dancer. But once being annoyed didn't work, he settled down and cooperated more willingly, thank goodness.
Eric was finishing up with one horse when I arrived, and switched to the next at the start of my lesson. His victim was a stretchy, long-headed bay with mounting issues. The gelding arrived with extensive training, a show background, and a panic-stricken response anytime someone puts weight in a stirrup. Eric spent the entire hour just calmly stepping into the stirrup, leaning over, and then quietly swinging on while the other rider and I did circles around the outside of the arena. Finally the bay was calm enough to stand on a loose rein when he mounted. When he dropped his head, licked and chewed Eric stepped off and on one more time. The bay heaved a big sigh and relaxed - it was like a balloon deflating, you could see the tension drain away - and that was his ride for the day.
I had a great view of all the action from the rail, because once Dancer was tacked up Eric had us join in the fun. Since Dancer's stride covered quite a bit more ground than the paint's, not to mention she was working western pleasure slow to our more forward hunt seat, I lapped them fairly frequently. It was good practice for the show ring - and good to be on a horse with show seasoning. Neither horse paid the slightest attention to the other, but practicing invisible steering around traffic at the canter was a new challenge.
Like last week, the name of the game at all gaits was finding that sweet spot where Dancer remained collected, in frame, and neither too low or too flat. Kind of like Goldilocks (but absent the bears), I was looking for the spot that was just right. Unlike Goldilocks, three times was not always the charm.
The majority of the lesson we went left, which is Dancer's stiffer direction. Right he floats along without much more than minimal maintenance on my part, but left he finds it easier to go hollow or heavy on the forehand, so left was a workout for both of us. We were both plenty sweaty by the time Eric allowed us to switch directions.
My two-point is improving. After watching lots of hunt seat classes both during the Scottsdale show and on YouTube, I've come to the conclusion that the two-point I was taught was NOT show-ring two-point as practiced by the hunter under saddle competitors. I learned two-point for jumping. By going over jumps. We were taught a much crouchier style with a more forward release. The two-point for hand-gallop on the flat feels much more upright and less exaggerated. Of course, it's been 15 years, so I could be misremembering because heaven knows I've certainly forgotten lots of other things I learned that long ago!
It was interesting to have something of a group lesson for a change - although the paint's rider wasn't getting an official lesson, Eric would occasionally offer a comment or suggestion to her. She was considerate about keeping to the same gait and direction that I was going, so even though I still had to pass her a lot, it really didn't interrupt the flow of my lesson. Since Eric was basically stationary in the center, it wasn't as if he was really splitting his attention that much, and I think both of us were using the comments to the other rider as cross-check on our own riding. I know I was, at least, so it was certainly helpful in that respect, as well as for the passing practice.
I didn't get formal homework for the week, but what I heard most frequently this lesson was pretty much the same as it's been: lower leg position (more two-point) and better posture. Guess I can't expect the bad habits of a lifetime to be corrected overnight! Not sure it will be nice enough to ride this weekend, but I have high hopes for next week.
And speaking of next week... this will, I think, be my last lesson on Dancer. Remember, I said Eric had a proposition for me? Well, it involves a gelding with a previous career as a Country English horse. He's Eric's solution to the showing dilemma that my improved riding and Sunny's size presented. Stay tuned for more details and hopefully pictures.
At Eric's there was a horse trailer in the driveway and when I went in I got to meet the owner of another horse Eric has in training. A nice down-to-earth seeming woman, she'd brought another of her horses over to work a bit. I didn't get his details, but a really pretty-headed, petite, but nicely put together sorrel paint she has listed at an upcoming sale. Sharp markings, lovely white face, dark eyes, and initially a bit of an attitude. He hadn't been ridden in a few months, and was not that enthused about the prospect.
She longed him lightly both directions before she got on, and while he never offered to buck, there was a definite hunch to his back. He spent the first half hour wringing his tail and grinding his teeth. I could hear him from all the way around the corner by the cross-ties where I was saddling Dancer. But once being annoyed didn't work, he settled down and cooperated more willingly, thank goodness.
Eric was finishing up with one horse when I arrived, and switched to the next at the start of my lesson. His victim was a stretchy, long-headed bay with mounting issues. The gelding arrived with extensive training, a show background, and a panic-stricken response anytime someone puts weight in a stirrup. Eric spent the entire hour just calmly stepping into the stirrup, leaning over, and then quietly swinging on while the other rider and I did circles around the outside of the arena. Finally the bay was calm enough to stand on a loose rein when he mounted. When he dropped his head, licked and chewed Eric stepped off and on one more time. The bay heaved a big sigh and relaxed - it was like a balloon deflating, you could see the tension drain away - and that was his ride for the day.
I had a great view of all the action from the rail, because once Dancer was tacked up Eric had us join in the fun. Since Dancer's stride covered quite a bit more ground than the paint's, not to mention she was working western pleasure slow to our more forward hunt seat, I lapped them fairly frequently. It was good practice for the show ring - and good to be on a horse with show seasoning. Neither horse paid the slightest attention to the other, but practicing invisible steering around traffic at the canter was a new challenge.
Like last week, the name of the game at all gaits was finding that sweet spot where Dancer remained collected, in frame, and neither too low or too flat. Kind of like Goldilocks (but absent the bears), I was looking for the spot that was just right. Unlike Goldilocks, three times was not always the charm.
The majority of the lesson we went left, which is Dancer's stiffer direction. Right he floats along without much more than minimal maintenance on my part, but left he finds it easier to go hollow or heavy on the forehand, so left was a workout for both of us. We were both plenty sweaty by the time Eric allowed us to switch directions.
My two-point is improving. After watching lots of hunt seat classes both during the Scottsdale show and on YouTube, I've come to the conclusion that the two-point I was taught was NOT show-ring two-point as practiced by the hunter under saddle competitors. I learned two-point for jumping. By going over jumps. We were taught a much crouchier style with a more forward release. The two-point for hand-gallop on the flat feels much more upright and less exaggerated. Of course, it's been 15 years, so I could be misremembering because heaven knows I've certainly forgotten lots of other things I learned that long ago!
It was interesting to have something of a group lesson for a change - although the paint's rider wasn't getting an official lesson, Eric would occasionally offer a comment or suggestion to her. She was considerate about keeping to the same gait and direction that I was going, so even though I still had to pass her a lot, it really didn't interrupt the flow of my lesson. Since Eric was basically stationary in the center, it wasn't as if he was really splitting his attention that much, and I think both of us were using the comments to the other rider as cross-check on our own riding. I know I was, at least, so it was certainly helpful in that respect, as well as for the passing practice.
I didn't get formal homework for the week, but what I heard most frequently this lesson was pretty much the same as it's been: lower leg position (more two-point) and better posture. Guess I can't expect the bad habits of a lifetime to be corrected overnight! Not sure it will be nice enough to ride this weekend, but I have high hopes for next week.
And speaking of next week... this will, I think, be my last lesson on Dancer. Remember, I said Eric had a proposition for me? Well, it involves a gelding with a previous career as a Country English horse. He's Eric's solution to the showing dilemma that my improved riding and Sunny's size presented. Stay tuned for more details and hopefully pictures.
Friday, February 10, 2012
Lesson Day: Dancer, hunt seat
Between work & weather, I haven't ridden since last week's lesson. Not ideal - visualizing keeping my lower legs quiet and correct only works so well, you know? Sunny and Thunder don't seem to mind the break - Sunny hollers at me daily as soon as I step out of the car, and they're happy to be fussed over without having to work for their hay. Gluttons.
Yesterday was a warm, windy day - lately we've had something of a rollercoaster, temp-wise, with highs ranging from teens to low 50's - so I dressed for an outdoor ride in multiple layers, in case we ended up indoors. Even windy, outside is preferable though. Have to say, I LOVE the drainage on Eric's arena - not sure what his the base is, but the top is sand and the footing is fabulous: soft, without being deep, and it dries out fast.
This time, since I knew which horse to collect, he sent me after Dancer myself. He's outside in the big lot, and I had a train of inquisitive critters behind me by the time I got to the bale Dancer was munching. (Of course I stopped to do some nose-rubbing on the way.) He poked his nose in the halter and in fairly short order we were maneuvering out the gate - to the displeasure of several of his mates, who wanted to come, too.
I remembered my saddle, so I didn't have to worry about adjusting stirrups, which was nice. Brushed and tacked up, we headed outside, Eric with Pride - who next to Dancer's height looks even more perfectly petite and Breyer-like. He's so CUTE. I'll have to see if I can't locate a picture.
On top, Dancer felt good. Not quite as if I was riding a different horse, but certainly a much more relaxed one. Even with the wind whipping around our ears and the dog rattling around in the underbrush outside the arena, he rounded sweetly up to contact and walked - not jigged - off, flexing easily into the slight inside bend I asked for. It was such a change from the beginning of our previous lesson, I asked Eric if he'd been riding him since last week, but no - I was the last one to ride him.
And I got a compliment! Dancer is "sensitive" - he really doesn't like being grabbed in the mouth (what horse would?) and he gets frustrated easily - which can make him challenging to ride. It's one of the reasons Eric doesn't use him for lessons as much. But he's just as quick to relax and cooperate if he clicks with his rider. We apparently click, because Dancer stayed soft and light for the majority of the lesson. Eric informed me that I've come a long way since I started last fall. Happy glow!
That said, perfection 'r' not us! My downward transitions are still not the picture of melty and soft, my lower leg is inconsistent, and my two point is wobbly. So if it does get nice enough to ride, Sunny and I have our homework. I need to work on whoa in the following areas:
I think some of the leg thing is lack of strength and endurance. I can hold position pretty well for a while, but toward the end of the lesson my legs get tired. On Dancer, because he's so light, I can maintain it for longer, but on Sunny who's lazy and requires more leg, I get tired a lot faster and sloppy a lot quicker. More riding would help, but I guess in the meantime I need more exercise.
With the wind-up to show season starting, Eric's starting to toss helpful pointers into the mix. Like, "You know those parents on the rail whose kids can do no wrong? Pretend you're one of them when you make a correction - your horse is perfect, the best horse ever, and nothing just happened." Show poker-face means a proud and happy smile regardless, apparently - LOL!
Smooth lesson or not, I was beat when we finished. Fell asleep on the couch after supper, which pleased the cats. Missed the dresses/runway on Project Runway: All Stars, too :( Although I did manage to wake up long enough to see who got eliminated. One great side-benefit of lesson days - I always get a great night's sleep afterwards.
Hopefully the weather will cooperate and I'll have more horsey news to report this week. In the meantime, off to catch up on what all of you have been up to!
Yesterday was a warm, windy day - lately we've had something of a rollercoaster, temp-wise, with highs ranging from teens to low 50's - so I dressed for an outdoor ride in multiple layers, in case we ended up indoors. Even windy, outside is preferable though. Have to say, I LOVE the drainage on Eric's arena - not sure what his the base is, but the top is sand and the footing is fabulous: soft, without being deep, and it dries out fast.
This time, since I knew which horse to collect, he sent me after Dancer myself. He's outside in the big lot, and I had a train of inquisitive critters behind me by the time I got to the bale Dancer was munching. (Of course I stopped to do some nose-rubbing on the way.) He poked his nose in the halter and in fairly short order we were maneuvering out the gate - to the displeasure of several of his mates, who wanted to come, too.
I remembered my saddle, so I didn't have to worry about adjusting stirrups, which was nice. Brushed and tacked up, we headed outside, Eric with Pride - who next to Dancer's height looks even more perfectly petite and Breyer-like. He's so CUTE. I'll have to see if I can't locate a picture.
On top, Dancer felt good. Not quite as if I was riding a different horse, but certainly a much more relaxed one. Even with the wind whipping around our ears and the dog rattling around in the underbrush outside the arena, he rounded sweetly up to contact and walked - not jigged - off, flexing easily into the slight inside bend I asked for. It was such a change from the beginning of our previous lesson, I asked Eric if he'd been riding him since last week, but no - I was the last one to ride him.
And I got a compliment! Dancer is "sensitive" - he really doesn't like being grabbed in the mouth (what horse would?) and he gets frustrated easily - which can make him challenging to ride. It's one of the reasons Eric doesn't use him for lessons as much. But he's just as quick to relax and cooperate if he clicks with his rider. We apparently click, because Dancer stayed soft and light for the majority of the lesson. Eric informed me that I've come a long way since I started last fall. Happy glow!
That said, perfection 'r' not us! My downward transitions are still not the picture of melty and soft, my lower leg is inconsistent, and my two point is wobbly. So if it does get nice enough to ride, Sunny and I have our homework. I need to work on whoa in the following areas:
- Soften my spine
- Close my whole leg down through my ankle
- Do NOT collapse forward
- Keep my head/eyes up
- Remember not to release until my horse is soft (well, my horse should actually stay soft...)
I think some of the leg thing is lack of strength and endurance. I can hold position pretty well for a while, but toward the end of the lesson my legs get tired. On Dancer, because he's so light, I can maintain it for longer, but on Sunny who's lazy and requires more leg, I get tired a lot faster and sloppy a lot quicker. More riding would help, but I guess in the meantime I need more exercise.
With the wind-up to show season starting, Eric's starting to toss helpful pointers into the mix. Like, "You know those parents on the rail whose kids can do no wrong? Pretend you're one of them when you make a correction - your horse is perfect, the best horse ever, and nothing just happened." Show poker-face means a proud and happy smile regardless, apparently - LOL!
Smooth lesson or not, I was beat when we finished. Fell asleep on the couch after supper, which pleased the cats. Missed the dresses/runway on Project Runway: All Stars, too :( Although I did manage to wake up long enough to see who got eliminated. One great side-benefit of lesson days - I always get a great night's sleep afterwards.
Hopefully the weather will cooperate and I'll have more horsey news to report this week. In the meantime, off to catch up on what all of you have been up to!
Friday, December 23, 2011
Lesson Day: Alisha, Take Two
Debated and debated over whether to take Sunny, but ultimately climbed into the Blazer rather than hook the trailer up. Arrived at Eric's with the sun still shining and no breeze - a balmy 32'. He asked if I wanted to ride outside. Glad I threw a heavier jacket in the car!
Alisha again - and this time I got to go collect her myself while Eric finished putting away his previous mount. She's outside with eight or ten other horses (and a couple of Eyore's cousins) in a big lot. Okay, first test: could I find the right horse? Catching one certainly wouldn't be a problem, as they all collect for their share of rubs and pats as soon as they see you coming - but haltering the right one might be a trick. I wended my way through, looking for a smallish, chestnut mare with one front stocking, and a blaze face perched on a long, upright neck... amid a corral full of chestnuts, bays and grays. Well, at least I could rule out the bays, grays, and the donkeys!
I haltered the horse that matched my best recollection of Alisha's build and markings, making sure to check underneath for the proper equipment - bringing in a gelding sure wouldn't get me any points for swiftness! I was fighting with the gate latch when Eric appeared to check on my progress. Happily for me, I had the right horse.
Saddled, bridled and booted all around, we headed out into the big arena for "show day" practice. Three small orange cones on the long side divided the arena into thirds - the middle was the center point, and a cone on each end about 10 feet off the short side denoted where I was to pretend the arena stopped.
After a brief warm-up we went straight into an easy left-lead lope, concentrating on cadence. My goal was to keep her steady and solidly on a big circle encompassing about half the arena - the center being that middle orange cone. All changes of rate were to happen at the exact center on a straight mid-line.
After I'd successfully circled the arena several times, being coached on relaxing deep into my seat and not dropping my shoulders, and oh, by the way, she doesn't like the greenhouse at that end, so be sure to work to keep her round... Eric had me collect her up and ask her for fast, large circles. As we sped around the arena, concentrating on maintaining cadence and circularity (no egg-shapes, please!) he explained the small slow circle that we'd transition to next.
The small slow circle begins on the same imaginary mid-line as the large, fast circle, but it's smaller (duh!). The goal is to show the largest difference possible between the rate of the large fast and small slow - but cadence, roundness and smoothness trump all.
When I asked for slow, I unintentionally shifted my weight - and got a huge bounce right - note to self: Alisha changes leads on the fly really(!) fast - as she misinterpreted my seat adjustment as a signal to switch directions. Oops. Misplaced cues aside, we managed a series of size and rate changes fairly well, although I suspect there was lots of room for improvement. Still, for a first effort I don't think it was too bad.
Following circles to the left we paused to allow Alisha (and me) to air up again, then repeated the exercise to the right at the other end of the arena. This time, a clearer ideas of what was expected things went more smoothly, so we didn't work in that direction quite as long.
Another pause for breathing during which Eric demonstrated flying lead changes. The smaller indoor doesn't have enough space for practicing those, so although my circles could probably have used more work on roundness and definitely on rate, the daylight was starting to trickle away, taking with it any lingering warmth - we moved on to make the most of the unusual-for-this-time-of-year gift of outdoor space.
Hopefully this makes sense - it does in my head, but once it's passed through my fingers, all bets are off! Eric's intent in training is that a horse will maintain it's rate and direction on the circle with the lightest possible guidance from the rider. Because the horses quickly learn the patterns and to respond to shifts of weight and leg position lightly and promptly (witness Alisha's quick bounce anticipating a lead change when I shifted my hips), it's important to cue them clearly and consistently when a change is actually coming. Well, all the time, actually, but you get the idea.
So. On a normal circle left with no change planned, my legs should be steady, maintaining light to non-existent support, only bumping if Alisha's rate changes or she moves off the circle. On a left circle preparing for a change, rounding the curve just prior to the center, I should add right (outside) leg behind the cinch, reinforcing a haunches-in. At the center I should change to a cue for the right lead. I should be looking up and to the center of the new circle. My weight should shift from my right to left hip, and my right leg should move forward to hold her barrel, with my left leg sliding back behind the cinch to move her left hip over, while my right hand lifts to tip her nose in, cuing a bend into the curve of the new circle.
She should change smoothly, not bolting forward into the new direction - which she had a tendency to do. But that's mostly a sign that I haven't quite gotten the hang of how much emphasis (not much) I need to cue her. I'm still shouting, or at least asking loudly; I need to learn to whisper.
A couple of changes in both directions provided plenty of food for thought. As the daylight was fading more quickly, we finished up with another run at spinning properly. Lo and behold! My slow, thoughtful body-part-by-body-part practice on Sunny paid off. I wouldn't say the spins were fantastic, but they were much better. And I was able to focus more successfully on Aisha, enough to tell when she was correctly stepping over to the right in front, or incorrectly stepping under. I'm not sure how big my grin was, but I know I was wearing one!
We called it a ride with that - a very successful lesson on multiple counts. I made it through without being uncomfortably nervous at the speed we were traveling much of the time, AND I managed to successfully and intentionally cue for flying changes. As a bonus, the spins have improved.
I may feel guilty for cheating on Sunny, but it is nice to have the opportunity to learn without splitting my attention between what I'm doing and what he should be doing but isn't. And I was doubly grateful I hadn't brought him when, after walking Alisha mostly cool and brushing her to the point of barely damp, Eric decided that she should spend the night in the barn were it was warmer, rather then going back out into the increasingly chilly night temps.
Alisha again - and this time I got to go collect her myself while Eric finished putting away his previous mount. She's outside with eight or ten other horses (and a couple of Eyore's cousins) in a big lot. Okay, first test: could I find the right horse? Catching one certainly wouldn't be a problem, as they all collect for their share of rubs and pats as soon as they see you coming - but haltering the right one might be a trick. I wended my way through, looking for a smallish, chestnut mare with one front stocking, and a blaze face perched on a long, upright neck... amid a corral full of chestnuts, bays and grays. Well, at least I could rule out the bays, grays, and the donkeys!
I haltered the horse that matched my best recollection of Alisha's build and markings, making sure to check underneath for the proper equipment - bringing in a gelding sure wouldn't get me any points for swiftness! I was fighting with the gate latch when Eric appeared to check on my progress. Happily for me, I had the right horse.
Saddled, bridled and booted all around, we headed out into the big arena for "show day" practice. Three small orange cones on the long side divided the arena into thirds - the middle was the center point, and a cone on each end about 10 feet off the short side denoted where I was to pretend the arena stopped.
After a brief warm-up we went straight into an easy left-lead lope, concentrating on cadence. My goal was to keep her steady and solidly on a big circle encompassing about half the arena - the center being that middle orange cone. All changes of rate were to happen at the exact center on a straight mid-line.
After I'd successfully circled the arena several times, being coached on relaxing deep into my seat and not dropping my shoulders, and oh, by the way, she doesn't like the greenhouse at that end, so be sure to work to keep her round... Eric had me collect her up and ask her for fast, large circles. As we sped around the arena, concentrating on maintaining cadence and circularity (no egg-shapes, please!) he explained the small slow circle that we'd transition to next.
The small slow circle begins on the same imaginary mid-line as the large, fast circle, but it's smaller (duh!). The goal is to show the largest difference possible between the rate of the large fast and small slow - but cadence, roundness and smoothness trump all.
When I asked for slow, I unintentionally shifted my weight - and got a huge bounce right - note to self: Alisha changes leads on the fly really(!) fast - as she misinterpreted my seat adjustment as a signal to switch directions. Oops. Misplaced cues aside, we managed a series of size and rate changes fairly well, although I suspect there was lots of room for improvement. Still, for a first effort I don't think it was too bad.
Following circles to the left we paused to allow Alisha (and me) to air up again, then repeated the exercise to the right at the other end of the arena. This time, a clearer ideas of what was expected things went more smoothly, so we didn't work in that direction quite as long.
Another pause for breathing during which Eric demonstrated flying lead changes. The smaller indoor doesn't have enough space for practicing those, so although my circles could probably have used more work on roundness and definitely on rate, the daylight was starting to trickle away, taking with it any lingering warmth - we moved on to make the most of the unusual-for-this-time-of-year gift of outdoor space.
Hopefully this makes sense - it does in my head, but once it's passed through my fingers, all bets are off! Eric's intent in training is that a horse will maintain it's rate and direction on the circle with the lightest possible guidance from the rider. Because the horses quickly learn the patterns and to respond to shifts of weight and leg position lightly and promptly (witness Alisha's quick bounce anticipating a lead change when I shifted my hips), it's important to cue them clearly and consistently when a change is actually coming. Well, all the time, actually, but you get the idea.
So. On a normal circle left with no change planned, my legs should be steady, maintaining light to non-existent support, only bumping if Alisha's rate changes or she moves off the circle. On a left circle preparing for a change, rounding the curve just prior to the center, I should add right (outside) leg behind the cinch, reinforcing a haunches-in. At the center I should change to a cue for the right lead. I should be looking up and to the center of the new circle. My weight should shift from my right to left hip, and my right leg should move forward to hold her barrel, with my left leg sliding back behind the cinch to move her left hip over, while my right hand lifts to tip her nose in, cuing a bend into the curve of the new circle.
She should change smoothly, not bolting forward into the new direction - which she had a tendency to do. But that's mostly a sign that I haven't quite gotten the hang of how much emphasis (not much) I need to cue her. I'm still shouting, or at least asking loudly; I need to learn to whisper.
A couple of changes in both directions provided plenty of food for thought. As the daylight was fading more quickly, we finished up with another run at spinning properly. Lo and behold! My slow, thoughtful body-part-by-body-part practice on Sunny paid off. I wouldn't say the spins were fantastic, but they were much better. And I was able to focus more successfully on Aisha, enough to tell when she was correctly stepping over to the right in front, or incorrectly stepping under. I'm not sure how big my grin was, but I know I was wearing one!
We called it a ride with that - a very successful lesson on multiple counts. I made it through without being uncomfortably nervous at the speed we were traveling much of the time, AND I managed to successfully and intentionally cue for flying changes. As a bonus, the spins have improved.
I may feel guilty for cheating on Sunny, but it is nice to have the opportunity to learn without splitting my attention between what I'm doing and what he should be doing but isn't. And I was doubly grateful I hadn't brought him when, after walking Alisha mostly cool and brushing her to the point of barely damp, Eric decided that she should spend the night in the barn were it was warmer, rather then going back out into the increasingly chilly night temps.
Saturday, December 17, 2011
Lesson Day: Alisha
Thursday afternoon it was again too cold for me to want to haul Sunny. I layered on long underwear under my boots and jeans and headed over to Eric's to see who he'd have me ride. No choice this time - when I arrived sans-pony, he informed me we were going to work on reinforcing muscle memory from last week.
But instead of riding Pride, who was going to make me work for everything, he put me on Alisha. Alisha, like many of Eric's horses, has competed successfully on a national level. In her case, in several disciplines, including saddleseat and reining. A very sweet mare, he described her as an over-achiever. If I was clear about what I wanted, she'd be spot on - if not, she was going to get anxious. She has an upright build and a long, elegant neck - instead of having to work on elevation and getting lightness in front like I do with Sunny and had to with Pride, I'd have to work on solid cues and keeping her collected.
He had me warm up hunt, with trotting transitions (and if that wasn't just a barrel full of monkeys in a western saddle!), haunches in/out and then we worked on walk/lope transitions, stops and rollbacks. Transitions were MUCH easier - primarily because she's so light and forward that I could almost think her into a lope. But she'd also happily pick up the wrong lead, so it was pretty clear if I was asking correctly or not.
Stopping was tougher - Alisha doesn't have sliders on, so the effect was a harder stop since all forward motion ceased immediately rather than continuing on into the slide as it did with Pride. I managed to sit one decent stop - the last one, but overall had a really hard time not automatically bracing my lower back rather than melting down into my seat. Just like with the spins last week, sitting the stop was much easier if I remembered to look up, rather than down. Just rocking my head and shoulders back let Alisha lift her front end and tuck her butt properly. And kept me from imitating a lawn dart.
Spins... still figuring those out. Alisha has a club foot on the left front. Shorter tendon/ligament? Eric explained and I didn't retain the technicalities. Suffice it to say that she's trimmed well, and it doesn't affect her moving, except when she spins - because it's harder for her to go right, if she's not moving slightly forward when she starts, she'll step under rather than over in front. Since she spins like she does everything else - fast, I had trouble keeping up with her to the left. But to the right because of her conformational defect, she's just a little slower.
From my point of view, that was not a bad thing - it was relatively speaking easier for me to at least try to get all my bits properly organized going right. I'm almost getting the proper cluck-then-bump rhythm down...almost, but not quite. But it's coming.
I actually practiced spinning very slowly, bareback, on Sunny yesterday, thinking about getting each of both of our body parts to move when I wanted them to. Not that he had much of a clue, or that it would have resembled a spin to anyone watching us, but I think it helped me at least, and he's a trooper. It's going to take some work - this is going to be another one of those maneuvers like the half-pass that should be simple, but where I get my rights and lefts all discombobulated.
But instead of riding Pride, who was going to make me work for everything, he put me on Alisha. Alisha, like many of Eric's horses, has competed successfully on a national level. In her case, in several disciplines, including saddleseat and reining. A very sweet mare, he described her as an over-achiever. If I was clear about what I wanted, she'd be spot on - if not, she was going to get anxious. She has an upright build and a long, elegant neck - instead of having to work on elevation and getting lightness in front like I do with Sunny and had to with Pride, I'd have to work on solid cues and keeping her collected.
He had me warm up hunt, with trotting transitions (and if that wasn't just a barrel full of monkeys in a western saddle!), haunches in/out and then we worked on walk/lope transitions, stops and rollbacks. Transitions were MUCH easier - primarily because she's so light and forward that I could almost think her into a lope. But she'd also happily pick up the wrong lead, so it was pretty clear if I was asking correctly or not.
Stopping was tougher - Alisha doesn't have sliders on, so the effect was a harder stop since all forward motion ceased immediately rather than continuing on into the slide as it did with Pride. I managed to sit one decent stop - the last one, but overall had a really hard time not automatically bracing my lower back rather than melting down into my seat. Just like with the spins last week, sitting the stop was much easier if I remembered to look up, rather than down. Just rocking my head and shoulders back let Alisha lift her front end and tuck her butt properly. And kept me from imitating a lawn dart.
Spins... still figuring those out. Alisha has a club foot on the left front. Shorter tendon/ligament? Eric explained and I didn't retain the technicalities. Suffice it to say that she's trimmed well, and it doesn't affect her moving, except when she spins - because it's harder for her to go right, if she's not moving slightly forward when she starts, she'll step under rather than over in front. Since she spins like she does everything else - fast, I had trouble keeping up with her to the left. But to the right because of her conformational defect, she's just a little slower.
From my point of view, that was not a bad thing - it was relatively speaking easier for me to at least try to get all my bits properly organized going right. I'm almost getting the proper cluck-then-bump rhythm down...almost, but not quite. But it's coming.
I actually practiced spinning very slowly, bareback, on Sunny yesterday, thinking about getting each of both of our body parts to move when I wanted them to. Not that he had much of a clue, or that it would have resembled a spin to anyone watching us, but I think it helped me at least, and he's a trooper. It's going to take some work - this is going to be another one of those maneuvers like the half-pass that should be simple, but where I get my rights and lefts all discombobulated.
 |
| Is that not a patient face? |
Friday, December 9, 2011
Riding the Slide
Lesson day yesterday, but it was just too cold to get Sunny all sweaty again. He'll get his turn this weekend, outside in the sunshine on the trail.
I had my choice when I arrived - since this is a down period for lessons (apparently not too many people are interested in riding in the cold... go figure!) and the wind-up for show season hasn't started yet, the barn is pretty quiet. I could pick: hunt seat, English pleasure, western pleasure, or a reiner. English pleasure is so far out of my arena that I wouldn't know where to begin - I opted for a reiner.
Eric had me get Pride out. He's a cute little bay Arab; fine-boned and delicate with a compact build. Very catty and light on his feet. And very narrow after Sunny's barrel-shape.
Tacking up was western, of course. A simple O-ring snaffle and blue leg wraps. Eric demonstrated the proper method on the fronts, and had me do the rears. Something I've always wanted to learn, but have been afraid to try on my own for fear of screwing it up. Very cool.
From memory, so hopefully right - I'm going to have to practice!
Once Pride was dressed, Eric put us through the usual warm-up exercises, which also served as an opportunity to get connected. Riding a finished horse, it's amazing the difference in balance and cadence - and lightness. He was a bit fresh to start with, but forward is good, and he was cooperative about it, so no worries there. Is it comforting, or disheartening to know that I can consistently muck up a sidepass on a horse that actually knows what he's doing? Sigh...
So. Other than the saddle, there are a few definite differences between hunt seat and reining. In a nutshell:
Oddly, although I struggled as usual with lope departures, stopping that hard felt fairly natural. Other than forgetting to say "whoa" a couple of times, and getting slightly stiff and rocking forward once, sitting deep, relaxed, and pushing my feet forward into the slide felt fine. Unlike riding Sunny, where I struggle just to keep him from breaking back to a trot, and whose balance on a circle is still developing, Pride patters neatly around. Asking him to speed up is as simple as moving your hands forward and driving with your hips, leg and seat. Want to slow down? Slow the rate of your hips. Stop? Take your legs off and remember to say, "Whoa!"
Loping off was a challenge, though. Ideally, from a collected walk with the horse bent slightly on the circle, I would cue for the lope by tipping his nose in and sliding my outside leg back, then squeezing with both legs and kissing. And he should step nicely up into a lope. Except not... or at least not consistently. Ultimately, we determined that I was being too busy with my hands and legs in preparing for the transition. If I kept everything crisp and clear, he'd step up. If I monkeyed with trying to get him perfectly in frame and moving forward, he was getting so many signals he just ignored me. I suspect I've been doing the same thing with Sunny. And believe me, I was making mental notes!
Spinning... Do you get dizzy easily? Here again, right and left were not my friends, but I managed to successfully coordinate myself to get a couple of decent efforts. And actually, I learned as much from doing things wrong - I was having a horrible time to the left. Until I shifted my weight back and suddenly Pride was spinning. With my weight off his shoulders he was able to rock back on his hindquarters properly.
It didn't feel as if I worked as hard as I usually do with Sunny, and Pride certainly wasn't as sweaty, but I'm pleasantly sore this morning in some interesting places. Different muscles at work, quite definitely! And I'm looking forward to using them again!
I had my choice when I arrived - since this is a down period for lessons (apparently not too many people are interested in riding in the cold... go figure!) and the wind-up for show season hasn't started yet, the barn is pretty quiet. I could pick: hunt seat, English pleasure, western pleasure, or a reiner. English pleasure is so far out of my arena that I wouldn't know where to begin - I opted for a reiner.
Eric had me get Pride out. He's a cute little bay Arab; fine-boned and delicate with a compact build. Very catty and light on his feet. And very narrow after Sunny's barrel-shape.
Tacking up was western, of course. A simple O-ring snaffle and blue leg wraps. Eric demonstrated the proper method on the fronts, and had me do the rears. Something I've always wanted to learn, but have been afraid to try on my own for fear of screwing it up. Very cool.
From memory, so hopefully right - I'm going to have to practice!
Wrap to the inside.
The roll should unwrap counterclockwise,
or the velcro fastener will be backwards when you finish the wrap.
It should be snug, but not tight, with no wrinkles.
Start just below the knee on the cannon bone and wrap downwards,
lapping about halfway down each time.
At the bottom of the cannon,
take a wrap down under the bulb of the fetlock,
around once, and then back down
under the bulb once more.
The wrap should have a small V in the middle/front
of the leg if done properly.
Then wrap back up to the top of the cannon bone again
to finish the where it started.
Once Pride was dressed, Eric put us through the usual warm-up exercises, which also served as an opportunity to get connected. Riding a finished horse, it's amazing the difference in balance and cadence - and lightness. He was a bit fresh to start with, but forward is good, and he was cooperative about it, so no worries there. Is it comforting, or disheartening to know that I can consistently muck up a sidepass on a horse that actually knows what he's doing? Sigh...
So. Other than the saddle, there are a few definite differences between hunt seat and reining. In a nutshell:
- Hunt: lots of trotting - sitting and posting
- Reining: no trotting. It's either walking, loping or galloping
- Hunt: seat is centered or forward.
- Reining: seat is deep and balanced, but never forward.
- Hunt: stop is round, collected, and legs stay on through the entire downward transition, only coming off when the stop is complete.
- Reining: stop is round, collected, and the stop comes through your seat - when your leg comes off their sides and forward, the horse stops. And when you're preparing for a stop, you go faster.
Oddly, although I struggled as usual with lope departures, stopping that hard felt fairly natural. Other than forgetting to say "whoa" a couple of times, and getting slightly stiff and rocking forward once, sitting deep, relaxed, and pushing my feet forward into the slide felt fine. Unlike riding Sunny, where I struggle just to keep him from breaking back to a trot, and whose balance on a circle is still developing, Pride patters neatly around. Asking him to speed up is as simple as moving your hands forward and driving with your hips, leg and seat. Want to slow down? Slow the rate of your hips. Stop? Take your legs off and remember to say, "Whoa!"
Loping off was a challenge, though. Ideally, from a collected walk with the horse bent slightly on the circle, I would cue for the lope by tipping his nose in and sliding my outside leg back, then squeezing with both legs and kissing. And he should step nicely up into a lope. Except not... or at least not consistently. Ultimately, we determined that I was being too busy with my hands and legs in preparing for the transition. If I kept everything crisp and clear, he'd step up. If I monkeyed with trying to get him perfectly in frame and moving forward, he was getting so many signals he just ignored me. I suspect I've been doing the same thing with Sunny. And believe me, I was making mental notes!
Spinning... Do you get dizzy easily? Here again, right and left were not my friends, but I managed to successfully coordinate myself to get a couple of decent efforts. And actually, I learned as much from doing things wrong - I was having a horrible time to the left. Until I shifted my weight back and suddenly Pride was spinning. With my weight off his shoulders he was able to rock back on his hindquarters properly.
It didn't feel as if I worked as hard as I usually do with Sunny, and Pride certainly wasn't as sweaty, but I'm pleasantly sore this morning in some interesting places. Different muscles at work, quite definitely! And I'm looking forward to using them again!
Sunday, November 7, 2010
Lesson 4: "Jim Bob"
I opted to leave Sunny at home again this week - and ended up riding a Country English horse by the unlikely name of Jim Bob. I've never ridden, or even considered riding Country English, but as you'll see, the big action was pretty much a moot point anyway.Jim Bob is lovely, although a bit of a puller. Apparently a previous rider taught him to lug badly on the reins - my assignment was to successfully get him to soften - while remembering all the things I tend to do consistently wrong regardless of who I'm riding. I was sporadically successful... Clever E, to put me on a horse that will pull if I'm not working to fix MY habit of giving away my hands!
Can you see the hunt seat lessons resurfacing?
A less forward horse than Nick energy-wise, with E on board, he looked plenty firey, and I admit I was a bit nervous, as powerful as he appeared snorting and blowing, high-stepping around the arena.
Once I was on, although his bigger stride and upright front end made it feel like I was flying, he was really very smooth and comfortable to ride, and I never had the slightest feeling of being out of control.
As you can see, (I wish I had some pictures of E riding him for contrast) with me riding him, JB looks a lot more hunter than country! And although I didn't have to work to make him go, I didn't get more than a few brief snip-its of the action JB showed off with E.
That's okay, though. I'm learning - and a lot of what I'm learning is where MY issues are. The lessons are definitely making a difference in my confidence level, and hopefully in my riding in general. The good news is that I have fairly consistent bad habits. The bad news is that they're pretty ingrained.
For example, for the last several years when I ride I always end up with a lot of lower back pain. To the point where if we're trail riding and doing a lot of walking, I always end up getting off and walking about half the time.
I'm starting to realize that the main cause isn't only lack of riding and nerves making me tight - it's also HOW I ride. Instead of sitting up and breathing, tightening my abs, tucking my butt under and squaring my shoulders, I tend to collapse forward, stiffen through my lower back, and give my hands away. I need to remember POSTURE - to stay both fluid and firm.
So if Sunny pulls, rather than me softening to him, I need to keep driving him forward into my hand until he softens to me - if I automatically give him more rein, all I'm going is reinforcing the pulling. makes sense, doesn't it? Sigh...
After my lesson we headed over so T could ride Rufus. I borrowed C's Casper, and we just had time for an 8 mile loop before it started getting dark.
Monday, October 25, 2010
Weekend update 1... hay and Lesson 2,
The weather forecast Friday called for rain after 11 PM - which was actually a welcome prospect, as we haven't seen much wet since sometime in September (strange to be hoping for rain after the downpours of spring and summer!).
A call from T in the afternoon canceled my evening riding plans - friends had 400+ small squares of really lovely grass hay still on the field and no one to pick them up, could we help? Absolutely!
Three of us headed over with our truck, hooked to the hay trailer, and commenced stacking. Lucky me - and I say that in all sincerity! - got to drive. Even at 45-50 lbs, I'm not sure how long I could have stacked. We put nearly 200 bales on the trailer...
maneuvered the load into the machine shed undercover for later unloading, and headed back out. This time with directions to pick up the "old" Ford grain truck, drop the sliding gate off the back, and load it. Again, I got to drive....
By this point it was dark, and the "old" Ford is, as it happens, not only a manual transmission, but possesses a split rear axle. Hmmm.... it's been at least 15 years since I drove anything with a clutch other than a lawn mower, and the cab had no interior lights, dash or otherwise, whatsoever. Still, once I figured out I could start in 2nd gear, and how to baby the gas pedal on take-off, I managed. Just pity poor T, who was stacking for that load! But I didn't throw anyone off, and we loaded around 100 bales on that before things got a bit tippy.
We did two more loads, one on our pick-up, and one last pass (with a few more hands to help) with another truck and (I kid you not) an actual covered wagon - the farm owner has mule teams - and all but 16 bales were loaded and under cover for the night. We left our truck parked in the barn and headed home in one of their trucks.
Saturday I had my second lesson. I rode one of the trainer's horses this time, a 13-year-old Arab gelding who answered to Nick. Nick's past career involved showing to a fairly high level with junior riders, but in recent years he's been primarily a lesson horse. I was informed that he was very forward, and in possession of all sorts of buttons, but I was going to have to work to do things properly - otherwise he'd do pretty much as little work as possible. Good to know.
We started with the same things E had me working on with Sunny - bending, counter bending, reversing through a counter-bend at the walk, and moved on to the same exercises trotting - along with several reminders to watch my diagonals (sigh). After I could keep him pretty much consistently collected, we moved on to sitting trot and trot/lope transitions.
The longer I rode, the more came back, and the easier it felt. It helped immensely that Nick was very honest about doing what I asked when the cues were right - and I could really feel the difference when he hollowed, bulged a shoulder, or alternatively, softened and collected in response to something I was doing. And E was great about waiting to see if I could feel a problem developing and fix it myself before he prompted me, which I greatly appreciated.
Three things I need to work on:
A call from T in the afternoon canceled my evening riding plans - friends had 400+ small squares of really lovely grass hay still on the field and no one to pick them up, could we help? Absolutely!
Three of us headed over with our truck, hooked to the hay trailer, and commenced stacking. Lucky me - and I say that in all sincerity! - got to drive. Even at 45-50 lbs, I'm not sure how long I could have stacked. We put nearly 200 bales on the trailer...
maneuvered the load into the machine shed undercover for later unloading, and headed back out. This time with directions to pick up the "old" Ford grain truck, drop the sliding gate off the back, and load it. Again, I got to drive....
By this point it was dark, and the "old" Ford is, as it happens, not only a manual transmission, but possesses a split rear axle. Hmmm.... it's been at least 15 years since I drove anything with a clutch other than a lawn mower, and the cab had no interior lights, dash or otherwise, whatsoever. Still, once I figured out I could start in 2nd gear, and how to baby the gas pedal on take-off, I managed. Just pity poor T, who was stacking for that load! But I didn't throw anyone off, and we loaded around 100 bales on that before things got a bit tippy.
We did two more loads, one on our pick-up, and one last pass (with a few more hands to help) with another truck and (I kid you not) an actual covered wagon - the farm owner has mule teams - and all but 16 bales were loaded and under cover for the night. We left our truck parked in the barn and headed home in one of their trucks.
And of course, we had no rain the entire weekend.
Saturday I had my second lesson. I rode one of the trainer's horses this time, a 13-year-old Arab gelding who answered to Nick. Nick's past career involved showing to a fairly high level with junior riders, but in recent years he's been primarily a lesson horse. I was informed that he was very forward, and in possession of all sorts of buttons, but I was going to have to work to do things properly - otherwise he'd do pretty much as little work as possible. Good to know.
We started with the same things E had me working on with Sunny - bending, counter bending, reversing through a counter-bend at the walk, and moved on to the same exercises trotting - along with several reminders to watch my diagonals (sigh). After I could keep him pretty much consistently collected, we moved on to sitting trot and trot/lope transitions.
The longer I rode, the more came back, and the easier it felt. It helped immensely that Nick was very honest about doing what I asked when the cues were right - and I could really feel the difference when he hollowed, bulged a shoulder, or alternatively, softened and collected in response to something I was doing. And E was great about waiting to see if I could feel a problem developing and fix it myself before he prompted me, which I greatly appreciated.
Three things I need to work on:
- rolling my shoulders up and back more (and remember to take deep breaths)
- stop giving away my outside shoulder
- relax my lower back (!)
- Nice, round circles
- Counter-bends to reverse directions on a circle (I kept doing them wrong or really poorly until I finally managed to get my head around circling to the left with a right bend, looking left and turning left all at the same time).
Friday, May 22, 2009
I'm back!
It was a marvelous week with my folks. I had a fantastic time - sorry for no updates while away, dial-up is not terribly blog friendly! But I had a wonderful time, I have plenty of pictures, and I actually got to RIDE :)
It was cold in MI - but there was enough sunshine to make it bright, and the silver lining to the low temps and chill breezes was the ravening hordes of mosquitoes and black flies didn't get the chance to descend. It actually snowed over the weekend. Not enough to stick, but enough to sting exposed skin.
I'll cover the horse aspects first, so you can all stop reading when you come to the mushrooming, etc. - aren't you glad you don't have to be polite and sit through all the vacation pics? *grin*
So, I think I mentioned that I spoke to an old friend when I was planning this trip, and she invited me to come ride while I was there. This is the entryway to her place - she has (oh, pardon the drool marks) an indoor arena. Sigh....
In the ten years of so since I'd been there, they've added an outdoor arena, as well.
The pretty girl with her head out the stall door is Geminesse, a 20+ year old Arabian, who I rode some as a three year old (she laid down - not her best moment). That white mark on her forehead is a perfect number 1. I actually rode her half-sister, Scherzo, but she was feeling a bit camera shy, and all I captured was a brown blur.
I was able to ride on two different days, and Mary was kind enough to provide me with some very helpful comments and some exercises to work on with Sunny. I apparently have a great seat, but need to be more comfortable with taking firm contact - too many years of droopy western reins :(
It was amazing to ride a horse that had finish - Scherzo, at 18, has been shown to several levels of dressage, and, when her rider actually manages to find the right combination of aids, collects beautifully.
I'd hoped to have more pictures of riding, but we got so involved chatting and riding that we were unsaddled and out of the barn both days by the time we remembered the camera.
She introduced me to all her other horses - she also still has Little Fred, her old endurance horse, who she'd just retired when I was last there. Fred was nearly twenty then, and she sent him down to work in a therapeutic riding program for a number of years. They loved him, but when he turned 29, he came back to live with her. At 30+, he has no back teeth and gums his alfalfa cubes and equine senior, and he's in gorgeous, round, happy condition. All (not just old) horses should look so good!
What else?
Well, there was lots of this on the way there and the way back.
'Tis the season...
See the morel?
Lake Michigan at Seul Choix Point
And kitties...
And then there was this face - no photoshopping here, honest! Elton has the biggest, sweetest, goofiest grin, ever! (And I'm not actually holding him down - just rubbing his neck so he'd stay upright and not flop upside down and grin at me that way.)
Elton says, "Don't worry - be happy!"
My folks volunteer two days a week at the Schoolcraft County Humane Society. You can read all about the shelter at their website, so I'll just say it's a great group of people doing wonderful things for the community, human and critters alike. Over 2,000 pets placed since they opened their doors. I went along and walked dogs both days - about a mile each for the big dogs, and not quite so far for the smaller ones - boy, were my legs tired! The first day I walked with my dad, so we finished early enough I was able to go in and get "cat-scanned" in the adolescent cat room.
That's about how I feel this afternoon! Not sure you'll get a Friday book review this week or not. I have lots of unpacking to do, and of course, some horse time to get in yet. And I'm so behind on what everyone else is up to. I have lots of catching up to do...
It was cold in MI - but there was enough sunshine to make it bright, and the silver lining to the low temps and chill breezes was the ravening hordes of mosquitoes and black flies didn't get the chance to descend. It actually snowed over the weekend. Not enough to stick, but enough to sting exposed skin.
I'll cover the horse aspects first, so you can all stop reading when you come to the mushrooming, etc. - aren't you glad you don't have to be polite and sit through all the vacation pics? *grin*
So, I think I mentioned that I spoke to an old friend when I was planning this trip, and she invited me to come ride while I was there. This is the entryway to her place - she has (oh, pardon the drool marks) an indoor arena. Sigh....
In the ten years of so since I'd been there, they've added an outdoor arena, as well.
The pretty girl with her head out the stall door is Geminesse, a 20+ year old Arabian, who I rode some as a three year old (she laid down - not her best moment). That white mark on her forehead is a perfect number 1. I actually rode her half-sister, Scherzo, but she was feeling a bit camera shy, and all I captured was a brown blur.I was able to ride on two different days, and Mary was kind enough to provide me with some very helpful comments and some exercises to work on with Sunny. I apparently have a great seat, but need to be more comfortable with taking firm contact - too many years of droopy western reins :(
It was amazing to ride a horse that had finish - Scherzo, at 18, has been shown to several levels of dressage, and, when her rider actually manages to find the right combination of aids, collects beautifully.
I'd hoped to have more pictures of riding, but we got so involved chatting and riding that we were unsaddled and out of the barn both days by the time we remembered the camera.
She introduced me to all her other horses - she also still has Little Fred, her old endurance horse, who she'd just retired when I was last there. Fred was nearly twenty then, and she sent him down to work in a therapeutic riding program for a number of years. They loved him, but when he turned 29, he came back to live with her. At 30+, he has no back teeth and gums his alfalfa cubes and equine senior, and he's in gorgeous, round, happy condition. All (not just old) horses should look so good!
What else?
Well, there was lots of this on the way there and the way back.
'Tis the season... 
See the morel?
Lake Michigan at Seul Choix PointWe went down to the lake the afternoon before I left. The wind was whipping, the water was roaring, and the swell was probably about 7-8' rolling in. You couldn't hear yourself think, but it sure was gorgeous.
There were PUPPIES,
And kitties...
Elton says, "Don't worry - be happy!"My folks volunteer two days a week at the Schoolcraft County Humane Society. You can read all about the shelter at their website, so I'll just say it's a great group of people doing wonderful things for the community, human and critters alike. Over 2,000 pets placed since they opened their doors. I went along and walked dogs both days - about a mile each for the big dogs, and not quite so far for the smaller ones - boy, were my legs tired! The first day I walked with my dad, so we finished early enough I was able to go in and get "cat-scanned" in the adolescent cat room.
That's about how I feel this afternoon! Not sure you'll get a Friday book review this week or not. I have lots of unpacking to do, and of course, some horse time to get in yet. And I'm so behind on what everyone else is up to. I have lots of catching up to do...
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