Horizontal rain

Poor ponies!  We really needed the rain, but the hail and wind we could do without.  Driving out, sheets of wet weren't so much beating down as sweeping horizontally southward.  When I got to the farm the boys were tucked in butts to the grain bin for a wind break.  Sunny'd managed to strategically position himself on the concrete pad in front of the waterer so that he could avoid standing in the mud. 

He usually greets me with a token whinny to acknowledge my arrival and inform me of his interest in whatever I might (or rather should) be bringing him.  Today he shrilled four or five times, announcing in no uncertain terms his disgust with the weather - an imperative demand that I do something about it soon.

I fed them, which seemed to satisfy him.  Although they both sort of sidled and backed their way over to the feeder.  I came home covered in hay and soggy from the neck up and thighs down.  At least what was under the raincoat was dry.

According to the weatherman, the thunderstorms are supposed to shift out and the sideways stuff will become just steady rain by late afternoon. As I write this it's nearly 7:30, and it's steady, alright, but still more right to left than straight down.

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.

Sunny says...

"There are no eggs in my Easter basket!"

Happy Easter, everyone!

Lesson Day: Sunny and "Wow! Look at his topline!"

Eric had the show farrier, glowing forge and all, hard at work in the barn, and had just finished body-clipping some poor unsuspecting critter when I got there.  (Buddy'd already had his turn under the sheers, and looks quite elegant with the last of his winter coat buzzed off.)

I had the arena all to my self warming Sunny up while I waited for Eric to get a horse ready.  I moved his hips back and forth, asked him to shoulder in, and did circles and figure-eights of various sizes.  Just walking - I had a feeling Eric was going to make us both work, so I thought we'd both appreciate the energy conservation by the time the lesson was over.

Sunny looked cute in his black polo wraps (I figured what the heck, why not - I need the practice, and it couldn't hurt, right?) and mostly-slick summer coat.  As Eric headed our way with a big palomino half-Arab  gelding in tow, I closed my legs around Sunny and asked him to collect. 

We marched around the perimeter 1-2-3-4.  Sunny was perfectly light in my hands and round underneath me, carrying himself.  It was fantastic.  We got high marks on walk, including the "Wow!  Look at his topline!" comment, and more compliments at the trot - he's picking his knees up, too.  Wheee!  I honestly don't think Eric expected us to have made that much progress. (Of course, the pictures from the other day were a surprise to me, too, so I can't blame him.) 

The first fly in the works was the downward transition from working trot to collected walk - ack!  I'm leaning forward again.  And unfortunately, it wasn't a one-time fluke.  Homework: Lots of downward transitions - I need to think "lean back and exhale" so that I don't fold up.  I fold up and Sunny gets hollow.

Then we worked on canter departures.  Three wrong lead take-offs, and I managed to organize my hands, shoulders, legs and seat, and Sunny, and bam!  Correct lead.   A bit bracey and uncoordinated - both of us - but at least he didn't break until I asked him to trot.

We worked on canter 4-5 laps at a time, with Eric asking me to get him to collect more and more each time, and to concentrate on my downward transitions in between.  We're getting better incrementally - most of Sunny's problems derive directly from me.  When I get myself coordinated, he has an easier time staying balanced.  By the last pass I'd slowed him down and collected him up into something approximating a real canter rather than a flat-sided hand gallop, which is definitely progress.

Sunny was tired by the end of the lesson.  Not terribly sweaty - he's mostly lost his winter coat - but he was definitely working hard.  And he was SO good - even when the horse Eric was on spooked big at something right behind us, he didn't do more than speed up slightly.    At the walk and trot he's really soft and light - and canter will come. 

Eric offered the use of the arena if I want to go practice, and I think I'll take him up on that - the footing is far and away better than the pasture, and we won't even mention the concrete the gravel roads have turned into - we really need rain.  

The Handi-Riders' show is April 28th, and I'd like to have canter down a bit better by then. 

Satisfaction on a Sunday

You know what they say about pictures...

They're worth a lot, sometimes

Still lots of room for improvement...

But we're making progress.

Not too shabby for a short-necked stocky little guy!

  

Happy me!

It's enough of a change to put a big smile on my face.

~Happy Ponies~

Sunny would much rather have grass.