I don't know what KAT did to him this week, but tonight Junior was once again the horse that I bought. He was so soft, supple, calm, relaxed, framed, attentive. There were something like 10 horses in that little arena and most of them were very little kids who don't work traffic very well so we had to be extra conscientious about what we were doing. I still needed to keep on him when he got passed by another horse, but he was totally listening to me! We had a few tiny little moments where I had to demand his head, but they were not bad. I also noticed that I had no trouble keeping him on the rail. I guess I haven't noticed how much better he's been at that until I was in a crowded ring with a bunch of kids whose legs barely passed the saddle on old school horses who cut ALL the corners.
There were lots of parents watching their kids and I heard some nice comments as I went by. I was so proud to be on that horse tonight. THIS is the horse that I was looking for and know I found. It's so nice to have him back!
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Impromptu lesson.
I was able to get out to the barn tonight and sneak into a lesson. I hate going more than a week without a lesson but couldn't make my regular lesson (Tuesdays at 8pm) this week. I would've ridden anyway, but since there's really only one indoor arena to ride in I would've been in the ring with the lesson anyway. To travel safely I would've followed the gaits and directions of the lesson anyway...might as well be IN the lesson. Luckily KAT was willing.
He looked tired when I got there and I could tell he'd been sweating. It was in the low 70's today and he hasn't had his coat on since Friday so I knew he must've been worked. Yay! I LOVE it when KAT rides him. She's really really good with him, AND the exercise keeps him in check. She said he'd done well for her this week. I could tell he was nice and tired so I didn't bother to lunge him. He stood VERY quietly for me when I mounted. I praised him for that. I actually had to ask him more than once to walk on. He was very good in the lesson and KAT is helping me do better with keeping him in frame. It's hard for me to tell what his frame is really doing when I'm mounted so it's really beneficial to me to have KAT directing me. It seems I've been messing with his face in NOT the right way so we worked on that. I seem to have developed a rather bad habit of pulling him around just enough to annoy him but not really enough to get him to do what I am asking. So we worked on that tonight. I could tell he's been improving with the training rides he's gotten in the last week. I think I'll schedule a private lesson next week when my Mom is here so I can have it taped.
We loped circles on one lead only (large group lesson) so I picked his better lead. He was SO much slower than he's been I was kind of taken a back and confused. He did pretty well, though. I realized after I had finished that I wasn't very comfortable with the slower lope because a) it was so different from what he usually does and b) I was a little afraid he'd stumble since he seemed slow. KAT said he looked good, though, and he didn't stumble at all.
I spent the cool-down time with a draped rein. He was VERY good except when we passed KAT by the gate and he wanted to stop and get some love instead of moving forward. He's such a cuddler.
I should be able to ride him a lot more now that my show is open. The next sticky time for me isn't until February.
Here's a few of the new photos my friend took. He's AWESOME! My profile picture is one of his, too.
He looked tired when I got there and I could tell he'd been sweating. It was in the low 70's today and he hasn't had his coat on since Friday so I knew he must've been worked. Yay! I LOVE it when KAT rides him. She's really really good with him, AND the exercise keeps him in check. She said he'd done well for her this week. I could tell he was nice and tired so I didn't bother to lunge him. He stood VERY quietly for me when I mounted. I praised him for that. I actually had to ask him more than once to walk on. He was very good in the lesson and KAT is helping me do better with keeping him in frame. It's hard for me to tell what his frame is really doing when I'm mounted so it's really beneficial to me to have KAT directing me. It seems I've been messing with his face in NOT the right way so we worked on that. I seem to have developed a rather bad habit of pulling him around just enough to annoy him but not really enough to get him to do what I am asking. So we worked on that tonight. I could tell he's been improving with the training rides he's gotten in the last week. I think I'll schedule a private lesson next week when my Mom is here so I can have it taped.
We loped circles on one lead only (large group lesson) so I picked his better lead. He was SO much slower than he's been I was kind of taken a back and confused. He did pretty well, though. I realized after I had finished that I wasn't very comfortable with the slower lope because a) it was so different from what he usually does and b) I was a little afraid he'd stumble since he seemed slow. KAT said he looked good, though, and he didn't stumble at all.
I spent the cool-down time with a draped rein. He was VERY good except when we passed KAT by the gate and he wanted to stop and get some love instead of moving forward. He's such a cuddler.
I should be able to ride him a lot more now that my show is open. The next sticky time for me isn't until February.
Here's a few of the new photos my friend took. He's AWESOME! My profile picture is one of his, too.
Sunday, November 2, 2008
My Moose
I'm trying to remember to just enjoy my dang horse and not be so hard on myself when things don't go perfectly. It's not that hard when it's just him and I and he's paying attention and relaxed and moving well. It's harder when he's being an 8-legged moose and paying more attention to everything else than he is to me.
Today was pretty good. Only a few moments of him being a brat, mostly involving lope-offs and his "whoa" was crap today. I don't know why, but he didn't want to stop when I asked him to. Had to resort to arm strength and loud verbals. I mean, come on, he's 16.2 and I'm 5'4"...I have NO physical power over him. Luckily he generally aims to please so he most always does what I ask him to, he just sometimes acts like a brat.
We've been working on his backing. When I first brought him home he would raise his head and shake it and I'd have to really pull him back. His next issue was when I'd ask him to stop backing and then ask him to move forward he'd continue to move backwards. Now we're doing really well. I can ask him to back and he almost always drops his head and I can let the reins go nice and slack or just give slight give/take pressure and he works off my legs and seat. Now I found that when I stop his backing, if I cue him forward with my heels further back on his body he'll go forward. Not sure if that's how it's supposed to be done but it works for him.
I worked him for a little over an hour. First lunging. I starting aiming him over a ground pole to see what he'd make of it. We'd done cavaletti/ground poles at the trot before so it wasn't like it would be anything new. He wasn't that conscious of it, though and stepped on it enough times to make me think it wasn't a wise thing to do. He kept stepping on it with his inside hind foot and the lope. I had to get after him only once because of him stopping, otherwise he was good. Loped around me with me leaning on the line for a good while.
Then I mounted and he was super good for that. He has a bad habit of walking off as soon as I get on...we're working on that. He's better about that after he's lunged or if he's been outside. Just energy I guess. He rode fairly well. Still wobbly a little at the lope, but he corrected himself when I asked him to, instead of ignoring my aids like he used to. I still think we have the most work to do at the lope. KAT will be working with him a few times this week and I know she'll work on that. I wish I could be around to watch her ride him. I don't have a lesson this week either, because of dress rehearsals so this'll be another non-routine week.
We finished with a walk around the big pasture, neck reining. He wasn't in the mood to jog on a loose rein in the arena today, though, even after a long workout. I was kind of surprised at that. His endurance is increasing I guess.
I won't get out until maybe Thursday or Friday.
I kept his coat off today, too. The weather has been just beautiful.
Oh, and please don't judge me on my grammatical errors. I am actually kind of a grammar/word usage nazi, but sometimes I write too fast and don't bother to read over my blog before I post. Like this one when instead of "don't" in the first sentence I left "doing." Sometimes I type faster than I can think.
TUESDAY IS ELECTION DAY --- GO VOTE!!!!!
Today was pretty good. Only a few moments of him being a brat, mostly involving lope-offs and his "whoa" was crap today. I don't know why, but he didn't want to stop when I asked him to. Had to resort to arm strength and loud verbals. I mean, come on, he's 16.2 and I'm 5'4"...I have NO physical power over him. Luckily he generally aims to please so he most always does what I ask him to, he just sometimes acts like a brat.
We've been working on his backing. When I first brought him home he would raise his head and shake it and I'd have to really pull him back. His next issue was when I'd ask him to stop backing and then ask him to move forward he'd continue to move backwards. Now we're doing really well. I can ask him to back and he almost always drops his head and I can let the reins go nice and slack or just give slight give/take pressure and he works off my legs and seat. Now I found that when I stop his backing, if I cue him forward with my heels further back on his body he'll go forward. Not sure if that's how it's supposed to be done but it works for him.
I worked him for a little over an hour. First lunging. I starting aiming him over a ground pole to see what he'd make of it. We'd done cavaletti/ground poles at the trot before so it wasn't like it would be anything new. He wasn't that conscious of it, though and stepped on it enough times to make me think it wasn't a wise thing to do. He kept stepping on it with his inside hind foot and the lope. I had to get after him only once because of him stopping, otherwise he was good. Loped around me with me leaning on the line for a good while.
Then I mounted and he was super good for that. He has a bad habit of walking off as soon as I get on...we're working on that. He's better about that after he's lunged or if he's been outside. Just energy I guess. He rode fairly well. Still wobbly a little at the lope, but he corrected himself when I asked him to, instead of ignoring my aids like he used to. I still think we have the most work to do at the lope. KAT will be working with him a few times this week and I know she'll work on that. I wish I could be around to watch her ride him. I don't have a lesson this week either, because of dress rehearsals so this'll be another non-routine week.
We finished with a walk around the big pasture, neck reining. He wasn't in the mood to jog on a loose rein in the arena today, though, even after a long workout. I was kind of surprised at that. His endurance is increasing I guess.
I won't get out until maybe Thursday or Friday.
I kept his coat off today, too. The weather has been just beautiful.
Oh, and please don't judge me on my grammatical errors. I am actually kind of a grammar/word usage nazi, but sometimes I write too fast and don't bother to read over my blog before I post. Like this one when instead of "don't" in the first sentence I left "doing." Sometimes I type faster than I can think.
TUESDAY IS ELECTION DAY --- GO VOTE!!!!!
Saturday, November 1, 2008
Is there ANYTHING I won't worry about?
I got to the barn last night (Friday) after not being there since Tuesday for the ill-fated lesson. KAT was there and told me she rode him on Wenesday and he did well for her. She worked on his lunging and was easily able to "fix" the problem. Again, that's why I hire professionals.
When I tied him and started to take his jacket off he was really sweaty. His blanket was actually yucky and wet on the inside. I let him cool off for a bit and brushed out his tail. It looked like he'd either been rubbing his tail so perhaps he was uncomfortable. It did get up to 70 degrees yesterday afterall. Even though Tuesday night I was in full long underwear and several layers last night I was in a t-shirt and a light down vest. SO back to the title of this entry: now I'm worrying about his blanket. How do I know when to leave it on and when to take it off? I left it off because it was so wet and the temperature low for the night was going to be 20 degrees higher than what it had been. I don't want him to be uncomfortable and hot. And that syntetic blanket doesn't breath very well. I did some research about blankets before I bought one and I read that a cotton interior, though it grabs hair, is much more likely to breath and not hold in sweat,etc. Do you think I could FIND a cotton lined one? It seemed they were ALL lined with nylon calling it "coat smoothing nylon" and "won't hold hair" well, okay, but part of my job is working with textiles and nylon sucks for absorption, evaporation and airflow. But since that seeems like what everyone else uses I bought one anyway. I did buy a very inexpensive blanket, but not the MOST inexpensive one. I waited until Congress (and the last Saturday of Congress) to buy it so I could get the best deal. Maybe there's some uber expensive blanket out there that wicks away moisture but I probably can't afford it. Maybe someday I'll get really ambitious and get a pattern from Suitability.com and make my own just to my specifications. Right...in all of my spare time.... Or maybe I could make a cotton/spandex slinky to put under his blanket. that would smooth the hair, absorb moisture and be small enough in a washing machine that I could wash it at home. I could make two. One that is on him, and one to take home and wash. I could switch them out once a week.....right. In all of my spare time...
Again, back to worries: He'd never rubbed his tail before. The weather today is supposed to be really nice, tomorrow, too. I can't go out today because I have rehearsal all day and a show to go to tonight. Tomorrow I thought I'd go out and spend some time with him and check the weather and put his blanket back on. Is there a book or something on how to use rugs? Here is one (of the many) questions I have: I know from outdoor survival class that if you are out in cool weather and you get warm from activity and take off layers, you should put them back on as soon as you stop moving. Otherwise you'll cool off too fast and it'll be harder to warm yourself back up. Does the same principle apply to my horse and his blanket? If we're warm from a ride should I put his blanket back on right away? Or do I need to let him cool down and dry his sweat mark first? I just don't know. Do you know?
Anyway, he rode pretty well. He lunged the best he's ever lunged for me. He stopped twice while on his left lead ( his bad one) but I was able to send him forward again. I guess I needed to be more aggressive and send him right back on if he stops. He loped around at the end of the line which was really good for him, too. Usually he veers in and doesn't keep a consistent circle. This time I was holding the rubber stopper and he was just going and going. It was awesome. I should've made him go longer, but I didn't. He still had some energy to burn off when we rode. He was good though. Cranky about loping off on his right lead, though. I think he was tired, but I made him lope off anyway, just took a bit of convincing. We are getting better and better at our balance. He's still ADD when there are distractions. In the time we were riding another horse came and went and then another horse came in and was still there when we quit. I have horse envy of this particular girl. She's got a chestnut gelding who's super well trained. She rides all the time and works really hard on him so I know that's a big reason why he's so good. I've watched her ride english and western and have watched her drill her showmanship. The pair work so well together. Last night she was riding western and practicing transitions and spur stops. The horse has such a consistent way of going. While my horse is speeding up and slowing down and looking around and raising his head, her horse is just level headed. He hardly changed his frame at all. That's what I want. I wonder if we'll get there? Do I have what it takes? And in a larger sense: would that make me happy? I never thought I wanted a dead-headed horse because I thought that would be boring, but then I rode some and realized how much fun it is. How relaxing it is. I like my boy a lot. I think he CAN be the type of horse I want, I just hope I can get him there. We're a week away from our 2 month anniversary and I'm going to do a bit of a look back at that time. Hopefully I'll REALLY see how far we've come.
When I tied him and started to take his jacket off he was really sweaty. His blanket was actually yucky and wet on the inside. I let him cool off for a bit and brushed out his tail. It looked like he'd either been rubbing his tail so perhaps he was uncomfortable. It did get up to 70 degrees yesterday afterall. Even though Tuesday night I was in full long underwear and several layers last night I was in a t-shirt and a light down vest. SO back to the title of this entry: now I'm worrying about his blanket. How do I know when to leave it on and when to take it off? I left it off because it was so wet and the temperature low for the night was going to be 20 degrees higher than what it had been. I don't want him to be uncomfortable and hot. And that syntetic blanket doesn't breath very well. I did some research about blankets before I bought one and I read that a cotton interior, though it grabs hair, is much more likely to breath and not hold in sweat,etc. Do you think I could FIND a cotton lined one? It seemed they were ALL lined with nylon calling it "coat smoothing nylon" and "won't hold hair" well, okay, but part of my job is working with textiles and nylon sucks for absorption, evaporation and airflow. But since that seeems like what everyone else uses I bought one anyway. I did buy a very inexpensive blanket, but not the MOST inexpensive one. I waited until Congress (and the last Saturday of Congress) to buy it so I could get the best deal. Maybe there's some uber expensive blanket out there that wicks away moisture but I probably can't afford it. Maybe someday I'll get really ambitious and get a pattern from Suitability.com and make my own just to my specifications. Right...in all of my spare time.... Or maybe I could make a cotton/spandex slinky to put under his blanket. that would smooth the hair, absorb moisture and be small enough in a washing machine that I could wash it at home. I could make two. One that is on him, and one to take home and wash. I could switch them out once a week.....right. In all of my spare time...
Again, back to worries: He'd never rubbed his tail before. The weather today is supposed to be really nice, tomorrow, too. I can't go out today because I have rehearsal all day and a show to go to tonight. Tomorrow I thought I'd go out and spend some time with him and check the weather and put his blanket back on. Is there a book or something on how to use rugs? Here is one (of the many) questions I have: I know from outdoor survival class that if you are out in cool weather and you get warm from activity and take off layers, you should put them back on as soon as you stop moving. Otherwise you'll cool off too fast and it'll be harder to warm yourself back up. Does the same principle apply to my horse and his blanket? If we're warm from a ride should I put his blanket back on right away? Or do I need to let him cool down and dry his sweat mark first? I just don't know. Do you know?
Anyway, he rode pretty well. He lunged the best he's ever lunged for me. He stopped twice while on his left lead ( his bad one) but I was able to send him forward again. I guess I needed to be more aggressive and send him right back on if he stops. He loped around at the end of the line which was really good for him, too. Usually he veers in and doesn't keep a consistent circle. This time I was holding the rubber stopper and he was just going and going. It was awesome. I should've made him go longer, but I didn't. He still had some energy to burn off when we rode. He was good though. Cranky about loping off on his right lead, though. I think he was tired, but I made him lope off anyway, just took a bit of convincing. We are getting better and better at our balance. He's still ADD when there are distractions. In the time we were riding another horse came and went and then another horse came in and was still there when we quit. I have horse envy of this particular girl. She's got a chestnut gelding who's super well trained. She rides all the time and works really hard on him so I know that's a big reason why he's so good. I've watched her ride english and western and have watched her drill her showmanship. The pair work so well together. Last night she was riding western and practicing transitions and spur stops. The horse has such a consistent way of going. While my horse is speeding up and slowing down and looking around and raising his head, her horse is just level headed. He hardly changed his frame at all. That's what I want. I wonder if we'll get there? Do I have what it takes? And in a larger sense: would that make me happy? I never thought I wanted a dead-headed horse because I thought that would be boring, but then I rode some and realized how much fun it is. How relaxing it is. I like my boy a lot. I think he CAN be the type of horse I want, I just hope I can get him there. We're a week away from our 2 month anniversary and I'm going to do a bit of a look back at that time. Hopefully I'll REALLY see how far we've come.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)