There isn't much to tell about today. We had a north wind blow in, which is very uncomfortable to be out in, so I've done the basic outside chores and that is all. I feel a little guilty though... I should probably have gone out to do a little rubbing on Lady since she is mostly likely somewhat sore from yesterday's adventure.
But, since I haven't kept up with my "blogging challenge" here is Day 4.
Who is your equestrian "idol" or who do you enjoy watching the most?
This is kind of bad, but I really don't watch that much. I need to, I really do, and if anyone can suggest a few higher level competitors that I should watch and learn from, I would be forever grateful!
That being said, I do keep an eye on Lauren Barwick - 2008 Canadian Gold Medalist in dressage at the ParaOlympics. She is an advocate of Parelli, the program I use as a basis for a lot of what I do, which is where I found out about her. AND, I have had the crazy wonderful honor of being in the same warm-up arena with her (she gave me a few tips on my lateral work) which was really really cool. She is a real champion, in all areas.
Wednesday, March 12, 2014
Tuesday, March 11, 2014
Going Crazy
So.... I did not blog at all over the weekend, mostly due to not spending a whole lot of time with the horses. However, that was due to having a rather bad attitude about going out to play/work/ride with them.
I decided, though, that I wanted to take Lady out for a ride and whether we could make a short trip without too much trouble. I mapped out a 3.6 mile route, not figuring it would be very hard at all.
I was very wrong. I had forgotten all about the fact that not a mile down the road from our property are three pastures of horse(s). And I did not anticipate the trouble it would cause. The first horse caused some trouble, but he (or she) was a good ways from the road. As soon as the second horse came into view (quite close to the road and our path, and the third and fourth horses were not far behind) things just went sour. Lady went way up on adrenaline and completely forgot I was there. I was already on the ground at this point, and even if I had stayed on her back, I doubt I could have sat the rears and bucks she handed out. She was not cooperating at all - pushing into me, reacting with rears and strikes whenever I tried to guide her in any direction. At this point, I was kind of thinking that if we got past the other horses she would calm down and we could continue our ride in a calmer fashion. And again, I was very wrong. We did get past them, but she was still in the same state, if not worse, and it didn't matter what I did. I was pretty scared now because I knew that my horse was not in a state of mind to care whether she hurt me or not. It wasn't going to work to continue on, and I knew that I couldn't lead her back. She would run me over if I was on the ground, and would bolt out of my hands if I got back on. Finally, I prayed to God to send as many angels as He could spare, and I turned my horse loose. It took her all of a millisecond to figure it out away she went. I followed on foot, terrified that she was going to get herself killed or injured, or jump into one of the horse pastures, or some other terrible thing.
Thankfully, nothing like that happened. She had some near-misses with cars on the highway and got a scrape on one leg from I don't know what, but other than that, she seems to have gone straight home and started grazing. My saddle is a bit scraped up and pretty dirty, but nothing lasting.
Yes, I blame most of what happened on myself, but quite honestly, I really don't know what I might have done differently. Maybe I should have played with her right after I got off, before we got far enough for her to fly off on adrenaline. Maybe I should not have pushed her on past the horses until she was "so far gone" that she didn't listen. Maybe I shouldn't have gone on the ride at all until we were better prepared.
Regardless, I do not want to go through that amount of terror again. I was so afraid that I would lose my horse. We definitely won't be going off the property that far for quite a while. In fact, it is going to take quite a bit of courage on my part to even try going off the property at all next time. The experience has shaken both mine and Lady's confidence pretty bad.
This evening, after a ton of thought (and a nap after all the stress of the morning), I went out and caught Lady again for a quieter session. I went a whole lot slower, trying not to pull on her or anything of that nature. We did a little bit of liberty, doing the basic 7 games, and then I put her bridle on and had a little bareback ride. It was a fairly good, and it made me feel a bit happier and not so uptight.
And.... that is all I have to say for now. Here is another older picture of Lady for your enjoyment. :)
I decided, though, that I wanted to take Lady out for a ride and whether we could make a short trip without too much trouble. I mapped out a 3.6 mile route, not figuring it would be very hard at all.
I was very wrong. I had forgotten all about the fact that not a mile down the road from our property are three pastures of horse(s). And I did not anticipate the trouble it would cause. The first horse caused some trouble, but he (or she) was a good ways from the road. As soon as the second horse came into view (quite close to the road and our path, and the third and fourth horses were not far behind) things just went sour. Lady went way up on adrenaline and completely forgot I was there. I was already on the ground at this point, and even if I had stayed on her back, I doubt I could have sat the rears and bucks she handed out. She was not cooperating at all - pushing into me, reacting with rears and strikes whenever I tried to guide her in any direction. At this point, I was kind of thinking that if we got past the other horses she would calm down and we could continue our ride in a calmer fashion. And again, I was very wrong. We did get past them, but she was still in the same state, if not worse, and it didn't matter what I did. I was pretty scared now because I knew that my horse was not in a state of mind to care whether she hurt me or not. It wasn't going to work to continue on, and I knew that I couldn't lead her back. She would run me over if I was on the ground, and would bolt out of my hands if I got back on. Finally, I prayed to God to send as many angels as He could spare, and I turned my horse loose. It took her all of a millisecond to figure it out away she went. I followed on foot, terrified that she was going to get herself killed or injured, or jump into one of the horse pastures, or some other terrible thing.
Thankfully, nothing like that happened. She had some near-misses with cars on the highway and got a scrape on one leg from I don't know what, but other than that, she seems to have gone straight home and started grazing. My saddle is a bit scraped up and pretty dirty, but nothing lasting.
Yes, I blame most of what happened on myself, but quite honestly, I really don't know what I might have done differently. Maybe I should have played with her right after I got off, before we got far enough for her to fly off on adrenaline. Maybe I should not have pushed her on past the horses until she was "so far gone" that she didn't listen. Maybe I shouldn't have gone on the ride at all until we were better prepared.
Regardless, I do not want to go through that amount of terror again. I was so afraid that I would lose my horse. We definitely won't be going off the property that far for quite a while. In fact, it is going to take quite a bit of courage on my part to even try going off the property at all next time. The experience has shaken both mine and Lady's confidence pretty bad.
This evening, after a ton of thought (and a nap after all the stress of the morning), I went out and caught Lady again for a quieter session. I went a whole lot slower, trying not to pull on her or anything of that nature. We did a little bit of liberty, doing the basic 7 games, and then I put her bridle on and had a little bareback ride. It was a fairly good, and it made me feel a bit happier and not so uptight.
And.... that is all I have to say for now. Here is another older picture of Lady for your enjoyment. :)
Thursday, March 6, 2014
Blog Challenge Day 3 + Too Much Focus....
....on the wrong idea.
Although today's ride wasn't terrible, or a complete failure, it definitely wasn't one of our better ones. Of course, it all goes back to being my fault, because you can never blame the horse.
Even though, technically, we got pretty far from the house, it wasn't under the best of circumstances. I was pushing her onwards and was NOT listening. I had "accidentally" made it a goal to get to a certain spot down the road, and she was not ready. It was too big a step after yesterday's success, and I didn't spend enough time getting her prepared on the ground.
Maybe I can blame a tiny bit of it on her much more dominant attitude today? No, better not....
I had to get off at one point on the way back because I wasn't feeling very safe. She ran quite a few circles before calming down enough so that I could get back on her. We finally got to a fairly good point that I was (mostly) happy with and I got off to walk her down the driveway because my lower back and hips just aren't used to that huge of a swing - almost six inches at the walk. Ouch.
I also wasn't very pleased with her sweat pattern after I unsaddled her. It wasn't completely even, and she had a lot of ruffled hair, but that is all my fault too, from my bad riding habits that I'm trying to break. Overall, not too bad today, just a little disappointing after yesterday. I'm not sure yet about tomorrow. I might skip riding altogether, or just do a bit of position work for myself. Either way, I plan to do some more groundwork and get her thinking some more.
Blog Challenge - Day 3 - What do your family and friends think about horses and riding?
Overall, my family is very supportive. Not that they help me out a lot, but they take care of my ponies when I'm away and are happy for my successes. They may think I'm crazy for the amount of money and time I put into them, but its okay. My friends at school all think its rather cool and neat that I own horses and ride "all the time" and my two closest friends are horse-owners themselves, so that is pretty self-explanatory. <wink>
Wednesday, March 5, 2014
What a Lovely Ride....
So, earlier this afternoon, I brought my tack out in hopes of a wonderful time. I had thought about my plan for riding most of last night and this morning, and to be honest, I was a bit nervous because fifty percent of the time when I plan ahead, it goes perfectly and the other fifty percent of the time its a total failure where both Lady and I part ways a little disgruntled with each other.
Today was definitely as perfect a ride as I could have asked for. I didn't have much planned as a warm-up, but some Weave pattern and a little work at the trot and canter was enough. I'm still very very pleased about my new English tack: Lady is much more relaxed and doesn't hate to be saddled now. She has also been very patient with me while I learn all the new buckles and latches and things-to-know about English saddles.
So, happy with the warm-up and the saddling, I put her through a few more circles at the walk and mounted up. Reminder to self: work on mounting more smoothly and gently....
With lots of rubs and a few treats along the way, we walked AWAY from her pasture-buddy and around the main property line. She got a little bit excited for a while, but stayed pretty much on track with only a few reminders. Yay!
Trying not to be too enthusiastic and do a happy dance on her back, I set Lady on course down the gravel driveway. She doesn't really care for walking on gravel and wanted to veer off to the side, but it was mostly to get to the green grass on either side of the driveway. Once we got to the end of the driveway, she was still calm and relaxed, so I decided to push my luck and ask for a bit further. She is usually quite "herd-bound", and does not like to go very far from her friend or the pasture. Today, however, she was pretty happy to continue onwards. She stopped a few times to look around and then would try to sneak a bite of grass, and she is also quite nervous and wary of culverts. Cars, however, don't bother her in the least, and she thinks its fun to stand in the middle of the highway. o.O
Anyways, we finally turned around and headed back and I got a few steps of the trot at the end before stopping and unsaddling. I definitely need more work on my position for the trot.
I am quite pleased with the ride today. Since one of my classes is cancelled for tomorrow I'll have more time to ride again in the afternoon. Right now, I'm aiming to take a 5.7 mile ride next week since its Spring Break - hopefully Lady continues to be okay going off the property.
For fun, here is an older picture of my beautiful horse. Approximately 2 or 3 years old.
Today was definitely as perfect a ride as I could have asked for. I didn't have much planned as a warm-up, but some Weave pattern and a little work at the trot and canter was enough. I'm still very very pleased about my new English tack: Lady is much more relaxed and doesn't hate to be saddled now. She has also been very patient with me while I learn all the new buckles and latches and things-to-know about English saddles.
So, happy with the warm-up and the saddling, I put her through a few more circles at the walk and mounted up. Reminder to self: work on mounting more smoothly and gently....
With lots of rubs and a few treats along the way, we walked AWAY from her pasture-buddy and around the main property line. She got a little bit excited for a while, but stayed pretty much on track with only a few reminders. Yay!
Trying not to be too enthusiastic and do a happy dance on her back, I set Lady on course down the gravel driveway. She doesn't really care for walking on gravel and wanted to veer off to the side, but it was mostly to get to the green grass on either side of the driveway. Once we got to the end of the driveway, she was still calm and relaxed, so I decided to push my luck and ask for a bit further. She is usually quite "herd-bound", and does not like to go very far from her friend or the pasture. Today, however, she was pretty happy to continue onwards. She stopped a few times to look around and then would try to sneak a bite of grass, and she is also quite nervous and wary of culverts. Cars, however, don't bother her in the least, and she thinks its fun to stand in the middle of the highway. o.O
Anyways, we finally turned around and headed back and I got a few steps of the trot at the end before stopping and unsaddling. I definitely need more work on my position for the trot.
I am quite pleased with the ride today. Since one of my classes is cancelled for tomorrow I'll have more time to ride again in the afternoon. Right now, I'm aiming to take a 5.7 mile ride next week since its Spring Break - hopefully Lady continues to be okay going off the property.
For fun, here is an older picture of my beautiful horse. Approximately 2 or 3 years old.
Blog Challenge Day 2 + Exercise Begins!
I didn't get a chance to write yesterday, so I get to double up today. Fun!
Last night I started what is usually called a "legging up" program, or a very basic fitness regime. To start off, I did handwalking for 20 minutes, interspersed with 30-second periods of trotting. We did that last night as well as this morning and even though Lady does fine, it is me who needs the workout and is worn out at the end of it! <embarrassed grin>
Over the course of the next three or four weeks, I plan to increase the time of handwalking to 45 minutes with four 2-minute periods of trotting among it. I know that this will not be hard at all for Lady, but it will be for me, so in order to help her get a better workout, I plan to do some extra lunging and hillwork either before or after the handwalking. Of course, this is besides a regular training session. <wink>
This evening I'm hoping to saddle up and ride for a little while. Exciting!
Equestrian Blog Challenge - Day 2 - What is your pet peeve about riding, especially when watching others ride?
Ooooh, this is kind of hard, considering I'm always trying to find the good in people, and to be perfectly honest, I probably watch the horse more than the rider anyways. But probably what bothers me the most often is people who don't try to get better. So many riders do not pay attention to their position or what it is doing to the horse (unbalanced rider = unbalanced horse!). Especially in my area I see so much horses on the forehand, simply because their rider is preventing them from going any other way. I see people with heavy hands who complain about their horse being dull ALL the time. So, I guess my pet peeve would be people who don't attempt to improve.
Last night I started what is usually called a "legging up" program, or a very basic fitness regime. To start off, I did handwalking for 20 minutes, interspersed with 30-second periods of trotting. We did that last night as well as this morning and even though Lady does fine, it is me who needs the workout and is worn out at the end of it! <embarrassed grin>
Over the course of the next three or four weeks, I plan to increase the time of handwalking to 45 minutes with four 2-minute periods of trotting among it. I know that this will not be hard at all for Lady, but it will be for me, so in order to help her get a better workout, I plan to do some extra lunging and hillwork either before or after the handwalking. Of course, this is besides a regular training session. <wink>
This evening I'm hoping to saddle up and ride for a little while. Exciting!
Equestrian Blog Challenge - Day 2 - What is your pet peeve about riding, especially when watching others ride?
Ooooh, this is kind of hard, considering I'm always trying to find the good in people, and to be perfectly honest, I probably watch the horse more than the rider anyways. But probably what bothers me the most often is people who don't try to get better. So many riders do not pay attention to their position or what it is doing to the horse (unbalanced rider = unbalanced horse!). Especially in my area I see so much horses on the forehand, simply because their rider is preventing them from going any other way. I see people with heavy hands who complain about their horse being dull ALL the time. So, I guess my pet peeve would be people who don't attempt to improve.
Monday, March 3, 2014
A Weekend Without Horses + Blog Challenge Day 1
Since I was out of town all weekend, there have been no horses involved for several days. <sad face>
But I have done quite a bit of studying and planning, and I think I have a fairly decent workout plan scheduled for Lady, plus a good layout of her care and management for the next few months. That is, if my computer hasn't lost my work overnight. Silly thing does that rather often, for some strange reason.
Equestrian Blog Challenge - Day 1 - What was your most recent fall from a horse?
I do not remember falling recently, unless getting tangled in baling twine and falling flat on one's rear end counts? But, of course, I haven't really been consistent about riding and its hard to fall when you don't ride.
Quite honestly, I've only fallen about five or six times total. Legitimately that is. I don't consider it a fall to misjudge your mounting distance and slide down the other side - as I've done too many times. It makes me feel like a pretty horrible rider to say I can't remember my last fall! <gasp!>
But I have done quite a bit of studying and planning, and I think I have a fairly decent workout plan scheduled for Lady, plus a good layout of her care and management for the next few months. That is, if my computer hasn't lost my work overnight. Silly thing does that rather often, for some strange reason.
Equestrian Blog Challenge - Day 1 - What was your most recent fall from a horse?
I do not remember falling recently, unless getting tangled in baling twine and falling flat on one's rear end counts? But, of course, I haven't really been consistent about riding and its hard to fall when you don't ride.
Quite honestly, I've only fallen about five or six times total. Legitimately that is. I don't consider it a fall to misjudge your mounting distance and slide down the other side - as I've done too many times. It makes me feel like a pretty horrible rider to say I can't remember my last fall! <gasp!>
Saturday, March 1, 2014
Getting Relaxation and Rhythm
Thursday afternoon, I did not have time to ride (insert sad face) because I had to get ready to go out of town this weekend, but happily there was a little bit of time for me to get Lady out and do some circling - or in other terms, lunging. I'm really trying to work with her on balance, going in a nice frame, and raising the back so that more weight can be put on the hind end/the front end will get lighter.
We had about an 15-20 minute session, and at first, I sent her back and forth over a little heap of dirt and then up and down some hills, most to get her mind relaxed and engaged.
Lunging - I started by asking for one lap of the walk, then two laps of the trot, but it wasn't working very well and Lady was getting kind of high-headed again (we were also across the property and out of sight of her pasture buddy), so I decided to count strides instead, which worked a lot better. The canter is still pretty difficult for her, and at one point she slipped and half-way fell, so we had to trot and walk for several laps before she was confident enough to try the canter again, but when I asked, she gave and it was lovely! I mean, as lovely as a heavy, front-end-loaded canter can be, but she was trying so hard that I took her off the circle and ended the session there. Right now, confidence is what is most important. Once she's confident, the relaxation will come, and with the relaxation, rhythm and balance, and then I'll start to see that back come up and more weight shift to the hindquarters. Take the time it takes, right?
So, in order for me to write consistently on this blog, and also for you to get to know me and my horses better, I put together an equestrian/horse-owner's blog challenge to share, and hopefully somebody else will take it and do it on their blog too so that I can get to know other horse-owners as well! I also love pictures, so I'll be doing one question from the blog challenge every day except Saturday and Sunday, when I'll be doing the 30 Day Equestrian Photo Challenge. I'll be starting this on Monday when I get home again.
Equestrian/Rider's 30 Day Blog Challenge
1) What was your most recent fall from a horse?
2) What is your pet peeve about riding, especially when watching others ride?
3) How do your family and friends feel about horses and riding?
4) Who is your equestrian "idol" or favorite person to watch?
5) What is your ultimate horse-related goal?
6) Describe your equine facilities.
7) Describe your dream equine facilities.
8) List all your tack and equipment, including colors and brands, etc.
9) What would be your dream saddle and tack?
10) What is your favorite horse book? Movie?
11) Tell about your grooming bucket and grooming routine.
12) What would be your dream trailer? Post a link.
13) Do you wear a helmet? Should others?
14) Who has been or still is the most influential person on your riding?
15) Who is your favorite riding buddy and why?
16) What would your dream horse be like? Find one for sale and post the link.
17) What is your favorite thing about your horse?
18) Post your favorite picture of your horse.
19) What is your favorite thing/exercise to do with your horse?
20) Your riding habits. Tell about 2 strengths and 1 weakness.
21) Post a good side-view photo of your horse. Critique his conformation.
22) What do you feed your horse?
23) Bareback riding. What do you think?
24) What kind of treats do you use for your horse?
25) Is your horse shod or barefoot? Why?
26) How many horses have you owned in the past? Which was your favorite?
27) What riding discipline are you in? What would you like to do?
28) Groundwork? What and how?
29) What "barn pets" do you have?
30) What has been your greatest equestrian success?
 |
| LINK - This is what I'm wanting to see more of in Lady. |
Lunging - I started by asking for one lap of the walk, then two laps of the trot, but it wasn't working very well and Lady was getting kind of high-headed again (we were also across the property and out of sight of her pasture buddy), so I decided to count strides instead, which worked a lot better. The canter is still pretty difficult for her, and at one point she slipped and half-way fell, so we had to trot and walk for several laps before she was confident enough to try the canter again, but when I asked, she gave and it was lovely! I mean, as lovely as a heavy, front-end-loaded canter can be, but she was trying so hard that I took her off the circle and ended the session there. Right now, confidence is what is most important. Once she's confident, the relaxation will come, and with the relaxation, rhythm and balance, and then I'll start to see that back come up and more weight shift to the hindquarters. Take the time it takes, right?
So, in order for me to write consistently on this blog, and also for you to get to know me and my horses better, I put together an equestrian/horse-owner's blog challenge to share, and hopefully somebody else will take it and do it on their blog too so that I can get to know other horse-owners as well! I also love pictures, so I'll be doing one question from the blog challenge every day except Saturday and Sunday, when I'll be doing the 30 Day Equestrian Photo Challenge. I'll be starting this on Monday when I get home again.
Equestrian/Rider's 30 Day Blog Challenge
1) What was your most recent fall from a horse?
2) What is your pet peeve about riding, especially when watching others ride?
3) How do your family and friends feel about horses and riding?
4) Who is your equestrian "idol" or favorite person to watch?
5) What is your ultimate horse-related goal?
6) Describe your equine facilities.
7) Describe your dream equine facilities.
8) List all your tack and equipment, including colors and brands, etc.
9) What would be your dream saddle and tack?
10) What is your favorite horse book? Movie?
11) Tell about your grooming bucket and grooming routine.
12) What would be your dream trailer? Post a link.
13) Do you wear a helmet? Should others?
14) Who has been or still is the most influential person on your riding?
15) Who is your favorite riding buddy and why?
16) What would your dream horse be like? Find one for sale and post the link.
17) What is your favorite thing about your horse?
18) Post your favorite picture of your horse.
19) What is your favorite thing/exercise to do with your horse?
20) Your riding habits. Tell about 2 strengths and 1 weakness.
21) Post a good side-view photo of your horse. Critique his conformation.
22) What do you feed your horse?
23) Bareback riding. What do you think?
24) What kind of treats do you use for your horse?
25) Is your horse shod or barefoot? Why?
26) How many horses have you owned in the past? Which was your favorite?
27) What riding discipline are you in? What would you like to do?
28) Groundwork? What and how?
29) What "barn pets" do you have?
30) What has been your greatest equestrian success?
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