The Secret Magpie - Bling and Elegance

Who doesn't like glitter and sparkles? Okay, I'll be honest, I have my limits about that kind of thing because I tend to prefer elegant and sleek to anything else. But when I came across The Secret Magpie's line of horse and rider fashion, I realized that bling and glitter can be fun. And elegant! Double win!

From what I've seen so far, I'm not sure there is anything The Secret Magpie cannot customize and sparkle up for you. My favorite thing right now would have to be a combination of sparkly stirrups, reins, and browbands. Pretty and fancy for my little Arabian! Since I have always been quite choosy about bling, its no surprise that if I'm going to go for it, it has to be well-made, good quality, and not over-the-top-covered. For most of The Secret Magpie's products, you can either buy it directly from them, or send in your own helmet, reins, or whatever to be decorated and glitter-ized, and since they only use fine Swarovski crystals, the work is sure to be well done and full of quality every time. Every design that I have seen is smooth and carefully done so that it is flashy and yet elegant enough to be perfect for shows.

Besides the bling and glitter, The Secret Magpie also offers commissioned pastel drawings, various ladies' fashion, and other pretty sparkly things. Helmets, reins, stirrups, gloves, phone cases, wall decals, jewelry, and even Equidiscs for showing.
Their website will be up and running soon, but for now they are running through Facebook and Twitter, and are Paypal verified for all purchases. Go and look at what they have to offer!  Visit them HERE!

Shoulders Back!

Yesterday (Wednesday) was our first real fitness session so far this year. I meant to start sooner, but time just kept slipping away from me. That being said, doing it yesterday in the heat of the afternoon was not the smartest idea I ever had. I did not ride, since I'm not confident or fit enough to ride at more than a walk for very long yet. So we did everything in hand, moving around the property to keep her interested. 

10 minutes of walk to warm up - a little sluggish in the heat.

Four 5-minute trot sets, separated by 2-minute walking periods for rest.

2 minutes of canter.

And 10 more minutes of walking to cool down.

I was pretty impressed with how she did. Me? I got overheated and nearly collapsed, but she was quite good! She was pretty sweaty and breathing hard, but still had her head up and could likely have gone on a little longer, if I had asked her to.

We won't do "fitness" until next week (Tuesday and Friday are scheduled) but I'm very happy with where we are at. Well... mostly. Her fitness level still surpasses mine, which is why my personal exercise schedule is as difficult as it is. Yup. :)

Today. It was dressage day and the focus in my head was on bending and transitions. I set up some cones in a bendy shape and used that for part of it. Lady was distracted and not totally present for most of the time, but overall she was obedient and willing. I'm not sure yet what to do to keep her from drifting so much or respond when I ask her to bend away the object of interest. She will bend her head/neck usually (although I have to hold it there fairly strongly) but will not yield her shoulder away from home, person, whatever.

Anyways, she was pretty good overall and I finally got pictures so I can look at how my position is. 

Yay! Sort of...

My shoulders need to come back. I've gotten better lately about keeping my lower back aligned correctly, but I need to build more strength in my shoulders and upper/middle back.

Don't really like this picture, although Lady's face is cute :)  Anyways, good example of how my right hip tends to drop and I go crooked. So does my saddle. And my shoulders.

Not a bad workout by any means. Mostly my takeaways are that I need to get my shoulders back and relaxed. And I need to remember not to lock out my elbows. I think I also need to bring my legs back, but not sure on that one.

What do you think?  :)

Keeping It Simple

Lady got the weekend off because me was rather sick, starting on Saturday.  :(  

I finally felt good enough to get out and play with her today and we had a light groundwork session. She didn't want to approach me when I went to catch her, so I sat down a little ways away and practiced my singing. I tried a few different songs, but it took a "heart-felt" rendition of Reflection from Disney's Mulan and then both of them were nosing me all over. Tehe.

Dad had pulled out a chest freezer from the shop to clean and Lady was quite curious about it so we went over to check it out and she decided it wasn't as interesting close up as it had been far away. Silly horsie.

We started off doing some circles at the walk. I've been really focusing on getting her to change direction smoothly at the trot lately. At the walk, she was very good today and I made sure she would turn towards me and not stop, but keep moving. When she was feeling pretty solid in that, I moved it up to a gentle, slow trot and insisted only that she not stop when I asked for the direction change. She still broke down to a walk, but kept moving, which is an improvement. Pretty happy about that! :)

I had some work planned on simulating leg pressure when in the saddle while on the ground (not sure if that made sense). I did this by using a hand and/or stick in the area where my leg would be and played with both moving sideways and doing hindquarter/forequarter yields with just small amounts of pressure. I really want her to respond to my legs without constant reminding from the reins and I figured this would be an ideal way to kickstart those responses. :)  She did quite well and I am pleased with her.

Lady felt a little tense, so I rubbed on her neck a little. On a whim, I decided to pull off the halter completely and have a little fun at liberty. We did some draw and then went on to circles, which she was absolutely perfect about!! Circles at the walk and trot, transitions between those gaits, lovely walk change of directions, relaxed head and neck, swinging stride, and some nice tracking up, all there! And completely loose in the field and she never once thought about leaving. SO proud of her! :)

Love this face <3

In other news, I've been really trying to set up a good schedule/routine thing so that she can settle into regular work/schooling/stuff and we can really start learning things and improving consistently. Therefore, here is my plan for the rest of May, starting tomorrow. I'm not fancy enough to put a calender together or anything for the blog, so you've got a list :)

Wednesday:  Fitness, aka trot sets. Possibly a bath. Maybe :)

Thursday:  Arena time. Focus on bending around things and doing transitions. Hack out afterwards.

Friday:  Jumping, possibly free jumping. Mostly poles and some low crossrails.

Saturday:  Planning to take off. Might do something fun, just because. :)

Sunday:  Either a rest day or a fun day, depending on Saturday.

Monday:  Dressage work. Practice Movement 1 from USDF Intro Test A. Also work on going through corners properly and focus on practicing my posting trot along the rail of the arena.

Tuesday:  Fitness Day. 10-15 minutes on the hills and possibly trot sets. Considering trying a gallop too, just because I want to! Tehe.

Wednesday:  Dressage work. Work with transitions, Figure8 and Serpentines. Focus on the trot-walk downward transition.

Thursday:  Jump Day! School on the ground over crossrails and ride some poles. Also focus on completing goals for May.

Friday:  Fitness - Trot Sets, possibly at liberty. Also 10 minutes of hills, first ridden fitness segment. Hack out again.

Some people don't like to plan sessions out with much detail, but I've found that if I don't have a plan in mind, I try to make everything perfect and that never turns out well. Not to say that I won't change my plan if its not working, but helps me mentally, and we usually get more accomplished this way.  We'll see how this one turns out!

The Week's Schooling Log

This post is more for me than anyone else, but maybe you want to read it anyways.  :-)

Sunday:  Work in-hand at the walk and trot. Walked on gravel for several short periods of time and Lady was much, much better already - just a little tender and much less resistant than two days ago. We worked on leading from her off side, because I am stiff through my left shoulder and have trouble with blocking her with my body (transfers to riding too). We also practiced some HQ/FQ yields, focusing on moving the correct feet and keeping the weight balanced properly. Approximately 30 minutes.

Monday:  It rained. :(  I mean... yay! sort of...

Tuesday:  Some more basic work in hand, working on her staying in the correct position (nose at my shoulder). We crossed the gravel driveway twice and she did fine, just wanted to slow down quite a lot so I think she is still a little tender. She started getting much better about not pushing ahead of me during leading time. She was sound at the trot, so we did circles on the 12-foot line. 10 laps of the trot in each direction - good start! :D At the end, I hopped on with just the halter and lead for a short bareback ride and it was quite nice. She was mostly well-behaved and cooperated well. Approximately 30 minutes.

Wednesday:  No work. Mostly life and a mental block from me.

Thursday:  Warmed up, tacked up, and mounted up! Went on one big loop of the arena at the walk, avoiding the enormous puddle in one corner of course. Changed directions and trotted most of the way around again. A challenge, but a good one! Got off and had her stay ground-tied while I pulled out a hay bale and a barrel as guidelines for the Figure 8 pattern. Did several rounds of that, then unsaddled and took her for a walk. We hung out in the tall grass for a treat afterwards. She was happy to be back in work.  Approximately 1 hour.


Notes and Thoughts (mostly from Thursday's ride):

• I weight my stirrups unevenly, but I can't figure out which one it is. O.o
• Working out regularly has helped my shoulder! It was much less stiff this week.
• Why do I have trouble with my foot tipping, especially the right one? It ends up falling to the outside of the stirrup and twisting my ankle. It could be my hip - need to work on that.
• Lady really liked me keeping my hands low and wide. Her head stayed lower and she actually accepted a little bit of contact for a while.
• I need to do more big school movements.
• I need to stop making her move perfectly every time. Shorter increments of specific work interspersed with easier things. At least until she can focus without panicking for longer periods of time.
• Keep my spine tall and my seat deep. HUGE difference in her movement and our harmony.
• Keep the legs on, but keep them soft too.
• Try not to stop every time she deserves a reward. Learn to reward and pat and keep riding (i.e. walk on the buckle as a treat?). Teach her that she can keep moving forward too.

At this moment, it is really hard not to go jump back on and try all kinds of new stuff that I've been reading about, but somehow I don't think that is the best strategy. I also have to remember that what movements worked yesterday may not work tomorrow. I did loops and figure 8s on Thursday. Today I need to find something new so that she doesn't get bored or naughty.  :-) 

Here's to hoping Lady stays sound and healthy!

Blog Hop - Continuation School

I love pony noses :-)

So the wonderful Viva Carlos put up another horrible wonderful blog hop this week. It is only horrible because everyone's responses have been making me tear up. Too close to the heart. *sniff*
Go to Forging Fiction, Equestrian at Hart, She Moved to Texas, Wilbur, Ellie, and Emily, and Fly On Over to see what I mean.......

Why do you continue to ride?

I could repeat what everyone else has said, but I wanted to write my own words....
It is very true that there is every reason in the world not to ride, not to own horses...
 - They are demanding. Feeding them 2-4x per day is not easy. Building and moving fences is painful. When you're sick, there isn't a choice. They still need food and care.
 - They are expensive. And they have a bad habit of getting injured, or contracting diseases. And let's not talk about tack. Yeah.
 - They will break your heart. I love all the animals I have ever had, but the horses are the hardest to lose.

And yet, there is no way for me to give them up. Like I say a lot, I would be very rich if it weren't for those silly 4-legged creatures. But I would not have the purpose in life that I do with them.

I am a pretty extreme introvert. Having a relationship with an animal means a lot to me in a different way that a human-human relationship does. People mess up. Not my horse.

There is something to be said about  being known as the girl who owns horses. People assume things, and they're not always bad. ;-)

Having and riding a horse makes me a stronger and better person. If I don't do it right, Lady will tell me so, and if I don't work to get it right, she continues to tell me. Horses are so honest.

I hate going out to the pasture like I did two weeks ago and finding my horse lame. I hate that she has welts right now from the flies. I hate that sometimes usually I can't buy the things that I want.

But none of that really matters because in the end, the good things make up for it.

I love walking out to the pasture and seeing the Lady and the Pony come over to get a treat.
I love the gleam of a bay coat in the sunlight.
I love the smell of good hay and I love watching it get eaten.
I love the feeling when you get all your aids and signals just right and your horse knows it too and responds, and for a moment, its heaven on earth.
I love putting my foot in the stirrup to mount and just at that moment my horse turns her head around and gives me a nudge and I know she is telling me to get on with it so that we can fly.


I love having the ability to get away from the bad things in life so easily.
Some people run away because its all that they feel they can do.
All I have to do is get out my saddle.

Doggie Pictures!

It has been raining a lot the past few days, so Lady-news has been very sparse. So! I decided it was time to introduce my other 4-legged critter! 

This is my adorable doggie named Major. He was full-grown when he showed up 7ish years ago and is starting to show his age. I wish I could find some older pictures when he wasn't gray, but they were not to be found on my computer today, so you'll have to make do with these.

He is so cute :D

Picture from his odd illness in the spring of 2013.

He lives outside 24/7 and loves it!

His "pointer" pose!

Guarding the door from all intruders.

Can I have a snack??  Pretty please?  I'm cute :)

He is getting pretty old now, and I have to keep him on joint supplements and good food so that he doesn't limp or drop weight. But he continues to run all over our property (and beyond!) and warns us if anyone tries to come down the driveway.

Sorry for the picture dump... ;)

The Next Phase

It is now summer! Finals week is past and I attended graduation this last Friday, where I had to say farewells to several friends. I will be taking one summer course so that I can graduate at the end of the fall semester, but that does not start until the middle of July, which means I have close to two months free of schooling.

Well... I signed up for two low-intensity courses on Coursera.org. One starts next week and another starts the week after. I guess there is no such thing as escaping new things to learn, but I'm not sure I really  mind.

This summer has little on the calender so far. There is the World Expo - American Taekwondo Association that I will be attending in early July for competition. I also have my 20th birthday in July - that sounds scary!  O.o

I am attempting to search for a job that will help me pay for school and prepare for both a planned trip to Europe next spring and the big move to university (with Lady!) next summer. Landing a decent job seems to be rather difficult, however.

LINK

On the equine front, we have had a little good news. Lady is still tender, but not outright sore or anything. I am keeping her on grass for the moment as I simply cannot justify taking her off of it as it does not seem natural to me. So for now, both horses stay on pasture, which is now much shorter and not so rich anyways.

Instead of one bucket a day, I decided to divide her feed into two smaller meals. I only give her soaked timothy/alfalfa cubes mixed with a bit of oats, and only enough to mix her supplements in and make her happy. She is getting her regular supplements in the morning along with epsom salts and aloe vera (this week only). In the evening, she'll get her apple cider vineger, garlic, vitamin C, vitamin E (when I get it), and some extra comfrey, nettle and willow. I also plan to have activated charcoal on hand if she takes a turn for the worst and I'm offering her Himalayan salt and kelp daily.

Since she is doing better again, the best thing I feel I can do for her is keep her in light exercise. Right now, that is going to be at least 20 or 30 minutes of hand walking and trotting. She will also get a small amount of walking on gravel every day, and depending on how she continues to feel, I'll start going back to our regular work.

Hopefully, we can have a ride before this week is over.  *fingers crossed!*