Goal Review - March 2014

Horse-Related Goals for March 2014:

- Be regular in riding Lady (3x per week). I averaged about 1.5-2 rides per week. Better than we had been doing. :)

- Film 2 sessions. Nope. Nada. Bad me.

- Keep up with care and exercise. Yup, at least on the care side of it. Exercise, not so much, but better again, so I'm not too upset.

- Study the Horse Riding Manual. Didn't quite finish, but got a lot of studying in. Happy about it.  :)

Horse-Related Goals for Spring 2014:

- Start working in Parelli Levels 3/4 OnLine. I've been improving some Level 1/2 stuff, so we should be able to start working harder on this now!

- Improve fitness so I can master the rising trot. Getting better. I'm stretching/working out more regularly and finally got to the chiro so I'm more straight!

- Start working in the canter. Getting closer. Sort of. :P

- Jump a course of 1 foot jumps. We've done more poles and tiny jumps in March. Slowly getting there too!

Horse-Related Goals for 2014 Overall:

- Maintain Lady at a healthy weight. So far, she is still at about the same weight. Fingers crossed!  

- Keep horse health records better. Uhh... nothing so far. <hangs head>

- Film regularly. Not yet.

- Attend/Audit 1-2 clinics. I've looked for some in the area. Rather broke right now. :P

- Go to watch horse shows. Again, I've looked around and have put at least two on the calender! :)

- Learn USDF Intro tests. I printed the Intro A test so I can start working on specific maneuvers.

Personal Goals for March 2014:

- Write for 15 minutes a day. So far, nearly every day. Happy!

- Practice piano daily. Not so good, but I have a few engagements coming up, so we'll see.

- Go back to taekwondo classes. Yup! I've gone nearly every week for about three weeks now.

- Study the Bible regularly. Definitely done better lately. Reading at least a chapter every night.

- Paint again. I didn't paint in March, but I drew and Prismacolor-ed a pretty awesome dragon! I say it counts! ;)

- Read Freckles, Anne of Avonlea, and Innocence (novels). Freckles is finished, Anne of Avonlea is half-done, and Innocence only came in a few days ago, so I haven't started yet. :P

Personal Goals for 2014 Overall:

Writing/Blogging:

- Maintain a posting schedule for my blog. Pretty happy. I have done 3 posts every month of 2014 so far. Big improvement.

- Read more books. So far, so good. I'm giving myself a reading list for each month. Helps a lot.

- Publish my novel. Currently revising and proofreading.

- Get a story published in a magazine. Uhhhh.... not really worked on this one yet.

- Win Camp NanoWrimo. Starting on April's camp tomorrow!  Wish me luck!

Music:

- Complete the Hanon exercise book (finger-strengthening!). Urgghhh... this is no-stirrup work for pianists. No report here.

- Create a decent repertoire. Currently working on remembering my old one. :P

- Be ready for my college audition in 2015. No progress.

- Play the violin regularly. And.... no progress.  Sigh.

Other:

- Graduate from Paris Junior College. Still depends on summer and fall classes lining up.

- Get my purple belt in taekwondo. I'm back in classes now, so this should work out!

- Get along better with my big sister. No comment.

So, it seems that as far as writing and horses go, I've done good so far. I'll be back tomorrow with goals for April.  :)  Off I go to play/ride Lady!

Dealing with Distractions

Yesterday, I had the good fortune to have two friends come by on their horses. I was prepared and had Lady tacked up, and got about two hours of work in on her lack-of-focus and go-crazy-about-other-horse things. I learned a lot about energy, thanks to my special trainer, and drive versus draw. Draw is very important to keeping Lady "with" me.

My head was exploding by the time we finished, but I was very very proud of Lady. Yes, it helped that she was on her home turf, and that she wasn't dealing with a lot of hormones this week, but she still did better than she has the last few times we've dealt with something that is distracting or exciting. Much better. I was, and still am, very pleased.

Today, I did very little, but got Lady out for a walk, and rode her for a little while - bareback in a halter and lead rope.  :)  She did quite well, although she was rather distracted again and a bit pushy. I ended when she gave me a nice soft yield.

I'm still playing with different methods of getting her attention and focus back on me and have yet to figure out exactly what works, but we'll continue working at it. 

Update and Blog Challenges

I've left out a couple of days this week, but here is blog challenge, day 10.

What is your favorite horse-related book? Movie?
Book is hard because there are too many! I love Black Beauty (who doesn't?) and the Black Stallion, and I love all the Henry books. If I had to pick one though, I would probably go with either King of the Wind, or Black Gold, both by Margaret Henry. The Black Stallion series is the runner-up, definitely! As a side note, I have National Velvet sitting in my room - never read it, but plan to do so in April.
Movies are also hard because I truthfully have not seen that many horse movies. Ummm.... I really loved Black Beauty and Black Stallion (again!). I'm going to pick Seabiscuit though, as my favorite. I cry every time, so it must be good!

In other news... I haven't ridden Lady since Monday of this week.  Eeeeekkk!  But I plan to do so this afternoon, and have a few ideas in mind already, so hopefully it turns out well. I'll probably write about it tomorrow. I've also got a goals review coming up for Monday, which I'm kind of dreading, since I haven't done so good lately.  <frowns at my efforts....>

Since I don't have anything else to put up, here is one of my Parelli auditions from five years ago. Of course, we've improved greatly since then, but its interesting to watch!  Enjoy! :)  Oh, and I finally updated the page about me, if you want to look.  ;)

Little Things Count

The weather was lovely today, but quite windy, so I didn't ride, but worked with Lady on the ground instead. She has been in and out of season the last two weeks, so I'm trying to find the balance between being too gentle and too sharp. As always, she gives me awesome feedback!
She has been a lot more relaxed the last two or three times I've played with her, which is interesting, but nice. Relaxed does not mean she isn't dominant however, so I still have to remind her of boundaries and limits. Tehe.

We walked for a little bit and then did some gentle lunging. She dropped her head quite a bit during the trot, and blew out a lot. When she gets into her trot like that, its lovely and soft and then I can ask for the canter and she is able to jump into it with power coming from the hind end. Its awesome :)
Point of irritation about myself - I keep trying to remember to watch and feel which side is Lady's stiffer side. I know for certain that she went much easier one way today, but for the life of me, I can't remember which side it was! Sigh... I'll try to watch closely again tomorrow.   :P

We did a few hills, which I'm trying to convince her to do at a walk only. The trot is good for hills, but she tends to hollow out at the trot and then her hind end drags, which we do not want! So, for now, hills are only at the walk. Makes her grumpy, but at least I know its good for her!

I played with something I haven't done in a long while and that is picking up one foot on command. I use my lunge whip (which might not be the right tool, not sure yet), and tap the fetlock of the leg I want her to pick up. Lady understands a bit better with her front feet, but is pretty much confused about the hind feet. She also tends to get worried and tries to evade the pressure. I think that 1) my timing isn't all that great, 2) the whip doesn't give the release she needs, and 3) my body language isn't quite right. Anyways, my goal is to have her lift the foot and hold it up when I tap her fetlock. We got a sort-of-correct response and ended there. Save the rest for another day.

We ended the session with some more circles and going over poles. Right now she really doesn't care about stepping on poles. She stands on poles.  O.o This has to be fixed. After all, I wish to jump with this horse!

The only other exciting thing happening is that The Pony has decided to be lame.  :(  I'm pretty sure that her hoof broke off a bit too short this time and she's just sore on it, especially since she walks okay, but her trot is majorly lame. I'll take a better look at her shoulder, leg, and foot tomorrow.


I've seen this around today, so here is my Throwback Thursday picture.  :)

Approximately summer of 2008, shortly after I got my first saddle.  :)
Not the best form, I know, but it was fun!

Chore Day!

No riding or playing today... just extra chores! I caught both the horses (yay for being able to catch the wild pony!) and brought them down to the lovely grassy paddock for a treat while I worked.

Trying to find the best spot of grass, and being distracted!

Definitely something caught their interest... After all, its a different part of the property!

Happy horses :)

I checked on my flower beds, and they seem to be doing quite fine. None of the plants have drooped or look any worse for having been planted yesterday and the soil was still moist. I tend to have a hard time growing plants successfully, so I'm hoping these turn out!

I decided to finally get after some of the mess around the feeding area/stall/shelter/etc spot(s) in the horse's current pasture. I'm trying to work with the stall and get the footing more level, since it slopes up from the doorway and is very uneven. I don't mind the slight slope up, but once inside the stall I want it to be level, especially for my easily-sore Lady.  <wink>

I picked up lots of manure, particularly around the hay/water spots and from the track they use along the fence. The area around the manure pile is quite a mess, but between the pitchfork and the rake, I got a good portion of it cleared. It's still bare dirt, but the whole area by the shelter is much neater looking now.  I'm happy.  :)

I also picked up quite a bit of hay off the ground. Someone needs to teach my horses their manners. They drop a LOT of hay on the ground, and most of it good hay. I've decided to be stubborn - whatever they toss on the ground that is still fit to eat will go back in the trough for a second round. They don't trample the hay or anything, it just lays there, but they won't touch it unless its in the trough.  O.o

The tack room also got a bit of a cleaning today. It isn't very pest-proof (is that a term?) and so it can get pretty dirty pretty fast. I swept and tidied some and mostly got it looking better.

Before.....  :(

After...  :)

Blog Challenge, Day 8 - What would be your dream set of tack/equipment?

That is actually a pretty tough question. I am very very blessed to have most all of the tack I need. All my ropes are Parelli-brand and extremely good quality. My bridles aren't the most wonderful, but they are well made. I have an amazing saddle sitting right in front of me (my Wintec). Probably the only thing I need to replace soon are going to be Lady's boots, and I'll need a new saddle pad.

But.... if I had a "dreamy, perfect" set of equipment.... I would want a Parelli saddle, or a Balance one, or maybe a Pessoa.  Not completely sure. I would want fifteen different saddle pads, all in different colors, depending on my mood of the day! I would have the softest leather bridle, probably an Antares, or something similar. I really want those fancy stirrups, the ones that are flexible or something.

There's probably a ton of other stuff, but I can't think of it right now. I actually have such really nice stuff already....  :)

Enjoying the Ride

Blog Challenge, Day 7  -  List all your tack and equipment.
- My dream saddle. A Wintec 500 All Purpose with Cair Panels. Black with a 17.5 inch seat.
- English baby saddle pad. Handmade with 1/4 inch foam. Hunter green with black trim.
- English girth. Local store brand. 52 inches. Black.
- Breastplate. Local store brand. Beautiful, sturdy, leather.
- Stirrups. Local store brand. Stainless steel with white inserts.
- Stirrup leathers. Local store brand. Nylon.
- Abetta Trail Saddle with round skirt. Black with a 15 inch seat.
- Navajo western saddle pad. Locally purchased. Red and green weave.
- Abetta neoprene cinch.
- Abetta breastcollar for a western saddle. Florescent lime.
- Western bridle. Tan oil. Locally purchased.
- English bridle with cavesson noseband. Dark brown oil. Local store brand.
- O-ring snaffle bit. Stainless steel. Currently in use.
- Curb bit. Stainless steel. Not in use.
- 3 Parelli rope halters. One red in Arab size. Two Regular size in Black and Hunter Green.
- Black nylon halter with breakaway headstall.
- Green nylon halter. Arabian style.
- Lunge whip.
- Parelli Carrot Stick and Savvy String.
- Parelli 45-foot Lariat rope.
- Parelli 22-foot Rope.
- Parelli 12-foot Rope.
- Parelli 22-foot Feather Line.
- Parelli 11-foot Finesse Reins.
- Bell Boots. Local store brand. Black.
- Splint Boots. Local store brand. Black.

Lady after our ride today. :)

We didn't do much interesting today. I warmed Lady up on the ground, saddled up and discovered once I had mounted that I had been careless and let my saddle slip back while moving her around. Sigh. Oh well. We did a few yielding exercises and then rode around the perimeter of the property, which is actually in itself a bit of a stretch, since the horses get worried even that far from each other. So, it was a good exercise, and I was actually quite proud of Lady. She listened to me and only tried to break into a trot one time. She did try to drift away from the fence, but wasn't pushy or upset about me reminding her. Good progress. :) She even did well enough that I took the chance to practice standing in the stirrups. I *will* be able to do a posting trot yet this spring. <determination... sort of>

The other thing that was interesting and went well was handwalking her. Our driveway goes out in two different directions, so we went down each way. She is confident up to the end of the actual driveway, so we pushed some thresholds today and went a bit further. The one way she was pretty good at and mostly wanted to eat grass.  O.o  The other way was the way we went the other week when she blew up on me, and I think she remembered that, or at least remembered that there were other horses that way. Anyways, her head came up and she got a bit tight, but still listened and was obedient, so I was pleased.   :)

Non-horsey thing to tell about - I put together two flower beds the other day. Today, I bought flowers and planted them. There is now a small flower bed on each side of the tack room door.  :)

Vary the Work - That's the Key!

Today was finally an enjoyable session with Lady. Not to say that everything went perfect, but I had more fun than I have had lately, and things just went better.
Our warm-up felt a lot better than usual. Today I did mostly circles at the trot, with a touch of canter, and then we walked some hills. Lady felt pretty relaxed and was moving quite well, with her head lowered too. I was pretty happy. Once she was tracking up better and stretching out, I brought her back in. I groomed her down pretty good and then saddled up.
Today I thought a little bit ahead and set up a few different things beforehand:  a Weave pattern with cones, two really small jumps made from bricks and planks, a big piece of plywood for a pedestal, and a sort of cloverleaf pattern from planks and barrels. While I was doing up the girth, I walked her around, over and between the different things. When I got on, she was pretty relaxed, and I was quite happy with most of the whole ride. I'm having trouble writing, so I'm going to do a bullet list about the ride.  <wink>

• Lady did break into a trot several times, but was fairly easy to shut down.
• I actually got her to trot with my aids several times, but I'm not very consistent with my aids.
• When she would trot, she would start to hollow out. I think its because I'm not good with the transition and probably bump in the saddle.
• She very easily bumps poles and jumps at the trot, but not at the walk. Hmmm.....
• When we did the "cloverleaf pattern" she had little respect for the planks I had set up as lanes.
• The Weave pattern was quite good. We even did a little bit at the trot.
• She did a bit of rooting on the reins at times and wanted to go back towards the tack shed and the grass. We worked in the area, but I made the plywood (aka pedestal) the resting spot.
• After working with the obstacles, we went out and walked the driveway a little bit. She was a bit difficult to get going at first, but soon got into the swing of things and enjoyed it.
• While riding the driveway, I attempted to use only leg aids to keep her on course, instead of rein aids, since those seem to slow her down.  (how interesting....)
• When heading home, leg aids definitely made her speed up. We'll do some work on that.

Overall, quite a nice afternoon. Much better than the rest of the week. I have to remember to keep the work varied this week, while still working on the same things. Quite a difficult thing sometimes. Some of my ideas for this week are: following the "rail" in the main pasture, doing transitions along the fence, and working over planks and small jumps.

Back to the blog challenge I decided to do, here is day 6 - Describe your dream equestrian facilities.

- at least one hundred acres, partially wooded, with miles of trails

- outdoor arena and manicured grass schooling ring

- large indoor arena, with lights, heating, and mirrors!

- oversized stalls, 20+ of them, at least 14 by 14 feet square, and traditional dutch doors

- a Paddock Paradise system, covering at least 10 miles, set up for rehabilitating horses

- barn with enormous tack room, wash bay, grooming area, etc.

It would be gorgeous, natural, and very very horse-friendly, unlike a lot of facilities.