I totally get this. Whenever Lady doesn't feel well, or work gets in the way.
Tuesday, September 9, 2014
Sunday, September 7, 2014
Last Week's Schooling & This Week's Goals
Lady got more days off then I meant to give her this last week, but I did put two good rides in on Lady, which is the goal, right?
Tuesday's Ride: Write-up here.
Friday's ride was somewhat more exciting and not so technical. I took Lady out off the property and we actually had our first real "trail ride" on our own. We made a loop across a field and around the road back home - about a mile in length. We had some minor spooks and issues - having to pass by the neighboring horse instead of going to see her, going into the shadows under the trees, and then getting chased by two dogs who were actually biting poor Lady's heels. I was pretty upset about that part, but we made it home safe and sound. It wasn't perfect or pretty by any means, but it was successful! I was, and still am, very pleased!
On to this next week - the second week of September! You can go read my full list of weekly goals over at my other blog. That post will be up tomorrow morning!
Tuesday: Ride out on the neighboring field. Really work on obedience, calmness and light contact. I would like this ride to be at least 30-40 minutes long and I might pull my saddle out.
Thursday: Focus on patterns in this ride, either in the arena or in the open on our property. If Lady is calm/obedient enough, then work on canter transitions as well.
Friday: Loose-rein "western" ride - just for fun. :)
Those are the only three sessions I have planned for this week, but I may squeeze some extra little things in there as well. Who knows!
How was last week for you? And what do you have planned for the second week of September?
Tuesday's Ride: Write-up here.
Friday's ride was somewhat more exciting and not so technical. I took Lady out off the property and we actually had our first real "trail ride" on our own. We made a loop across a field and around the road back home - about a mile in length. We had some minor spooks and issues - having to pass by the neighboring horse instead of going to see her, going into the shadows under the trees, and then getting chased by two dogs who were actually biting poor Lady's heels. I was pretty upset about that part, but we made it home safe and sound. It wasn't perfect or pretty by any means, but it was successful! I was, and still am, very pleased!
On to this next week - the second week of September! You can go read my full list of weekly goals over at my other blog. That post will be up tomorrow morning!
Tuesday: Ride out on the neighboring field. Really work on obedience, calmness and light contact. I would like this ride to be at least 30-40 minutes long and I might pull my saddle out.
Thursday: Focus on patterns in this ride, either in the arena or in the open on our property. If Lady is calm/obedient enough, then work on canter transitions as well.
Friday: Loose-rein "western" ride - just for fun. :)
Those are the only three sessions I have planned for this week, but I may squeeze some extra little things in there as well. Who knows!
How was last week for you? And what do you have planned for the second week of September?
Friday, September 5, 2014
Friday's Tack Addiction - Saddle Pads
Would you believe me if I said I only owned 2 saddle pads? Because it is the truth.
I used to have 3 western pads. There was a lovely orange one that was just the right softness and thickness and a firmer, also thick, green one, and then there was the navajo pad pictured above. I only have the navajo one left after my tack room had an issue with rats in it and the other two were torn beyond use.
My english saddle pad is my own work. It is very simple cotton fabric with a medium thickness of foam inside and black edging. I made it according to measurements from my Wintec.
Just because I only own two pads though, does not mean that I don't go looking for more and check my bank account every so often to see if I could just maybe afford another one. I also want a half pad to help cushion Lady's back since she is so sensitive.
The few things I do want in a saddle pad are durability, shape (it has to fit over her withers properly), and I love all the pretty colors!
I really like the hunter/dark green on Lady, preferably with black trim (which is what I made my own english pad out of. I would also like to try a plum color on her, and a few different shades of blue. And of course I want the standard black and white ones! ALL the colors!
What kind of saddle pads are your favorites? Do you have a particular brand? How many do you own?
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| One Western Navajo. |
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| One English AP. |
My english saddle pad is my own work. It is very simple cotton fabric with a medium thickness of foam inside and black edging. I made it according to measurements from my Wintec.
Just because I only own two pads though, does not mean that I don't go looking for more and check my bank account every so often to see if I could just maybe afford another one. I also want a half pad to help cushion Lady's back since she is so sensitive.
The few things I do want in a saddle pad are durability, shape (it has to fit over her withers properly), and I love all the pretty colors!
I really like the hunter/dark green on Lady, preferably with black trim (which is what I made my own english pad out of. I would also like to try a plum color on her, and a few different shades of blue. And of course I want the standard black and white ones! ALL the colors!
What kind of saddle pads are your favorites? Do you have a particular brand? How many do you own?
Thursday, September 4, 2014
August's 10 Questions
I've been meaning to do this ever since Viva Carlos put it up, but here it finally is, in September, but oh well!
1. Is your horse spooky or bombproof? Kind of in the middle. Lady isn't spooky the way a lot of horses are and most things don't bother her, but she kind of loses her brain sometimes and we all know what happens then. So not bombproof.
2. Does your horse have a long or short stride? Umm, its hard to say since I haven't ridden any other horses in a while, but compared to most horses around here (Quarter Horses and/or short) Lady has a longer stride. She has a very nice reach and covers ground very well.
3. Describe your current barn in 3 words. Home, Convenient, Grassy.
4. If you could switch barns, would you? Hard question. I love the fact that my horses are at home and I don't have to drive anywhere to ride. But I lack a good trainer, which is something I really crave and need. So yes, if I could (aka. afford it) then I would.
5. Favorite brand of breeches. Don't own any, although I would like to. I wear jeans all the time for riding.
6. How many blue ribbons do you have? Don't have any, but I have a lovely red and black one that I got from the Parelli Celebration in 2009. Love that one. :)
7. How many saddle pads do you own? Currently 1 English one and 1 Western Navajo pad. I used to have 2 other ones and then the rats got to them. :(
8. Is your horse your phone background/lock screen? When I had a phone she was.
9. Do you go trail riding often (weather permitting)? We don't have actual trails around here, but I do ride around outside of the arena much of the time.
10. Favorite horsey movie? Hidalgo, or Seabiscuit.
1. Is your horse spooky or bombproof? Kind of in the middle. Lady isn't spooky the way a lot of horses are and most things don't bother her, but she kind of loses her brain sometimes and we all know what happens then. So not bombproof.
2. Does your horse have a long or short stride? Umm, its hard to say since I haven't ridden any other horses in a while, but compared to most horses around here (Quarter Horses and/or short) Lady has a longer stride. She has a very nice reach and covers ground very well.
3. Describe your current barn in 3 words. Home, Convenient, Grassy.
4. If you could switch barns, would you? Hard question. I love the fact that my horses are at home and I don't have to drive anywhere to ride. But I lack a good trainer, which is something I really crave and need. So yes, if I could (aka. afford it) then I would.
5. Favorite brand of breeches. Don't own any, although I would like to. I wear jeans all the time for riding.
6. How many blue ribbons do you have? Don't have any, but I have a lovely red and black one that I got from the Parelli Celebration in 2009. Love that one. :)
7. How many saddle pads do you own? Currently 1 English one and 1 Western Navajo pad. I used to have 2 other ones and then the rats got to them. :(
8. Is your horse your phone background/lock screen? When I had a phone she was.
9. Do you go trail riding often (weather permitting)? We don't have actual trails around here, but I do ride around outside of the arena much of the time.
10. Favorite horsey movie? Hidalgo, or Seabiscuit.
Wednesday, September 3, 2014
Finally Getting There!
I finally got back in the game yesterday and had a "real" ride. It was in a rope halter and bareback, but it was still a real ride!
I went out and caught Lady with little trouble, and even had The Pony come up for a petting too, which I was quite pleased about. :-)
After a little bit of moving around to see where she was at - slightly stiff and a bit grumpy - I hopped on and started out with just riding calmly around the arena (or their pasture as it is right now) at a walk. Lady was quite nice about it, even though I had to remind her to stay straight several times.
When I felt she was sufficiently warmed up (she lives out on pasture, but comes in stiff a lot) I decided to go straight into cantering. The trot has been our worst enemy lately, especially bareback, and I didn't feel like making that situation worse.
Side note: I am doing some research and working on my personal fitness/strength, and I continue to do several short periods of trotting whenever I ride for the sake of practicing, but I do have to be careful that I don't jar Lady's back or hurt her.
Anyways, I got my nerves together, and after a few not-too-terrible steps of trot, we transitioned into the canter and the transition was quite nice! I'm getting better at that part! My focus was on keeping her energy forward, and keep myself with her. We accomplished both goals! I was present enough to let her know what was expected, and I even kept a good seat (albeit gripping a bit too much with my legs).
I was pleased with that and brought her back down to a walk for a break before trying it a second time. The transition wasn't as good the second time around, but once we were in the gait, it went quite well.
Cantering is so much fun when it goes well!
Lastly, I decided to go through our dressage test (USDF Intro A) completely at the walk. My focus here was her obedience (she did well) and my ability to see the geometry (not so good). I'm not good at seeing circles yet so our lopsided eggs were completely my fault and not Lady's.
My notes:
I went out and caught Lady with little trouble, and even had The Pony come up for a petting too, which I was quite pleased about. :-)
After a little bit of moving around to see where she was at - slightly stiff and a bit grumpy - I hopped on and started out with just riding calmly around the arena (or their pasture as it is right now) at a walk. Lady was quite nice about it, even though I had to remind her to stay straight several times.
When I felt she was sufficiently warmed up (she lives out on pasture, but comes in stiff a lot) I decided to go straight into cantering. The trot has been our worst enemy lately, especially bareback, and I didn't feel like making that situation worse.
Side note: I am doing some research and working on my personal fitness/strength, and I continue to do several short periods of trotting whenever I ride for the sake of practicing, but I do have to be careful that I don't jar Lady's back or hurt her.
Anyways, I got my nerves together, and after a few not-too-terrible steps of trot, we transitioned into the canter and the transition was quite nice! I'm getting better at that part! My focus was on keeping her energy forward, and keep myself with her. We accomplished both goals! I was present enough to let her know what was expected, and I even kept a good seat (albeit gripping a bit too much with my legs).
I was pleased with that and brought her back down to a walk for a break before trying it a second time. The transition wasn't as good the second time around, but once we were in the gait, it went quite well.
Cantering is so much fun when it goes well!
Lastly, I decided to go through our dressage test (USDF Intro A) completely at the walk. My focus here was her obedience (she did well) and my ability to see the geometry (not so good). I'm not good at seeing circles yet so our lopsided eggs were completely my fault and not Lady's.
My notes:
- Must do more canter work! She is capable of it, just needs the practice to build muscle.
- I need to have more strength in my my thighs.
- Independent seat, especially in the trot and canter are very important.
- Practice circles more often.
How was your latest ride? Did it go smoothly? What did you learn?
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| My latest motto. <3 |
Tuesday, September 2, 2014
Monday, September 1, 2014
August Analysis / September Goals
I love writing these! Lists, and goals, and plans!! I just enjoy all of that :)
But before I digress, here is August's analysis...
Blogging:
But before I digress, here is August's analysis...
Blogging:
Keep up with my schedule for this blog.I can't say that I followed the schedule that I made up, but I did put in 14 posts, which is 2 more than I had planned, and the second highest monthly amount since I started this blog! So, success here.Complete the blogging challenge I chose for my writing blog.I got behind a few times and had to catch up, but I got all the assignments in and learned a LOT. Definitely success in the blogging area!
School:
- Make an A in my summer geology course. I'm ashamed to say it, but this didn't happen. I ended up getting the worst grade I have gotten so far in college. Umm... yeah...
Start the fall semester prepared and ready!I definitely feel prepared and ready to tackle this last semester so I can graduate!
- Log 12 horsemanship hours/10 rides for summer challenge. I did not quite reach either of these, but got SO close!
Workout again.I started the month off okay, then slacked off in the middle and now have myself back into a sort of routine.Journal every night.Again, I skipped some days, but definite improvement, so I call success.- Complete a cover for my novel. I got some ideas going and then decided that it was too big a job for me. I'm getting help to finish it. :)
I'm quite satisfied with August. On to September!!
Writing/Reading Goals:
- Finish the final edit of my novel.
- Follow my blog posting schedule.
- Organize my short stories into a collection.
- Read 6 novels and study parts 1-4 in my horse training book.
Horses:
- Start searching for a new saddle and possibly sell the two saddles I have.
- Ride a new horse. I plan to go to the local barn for this.
- Ride Lady at least 2x per week.
Personal/Other:
- Arrange at least 1 piano lesson with my teacher.
- Keep up with school assignments and my exercise schedule.
- Earn my taekwondo purple belt (next testing)!
- Finish paying off my summer school course and end the month with a certain amount of money in each of my bank accounts.
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