I firmly believe that's true, and things are definitely changing around my life--yipes. Lol. It's one of those things where, at the end I'm pretty sure that everyone will be happier and that it'll be a good thing for me; however, in the middle it's not bad per se, but it is confusing and I don't know what to expect next!
However, I will be quite busy over spring break with ponies, I dare say. And I'm going to be really, really trying to get some more pictures! For lots of reasons! ;) Spring break starts this Friday! YAYY!!
Tonight I go ride Jumper, the horse I'm hoping to ride in the hunter pace, for the first time, and meet her owner outside of Facebook. Fingers crossed it goes well and we all get along!
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
Sunday, February 17, 2013
First Trail Ride!
So yes I have had Rhapsody out on the roads at the farm a little bit, but Friday was our first official trail ride in a group. We went with Coach and Surge and a friend of mine and her horse Tanner. Tanner is a great trail horse, not scared of much at all, while Rhapsody and Surge tend to be spookier, so we figured he could lead if we needed it.
However both girls were fantastic! We took turns leading and following and Rhapsody and I actually led for some of the scariest part of the ride--the last bit down to the river--and no big spooks, bolts, or anything else silly. Coach took pictures but I don't have them. We went all the way down the road to the river/dock/mudflats in the back of the property, came part way back, rode into Rhapsody and Surge's back pasture, walked around there a bit, then pulled off the tack and let them go.
Rhapsody is officially without a catch halter now, too. YAYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Can't even say how exciting that is to me!!
Anyway some of the things we saw/went through were ankle-deep dead leaves, water, ankle-deep mud, slippery mud, kids' swing sets and slides, a long arbor-archway thing, a twisted metal gate left over from last spring's tornado, the empty dock, a gazebo, huge brush/stump piles, mudflats, an excavator working across the river, and of course lots of other horses in the fields, including Rhapsody's "boyfriend" Cairo in her pasture. It was really good and I want to keep up on her trail work the rest of this winter.
Then I gave Brandi a short ride. She was being obnoxious with the bit and refusing to stay on the rail, but after some discussions she settled down a bit and we did some walk/trot work both ways before I had to head home for dinner. I would have liked to canter her with Coach there, but jumps up would've made it awkward anyways, so perhaps next time. Next time I'll put her in the full-cheek plain snaffle instead of the slow twist D-ring, as I think that was too much bit for her, and I'll bring a martingale in case she decides to try her silliness again. :)
However both girls were fantastic! We took turns leading and following and Rhapsody and I actually led for some of the scariest part of the ride--the last bit down to the river--and no big spooks, bolts, or anything else silly. Coach took pictures but I don't have them. We went all the way down the road to the river/dock/mudflats in the back of the property, came part way back, rode into Rhapsody and Surge's back pasture, walked around there a bit, then pulled off the tack and let them go.
Rhapsody is officially without a catch halter now, too. YAYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Can't even say how exciting that is to me!!
Anyway some of the things we saw/went through were ankle-deep dead leaves, water, ankle-deep mud, slippery mud, kids' swing sets and slides, a long arbor-archway thing, a twisted metal gate left over from last spring's tornado, the empty dock, a gazebo, huge brush/stump piles, mudflats, an excavator working across the river, and of course lots of other horses in the fields, including Rhapsody's "boyfriend" Cairo in her pasture. It was really good and I want to keep up on her trail work the rest of this winter.
Then I gave Brandi a short ride. She was being obnoxious with the bit and refusing to stay on the rail, but after some discussions she settled down a bit and we did some walk/trot work both ways before I had to head home for dinner. I would have liked to canter her with Coach there, but jumps up would've made it awkward anyways, so perhaps next time. Next time I'll put her in the full-cheek plain snaffle instead of the slow twist D-ring, as I think that was too much bit for her, and I'll bring a martingale in case she decides to try her silliness again. :)
Thursday, February 14, 2013
Happy Valentines'!
They call it Singles' Awareness Day.
I call it time-to-look-at-all-the-people-walking-around-campus-carrying-flowers-and-what-have-you and be happy and grateful for my family, my ponies, my puppy, and my friends! This girl don't need a boy in order to be happy! :)
I do have good news on the pony front though as I got to ride Farewell, one of our newest off-track horses, on Tuesday and he is the. sweetest. thing. ever. Plus sensible, solid-minded, and adorable! Got to put him over jumps for the first time and he caught on quick. :) Only problem is that he's difficult to catch. Well I must say that's something of my specialty now right?! Maybe I'll get to sneak some more time with him on the pretext of catching groundwork!
Sunday, February 10, 2013
Brandi Is a Doll
Rode Brandi on Friday since everyone else was getting their feet done (even Rhapsody! For probably the first time in 4-6 months! Woo!). Rode Western since my English saddle seemed to be getting to her and she was really really good. I continue to be just blown away by how self-controlled she is. For the first while I worked with her on mounting manners, since she's probably never been trained to stand for mounting and therefore has no manners whatsoever. It actually worked best to hold the reins on the buckle and get on from the mounting block--what do you know? I was happy though--if she can learn to stand still on a loose rein now, all the better!
So after a little bit she stood perfectly calm for me to get on and sit there for a few minutes. Then I asked her to move off and we did some lovely walk/trot work. She is still very sensitive to my seat aids, though she probably has no training in that area, and was calm and sensible even when there were kids playing on a nearby gravel pile. She did get a bit fast and call to her buddies as they were being led out to the pasture, but got happier when a couple of the geldings came to join us for a lesson. Also she was doing some absolutely fantastic stretching and reaching down to the bit at walk and trot, and popped carefully but smoothly over a ground pole on the diagonal. And all this from a 2-3 year old filly! I am super impressed! If I were in the market for a horse of my own right now, I'd be hard pressed not to pick her up!
Her canter is coming along. With the beginner lesson going on, I wasn't able to get a sustained canter from her, but she picked it up reasonably quickly when I asked, both directions. Wrong lead both times, but that will improve as she gets more comfortable. I am happy that her canter wasn't a flat-out gallopy thing, as Rhapsody's and Fringe's can be! I'm sure it helps that she didn't spend much time training on the track, and never raced.
So after a little bit she stood perfectly calm for me to get on and sit there for a few minutes. Then I asked her to move off and we did some lovely walk/trot work. She is still very sensitive to my seat aids, though she probably has no training in that area, and was calm and sensible even when there were kids playing on a nearby gravel pile. She did get a bit fast and call to her buddies as they were being led out to the pasture, but got happier when a couple of the geldings came to join us for a lesson. Also she was doing some absolutely fantastic stretching and reaching down to the bit at walk and trot, and popped carefully but smoothly over a ground pole on the diagonal. And all this from a 2-3 year old filly! I am super impressed! If I were in the market for a horse of my own right now, I'd be hard pressed not to pick her up!
Her canter is coming along. With the beginner lesson going on, I wasn't able to get a sustained canter from her, but she picked it up reasonably quickly when I asked, both directions. Wrong lead both times, but that will improve as she gets more comfortable. I am happy that her canter wasn't a flat-out gallopy thing, as Rhapsody's and Fringe's can be! I'm sure it helps that she didn't spend much time training on the track, and never raced.
Friday, February 8, 2013
Unscheduled Dismount!
Sooo I hadn't fallen for almost a year, even on my skitzy, crazy babies. Famous last words. Haha!
Rode Fringe for my lesson on Tuesday because she needs the work, needs to start and continue jumping, and generally manages to scare everyone else off of riding her. Besides Coach, of course; but Coach has two project horses plus her own two to try to keep in work, plus working outside the barn, so she doesn't have much time for my girls. ;)
She was being super skittery, tried to bolt two or three times on me while we were up in the jump arena, and wouldn't settle despite a lot of circling. So we walked down to the regular (and smaller) arena and for the first bit in there she was fine. Then Coach raised her arm. Oh the horror! Zooom goes Fringe, however I stayed on and then we worked on raising our arms! She kept trying to get fast but eventually settled and we did walk/trot/canter and some 12-18" jumps and she was really good. Tried to bolt again once when she tripped slightly on the jump, but nothing major.
Then...we were trotting. And another instructor was coming back from a trail ride with her lesson kid annd...they. trotted. past. us. Okay they picked up the trot heading toward us, not the best thing to do. I saw it coming, remembered that Fringe spooks and runs like all the fiends are after her whenever other horses are running in the pasture, and had time only to think Oh SHOOT! before she bolted.
I stayed on a while. At least it felt like a while. I remember being afraid she'd head for the 2' jump set up on the outside track; then she dove inside and I was afraid she'd slip and fall on the grass center; then I lost my seat and balance and thought, rather sadly, I'm going off. And I did. Haha!
Didn't hurt myself though. Got back on and we did walk/trot/canter again and I'm not even sore this morning. Other instructor apologized and all is good. :) It was part my fault for not turning her in to the rail or doing a one-rein stop anyway. Maybe a very small part, but I could've helped it more than I did. Anyway I'm not at all sore so it was the best fall I've had. Yay me. :)
Rode Fringe for my lesson on Tuesday because she needs the work, needs to start and continue jumping, and generally manages to scare everyone else off of riding her. Besides Coach, of course; but Coach has two project horses plus her own two to try to keep in work, plus working outside the barn, so she doesn't have much time for my girls. ;)
She was being super skittery, tried to bolt two or three times on me while we were up in the jump arena, and wouldn't settle despite a lot of circling. So we walked down to the regular (and smaller) arena and for the first bit in there she was fine. Then Coach raised her arm. Oh the horror! Zooom goes Fringe, however I stayed on and then we worked on raising our arms! She kept trying to get fast but eventually settled and we did walk/trot/canter and some 12-18" jumps and she was really good. Tried to bolt again once when she tripped slightly on the jump, but nothing major.
Then...we were trotting. And another instructor was coming back from a trail ride with her lesson kid annd...they. trotted. past. us. Okay they picked up the trot heading toward us, not the best thing to do. I saw it coming, remembered that Fringe spooks and runs like all the fiends are after her whenever other horses are running in the pasture, and had time only to think Oh SHOOT! before she bolted.
I stayed on a while. At least it felt like a while. I remember being afraid she'd head for the 2' jump set up on the outside track; then she dove inside and I was afraid she'd slip and fall on the grass center; then I lost my seat and balance and thought, rather sadly, I'm going off. And I did. Haha!
Didn't hurt myself though. Got back on and we did walk/trot/canter again and I'm not even sore this morning. Other instructor apologized and all is good. :) It was part my fault for not turning her in to the rail or doing a one-rein stop anyway. Maybe a very small part, but I could've helped it more than I did. Anyway I'm not at all sore so it was the best fall I've had. Yay me. :)
Sunday, February 3, 2013
Rhapsody Pictures :)
So I also thought I would amuse you all with some added pictures of how mwah stays warm (or not) in the cold cold weather!
I got these Heritage gloves for Christmas and they are awesome!
Sadly I left them in my car on Friday so my hands got so numb I could barely do up the billet straps on the saddle...
I don't have fleece-lined breeches but my riding tights are pretty heavy-duty cotton and combined with SmartWool they keep me warm.
Long underwear, another thermal top, and an old chenille turtleneck sweater for tops.
You can't see it very well, but this is my cellphone holder I got for Christmas! I'd been a little worried because often I'm at the barn all by myself and didn't have a good place to have my phone where I could get to it at any time (i.e., in case of emergency). This thing straps around my arm and does a great job of holding my phone!
Okay on to pony pics. :)
I love this picture. The head carriage, the ears, everything. It wasn't four weeks ago that I couldn't lead her up to the barn without her craning her neck in the air and rolling her eyes at everything. Now look at her! :)
She says we have a good view on the half-mile walk up to the barn...
Which we really do. :)
Why are you pointing that silly thing at me all the time?
Because you're cute, Ponyface. You're really, really cute. And because I'm so stinkin' proud of you!
Wild-ish Ride
So on Friday I went and rode. :) Just Rhapsody because I wanted to do catching groundwork with her as well as riding, and that takes longer. I was super pleased with her catch in the field! She comes right up to me now and isn't shy at all about barging right in with Surge and her big paint gelding boyfriend to get her treat.
Then we had a great groundwork session. Took off her halter and everything and did some catching work. The first couple times I sent her away, she went off in a feisty Arab-y trot, head all arched up, snorting at everything, tail flagged--it was actually kind of cute, lol. I let her go and after a while backed up to ask her to come in and she came right away and let me put the rope around her neck without any fuss! She did that a couple times and then decided it wasn't worth it to leave! I would send her and she'd go a couple yards off, spin around, and ask to come in. Goosey. :) However I don't mind that at the moment. I really would like to take the catch halter off--it's rubbing her face and making the rain rot on her poll 10 times worse--and I really think I could with no problems, but I'm going to wait till after the farrier comes next Friday. She really, really needs her feet done--hasn't had them trimmed or even looked at since September or October at least--and I don't want to take any chances. Though I'm 95% sure I can catch her without a halter on, I'm not sure if Coach wants to yet!
I also did some Friendly game (desensitization) at liberty and some Porcupine (direct pressure) and Driving ("air" pressure) games on-line. Next up is Yo-Yo (backing away and coming back in when asked) and then lungeing/Circling game. She doesn't understand lungeing very well at all, and I really want to get her lungeing well so I can maybe get some of her jellybeans out before I get on to ride!
However I don't have that option yet, so tacked her up and went out to ride. She was hot, hot, hot as she hadn't been ridden for a week and a half and the temperature was hovering around 34 degrees F (about 1 degree C). So she spooked majorly once at the jump blocks--her big spooks consist of a big "teleport" jump sideways, a 180-degree spin, and an attempted bolt, all in about half a second--and she very nearly unseated me; however I somehow stayed on and we went on to trot a lot to wear off the jitters at a faster pace. She spooks less when she's focused on moving forward. So we trotted and trotted and trotted--mostly very fast, but now and again more relaxed with a little bit of stretching!--and then cantered a couple times both ways of the arena. She was in full racing form and making me feel like a jockey with her out-of-the-gate style scooty canter transitions and breakneck speed! Lol! It was fun though. Kept me on my toes making sure she stayed forward and wasn't going to spook at anything in canter. :)
So a bit of a wild ride, but it was fun. Rhapsody really should get ridden 4-5 times a week at least, to keep her calmer and more relaxed. Sigh. If only we could...not even most of the lesson horses get ridden that much. If I was within bike distance, I'd go over more often, but with a 15-20 minute drive both ways, I can't afford the gas.
Pictures coming soon!
Then we had a great groundwork session. Took off her halter and everything and did some catching work. The first couple times I sent her away, she went off in a feisty Arab-y trot, head all arched up, snorting at everything, tail flagged--it was actually kind of cute, lol. I let her go and after a while backed up to ask her to come in and she came right away and let me put the rope around her neck without any fuss! She did that a couple times and then decided it wasn't worth it to leave! I would send her and she'd go a couple yards off, spin around, and ask to come in. Goosey. :) However I don't mind that at the moment. I really would like to take the catch halter off--it's rubbing her face and making the rain rot on her poll 10 times worse--and I really think I could with no problems, but I'm going to wait till after the farrier comes next Friday. She really, really needs her feet done--hasn't had them trimmed or even looked at since September or October at least--and I don't want to take any chances. Though I'm 95% sure I can catch her without a halter on, I'm not sure if Coach wants to yet!
I also did some Friendly game (desensitization) at liberty and some Porcupine (direct pressure) and Driving ("air" pressure) games on-line. Next up is Yo-Yo (backing away and coming back in when asked) and then lungeing/Circling game. She doesn't understand lungeing very well at all, and I really want to get her lungeing well so I can maybe get some of her jellybeans out before I get on to ride!
However I don't have that option yet, so tacked her up and went out to ride. She was hot, hot, hot as she hadn't been ridden for a week and a half and the temperature was hovering around 34 degrees F (about 1 degree C). So she spooked majorly once at the jump blocks--her big spooks consist of a big "teleport" jump sideways, a 180-degree spin, and an attempted bolt, all in about half a second--and she very nearly unseated me; however I somehow stayed on and we went on to trot a lot to wear off the jitters at a faster pace. She spooks less when she's focused on moving forward. So we trotted and trotted and trotted--mostly very fast, but now and again more relaxed with a little bit of stretching!--and then cantered a couple times both ways of the arena. She was in full racing form and making me feel like a jockey with her out-of-the-gate style scooty canter transitions and breakneck speed! Lol! It was fun though. Kept me on my toes making sure she stayed forward and wasn't going to spook at anything in canter. :)
So a bit of a wild ride, but it was fun. Rhapsody really should get ridden 4-5 times a week at least, to keep her calmer and more relaxed. Sigh. If only we could...not even most of the lesson horses get ridden that much. If I was within bike distance, I'd go over more often, but with a 15-20 minute drive both ways, I can't afford the gas.
Pictures coming soon!
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