Brandi Ride

Rode Brandi on Monday. She was overall quite good, though it becomes even more obvious that she really prefers the left lead. We had one right-lead canter in the whole hour we rode (and we stopped on that note as a walk/stop break is a big reward for her). Left lead, though, she picked up right away every time.

We worked on sustaining gait. She has a million and twenty-nine evasions but they're all mostly variations on a theme (I will bob my head! I will throw my head around like a ninny! I will wiggle around like a worm! I will bob my head, throw my head around like a ninny, wiggle, and dive into the center ALL at the same time!), and not too bad to ride. I just brought the jumping crop this time but next time I think I'll bring the dressage whip and really work on moving off fairly light cues. Right now I have to kick pretty good from time to time to get/keep her going, and I don't like that. I do think she will make a great kids' horse someday--she has just that touch of stubborn and smart I like to see for kids, and she's not very spooky even though she's so young and inexperienced--so I don't want to get her too sharp off the leg, but she's got to be better than she is.

Funny girl has already learned where the gate is, and that center = stop (not in my book, but when she's been ridden by others), and after I stopped once to get a drink, she offered to stand at my water bottle every time we passed it on the rail! Haha goose.

But we did get a nice sustained left-lead canter, and that one right-lead canter for a few strides. I think groundwork is in order to teach her to move off the leg, so I can make it easier for her to figure out what lead to take. As soon as I get out of school I want to set aside all Friday afternoon as "groundwork day" for everyone. I'll ride after work on the other days, but that way everybody will get the groundwork they need!

In Which I Learn to Go Fast!

Boing! (image from Google)

Disclaimer: I love to go fast. Always have. But I forgot how to do it during my year or so of trying to learn to ride English properly, and generally failing miserably. Now, having regained my confidence and balance, I'm remembering!

Yesterday was nice but I was coming down with a cold (boo colds) so I just took Brandi for a trail ride. I suppose I shouldn't say "just" because it was her first trail ride, she's only 2 or 3, and we didn't have a lead horse. But we all know by now that I'm an idiot, so I did it anyway. :) We went down to Rhapsody's pasture and back (not ready to hit the scaryness of swing sets and arbors and docks by the river yet), and she was super good! She did freeze solid when we saw another horse coming toward us on the road, lol, but after we stopped and talked to them a bit, everything was okay.

Then I thought I would take Fringe out. We didn't ride with instructor D's lesson today because it was during her usual 2'+ lesson, they were up in the jump arena, there was a good wind blowing, and the jump arena has many goblins. So I just set up a little cross-rail on the diagonal in the small arena. We did our usual walk warmup and then we went into trot.  And Fringe decided it was much better to race around at warp speeds with her head in the air like a demented llama. So I decided to play with the same idea I did with Rhapsody on Tuesday. She didn't feel spooky, just distracted and fast, so I put her in canter (since she was refusing to just trot) and we cantered.

Okay, I went into half-seat and we galloped. Or went as fast as one can go in that arena (it's rather small). The only thing I insisted was that she stay in canter until I told her to transition down. She couldn't just galumph down the long side and break in the corner. We went what seemed a long time; probably only a dozen laps at most, but I was worn out from PE class and the afore-mentioned cold, so it seemed a very long time! Super fun though! And when we came down she was calm as you please, responsive to the leg but no more zooms. Just had to get it out of her system I guess. We went on to do some walk with nice head position, a fair bit of not-inverted-and-sometimes-even-stretchy-ish trot, and the crossrail both directions--one way was fine and the other way was very spooky and she tried to run out several times. She never got away with it but we ended up popping over from a dead stop more than once! Finally she decided to jump it and we had a lovely jump with a nice canter off on the right lead!

So we stopped there. I was exhausted--not quite the easy, low-key ride I'd anticipated! :P  But that's what comes of riding babies, I guess--you have to be ready to play with the horse that shows up. Tis fun though! And I am so far thoroughly impressed by the results of just "riding as fast as the horse can go." Not saying it would work with every horse, but with my girls so far it's been quite promising! Here's to hoping it stays that way!