I fed everybody early, including me, and rode late. Harley eagerly set his head in the halter when I went to the pasture for him. How delightful.
Off to the arena, dressed dressage. Longing went well, except for that brief moment when the deer rustled in the pasture and startled him. Can't hardly get mad when he was frightened. Neck stretcher work was good, and I left him there a little bit longer than average on purpose. I was curious if it would help.
I don't know if it was the different saddle/seat contact, if it was the extra leg pressure I could easily add, the reinforcement of four days in a row, cooler temperatures, or what.. But Harley was forward without a lot of effort, and gave to the bit, holding it three or four strides at a time. It felt great to ride his trot, bouncing in a sweet posting trot that was actually pleasant to ride.
We had four doe deer running around the arena, obviously irritated we interrupted their evening. The feeling was mutual. One doe, we'll call her "Dinner" for short, came within 5' of the arena fence. Harley was uncomfortable with her closeness, so I slowed him to a walk, and started making all kinds of annoying noises at her. Dinner didn't move, not at all. This is the same DinnerDeer from last season, stealing Ransom's supper and interrupting his work. Finally, I started pushing Harley towards her. He snorted at Dinner at the same time I was making silly noises, walking up to her. Finally, Dinner got the hint and retreated. Her partners got the hint, making a very wide detour around the arena and our very large space we'd set.
Total ride, about an hour. Had Dinner and her buddies not interrupted, I would've cantered. He felt that good. Hoping tonight is even better. I'm ready to quit riding him western in the arena. It's time to get to business. We've been at this tiptoe'ing nonsense too long now. I feel good enough, my balance is back, and my energy is nearly 100%. No reason why we can't get out of my "security blanket saddle", at least in the arena.
Showing posts with label On the Bit. Show all posts
Showing posts with label On the Bit. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Monday, May 16, 2011
05/15/11 Harley Shows Off
As scheduled, R came to help. He came to watch, observe, and give me some ideas on what he saw from what I was feeling.
Harley warmed up like, well, like it was the third day in a row of hard work. Quiet, calm, settled, obedient. Of course he did.. He had an audience. pfft.
I hopped on, and we got down to business. A lot of riding on light contact, and any time I shortened the reins more than that, I had a battle. Harley tried everything he could think of before lowering his head and bringing his little nose in. He twisted his head, twisted his nose, flipped his head up & down. All of it. It took a solid ten minutes of trotting before he gave, and I bet it was an accident. The relaxes didn't last more than a stride or two a piece to start.
With his mind on the bit and on me, I squeezed him up to canter left. He held it two strides, broke to trot. I squeezed again. R said, "He almost got it wrong the second time you asked, but quickly went back to trot, like he was thinking about it. Then he got it right." Held canter for four strides. I sat again, relaxed his trot, asked one more time. Success. On a light contact, we cantered about a circle and a half (maybe more) before easing to trot.
A good walk break, with a little more work on free walk to working walk. I need to figure out how to not only get the stretch down, but to keep up the forward motion. As soon as I loosen the reins, he eases into this ploddy little pokey walk.
Change direction via turn on the haunches - Good Boy! Fantastic! Two serious front leg cross over steps. WOW!
Apparently understanding what I wanted on trot-shorter reins, Harley held the collected rounded frame for three to four strides a handful of times. Lots of praise, and then a squeeze up to canter. Again, he didn't hold it the first time. Momma error. My position is still going to poo the first few canter strides. I sat, settled, relaxed, asked again. That time, he stayed in it, and accepted light bit contact. Fantastic.
Back to trot work. By now, all the bouncy bouncy was getting to me physically. When he's relaxed and round, he's a dream to sit the trot, and light to post. When he's strung out and head up, it's like riding a ping pong ball. Bouncy and hard. I stayed with him long enough to get some relaxation, and then quit.
Tonight, it's no canter ... Me, Harley, Dressage. I miss my dressage saddle. Riding in the western seat is good for my mind, but not so good for me physically. I'm more comfortable in my dressage saddle. My legs go right to position, and I don't feel like I'm reaching for my horse's sides. Much much easier...
Harley warmed up like, well, like it was the third day in a row of hard work. Quiet, calm, settled, obedient. Of course he did.. He had an audience. pfft.
I hopped on, and we got down to business. A lot of riding on light contact, and any time I shortened the reins more than that, I had a battle. Harley tried everything he could think of before lowering his head and bringing his little nose in. He twisted his head, twisted his nose, flipped his head up & down. All of it. It took a solid ten minutes of trotting before he gave, and I bet it was an accident. The relaxes didn't last more than a stride or two a piece to start.
With his mind on the bit and on me, I squeezed him up to canter left. He held it two strides, broke to trot. I squeezed again. R said, "He almost got it wrong the second time you asked, but quickly went back to trot, like he was thinking about it. Then he got it right." Held canter for four strides. I sat again, relaxed his trot, asked one more time. Success. On a light contact, we cantered about a circle and a half (maybe more) before easing to trot.
A good walk break, with a little more work on free walk to working walk. I need to figure out how to not only get the stretch down, but to keep up the forward motion. As soon as I loosen the reins, he eases into this ploddy little pokey walk.
Change direction via turn on the haunches - Good Boy! Fantastic! Two serious front leg cross over steps. WOW!
Apparently understanding what I wanted on trot-shorter reins, Harley held the collected rounded frame for three to four strides a handful of times. Lots of praise, and then a squeeze up to canter. Again, he didn't hold it the first time. Momma error. My position is still going to poo the first few canter strides. I sat, settled, relaxed, asked again. That time, he stayed in it, and accepted light bit contact. Fantastic.
Back to trot work. By now, all the bouncy bouncy was getting to me physically. When he's relaxed and round, he's a dream to sit the trot, and light to post. When he's strung out and head up, it's like riding a ping pong ball. Bouncy and hard. I stayed with him long enough to get some relaxation, and then quit.
Tonight, it's no canter ... Me, Harley, Dressage. I miss my dressage saddle. Riding in the western seat is good for my mind, but not so good for me physically. I'm more comfortable in my dressage saddle. My legs go right to position, and I don't feel like I'm reaching for my horse's sides. Much much easier...
05/14/11 Romeo Gives an Effort
Romeo must've again watched Harley, and realized that nothing would get him out of work, but the right answer. I untied him from his patience tree, and saddled up.
Off to the arena we went. After a little free longe, I put him on the neck stretcher. If I were truly looking for a show horse performance here, he'd need hours and hours of that thing. Instead, he got the idea, and quit fighting it, so I quit and got on.
Walk/Trot work? Better. Canter to start? UGLY! No roundness, no give, and horrendous transitions a dressage grand prix rider couldn't sit nicely. I did lots of trot/halt/back transitions, and then finally I got two great canter/trot in a row. I felt him round, relax, and then slow his gait. Finally! Serious progress!!!
Took me 45 minutes of riding and changing it up, but I did get what I was looking for. Proves to me that what I did with Mo worked, so it will work with Harley. I just must be a little more patient.
Off to the arena we went. After a little free longe, I put him on the neck stretcher. If I were truly looking for a show horse performance here, he'd need hours and hours of that thing. Instead, he got the idea, and quit fighting it, so I quit and got on.
Walk/Trot work? Better. Canter to start? UGLY! No roundness, no give, and horrendous transitions a dressage grand prix rider couldn't sit nicely. I did lots of trot/halt/back transitions, and then finally I got two great canter/trot in a row. I felt him round, relax, and then slow his gait. Finally! Serious progress!!!
Took me 45 minutes of riding and changing it up, but I did get what I was looking for. Proves to me that what I did with Mo worked, so it will work with Harley. I just must be a little more patient.
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
05/10/11 It's Going to be a Habit
All those hours on the longeline are starting to pay off.. Read on and see why..
I warmed Harley up, took about 20 minutes, which is standard these days. He isn't tumbling over trot poles, sailing through them at a steady clip. His neck stretcher work was good as well. As soon as I clip the hooks to the girth, he settles in, and gets down to business. We worked through a bunch of transitions, and other than one left-lead canter blip, he was correct and obedient.
I put on the reins and my helmet, and we wandered to the back 2/3 of the arena. The sort of grassy part. Right now it looks more like dried weeds, but there's something there and it keeps the dust down. Straight to business, I flexed him a dozen times each way plus in the middle. Asked for a few backups with moderate success.
Up to the trot, things were improving slowly. He isn't holding that collected trot long, but he'll accept bit pressure without a lot of fuss, bending his nose in every so often for a stride or two. I sat the trot a bit, heading left, and figured, "Well, let's get this done early, so he doesn't learn it means end of the ride, and if there's a problem, I'm not out here for two hours fixing it."
Sit back, squeeze, kiss. Canter! Directly into his left lead, right out of a circle, heading down a long side. I was quickly able to center myself in the saddle, butt glued in, inside leg on. Lifting my sternum up, I felt him move upwards a bit in his canter stride. We got quite a ways around, probably a circle and a half in the back 2/3 before I let out a heavy sigh and he settled to trot. No rein pressure needed. You gotta be kidding me... I guess he is listening on the longe line to my transition cue. I reached forward with both arms as Harley trotted around, rubbing his neck praising him. He plodded along, reins flapping around, totally calm.
Worked on some more trot left, with the same occasional light-bulbish moments of collection. Back to a walk, followed by halts and more flexing. He is getting back to feather-lite on his flexes, which is good. Changed direction through a few steps of turn on forehand and haunches, with decent success. Nothing earth shattering perfect, but he's improving a little.
Up to trot right, good work. Sit, squeeze, kiss. Canter right, about two strides, and broke to trot. We were on the long side, and I repeated the request. Glanced down, wrong lead. ER.. uh oh.. settled a "SHhh" verbal, which he ignored. The corner was fast approaching, and I worried he'd stumble if he counter cantered the corners with me aboard. I had to tug on the reins a little more than I wanted to, but he did break to trot, anxious and tense. I posted the trot until he settled, talked to him a little, then asked again when he relaxed. Success. This time, however, I sat with determination, and kept my inside leg on steady, an occasional kiss here & there. Again, a good set of circle plus some at canter-right, and he eased into a trot with a gentle sigh.
I rubbed his neck in the trot. "Hey baby doll. This is going to start being a habit, ya know? Good canter work today!" We trotted, walked, and halted. He was breathing rather hard, and as soon as I flexed him left, right, and both, he eased his face all the way to the dirt. Suddenly, he started shaking his head and neck, yawning big, shaking some more. Obviously the shorter rein work was with effort, because that full stretch released something in his head or neck. That's the kind of shake I've seen when a chiropractor does a good job adjusting something. Never ridden that much a "shake" release before. It was funny.
We walked around, totally on a loose rein, anywhere he wanted to take his hooves as long as he kept going. After about five minutes, he had his steady breathing back, and was relaxed.
Up to the washrack, with plenty of cookies and praise. It's going to be a habit, this cantering thing!
I warmed Harley up, took about 20 minutes, which is standard these days. He isn't tumbling over trot poles, sailing through them at a steady clip. His neck stretcher work was good as well. As soon as I clip the hooks to the girth, he settles in, and gets down to business. We worked through a bunch of transitions, and other than one left-lead canter blip, he was correct and obedient.
I put on the reins and my helmet, and we wandered to the back 2/3 of the arena. The sort of grassy part. Right now it looks more like dried weeds, but there's something there and it keeps the dust down. Straight to business, I flexed him a dozen times each way plus in the middle. Asked for a few backups with moderate success.
Up to the trot, things were improving slowly. He isn't holding that collected trot long, but he'll accept bit pressure without a lot of fuss, bending his nose in every so often for a stride or two. I sat the trot a bit, heading left, and figured, "Well, let's get this done early, so he doesn't learn it means end of the ride, and if there's a problem, I'm not out here for two hours fixing it."
Sit back, squeeze, kiss. Canter! Directly into his left lead, right out of a circle, heading down a long side. I was quickly able to center myself in the saddle, butt glued in, inside leg on. Lifting my sternum up, I felt him move upwards a bit in his canter stride. We got quite a ways around, probably a circle and a half in the back 2/3 before I let out a heavy sigh and he settled to trot. No rein pressure needed. You gotta be kidding me... I guess he is listening on the longe line to my transition cue. I reached forward with both arms as Harley trotted around, rubbing his neck praising him. He plodded along, reins flapping around, totally calm.
Worked on some more trot left, with the same occasional light-bulbish moments of collection. Back to a walk, followed by halts and more flexing. He is getting back to feather-lite on his flexes, which is good. Changed direction through a few steps of turn on forehand and haunches, with decent success. Nothing earth shattering perfect, but he's improving a little.
Up to trot right, good work. Sit, squeeze, kiss. Canter right, about two strides, and broke to trot. We were on the long side, and I repeated the request. Glanced down, wrong lead. ER.. uh oh.. settled a "SHhh" verbal, which he ignored. The corner was fast approaching, and I worried he'd stumble if he counter cantered the corners with me aboard. I had to tug on the reins a little more than I wanted to, but he did break to trot, anxious and tense. I posted the trot until he settled, talked to him a little, then asked again when he relaxed. Success. This time, however, I sat with determination, and kept my inside leg on steady, an occasional kiss here & there. Again, a good set of circle plus some at canter-right, and he eased into a trot with a gentle sigh.
I rubbed his neck in the trot. "Hey baby doll. This is going to start being a habit, ya know? Good canter work today!" We trotted, walked, and halted. He was breathing rather hard, and as soon as I flexed him left, right, and both, he eased his face all the way to the dirt. Suddenly, he started shaking his head and neck, yawning big, shaking some more. Obviously the shorter rein work was with effort, because that full stretch released something in his head or neck. That's the kind of shake I've seen when a chiropractor does a good job adjusting something. Never ridden that much a "shake" release before. It was funny.
We walked around, totally on a loose rein, anywhere he wanted to take his hooves as long as he kept going. After about five minutes, he had his steady breathing back, and was relaxed.
Up to the washrack, with plenty of cookies and praise. It's going to be a habit, this cantering thing!
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
05/07/11 Gotta Start Somewhere
It was a "wish we'd had the video camera" day. Jen was over to offer up her eyes and wisdom. Harley and I dressed up western, and he warmed up very nicely. Neck stretcher work was a little longer than Friday, since I wanted to make a little more sure he was stretched up and ready to work.
I hopped on, and we had a nice set of trot work. Jen pointed out, "Time to improve your posture. Sit up, lift your chest up." I then realized since the accident, I've been caving my whole upper body in. A habit I must certainly break. I felt the burn in my chest muscles as I stretched out. Yeowch. With my chest up and heels down, our trot was particularly nice. Harley responded with a few strides at a time of a long&low collected trot. Fantastic!!
I told Jen, "Well, we have to start somewhere." I squeezed with both legs, and kissed to him. Harley pushed into the canter, as if it wasn't even an issue. He didn't hesitate, he didn't speedy trot first, he just cantered. more, he didn't reach up into it, and he didn't leap into it. He just changed his happy little legs into a canter movement. Wow... I cantered, um, 7 or 8 strides heading to the right. I reversed direction, and did about the same to the left, maybe a stride or two more (he broke gait, totally my fault, but went right back into it). It wasn't a full circle, and my posture stunk. I was leaning forward, I couldn't get my body settled into the canter. Harley will require participation on my part at the canter, but probably only in the form of leg contact. I don't believe he's going to need the driving seat that Ransom did. Once we add collection or "on the bit" canter, this may change.
What I noticed about his canter, is how steady it is. He isn't driving forward, he isn't leaping up with each stride, he's very flat. It's smoooth. Fantastic!
Rode for about 30 minutes total. Asked for a few left-right flexes, and he was super stickie going into them. Light as a feather once he started turning his neck, but very hesitant to begin the neck bend. Something to work on.
Homework - More Canter, and Flex him at the halt until he's light as a feather again. Chest up and out, heels d-o-w-n.
I hopped on, and we had a nice set of trot work. Jen pointed out, "Time to improve your posture. Sit up, lift your chest up." I then realized since the accident, I've been caving my whole upper body in. A habit I must certainly break. I felt the burn in my chest muscles as I stretched out. Yeowch. With my chest up and heels down, our trot was particularly nice. Harley responded with a few strides at a time of a long&low collected trot. Fantastic!!
I told Jen, "Well, we have to start somewhere." I squeezed with both legs, and kissed to him. Harley pushed into the canter, as if it wasn't even an issue. He didn't hesitate, he didn't speedy trot first, he just cantered. more, he didn't reach up into it, and he didn't leap into it. He just changed his happy little legs into a canter movement. Wow... I cantered, um, 7 or 8 strides heading to the right. I reversed direction, and did about the same to the left, maybe a stride or two more (he broke gait, totally my fault, but went right back into it). It wasn't a full circle, and my posture stunk. I was leaning forward, I couldn't get my body settled into the canter. Harley will require participation on my part at the canter, but probably only in the form of leg contact. I don't believe he's going to need the driving seat that Ransom did. Once we add collection or "on the bit" canter, this may change.
What I noticed about his canter, is how steady it is. He isn't driving forward, he isn't leaping up with each stride, he's very flat. It's smoooth. Fantastic!
Rode for about 30 minutes total. Asked for a few left-right flexes, and he was super stickie going into them. Light as a feather once he started turning his neck, but very hesitant to begin the neck bend. Something to work on.
Homework - More Canter, and Flex him at the halt until he's light as a feather again. Chest up and out, heels d-o-w-n.
Thursday, May 5, 2011
First Week of May so far - Catch Up
Not lazy, just multi tasking. The longer I put these off, the farther behind I'm going to get. The farther behind I get, the more I'm going to regret not catching up sooner. So, here's the first three days after the show, in hi-speed.. Go!
5/2/11 - Romeo and I rode the Julie Goodnight Lesson #2 audio. I listened, gave commands, he obeyed. Well, mostly. All but the whole "canter on command", which became the 5/3 homework.
5/3/11 - Romeo. See above. Enter Speed Racer. I gave him a proper warmup, and his walk work was good. His trot work was good. Transition into canter? First time, squeeze. No response. Second time, kick hard and kiss. Suddenly, he was ready to obey me. We didn't canter far before I slowed to trot, and asked again. Only a squeeze and a kiss. Nice... Much better... Unfortunately, he then thought canter meant near gallop. Romeo stayed in the gait as long as I let him, but was speedily zipping around the arena. Go Speed Racer, Go!
Harley - Tacked him up dressage. He rode nicely in the tack. Very nicely. No rushing, no avoiding my seat contact, steady trot. I stayed mostly loose rein, just to encourage forward, and a nice, relaxing "uber seat contact" ride experience for him.
5/4/11 - Harley. Pretty good. Rode dressage, and asked for a little flex give to bit. Harley didn't want any part of that for the first good while, and then he suddenly remembered what he was supposed to do, and eased his neck down, poll in. Good Job!
Romeo - Less Speedy, More Responsive. He was stopping with his head in the sky, so we backed up a lot. Turn on forehand, turn on haunches, side pass. Backed circles in both direction. Back to trot, back to canter. Heading into canter was much easier, heading out he was easily slowed to a pleasure jog. Good deal.
Tonight is Harley only. Much more of the same. Perhaps very soon I'll slide my rear into my western saddle again, and get him up into cantering. I'm not in a super big hurry, but as long as he will fully trot out on a loose rein, no reason I can't start playing with his canter. Trot collected is going to take a long time, and I don't want to wait on canter until his trot is perfect.
5/2/11 - Romeo and I rode the Julie Goodnight Lesson #2 audio. I listened, gave commands, he obeyed. Well, mostly. All but the whole "canter on command", which became the 5/3 homework.
5/3/11 - Romeo. See above. Enter Speed Racer. I gave him a proper warmup, and his walk work was good. His trot work was good. Transition into canter? First time, squeeze. No response. Second time, kick hard and kiss. Suddenly, he was ready to obey me. We didn't canter far before I slowed to trot, and asked again. Only a squeeze and a kiss. Nice... Much better... Unfortunately, he then thought canter meant near gallop. Romeo stayed in the gait as long as I let him, but was speedily zipping around the arena. Go Speed Racer, Go!
Harley - Tacked him up dressage. He rode nicely in the tack. Very nicely. No rushing, no avoiding my seat contact, steady trot. I stayed mostly loose rein, just to encourage forward, and a nice, relaxing "uber seat contact" ride experience for him.
5/4/11 - Harley. Pretty good. Rode dressage, and asked for a little flex give to bit. Harley didn't want any part of that for the first good while, and then he suddenly remembered what he was supposed to do, and eased his neck down, poll in. Good Job!
Romeo - Less Speedy, More Responsive. He was stopping with his head in the sky, so we backed up a lot. Turn on forehand, turn on haunches, side pass. Backed circles in both direction. Back to trot, back to canter. Heading into canter was much easier, heading out he was easily slowed to a pleasure jog. Good deal.
Tonight is Harley only. Much more of the same. Perhaps very soon I'll slide my rear into my western saddle again, and get him up into cantering. I'm not in a super big hurry, but as long as he will fully trot out on a loose rein, no reason I can't start playing with his canter. Trot collected is going to take a long time, and I don't want to wait on canter until his trot is perfect.
Monday, May 2, 2011
4/30 Harley Gets Ready
After his warmup (which was nice as always), I hopped on Harley, not real sure what I’d have. Would he be lazy and slow, barely responding to leg? Or would he be big floaty forward, moving out at the lightest cue?
I started out simple. Forward walk, loose rein. I didn’t allow for anything less than a forward walk. No pokey dragging, no stumbling or tripping. Square quiet halts, and a gentle nudge to get back to walk. Mission Accomplished.
Next out was a trot loose rein. Again, only using my reins to cue direction if he ignored legs. He was light, and very forward. This leads me to think he was confused by the rein cues from the day before.
So I very lightly started adding rein. As soon as he gave, I released the reins 100%. He stayed pretty light and forward.
The ride was very good after that until we were done. I called it quits after about an hour’s work. Brought him back to the wash rack, unsaddled, and gave him a bath. Coated him in Laser Sheen, evened up his mane a little more, and kept him mentally occupied with my boring conversation while he air dried.
Why would I go to so much trouble to get him sparkly clean, clipped, trimmed, shiny, and laser sheen? What on earth could be going on?
A show of course! =) But, because I can, and I need to get pictures off the camera, I’m going to leave everybody hanging for the day. *grin* It’s fun to add some suspense to the show, especially since it was Harley’s first outing with me, and his first big-show scene.
I started out simple. Forward walk, loose rein. I didn’t allow for anything less than a forward walk. No pokey dragging, no stumbling or tripping. Square quiet halts, and a gentle nudge to get back to walk. Mission Accomplished.
Next out was a trot loose rein. Again, only using my reins to cue direction if he ignored legs. He was light, and very forward. This leads me to think he was confused by the rein cues from the day before.
So I very lightly started adding rein. As soon as he gave, I released the reins 100%. He stayed pretty light and forward.
The ride was very good after that until we were done. I called it quits after about an hour’s work. Brought him back to the wash rack, unsaddled, and gave him a bath. Coated him in Laser Sheen, evened up his mane a little more, and kept him mentally occupied with my boring conversation while he air dried.
Why would I go to so much trouble to get him sparkly clean, clipped, trimmed, shiny, and laser sheen? What on earth could be going on?
A show of course! =) But, because I can, and I need to get pictures off the camera, I’m going to leave everybody hanging for the day. *grin* It’s fun to add some suspense to the show, especially since it was Harley’s first outing with me, and his first big-show scene.
4/29/11 Mo Finds a New Enemy
Romeo was NOT happy with me Friday. He saddled up quiet in the x-ties, as R was able to groom him and put support boots on. We switched saddle from Harley to Mo quickly, and R went on about hosing Harley down and rewarding his decent efforts.
Me, in no mood to debate hard work with a second horse, I stuck Romeo out on the longe line, then added the neck stretcher. Talk about an argument. Romeo fought the pressure, ignored the bit, and only a few brief moments did he give to the pressure completely. If he can learn to give and relax, he’ll have the most amazing trot and canter. Without this give and collection, it’s not as comfortable as it could be.
I hopped on, and we rode walk, halt, trot, for about another twenty minutes. Mo was light to go off my leg, and easy enough to halt. He wasn’t demonstrating any learning from the neck stretcher, so more work needs done there.
As to our homework, he was flexing lighter and without as much wiggle. He had a solid halt, but it was with his head up. I had forgotten to work on mount and stand still a while, but that will come.
Me, in no mood to debate hard work with a second horse, I stuck Romeo out on the longe line, then added the neck stretcher. Talk about an argument. Romeo fought the pressure, ignored the bit, and only a few brief moments did he give to the pressure completely. If he can learn to give and relax, he’ll have the most amazing trot and canter. Without this give and collection, it’s not as comfortable as it could be.
I hopped on, and we rode walk, halt, trot, for about another twenty minutes. Mo was light to go off my leg, and easy enough to halt. He wasn’t demonstrating any learning from the neck stretcher, so more work needs done there.
As to our homework, he was flexing lighter and without as much wiggle. He had a solid halt, but it was with his head up. I had forgotten to work on mount and stand still a while, but that will come.
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
4/26 Harley Smiles
I noticed Monday that Harley had a bug that needed fixing before he got any more in the habit. Lazy! Super Lazy! He was for the most part thumbing his nose & ears at my leg, ignoring a gentle squeeze for trot. Not a chance I'm going to let that go. With the warmups complete, and a little light walking on a loose rein complete, it was time to get to business.
I asked for trot lightly, and when he didn't move on, I squeezed Hard and Clucked. I made sure my whole body said, "GO silly!" He took off, near to a canter, head up. I kept the reins loose, and let him go forward, just a little. Back to the walk, which he also ignored the brakes. Ugh. Second time I asked for trot, he was lighter, but the brakes were still lacking. Third time? Go button was back in service... After about the fifth request, his brakes were better, too. Light as a feather on the whoa, but my "go" was interesting.
I studied my body, to see what cue I had taught him, intentional or not. It's in my butt and my tummy, combined with leg. If I tense up tummy, tense up butt just a smidge, and squeeze with my calves, he hops delightfully into the trot. Dunno if it's correct, but since he's mine for a long time, it doesn't much matter what cue works for anyone else. I thought about it a while later, and realized I've given Romeo nearly the same cue - I urge the trot with my lower body (tummy, torso, toosh), and he'll pop up into a jog. Now, Harley's doing it nearly the same way. Hmm.. Guess I'm doing it without realizing.
With the transitions improved, I shortened my reins, and asked him to give to the bit again. Nearly immediately all of the troubles with "give" and turning I had on Monday were gone, and he was behaving like a complete gentleman. I mixed it up by changing direction a bunch, serpentines, little circles, big circles, turn into and away from the fence... Plenty of walk to halt to standing a while as well. Flex left Flex right Up both reins, give give give...
Finished up our work with walk to a gentle halt on the verbal heavy sigh (air brakes! cool dude!), and backing up. His back up was easily initiated with calves and both reins, and then I was able to barely hold the rein pressure and he kept backing. About five voluntary steps in there after the initial ask. Very Cool!
I asked for trot lightly, and when he didn't move on, I squeezed Hard and Clucked. I made sure my whole body said, "GO silly!" He took off, near to a canter, head up. I kept the reins loose, and let him go forward, just a little. Back to the walk, which he also ignored the brakes. Ugh. Second time I asked for trot, he was lighter, but the brakes were still lacking. Third time? Go button was back in service... After about the fifth request, his brakes were better, too. Light as a feather on the whoa, but my "go" was interesting.
I studied my body, to see what cue I had taught him, intentional or not. It's in my butt and my tummy, combined with leg. If I tense up tummy, tense up butt just a smidge, and squeeze with my calves, he hops delightfully into the trot. Dunno if it's correct, but since he's mine for a long time, it doesn't much matter what cue works for anyone else. I thought about it a while later, and realized I've given Romeo nearly the same cue - I urge the trot with my lower body (tummy, torso, toosh), and he'll pop up into a jog. Now, Harley's doing it nearly the same way. Hmm.. Guess I'm doing it without realizing.
With the transitions improved, I shortened my reins, and asked him to give to the bit again. Nearly immediately all of the troubles with "give" and turning I had on Monday were gone, and he was behaving like a complete gentleman. I mixed it up by changing direction a bunch, serpentines, little circles, big circles, turn into and away from the fence... Plenty of walk to halt to standing a while as well. Flex left Flex right Up both reins, give give give...
Finished up our work with walk to a gentle halt on the verbal heavy sigh (air brakes! cool dude!), and backing up. His back up was easily initiated with calves and both reins, and then I was able to barely hold the rein pressure and he kept backing. About five voluntary steps in there after the initial ask. Very Cool!
4/25 Harley says, "OOOOH! Okay!"
Some big plans are underway for my Super Harley Baby. But what are they? Oooh no. I'm not jinxing my karma here, folks. When we have pictures and video to prove the fun goodiness, I'll share. Until then, I leave your minds with training updates, sure to put a smile on your face. Well, at least until the gun went off..
Monday I caught Harley, dressed him up pretty, and off we went. Another windy howly day, where the trees and brush seem to bend sideways just when he's on that side of the arena. Poor kid.. He's definitely quiet in noisy weather now.
Warm up was nice. Trot poles went well. Neck stretcher was delightful. Watching his little mouth get all slobbery while he longes in the neck stretcher makes me smile, knowing all the muscles are working in that tracking up trot, and the satisfied look on his little face.
I hopped aboard, and we got right down to business. Now that I think about it, I wonder if I've really gone into detail on what a ride looks like for me and Harley right now. It's certainly not lazy days, and I will admit I am slowly teaching him to stand still and wait. Lots of standing around watching the birds and traffic. *cough* sorry.. back to the story. I started him out with a nice loose rein walk, wandering the back 2/3 of the arena. It is dusty and dry at my house, and I saw no need for both of us to ride through the grass-free longe circle anymore. He didn't seem the slightest bit bothered by the back portion of the arena, so I got working.
Nice steady, loose rein trot. Let him find his feet, to which he got lazy, stumbled, tripped, and finally started moving out off my leg squeezing. Responsible for anywhere his feet landed, and finaly moving around at a solid working trot.
I put a little pressure on the reins, to which he lifted his head, and shortened his stride. I added my leg, to which he went back to his normal trot. He tried everything to get away from that bit. Twisting his head, tossing it around, flipping it around ilke a pecking chicken. Turning big, turning tight.. You name it. Finally, after a long battle about fifteen minutes, he gave.
I don't know if it was accidental, or because of all the flexing I'd done, but he gave. Head lowered, nose in, poll bent. I released my reins immediately, and patted his neck with a verbal, "Good Boy!" Shortly after that, I gathered rein again. Another give. Release and praise. Repeat Repeat Repeat.
We reversed direction to trot right, and got back to it. He fought less, but I figured this would be the case, he loves heading right. Quickly I got a nice give, and a very round horse moving forward. Plenty of praise and patting.
It felt like he said, "Oh! THAT'S what you wanted! Got it, Mom! Whew!"
Monday I caught Harley, dressed him up pretty, and off we went. Another windy howly day, where the trees and brush seem to bend sideways just when he's on that side of the arena. Poor kid.. He's definitely quiet in noisy weather now.
Warm up was nice. Trot poles went well. Neck stretcher was delightful. Watching his little mouth get all slobbery while he longes in the neck stretcher makes me smile, knowing all the muscles are working in that tracking up trot, and the satisfied look on his little face.
I hopped aboard, and we got right down to business. Now that I think about it, I wonder if I've really gone into detail on what a ride looks like for me and Harley right now. It's certainly not lazy days, and I will admit I am slowly teaching him to stand still and wait. Lots of standing around watching the birds and traffic. *cough* sorry.. back to the story. I started him out with a nice loose rein walk, wandering the back 2/3 of the arena. It is dusty and dry at my house, and I saw no need for both of us to ride through the grass-free longe circle anymore. He didn't seem the slightest bit bothered by the back portion of the arena, so I got working.
Nice steady, loose rein trot. Let him find his feet, to which he got lazy, stumbled, tripped, and finally started moving out off my leg squeezing. Responsible for anywhere his feet landed, and finaly moving around at a solid working trot.
I put a little pressure on the reins, to which he lifted his head, and shortened his stride. I added my leg, to which he went back to his normal trot. He tried everything to get away from that bit. Twisting his head, tossing it around, flipping it around ilke a pecking chicken. Turning big, turning tight.. You name it. Finally, after a long battle about fifteen minutes, he gave.
I don't know if it was accidental, or because of all the flexing I'd done, but he gave. Head lowered, nose in, poll bent. I released my reins immediately, and patted his neck with a verbal, "Good Boy!" Shortly after that, I gathered rein again. Another give. Release and praise. Repeat Repeat Repeat.
We reversed direction to trot right, and got back to it. He fought less, but I figured this would be the case, he loves heading right. Quickly I got a nice give, and a very round horse moving forward. Plenty of praise and patting.
It felt like he said, "Oh! THAT'S what you wanted! Got it, Mom! Whew!"
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
4/24 Romeo in the Arena
Wait, back up a step. I walked Romeo to the wash/saddle tie posts, and remembered, "oop. He hasn't seen the railroad tie flooring yet. This could be fun."
I walked Mo to the x ties just like I walked Harley to it, steady and confident. Mo did just as Harley, only slightly different. When I stepped over to clip him to the Xpost, Mo laughed at me, and walked right on off the ties. Grr! =) Get back here! Back we go, only when he was where I wanted, I warned him, "Whoa!" Second time, he stood still. I groomed, I saddled, I brushed the mud off. He didn't budge, he didn't wiggle, and he didn't bust another Xpost. Good deal.
I gave Romeo a very brief, less than ten minute, longe on the line. I had the whip in hand, and did have to use it once to get him in the canter-left. Mo realized I wasn't playing, I meant business, and complied. Realizing he wasn't going to have a galloping fit, or a bucking tantrum, I put on my helmet, and hopped on.
Walk - good to go.
Trot, loose rein - great.
Trot, collection - really?! Is this seriously the same horse? I shortened up my reins, and Mo rounded his back so much I could feel him lighten underneath me. His trot became slightly springy, a serious accomplishment for such a flat mover.
Canter, loose rein - nice.. I did have to bust his chops going up into it. Something I will personally need to work on. Probably have to carry a dressage whip just one ride. H mentioned he was lazy into the canter, and she whapped him a few times with the whip to get him into the canter before he realized kiss and legs means something. I'll probably give it one more solid effort without the aids before I start trying to carry something.
Either way, Romeo went anywhere I put his feet, and actually cantered with moderate collection. Long & low, but certainly not all strung out and nose out like he left me. Nice...
We ended our work with a cool down, complete with plenty of backing up, turns on forehand, turns on haunches. Mo didn't waste any time thinking about any of my requests, eager to get off of the leg pressure.
Total work? About an hour. I am happy to say I'm satisfied with his month of Hoof Camp. Saturday, he rode where I put his feet, and didn't balk at anything. Sunday, he did as I asked, went when I said "go", stopped by seat and verbal. At no point did I feel like I had to "bust his tail" for anything... After the ride, he stood patiently at the xTies, and when I put the hose to his legs, he didn't flinch. I even hosed off his face without a lot of protest. Fantastic...
Me Thinks I got my little Babysitter Critter back ...
I walked Mo to the x ties just like I walked Harley to it, steady and confident. Mo did just as Harley, only slightly different. When I stepped over to clip him to the Xpost, Mo laughed at me, and walked right on off the ties. Grr! =) Get back here! Back we go, only when he was where I wanted, I warned him, "Whoa!" Second time, he stood still. I groomed, I saddled, I brushed the mud off. He didn't budge, he didn't wiggle, and he didn't bust another Xpost. Good deal.
I gave Romeo a very brief, less than ten minute, longe on the line. I had the whip in hand, and did have to use it once to get him in the canter-left. Mo realized I wasn't playing, I meant business, and complied. Realizing he wasn't going to have a galloping fit, or a bucking tantrum, I put on my helmet, and hopped on.
Walk - good to go.
Trot, loose rein - great.
Trot, collection - really?! Is this seriously the same horse? I shortened up my reins, and Mo rounded his back so much I could feel him lighten underneath me. His trot became slightly springy, a serious accomplishment for such a flat mover.
Canter, loose rein - nice.. I did have to bust his chops going up into it. Something I will personally need to work on. Probably have to carry a dressage whip just one ride. H mentioned he was lazy into the canter, and she whapped him a few times with the whip to get him into the canter before he realized kiss and legs means something. I'll probably give it one more solid effort without the aids before I start trying to carry something.
Either way, Romeo went anywhere I put his feet, and actually cantered with moderate collection. Long & low, but certainly not all strung out and nose out like he left me. Nice...
We ended our work with a cool down, complete with plenty of backing up, turns on forehand, turns on haunches. Mo didn't waste any time thinking about any of my requests, eager to get off of the leg pressure.
Total work? About an hour. I am happy to say I'm satisfied with his month of Hoof Camp. Saturday, he rode where I put his feet, and didn't balk at anything. Sunday, he did as I asked, went when I said "go", stopped by seat and verbal. At no point did I feel like I had to "bust his tail" for anything... After the ride, he stood patiently at the xTies, and when I put the hose to his legs, he didn't flinch. I even hosed off his face without a lot of protest. Fantastic...
Me Thinks I got my little Babysitter Critter back ...
Sunday, April 10, 2011
4/10/11 Bending in the Middle
I warmed Harley up in the standard fashion - ten minutes or so on the line, another ten or so with the neck stretcher. I think it's near time to shorten that again, since he's found loose/relaxed, either from stretching the elastic out, or found a slight release without being 100% correct. Time to Up the Difficulty!
I hopped aboard with a game plan, again. Fortunately, Harley consented to the game plan. The wind was HOWLING out of the SE, 30+mph gusts - yay Texas Spring (NOT). We went through our standard walk/halt/walk/halt routine. I settled into some good steady-eddy halts, and flexed him side to side to side, repeatedly. He's flexing slow but light heading right, but that left leaves just a few inches short without me fussing at him.
Then I made the game more interesting. I walked him in a rather tight circle, holding only the inside rein, adding outside leg. When he bent in his middle at the ribs, and flexed his head at the poll, nose in and towards me, I'd release and walk straight a few steps. We did this three or four times left, three or four times right, then I'd ask for both reins collected, and head straight. When I got a handful of solid steps accepting the pressure, I'd release.
It took quite a while (a solid twenty minutes), and I got a bit dizzy trying to watch him, and where we were going, turning in those tiny circles, but he seemed to be getting the idea. Clinton Anderson does this bending exercise at the trot, but it always looks to me like it's forward disengaging hind quarters, rather than bending at the ribs, and positioning the neck/head correctly. I concentrated at the walk on Harley's back, and felt the correct back-lifting when he moved correctly on the bending circles. We're getting there. It's slow, but we're getting there.
I hopped aboard with a game plan, again. Fortunately, Harley consented to the game plan. The wind was HOWLING out of the SE, 30+mph gusts - yay Texas Spring (NOT). We went through our standard walk/halt/walk/halt routine. I settled into some good steady-eddy halts, and flexed him side to side to side, repeatedly. He's flexing slow but light heading right, but that left leaves just a few inches short without me fussing at him.
Then I made the game more interesting. I walked him in a rather tight circle, holding only the inside rein, adding outside leg. When he bent in his middle at the ribs, and flexed his head at the poll, nose in and towards me, I'd release and walk straight a few steps. We did this three or four times left, three or four times right, then I'd ask for both reins collected, and head straight. When I got a handful of solid steps accepting the pressure, I'd release.
It took quite a while (a solid twenty minutes), and I got a bit dizzy trying to watch him, and where we were going, turning in those tiny circles, but he seemed to be getting the idea. Clinton Anderson does this bending exercise at the trot, but it always looks to me like it's forward disengaging hind quarters, rather than bending at the ribs, and positioning the neck/head correctly. I concentrated at the walk on Harley's back, and felt the correct back-lifting when he moved correctly on the bending circles. We're getting there. It's slow, but we're getting there.
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
09/27/10 Ransom Reminds me
Cooler weather, happier pony.
Ransom and I enjoyed a 40minute dressage dance. He was light in the canter, though not as collected as I might have preferred. He was *forward* at the trot. It was entirely refreshing. Go Pony Go!
His transitions were a bit stickie. UP transitions were NOT collected.. Something we've lost in muscle from all the hot summer and wet conditions. He reassured me in the peak of the ride he's still got it, just not as many as I would prefer. We'll get back there.
As a "treat" for his good behavior, I set up two ground poles, trot distance apart. The first approach, he startled me with a hop over both, landing in canter. Silly Boy! A little excited, are you? Then he settled for a nice forward hop hop trot over 'em. Much cuter!
Total work, about 40 minutes. Bliss... Beautiful weather, happy critter... Oh! And giggling rider, toO!
Ransom and I enjoyed a 40minute dressage dance. He was light in the canter, though not as collected as I might have preferred. He was *forward* at the trot. It was entirely refreshing. Go Pony Go!
His transitions were a bit stickie. UP transitions were NOT collected.. Something we've lost in muscle from all the hot summer and wet conditions. He reassured me in the peak of the ride he's still got it, just not as many as I would prefer. We'll get back there.
As a "treat" for his good behavior, I set up two ground poles, trot distance apart. The first approach, he startled me with a hop over both, landing in canter. Silly Boy! A little excited, are you? Then he settled for a nice forward hop hop trot over 'em. Much cuter!
Total work, about 40 minutes. Bliss... Beautiful weather, happy critter... Oh! And giggling rider, toO!
Monday, September 13, 2010
09/10/10
Friday evening, well, early evening.. It was still a little hot, but not 110F+ like it's been. A very sporadic breeze made the weather almost tolerable.
Ransom and I had an amazing, awesome ride. He was goofy on the lunge line warmup, insisting that canter left was highly more amusing than trot left. Right was like always.
I hopped on, and I got much of the same for about the first 15 minutes. Heading right, steady-eddy quiet & collected. Heading left, he kept insisting he needed to canter rather than trot. It was funny, he'd trot light, get a little faster, then push up to a canter, and was less than agreeable going back to trot.
I laughed at all his new found energy. I was impressed that, in the heat, he was still so eager to work. His trot left felt good once I got him settled in between my legs (translate: Heavy half-halt or three, and he began acting more like normal). I found his stretch-down trot circles easy to get into, hard to get out of. He would leave his neck low, over-bend his nose, and if I added too much leg to get his head up, that nose would fling outward.
A very nice ride, and I was glad to be back in the tack again.
Ransom and I had an amazing, awesome ride. He was goofy on the lunge line warmup, insisting that canter left was highly more amusing than trot left. Right was like always.
I hopped on, and I got much of the same for about the first 15 minutes. Heading right, steady-eddy quiet & collected. Heading left, he kept insisting he needed to canter rather than trot. It was funny, he'd trot light, get a little faster, then push up to a canter, and was less than agreeable going back to trot.
I laughed at all his new found energy. I was impressed that, in the heat, he was still so eager to work. His trot left felt good once I got him settled in between my legs (translate: Heavy half-halt or three, and he began acting more like normal). I found his stretch-down trot circles easy to get into, hard to get out of. He would leave his neck low, over-bend his nose, and if I added too much leg to get his head up, that nose would fling outward.
A very nice ride, and I was glad to be back in the tack again.
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
09/03/10 Ransom Working
I grabbed Ranson first out, lunged in side reins, five minutes each way. He was limber, loose, and his cheerful normal self.
Then I hopped on, and we worked. Not the mosey ramblings from Thursday, but actual work. All three gaits, on the circles, and on the rail. I also pushed for a few stretching circles at trot, the right ways going better than left. Still, his gaits were up, correct, and mostly collected.
He was very well behaved, and we were able to enjoy each other , which I appreciated. To walk him out, we left the arena, and wandered pasture a little. It was fun, and somewhat refreshing. An easy ride, on an uncomplicated horse.
Total time, about 45 minutes. The end of Ransom's work, for a while.
Then I hopped on, and we worked. Not the mosey ramblings from Thursday, but actual work. All three gaits, on the circles, and on the rail. I also pushed for a few stretching circles at trot, the right ways going better than left. Still, his gaits were up, correct, and mostly collected.
He was very well behaved, and we were able to enjoy each other , which I appreciated. To walk him out, we left the arena, and wandered pasture a little. It was fun, and somewhat refreshing. An easy ride, on an uncomplicated horse.
Total time, about 45 minutes. The end of Ransom's work, for a while.
Friday, August 27, 2010
08/26/10 Sweet Ransom Morning
I had the luxury Thursday morning of arriving at work late, and riding Ransom early. Why is this great? Because Thursday morning, the temps were in the low 70s, with moderate humidity, and a light breeze. I woke up to awesome weather. Thankful for it, I hurried out to feed, waited an hour with coffee & a protein bar, and then got to riding.
Ransom warmed up beautiful 5 minutes lunge on side reins each way on the circle. Then I got myself ready, and hopped on.
Magical. He was light on the bit, give & take on contact and collection. I didn't force tight collection the entire ride, but I did work hard on forward. His trot was super nice, and the canter, well, it's almost hard to put words. Tight, upright, small strides, and yet bursting with energy. It was amazing to ride - I didn't hardly move in the tack, as I felt my knees rock on the knee rolls with his strides.
It was an awesome 35 minute ride. I longed for more time in the saddle, and when we got all done, unsaddled, and hosed off, Mo nickered at me. "Take me too, Momma!" But I wasn't able, I had to get myself to work.
The entire day was shaped differently in my mind after my ride. This isn't something I can do every day, but every so often, it's really good for my mind. Start the day off feeling in control, in power, and able to make the situation exactly what I want. Very Very good for the mind..
Ransom warmed up beautiful 5 minutes lunge on side reins each way on the circle. Then I got myself ready, and hopped on.
Magical. He was light on the bit, give & take on contact and collection. I didn't force tight collection the entire ride, but I did work hard on forward. His trot was super nice, and the canter, well, it's almost hard to put words. Tight, upright, small strides, and yet bursting with energy. It was amazing to ride - I didn't hardly move in the tack, as I felt my knees rock on the knee rolls with his strides.
It was an awesome 35 minute ride. I longed for more time in the saddle, and when we got all done, unsaddled, and hosed off, Mo nickered at me. "Take me too, Momma!" But I wasn't able, I had to get myself to work.
The entire day was shaped differently in my mind after my ride. This isn't something I can do every day, but every so often, it's really good for my mind. Start the day off feeling in control, in power, and able to make the situation exactly what I want. Very Very good for the mind..
Monday, August 23, 2010
08/22/10 Do-Over
I got up early Sunday morning, fed the boys, fed inside, munched myself a light breakfast, and got changed. Headed out, grabbed Ransom, and got him dressed dressage. Today, we're working. No light walks here, Mister Monster. You're working!
I hopped on and got him into a nice long & low walk. Slowly, lightly, I picked up the rein contact. After a bit longer, I asked him to collect & work. Nice working walk, good collection. Then I loosened the reins again, and asked for a nice relaxed trot. Easy peasy. Pretty. Asked for a shorter rein trot, he got a little fussy, then gave. Same went for the canter.
We rode for about 45 minutes. I actually lost track of time, due to the longer than average walk breaks. Ended out the work with walk/halt and trot/halt, with moderate success.
He's slowly getting back in shape again. Jen and I got the arena jumps & poles all painted & colored up. Those are back in the arena, set to four trot poles & one cross rail.
When am I going to take a try at that again? Shhh.. it's a secret! =)
I hopped on and got him into a nice long & low walk. Slowly, lightly, I picked up the rein contact. After a bit longer, I asked him to collect & work. Nice working walk, good collection. Then I loosened the reins again, and asked for a nice relaxed trot. Easy peasy. Pretty. Asked for a shorter rein trot, he got a little fussy, then gave. Same went for the canter.
We rode for about 45 minutes. I actually lost track of time, due to the longer than average walk breaks. Ended out the work with walk/halt and trot/halt, with moderate success.
He's slowly getting back in shape again. Jen and I got the arena jumps & poles all painted & colored up. Those are back in the arena, set to four trot poles & one cross rail.
When am I going to take a try at that again? Shhh.. it's a secret! =)
Thursday, August 5, 2010
08/05/10 Ransom In Action
I got up almost as early as I do for a work day, fed the kids inside, fed me, fed the horses. Ran outside, got Ransom, saddled him dressage, and prayed for a good ride. See, I took off three hours' vacation for this ride, and I wanted it to go well. I was on a time schedule, and for it to all work out, Ransom needed to cooperate. The last two times I rode him "in a hurry", he was a jerk, and I didn't get done what I wanted to. He got stiff, ugly, and generally a cranky old fart.
He was a saint. Obviously seeing his little Brother Mo get the last three rides in a row, knowing Mo got to "go bye bye", and he didn't, Ransom was committed to show me he's a hero, too. We rode all three gaits, but a lot of walk and trot. He was amazing. His trot was forward! The walk? Marchy! Really sweet. In fact, when he'd relax to free walk, he'd slow down. As soon as I'd gather up those reins, it was On!
A really awesome 30 minute cram session. I got to ride my big Super Star, and he got to show off for his Momma. I hand scrubbed the sweat & dirt off when I hosed him down. Didn't matter- by tonight, he was covered in dried sweat & dirt again. Booger needs to learn rollin' doesn't make ya feel better in this heat.
He was a saint. Obviously seeing his little Brother Mo get the last three rides in a row, knowing Mo got to "go bye bye", and he didn't, Ransom was committed to show me he's a hero, too. We rode all three gaits, but a lot of walk and trot. He was amazing. His trot was forward! The walk? Marchy! Really sweet. In fact, when he'd relax to free walk, he'd slow down. As soon as I'd gather up those reins, it was On!
A really awesome 30 minute cram session. I got to ride my big Super Star, and he got to show off for his Momma. I hand scrubbed the sweat & dirt off when I hosed him down. Didn't matter- by tonight, he was covered in dried sweat & dirt again. Booger needs to learn rollin' doesn't make ya feel better in this heat.
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
7/5/2010 BRM Lesson Ransom
Ransom had enjoyed a week off, due to his show performance, the weather, and then the subsequently soaked mushy arena. Wasn't a chance I was risking an injury riding in the mud, and the heat was unbearable last week anyways.
Hopped on "cold", and spent some time at walk, bending, flexing. Trotted a bit on a long rein before gathering him up. Did a large quantity of walk/halts, but Barb mixed it up for us. They were barely halt before moving on again. Less than a second stopped. When he started staying quiet & collected, then a one-second halt. Then a two-second halt. These improved the longer we did them. Need to lather, rinse, repeat over and over back at home.
Trot work was magical again. He started out stiff, bent to the outside, and short strides. After some rein work and body position reminders for me, he had the most amazing working trot. Things I need to focus on...
Soft lower back
Pulse the reins, then soften - don't release the reins to loose, just soften my hands & my arms
Shoulders still - but go back to soft lower back, not hunter-arched-stiff back
Canter wasn't even an issue - nothing really needed "fixing". More of the rein-pulse to keep him bent inside the circles. Really though, my rear end was glued in the saddle, the canter was *very* forward, but he had some amazing collection work in the gait. sweeet!
Barb proclaimed,"It's time to move on. You're ready for something new. Lateral work!" We tried to start out with leg yields at trot. Heading from quarter line right to the rail, he nearly immediately picked up the yields, with a few brief moments of straightening to get his head aiming forward. Then we tried the opposite direction - yuck. Ransom's old bones and legs said, "No go Momma". He was choppy, ugly, and while I won't say ignoring the aids, he didn't seem able to complete the work.
After about an hour total lesson ride, we unsaddled, and hosed him down. Ransom is going to continue his work in Training Level, but will progress no higher. Barb suggested I consider starting to look for a more advanced horse. A bigger, badder, better dressage trained horse. I love my Ransom, though. Nevertheless, we're a team at least until the end of the year. He and I will continue our Training Level goals for the season.
Hopped on "cold", and spent some time at walk, bending, flexing. Trotted a bit on a long rein before gathering him up. Did a large quantity of walk/halts, but Barb mixed it up for us. They were barely halt before moving on again. Less than a second stopped. When he started staying quiet & collected, then a one-second halt. Then a two-second halt. These improved the longer we did them. Need to lather, rinse, repeat over and over back at home.
Trot work was magical again. He started out stiff, bent to the outside, and short strides. After some rein work and body position reminders for me, he had the most amazing working trot. Things I need to focus on...
Soft lower back
Pulse the reins, then soften - don't release the reins to loose, just soften my hands & my arms
Shoulders still - but go back to soft lower back, not hunter-arched-stiff back
Canter wasn't even an issue - nothing really needed "fixing". More of the rein-pulse to keep him bent inside the circles. Really though, my rear end was glued in the saddle, the canter was *very* forward, but he had some amazing collection work in the gait. sweeet!
Barb proclaimed,"It's time to move on. You're ready for something new. Lateral work!" We tried to start out with leg yields at trot. Heading from quarter line right to the rail, he nearly immediately picked up the yields, with a few brief moments of straightening to get his head aiming forward. Then we tried the opposite direction - yuck. Ransom's old bones and legs said, "No go Momma". He was choppy, ugly, and while I won't say ignoring the aids, he didn't seem able to complete the work.
After about an hour total lesson ride, we unsaddled, and hosed him down. Ransom is going to continue his work in Training Level, but will progress no higher. Barb suggested I consider starting to look for a more advanced horse. A bigger, badder, better dressage trained horse. I love my Ransom, though. Nevertheless, we're a team at least until the end of the year. He and I will continue our Training Level goals for the season.
Monday, June 21, 2010
6/20/10 With an Audience?
Ransom’s last two terrible rides, I had an audience watching on. I gave him two days off to keep us in line with “every other day” leading up to a show we’re attending this Saturday (6/26). I was hoping it was just bad luck of having an audience watching our rides that were the second day in a row causing the problems.
Warmed him up 5 minutes each way on side reins, same as always. Very forward, very responsive. One trot to canter he even tossed his head & took off a little bit. *giggle* Silly monster…
Hopped aboard, and got down to business. Walk, to a pretty halt. Get that good, work trot to walk, pretty ups and downs. Then just a teensie bit of trot to canter. Again, really nice.
So I rode a modified Training Level test 1 to see how he’d do over a whole arena. It was pretty good. He didn’t stay collected tight the entire ride, losing it in the corners that were following a long side. What I liked, is I didn’t have to push for forward, and the long free walk came without fuss or bother. His trot to halt wasn’t so great, so I’ll keep working on it, but if it’s still stickie Saturday, I’ll go with a few steps of walk before halt.
Then back down to one circle. I tried some stretching-down trot circles, and found those absolutely fascinating! He’d stretch way down, but still came back to collected without tossing his head. Nice!
A little more canter-left, and I called it done. I told Ransom, “A few walk/halts, and we’re outta here.” Ransom said back, “We’re done now, and I’m going to try getting out of this by raising my head, poking my nose out, and generally test your tolerance today.” It took another 7 or 8 transitions before he gave in for two in a row heading left. Then I called it done.
About 30 minutes of good solid working work! A good ride. But it brought my mind to wondering – can we handle two tests on Saturday, or should I expect one to be no better than they’ve been? Is it reasonable to expect him to be great for two tests? Heck, is it reasonable to expect him to even work hard for two, or should I assume now he’ll be all across the board crummy, tired, and crabby for the second one? I’ve entered the show for two tests, so we’ll see if that plan sticks.
What I did learn? Ransom wasn’t bad for the audience – he met my mood rather well. So either his previous two incidents were directly related to the repeated days of work, or I was tense about being watched, and it slirked down the saddle straight to his noggin. We may never know ..
Warmed him up 5 minutes each way on side reins, same as always. Very forward, very responsive. One trot to canter he even tossed his head & took off a little bit. *giggle* Silly monster…
Hopped aboard, and got down to business. Walk, to a pretty halt. Get that good, work trot to walk, pretty ups and downs. Then just a teensie bit of trot to canter. Again, really nice.
So I rode a modified Training Level test 1 to see how he’d do over a whole arena. It was pretty good. He didn’t stay collected tight the entire ride, losing it in the corners that were following a long side. What I liked, is I didn’t have to push for forward, and the long free walk came without fuss or bother. His trot to halt wasn’t so great, so I’ll keep working on it, but if it’s still stickie Saturday, I’ll go with a few steps of walk before halt.
Then back down to one circle. I tried some stretching-down trot circles, and found those absolutely fascinating! He’d stretch way down, but still came back to collected without tossing his head. Nice!
A little more canter-left, and I called it done. I told Ransom, “A few walk/halts, and we’re outta here.” Ransom said back, “We’re done now, and I’m going to try getting out of this by raising my head, poking my nose out, and generally test your tolerance today.” It took another 7 or 8 transitions before he gave in for two in a row heading left. Then I called it done.
About 30 minutes of good solid working work! A good ride. But it brought my mind to wondering – can we handle two tests on Saturday, or should I expect one to be no better than they’ve been? Is it reasonable to expect him to be great for two tests? Heck, is it reasonable to expect him to even work hard for two, or should I assume now he’ll be all across the board crummy, tired, and crabby for the second one? I’ve entered the show for two tests, so we’ll see if that plan sticks.
What I did learn? Ransom wasn’t bad for the audience – he met my mood rather well. So either his previous two incidents were directly related to the repeated days of work, or I was tense about being watched, and it slirked down the saddle straight to his noggin. We may never know ..
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