Flying changes are coming along. She is about 60% right to left and 80% left to right. She always gets the front; it's just a matter of getting the hind.
This is a recent video of our flat. Even since then, her "jog" has come along. Yesterday I got a few steps of the super-collected, slow step I have been looking for. Her lope is still a work in progress. It feels unnatural to me, but it's funny. I had tried schooling her for dressage for a little bit yesterday and she really, really hated it. I guess the proof is in the pudding.
Got a job at the hospital, so hopefully that means I can get some lessons in WP soon. I think she could be competitive as even on the longe she is very, very slow legged and deep hocked- much more so than when I am on. I really just want to play to her strengths and enjoy her, so I am game for anything.
Our jumping is coming along beautifully as well. We are schooling 2'3-2'6 courses now and seem to have found a rhythm. We very rarely get nasty spots anymore now that I understand "forward." Started working on little oxers again as I really, really have a hard time with them, and surprise surprise they are no longer terrofying. I mean, they are made of cavaletti, but still...
Sunday, August 21, 2011
Battle of the Barns 2011
So the Bunster and I had an epiphany Friday night, after several thousand refusals and a very strong desire to throw up. The whole riding forward to the fence thing? It finally clicked.
Saturday, she and I dominated. We placed top three in every class over fences and won all the flat. We did two divisions and by the end of the day I was ready to pass out. All in all, a very good birthday.
Showed Miracle in the cross rails. She was very good for her first time in the covered arena, although she tried to make an unplanned exit in our first xrail course. After that, she behaved. I bombed our xrails eq class, which is sad in itself as I was unaware it was eq and was focusing on trying to keep her brains in her head.
I have pictures but Blogger is being dumb and won't let me upload.
Saturday, she and I dominated. We placed top three in every class over fences and won all the flat. We did two divisions and by the end of the day I was ready to pass out. All in all, a very good birthday.
Showed Miracle in the cross rails. She was very good for her first time in the covered arena, although she tried to make an unplanned exit in our first xrail course. After that, she behaved. I bombed our xrails eq class, which is sad in itself as I was unaware it was eq and was focusing on trying to keep her brains in her head.
I have pictures but Blogger is being dumb and won't let me upload.
Thursday, August 4, 2011
Guess who has flying changes now?
Oh, Bunster. You are amazing. Today, it clicked with us. The timing, the straightness. It clicked and I have never been so proud of her. Love this little mare. Just schooled her lightly to build our confidence and check that everything is ready for this weekend. I am, for once, not anxious about this show. I feel prepared and happy and like Bunny and I are going to kick some preteen ass.
Miracle was a good girl too. She has really started to calm down for me, thank goodness. With her, I have to concentrate on what will boost her confidence in my contact and make her the most relaxed and tractable, whereas with Bunny I work on refinement and getting a perfect response every time. Once Miracle is relaxed, she is like a wet noodle in your hand, albeit a very unbalanced wet noodle. So different, but I have already noticed the quiet demeanor I have to take with the slightly explosive DWB translating into how I ride Bunny- hands are quieter, legs still. I am sure she appreciates it too. Again, love her love her love her, but sometimes I know I don't do right by her in terms of reward and patience. God bless her.
Both mares are going to do well, I think. Because I am not showing both days like I had anticipated, Bun and I are yet again plopping around the Green horse division. Which is fine I guess, as much as I had hoped we could move up. We have come so far so fast- Patti remarked on how much looser she is through the back and just how happy she looks. I am thrilled- I love dressage and am obviously taking that path with the little warmblood, but with Bunny's low neck set and temperament, she really flourishes under the westerny training. I think riding really requires a bit of inner mad scientist- a desire to figure out what works best for horse x, y, and z while being willing to try methods you wouldn't normally use. Of course, this is all within the confines of being a sympathetic rider, but that speaks for itself.
Miracle was a good girl too. She has really started to calm down for me, thank goodness. With her, I have to concentrate on what will boost her confidence in my contact and make her the most relaxed and tractable, whereas with Bunny I work on refinement and getting a perfect response every time. Once Miracle is relaxed, she is like a wet noodle in your hand, albeit a very unbalanced wet noodle. So different, but I have already noticed the quiet demeanor I have to take with the slightly explosive DWB translating into how I ride Bunny- hands are quieter, legs still. I am sure she appreciates it too. Again, love her love her love her, but sometimes I know I don't do right by her in terms of reward and patience. God bless her.
Both mares are going to do well, I think. Because I am not showing both days like I had anticipated, Bun and I are yet again plopping around the Green horse division. Which is fine I guess, as much as I had hoped we could move up. We have come so far so fast- Patti remarked on how much looser she is through the back and just how happy she looks. I am thrilled- I love dressage and am obviously taking that path with the little warmblood, but with Bunny's low neck set and temperament, she really flourishes under the westerny training. I think riding really requires a bit of inner mad scientist- a desire to figure out what works best for horse x, y, and z while being willing to try methods you wouldn't normally use. Of course, this is all within the confines of being a sympathetic rider, but that speaks for itself.
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Regularly scheduled Bunny
Anyways, back to the Bunster. We have been busy. My broke ass is shelling out all of my money for top of the line feed, which I am happy to do, but it means I have to skimp somewhere, meaning lessons. Ironically, Patti sold her lesson horse, so she needs a solid walk/trotter for her chilluns. This means I get a free lesson for every lesson Bun is used for, which is fantabulous as she needs some time just walking and trotting on a loose rein and I need the instruction.
She is so cute with the little kids too. We have been working toward her Quarter Horsey roots, so lots of jog/lope work with her butt up under her when I ride. She seems to realize these gentle gaits sit well with the beginners and has just naturally taken to using them unless squeezed into a trot. One of the little kids was learning to post, and she just went round and round on a long rein and even stopped when she got unbalanced and tippy. So cute. She really pokes her nose and stretches out too, so I am glad for her to be able to work the kinks out.
Such a good mind on that mare. Love her to pieces.
Anyways, us. I have decided if I strike oil or Bunny decides she hates jumping, we are going to foray into the magical land of Western pleasure. I want her to be well-rounded and able to do just about anything, and I have absolutely fallen in love with the pleasure horses. She would never stand up to stiff competition, but for local stuff? Why not.
In terms of lessons and stuff, we are working on my confidence. She and I are so good together, but I really have to be an aggressive rider and give her the support she needs. This is painful to watch, but here you go. She tells me when I am riding poorly, for sure. We were so out of synch in this.
She is so cute with the little kids too. We have been working toward her Quarter Horsey roots, so lots of jog/lope work with her butt up under her when I ride. She seems to realize these gentle gaits sit well with the beginners and has just naturally taken to using them unless squeezed into a trot. One of the little kids was learning to post, and she just went round and round on a long rein and even stopped when she got unbalanced and tippy. So cute. She really pokes her nose and stretches out too, so I am glad for her to be able to work the kinks out.
Such a good mind on that mare. Love her to pieces.
Anyways, us. I have decided if I strike oil or Bunny decides she hates jumping, we are going to foray into the magical land of Western pleasure. I want her to be well-rounded and able to do just about anything, and I have absolutely fallen in love with the pleasure horses. She would never stand up to stiff competition, but for local stuff? Why not.
In terms of lessons and stuff, we are working on my confidence. She and I are so good together, but I really have to be an aggressive rider and give her the support she needs. This is painful to watch, but here you go. She tells me when I am riding poorly, for sure. We were so out of synch in this.
Various things/ new pony to play with
OK, so a few updates. Bunnerino and I are going to attempt the 2'3 provided Tropical Storm Emily doesn't rain us out. I am also showing Miracle, a six year old Dutch Warmblood mare I have been riding, and Patti's horse Aeros in his flat classes so she can teach her other riders. I love being at this barn, haha.
Let me tell you a little about Miracle, which burns me up. Her owners have fifteen horses, eleven of which live on their shithole five acre property. They have two stallions, neither of which are handleable and one which is sporting a fist-sized gash in his chest. They do everything so bass-ackwards: they just had a horse die this week of a twisted gut and all but refused to call a vet, yet they are installing an arena. They have a mare who is foundering and supposed to be confined to stall rest, but they turned her out because they think she'd be happier. They are just generally idiots and the finest of fine white trash. Miracle is homebred out of one of their original horses, is a daughter of Freestyle with the papers to prove it, and is so named because she was born extremely premature and survived by the skin of her teeth. They have money but no sense to go along with it. I blame inbreeding.
Anyways, Miracle is at Countryside for training after having her mouth torn out by an incompetent trainer down the road. Patti is riding their other two horses on property but as they are not paying their fees and she doesn't have time to ride five horses and give as many lessons every day, we discussed it with the owner and Miracle is basically mine to play with until the end of the year.
One of her many challenges is her tendency to lock her jaw and just PULL. She is the most unrhythmic horse I have ever sat upon and is very leery of any contact. Yet she is extremely intelligent and has so much "try" you just have to love her. Patti basically restarted her from the ground up and she has come miles under her schooling, but she still has that residual distrust of new riders. I have bloody blisters to prove it from my first ride, where we spent thirty minutes doing transitions and trying to keep her from running off.
Here is video from our second ride. She is a little short strided as she is eight weeks into her trim cycle. (AGH!) You can see, however, that she is catching on. I was thinking (mistakenly) that a sponging action on the inside rein would soften her up, but she is so tense through her jaw that she just waggled her head. I know better now after seeing the video. Different horse from Bun- with her, a light vibration of the inside rein cues her to reach into my contact.
Anyways, today was even better. I am having to learn to take a different tack with her- slow, soft work, fixing my hands in one place and pushing her into the contact. As soon as she accepts it, I soften a little and praise her. She is like riding a two-by-four in terms of bending and has no lateral balance to speak of (again, very very green) so lots of gentle circles (which are a huge challenge for her in themselves) and stretchy-trot work. She picked up both leads for me today too, after a LOT of encouragement and flexing her to the outside to blind her outside shoulder. *sigh* I hate doing that, but she would NOT stay up in her shoulder unless I did so. She is flat and unbalanced but has stride to burn- love how she moves in that respect. As soon as her tootsies are done we will start incorporating poles and cavaletti. At the show, we are planning on trotting the crossrails course. If it were up to me I wouldn't show her until she was balanced, but her owners want the exposure and heck, she is super game and it will be good for her.
Let me tell you a little about Miracle, which burns me up. Her owners have fifteen horses, eleven of which live on their shithole five acre property. They have two stallions, neither of which are handleable and one which is sporting a fist-sized gash in his chest. They do everything so bass-ackwards: they just had a horse die this week of a twisted gut and all but refused to call a vet, yet they are installing an arena. They have a mare who is foundering and supposed to be confined to stall rest, but they turned her out because they think she'd be happier. They are just generally idiots and the finest of fine white trash. Miracle is homebred out of one of their original horses, is a daughter of Freestyle with the papers to prove it, and is so named because she was born extremely premature and survived by the skin of her teeth. They have money but no sense to go along with it. I blame inbreeding.
Anyways, Miracle is at Countryside for training after having her mouth torn out by an incompetent trainer down the road. Patti is riding their other two horses on property but as they are not paying their fees and she doesn't have time to ride five horses and give as many lessons every day, we discussed it with the owner and Miracle is basically mine to play with until the end of the year.
One of her many challenges is her tendency to lock her jaw and just PULL. She is the most unrhythmic horse I have ever sat upon and is very leery of any contact. Yet she is extremely intelligent and has so much "try" you just have to love her. Patti basically restarted her from the ground up and she has come miles under her schooling, but she still has that residual distrust of new riders. I have bloody blisters to prove it from my first ride, where we spent thirty minutes doing transitions and trying to keep her from running off.
Here is video from our second ride. She is a little short strided as she is eight weeks into her trim cycle. (AGH!) You can see, however, that she is catching on. I was thinking (mistakenly) that a sponging action on the inside rein would soften her up, but she is so tense through her jaw that she just waggled her head. I know better now after seeing the video. Different horse from Bun- with her, a light vibration of the inside rein cues her to reach into my contact.
Anyways, today was even better. I am having to learn to take a different tack with her- slow, soft work, fixing my hands in one place and pushing her into the contact. As soon as she accepts it, I soften a little and praise her. She is like riding a two-by-four in terms of bending and has no lateral balance to speak of (again, very very green) so lots of gentle circles (which are a huge challenge for her in themselves) and stretchy-trot work. She picked up both leads for me today too, after a LOT of encouragement and flexing her to the outside to blind her outside shoulder. *sigh* I hate doing that, but she would NOT stay up in her shoulder unless I did so. She is flat and unbalanced but has stride to burn- love how she moves in that respect. As soon as her tootsies are done we will start incorporating poles and cavaletti. At the show, we are planning on trotting the crossrails course. If it were up to me I wouldn't show her until she was balanced, but her owners want the exposure and heck, she is super game and it will be good for her.
Saturday, July 23, 2011
Happyhappyhappy
I love my mare I love my mare I love my mare I love my mare. And the new barn, and my trainer, and all of the lovely little things that go along with horse ownership. I will post something coherent later.
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Bleh
So yesterday's ride was nothing short of a clusterf***, and hrgh. Just bad, and entirely my fault. I am in a bit of a rush to get things under way for BoTB this year- hoping to move up to 2'3 with her. Obviously, rushing training does NOTHING but make things more difficult.
See, Bunny has a dirty stop to her. It's generally my fault, i.e. I drop her in front of the fence or am not committed to a distance, but nonetheless she can slam on the brakes. I think HER confidence is a little rattled, and mine has never been 100% so it makes for a less than ideal situation. In my wee little brain, I thought, "Hey! Let's set up a gymnastic and set the final fence to 2'3! Yay!" So I did, not taking into account the fact that a.) Bunny has not been able to open her stride up to 12' yet as she is out of shape, and b.) she had not been over that fence before. So you can imagine how this went- she overjumped it by abooouuuut two feet. I got left, only reinforcing her nervousness. Second time through she tried to run out and I got her with my spur in time, but got left again. Third time, she said "Oh HELL no!" and came to a screeching halt. I stayed on fine, but ugh.
So we went through it the other way without any horrible issues. I lowered it for the rest of the work, and we toddled on merrily without issue. I figured I would take her over the outside single a few times and get it over with, so we trotted up to it, she overjumped, I grabbed mane but still got left. Second time, she hit it, which rattled her. I put it down so it was just the flower box for the third time, which she jumped fine, but the next time I came to it she tried to run at it two strides out then slid to a stop, launching me over her shoulder. Hrgh. I smacked her, jumped back on, and spent the next brief eternity coaxing her over it from a walk. Miserable.
See, Bunny has a dirty stop to her. It's generally my fault, i.e. I drop her in front of the fence or am not committed to a distance, but nonetheless she can slam on the brakes. I think HER confidence is a little rattled, and mine has never been 100% so it makes for a less than ideal situation. In my wee little brain, I thought, "Hey! Let's set up a gymnastic and set the final fence to 2'3! Yay!" So I did, not taking into account the fact that a.) Bunny has not been able to open her stride up to 12' yet as she is out of shape, and b.) she had not been over that fence before. So you can imagine how this went- she overjumped it by abooouuuut two feet. I got left, only reinforcing her nervousness. Second time through she tried to run out and I got her with my spur in time, but got left again. Third time, she said "Oh HELL no!" and came to a screeching halt. I stayed on fine, but ugh.
So we went through it the other way without any horrible issues. I lowered it for the rest of the work, and we toddled on merrily without issue. I figured I would take her over the outside single a few times and get it over with, so we trotted up to it, she overjumped, I grabbed mane but still got left. Second time, she hit it, which rattled her. I put it down so it was just the flower box for the third time, which she jumped fine, but the next time I came to it she tried to run at it two strides out then slid to a stop, launching me over her shoulder. Hrgh. I smacked her, jumped back on, and spent the next brief eternity coaxing her over it from a walk. Miserable.
Sunday, July 10, 2011
Thinking out loud.
Hmm. I have been looking into sports psychology a lot lately as I really need to get a handle on my show ring anxiety. I just always blow my first class, and hrgh! have issues over fences. Flat classes are my love- Bunny and I almost always pin and have a good time, but jumping just wigs me out a little. See, I KNOW she will go over anything I point her at if I just take it easy, but I always pick pick pick before the fence and it shakes her up, resulting in bad distances and the occasional involuntary dismount.
This particularly involves my twitchy desire to move up to 2'6, because I mean it's freaking tiny and I am sick of toodling around with the little kids, but at the same time I get so nervous. I mean, it's just three inches higher and it's not like Bunny cares, but gawd, as soon as I see it looming it looks a foot taller. And then I like to pick fences to be scared of, which makes her unsure of herself. I have been riding for SIX. YEARS. There is no reason for me to continue being anxious.
I am leaning toward going out and DOING IT. Just doing it until she and I are used to it. But then I worry that she will stop and then it will ruin both of our confidence. I just don't know. I might do some gymnastics and set the last fence to 2'6, and then make it an oxer since she and I both have distance issues with oxers. Hmmm.
Anyways, here is some footage of our first jump school since March. My equitation is pretty nasty- I need to fix my release and the hunching.
This particularly involves my twitchy desire to move up to 2'6, because I mean it's freaking tiny and I am sick of toodling around with the little kids, but at the same time I get so nervous. I mean, it's just three inches higher and it's not like Bunny cares, but gawd, as soon as I see it looming it looks a foot taller. And then I like to pick fences to be scared of, which makes her unsure of herself. I have been riding for SIX. YEARS. There is no reason for me to continue being anxious.
I am leaning toward going out and DOING IT. Just doing it until she and I are used to it. But then I worry that she will stop and then it will ruin both of our confidence. I just don't know. I might do some gymnastics and set the last fence to 2'6, and then make it an oxer since she and I both have distance issues with oxers. Hmmm.
Anyways, here is some footage of our first jump school since March. My equitation is pretty nasty- I need to fix my release and the hunching.
Thursday, July 7, 2011
New barn... again, lol.
Moved her out to Patti's, finally. I had wanted to for so long! Bunny got a three month break in my spring semester, hence the lack of updates- there were really none to give. Just recently brought her back into work. There is a big ECQHA show down the road from the new barn, and I am thinking of taking her for the miles. I dunno. Anyways, here is some from today's ride. She was a titch ouchy from her trim but warmed up out of it. Didn't do anything strenuous for that reason. Boy, I am loving that indoor!
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Monday, February 14, 2011
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Fixing the rough spots.
It seems like every winter without fail I send myself back to flatwork. Which is a wonderful thing. I feel like Bunny and I have accomplished more at the New Barn in two weeks than we did in two months at the Old Barn. The last video or two is from there- mostly just for me to keep track of how things are moving along. I haven't had a lesson in almost a month, which is less than ideal, but it does force me to un-suction myself from Patti Wisdom and think for myself.
The first few rides were just a tune-up for myself. I need to fix my equitation problems before I can seriously consider fixing her. I spent most of my time in two-point trying to keep from cocking my right hip forward- that's really the root of my riding evil. Since then I have ridden normally but popped up in two point when I feel my seat slipping. I have also noticed (durrr-hurr) how much tension I keep in my upper thigh, hence all of the weird lower leg issues, so I've been trying to keep most of my contact in my calf. Lastly, after spending about nine hours watching George Morris clinics, I am trying to ride a bit more forward in my tack and keep my hands out in front of me. Sadly, crotch-hands are soo ingrained, but they are better than they were. Want proof? Prepare for eye-bleeding badness.
I try to pretend that never happened.
Anyways, I have been trying to overhaul Bunny's health in general. She dropped a TON of weight this winter from being bullied, but she has picked up quite a bit just since I moved her. She had been getting about eight quarts of SafeChoice/coastal hay and Source HF daily, but now I am switching her to Legacy, BOSS, and Source WT. Because I am an employee at the New Barn, part of my hours go toward her feed and L is getting in a feed shipment tomorrow, which means that is when I will be able to start switching. As of now, she is picking up weight on 4qt SafeChoice/4qt beet pulp, oil, and free choice Bermuda. I really despise SafeChoice with an ungodly passion- can't wait to get her off it.
Ahem.
Riding wise, little mare needs topline. I am trying to work her well enough without burning what she gains. Hm. Even though she had dropped weight, she really wasn't in bad condition, just not as fat as I like 'em. A bit ribby without much padding over her withers, but she still had fat over her tailhead and nothing was prominent. I'd like to put 200 lbs on her, I think. Most of our work-work has been suppling oriented and getting good, clean engagement. For example, yesterday I worked on leg yielding in and out at the canter, and today we did spirals. Our actual exercise was pick up your trot, shoulder in to the corner, pick up the canter, canter a spiral, return to long side in a more extended canter, and pick up the trot at the next corner. We also did some counter-canter loops, playing off of transitioning through shoulder-in: shoulder-in>canter on correct lead>teardrop loopy thing to change direction> continue in canter>walk.
I don't know. I am so happy with how well she is coming along. I have sooo much more to work with now even in terms of her mental state, and it's interesting to figure out our limitations and address them without being afraid of breaking a leg in foot-deep footing. Hm. Here are some stills, at any rate.
BEFORE:
Not a word on the equitation. Don't be hatin the half-seat. I am working on it. I just love that her croup is lowered. Anyways, video to come. I just have to get motivated enough to tinker on it.
The first few rides were just a tune-up for myself. I need to fix my equitation problems before I can seriously consider fixing her. I spent most of my time in two-point trying to keep from cocking my right hip forward- that's really the root of my riding evil. Since then I have ridden normally but popped up in two point when I feel my seat slipping. I have also noticed (durrr-hurr) how much tension I keep in my upper thigh, hence all of the weird lower leg issues, so I've been trying to keep most of my contact in my calf. Lastly, after spending about nine hours watching George Morris clinics, I am trying to ride a bit more forward in my tack and keep my hands out in front of me. Sadly, crotch-hands are soo ingrained, but they are better than they were. Want proof? Prepare for eye-bleeding badness.
I try to pretend that never happened.
Anyways, I have been trying to overhaul Bunny's health in general. She dropped a TON of weight this winter from being bullied, but she has picked up quite a bit just since I moved her. She had been getting about eight quarts of SafeChoice/coastal hay and Source HF daily, but now I am switching her to Legacy, BOSS, and Source WT. Because I am an employee at the New Barn, part of my hours go toward her feed and L is getting in a feed shipment tomorrow, which means that is when I will be able to start switching. As of now, she is picking up weight on 4qt SafeChoice/4qt beet pulp, oil, and free choice Bermuda. I really despise SafeChoice with an ungodly passion- can't wait to get her off it.
Ahem.
Riding wise, little mare needs topline. I am trying to work her well enough without burning what she gains. Hm. Even though she had dropped weight, she really wasn't in bad condition, just not as fat as I like 'em. A bit ribby without much padding over her withers, but she still had fat over her tailhead and nothing was prominent. I'd like to put 200 lbs on her, I think. Most of our work-work has been suppling oriented and getting good, clean engagement. For example, yesterday I worked on leg yielding in and out at the canter, and today we did spirals. Our actual exercise was pick up your trot, shoulder in to the corner, pick up the canter, canter a spiral, return to long side in a more extended canter, and pick up the trot at the next corner. We also did some counter-canter loops, playing off of transitioning through shoulder-in: shoulder-in>canter on correct lead>teardrop loopy thing to change direction> continue in canter>walk.
I don't know. I am so happy with how well she is coming along. I have sooo much more to work with now even in terms of her mental state, and it's interesting to figure out our limitations and address them without being afraid of breaking a leg in foot-deep footing. Hm. Here are some stills, at any rate.
BEFORE:
AFTER:
It's grainy, but you get the point.
What's funny? No see-sawing, no beating, no stupidity that went on at Old Barn. Granted, this has taken moooonths, but I am not about to "work her nose in."
And our canter:
Not a word on the equitation. Don't be hatin the half-seat. I am working on it. I just love that her croup is lowered. Anyways, video to come. I just have to get motivated enough to tinker on it.
Saturday, February 12, 2011
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Lesson vids- the good, bad, and ugly.
Complete with flopping, floundering, and my weird-ass half seat. Patti uses some colorful language- you are forewarned.
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Barn Switch
I am now out of Crazy Old Barn and chillin' at Quiet New Barn, AKA Twin Gaits. Bunny loooves it all ready- it seems absolutely perfect. Pictures to follow.
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Lesson notes, for the sake of remembering them.
-When approaching a spooky fence while schooling, walk the horse up to it and stop in front of it. Let the horse see it, then turn away and come a little closer. Next time, walk all the way to the base, turn away, pick up your gait of choice, and jump it.
-When you have a stop or refusal, make the horse back out of the line instead of allowing it to turn away.
-Kiss at the base of a fence to establish jumping to a kiss as a habit- a safety net, if you will.
-Keep your two point on course. Just close your hip angle a bit, and let the horse do its job.
-You should feel a breeze on your collar bones in your half seat. No crunching up!
-You shouldn't feel your heel against your horse's side.
-When you have a stop or refusal, make the horse back out of the line instead of allowing it to turn away.
-Kiss at the base of a fence to establish jumping to a kiss as a habit- a safety net, if you will.
-Keep your two point on course. Just close your hip angle a bit, and let the horse do its job.
-You should feel a breeze on your collar bones in your half seat. No crunching up!
-You shouldn't feel your heel against your horse's side.
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Lesson, show, lesson.
Friday the 14th- Lesson at Patti's. Trailered Bunny in to her place. Paige has video but hasn't uploaded it yet. The vast bulk of our work has been trying to work on my weird habits- I tend to collapse through my collar bones and push my elbows outward, which throws all of my balance off completely.
I am also learning to RELAX. Everything in me wants to override to the fence- collect, tweak, lengthen- crap, rode past my distance- HURL self onto neck to catch up. Yeah. I just have to learn to bend through my hip and release, but it's so hard to break those old nervous habits.
In addition, I am learning that I don't have to just swallow my nerves and tackle the fence without any prep. My tendency is to just grit my teeth and bulldog my way through things, which would be great if I played a contact sport, but I, uh, ride, and it ends badly. We have been working hard on that. For example, there was a rather large (to me) oxer set up over a rolltop and flower box. I am more nervous than my brave little horse, and told Patti straight up that I wasn't sure about that fence. Instead of just tackling it first off, which is what I would usually try to do, we worked on our flat for a while, jumped all of the other jumps, and then trotted it to show me that I wasn't going to die.
One of the lovely epiphanies I had was that the reason why Bunny backs off to the fence and adds is because of my lovely "sit back push push push hurl!" habit. Duh, goes without saying.
Saturday and Sunday- 4H show.
Took the munchkins in the club to the show. My faaaaayvorite trainwreck of a trainer in the world was appointed as "official" club trainer- I am so glad I had a say in this. I am, y'know, president, and this trainer has a long history of scamming families and just all sorts of fun sketch. I know from experience, and I also know this lovely lady is the same one who taught me to holdholdhold hurl myself at the fence, but that's neither here nor there...
Anyways, the show. It was packed. My showmanship class had a good 20 kids in it- tough competition. Bunny did all right- she behaved, but her pivot is crooked and so we didn't place. Need to work on that a bit. Went on to our HUS- placed 5th out of 17 or so- I was very pleased :)
Things went downhill in our working hunter- actually, it was downright shameful, and my fault entirely. Two refusals at PLAIN WHITE FENCES and I went over her head- this is why I have to fix those little habits. I have a solid position when I relax, as evidenced by the XC photos. And there was no reason for her to refuse- she's jumped the fences at SSBC a billion times. It was all my fault, and maybe a smidge of her being fed up with my shenanigans.
We had our hack class last- no issues there, but I was just so thrilled to have gotten over the damn fences that I didn't remember to stop and back. Failure. But that's ok- it is just a schooling show, and there will be plenty more. Got grounded for arguing with my dad about whether or not I should do my equitation class- I wanted to go, even if it meant trotting my way around- just for the sake of nipping any anxiety in the bud. He doesn't "do" discussion, so yeah. Hrrgh.
I love his "she needs to slow down" pronouncement, from the man who has never sat on a horse in his life. He also reamed me out for being so stupid to sit back before the fence. Hrrgh, again. But whatever, I'm only ranting now.
So we had a nice peaceful barn lull until yesterday. Just got on bareback because she had a convenient kick on her butt that looked a little sore. We only walked, but I worked on some baby shoulder-fore, bending, and getting her to lift through her back.
Today, we continued on that theme. If you can't tell, Bunny is lacking in neck muscle- the rest of her topline is pretty good, but I feel like it is because she is a. growing, and b. spends most of her time in a pleasure frame. I know better than that, but I just get darn competitive and don't look out for her development. It's bad. So I have decided to shift my focus and do what's best for her, because the ribbons will come when they come.
Anyways, I always audit Paige's lessons with Chad Wattridge, partly because he is the bomb and one of the most classical hunter trainers I have ever met, and also because I could probably never afford a lesson with him ;) One of his favorite exercises is to set up two cavaletti to make a chute, and then practice transitions between them in a figure-eight pattern, maintaining the engagement of the hocks and as much straightness as possible. After a few trips through the chute, he sends the horse across a set of trot poles to restore some lift and stretch. Whew, it is a workout for the rider as much as the horse. Bunny felt fabulous, and we got a few clean flying changes through the chute- it really give you no reason to let your horse bulge either way.
Then I climbed into the car and headed on over to Patti's, because our conversation after informing her of the show Sunday went something like this:
P: How was it?
L: Oh, great! Bunny took fifth in HUS.
P: Good! I'm so proud of you and Bunbun.
L: And I may have eaten dirt in my hunter class.
P: Okkkk... any good video of that?
L: Yep.
P: You are so learning where your ass belongs in that tack tomorrow. Say hello to MR. MURPH!
Of course, it rained Monday, so we postponed it until today. Murph is my favorite of Patti's horses- he is a cantankerous OTTB, her ex show horse, who has slight vision problems from a bout of EPM or something like that, so he doesn't do well with things above him. Like riders mounting and dismounting. His hobbies include tearing unsuspecting bystanders' shirts off with his teeth (no, really!, being a vicious cribber, stopping at fences, and breaking halters. Most would find him the opposite of charming, but having been Keeper of the Murph when he had abscesses a few months ago, I find his psychoses endearing. And he reminds me sooo much of Berky's evil twin that I can't hardly stand it.
Anyways, lesson on him today. I was a bit nervous at first- he is definitely different from Bunny, but again, he rides a bit like Berky. He was sooo tolerant. I definitely wasn't expecting it. I really like him- he made me sit back and stay out of his way- but that may change when he bucks me off or throws me into a fence the first time,lolololol. Here is some lovely footage of me flinging myself up his neck and Patti screaming at me.
I am also learning to RELAX. Everything in me wants to override to the fence- collect, tweak, lengthen- crap, rode past my distance- HURL self onto neck to catch up. Yeah. I just have to learn to bend through my hip and release, but it's so hard to break those old nervous habits.
In addition, I am learning that I don't have to just swallow my nerves and tackle the fence without any prep. My tendency is to just grit my teeth and bulldog my way through things, which would be great if I played a contact sport, but I, uh, ride, and it ends badly. We have been working hard on that. For example, there was a rather large (to me) oxer set up over a rolltop and flower box. I am more nervous than my brave little horse, and told Patti straight up that I wasn't sure about that fence. Instead of just tackling it first off, which is what I would usually try to do, we worked on our flat for a while, jumped all of the other jumps, and then trotted it to show me that I wasn't going to die.
One of the lovely epiphanies I had was that the reason why Bunny backs off to the fence and adds is because of my lovely "sit back push push push hurl!" habit. Duh, goes without saying.
Saturday and Sunday- 4H show.
Took the munchkins in the club to the show. My faaaaayvorite trainwreck of a trainer in the world was appointed as "official" club trainer- I am so glad I had a say in this. I am, y'know, president, and this trainer has a long history of scamming families and just all sorts of fun sketch. I know from experience, and I also know this lovely lady is the same one who taught me to holdholdhold hurl myself at the fence, but that's neither here nor there...
Anyways, the show. It was packed. My showmanship class had a good 20 kids in it- tough competition. Bunny did all right- she behaved, but her pivot is crooked and so we didn't place. Need to work on that a bit. Went on to our HUS- placed 5th out of 17 or so- I was very pleased :)
Things went downhill in our working hunter- actually, it was downright shameful, and my fault entirely. Two refusals at PLAIN WHITE FENCES and I went over her head- this is why I have to fix those little habits. I have a solid position when I relax, as evidenced by the XC photos. And there was no reason for her to refuse- she's jumped the fences at SSBC a billion times. It was all my fault, and maybe a smidge of her being fed up with my shenanigans.
We had our hack class last- no issues there, but I was just so thrilled to have gotten over the damn fences that I didn't remember to stop and back. Failure. But that's ok- it is just a schooling show, and there will be plenty more. Got grounded for arguing with my dad about whether or not I should do my equitation class- I wanted to go, even if it meant trotting my way around- just for the sake of nipping any anxiety in the bud. He doesn't "do" discussion, so yeah. Hrrgh.
I love his "she needs to slow down" pronouncement, from the man who has never sat on a horse in his life. He also reamed me out for being so stupid to sit back before the fence. Hrrgh, again. But whatever, I'm only ranting now.
So we had a nice peaceful barn lull until yesterday. Just got on bareback because she had a convenient kick on her butt that looked a little sore. We only walked, but I worked on some baby shoulder-fore, bending, and getting her to lift through her back.
Today, we continued on that theme. If you can't tell, Bunny is lacking in neck muscle- the rest of her topline is pretty good, but I feel like it is because she is a. growing, and b. spends most of her time in a pleasure frame. I know better than that, but I just get darn competitive and don't look out for her development. It's bad. So I have decided to shift my focus and do what's best for her, because the ribbons will come when they come.
Anyways, I always audit Paige's lessons with Chad Wattridge, partly because he is the bomb and one of the most classical hunter trainers I have ever met, and also because I could probably never afford a lesson with him ;) One of his favorite exercises is to set up two cavaletti to make a chute, and then practice transitions between them in a figure-eight pattern, maintaining the engagement of the hocks and as much straightness as possible. After a few trips through the chute, he sends the horse across a set of trot poles to restore some lift and stretch. Whew, it is a workout for the rider as much as the horse. Bunny felt fabulous, and we got a few clean flying changes through the chute- it really give you no reason to let your horse bulge either way.
Then I climbed into the car and headed on over to Patti's, because our conversation after informing her of the show Sunday went something like this:
P: How was it?
L: Oh, great! Bunny took fifth in HUS.
P: Good! I'm so proud of you and Bunbun.
L: And I may have eaten dirt in my hunter class.
P: Okkkk... any good video of that?
L: Yep.
P: You are so learning where your ass belongs in that tack tomorrow. Say hello to MR. MURPH!
Of course, it rained Monday, so we postponed it until today. Murph is my favorite of Patti's horses- he is a cantankerous OTTB, her ex show horse, who has slight vision problems from a bout of EPM or something like that, so he doesn't do well with things above him. Like riders mounting and dismounting. His hobbies include tearing unsuspecting bystanders' shirts off with his teeth (no, really!, being a vicious cribber, stopping at fences, and breaking halters. Most would find him the opposite of charming, but having been Keeper of the Murph when he had abscesses a few months ago, I find his psychoses endearing. And he reminds me sooo much of Berky's evil twin that I can't hardly stand it.
Anyways, lesson on him today. I was a bit nervous at first- he is definitely different from Bunny, but again, he rides a bit like Berky. He was sooo tolerant. I definitely wasn't expecting it. I really like him- he made me sit back and stay out of his way- but that may change when he bucks me off or throws me into a fence the first time,lolololol. Here is some lovely footage of me flinging myself up his neck and Patti screaming at me.
Saturday, January 8, 2011
Cross country schooling.
This one is my favorite. We jumped a lot of stuff, like tires threaded on a log, banks, a bunch of coops, a ditch (after I walked Bunny up to it and she put her foot in it *eyeroll*) and a water hazard, but the logs were my favorite. Probably because they are just logs. There. Cylindrical. I have never done this before and was, quite frankly, terrified.
Couldn't have gone with a better group of girls, though. It was more or less the last grand hoorah because most of us are changing barns this month and won't have another opportunity to do this again. Brittany and Madeline both have done prelim, so at least we weren't being entirely reckless? Paige and I have never really done anything like this before at all.
Bunny was fabulous, by the way. She loved it. Every second of it.
Position failure. This fence scared the sh!t out of me, mostly because it was a weird shape and I couldn't see a distance to it. It's teeny, but whatever. She carried me straight to it, even though, as you can see by my lovely eq, I was not really entirely certain about it.
Madeline on her little pony (she usually events with her big honking Oldenburg, but Magic is on springs even in his old age, lololol), me, Paige and Chagall, and Sarah and How-D.
I have to say, it boosted my confidence 1000%. I have a show this weekend, and I have just been stressing out over it constantly. It was really what I needed- to just go out there, let her go, and realize I can make little mistakes and live to tell about it.
Couldn't have gone with a better group of girls, though. It was more or less the last grand hoorah because most of us are changing barns this month and won't have another opportunity to do this again. Brittany and Madeline both have done prelim, so at least we weren't being entirely reckless? Paige and I have never really done anything like this before at all.
Bunny was fabulous, by the way. She loved it. Every second of it.
Position failure. This fence scared the sh!t out of me, mostly because it was a weird shape and I couldn't see a distance to it. It's teeny, but whatever. She carried me straight to it, even though, as you can see by my lovely eq, I was not really entirely certain about it.Madeline on her little pony (she usually events with her big honking Oldenburg, but Magic is on springs even in his old age, lololol), me, Paige and Chagall, and Sarah and How-D.
I have to say, it boosted my confidence 1000%. I have a show this weekend, and I have just been stressing out over it constantly. It was really what I needed- to just go out there, let her go, and realize I can make little mistakes and live to tell about it.
Saturday, January 1, 2011
New Year's Resolutions and Year in Review
Non-Horsey
1.) Maintain my veganism with NO cheating! This year, I slipped up a few times and had dairy- ice cream is so hard to resist!
2.) Practice yoga at home instead of waiting for class
Horsey (more goals, than resolutions, per se)
1.) Perfect our flying changes
2.) Ribbon in the working hunters
3.) Claim a year end HSITP award
4.) Gain better control over ankle and hip angle for a better position
We shall see. I am moving to Twin Gaits in February, hallelujah, because our current facility it in shambles and it just isn't working. I feel like that will really boost our schooling.
Anyways, year in review.
2010 was tough. Coming into it, Berky's hocks and back were giving him trouble and he had a good bit of time off. We hit a high point when we took overall Reserve in equitation in Denna's little show series in February after just bringing him back into work. Shortly after, his health started to deteriorate, and test after test later, we made the decision to put him down in May.
But it's funny. When I got him, I promised him I would never, ever sell him and risk him being abused again. He was very fragile and a smack with a crop just about reduced him to jelly, so I can't imagine putting him through that. And even though it happened much sooner than I expected, I kept that promise.
I had been shopping for a while, since Berky had started to get sick. I just had this feeling that he wouldn't make it. And that's how I found Bunny.
I had wanted another Thoroughbred, preferably a made horse, or perhaps a warmblood cross. I tried quite a few, yet I ended up with a not-quite-four year old Quarter Horse. Which is also funny, because I used to say, even before Berky was ill, that my next horse would be a chunky stock horse. Well there you go. I have my own little chunky stock horse.
She has been fabulous. I can't believe I've had her six months. It's been amazing to watch her grow up and develop her own unique personality. We have plenty to work on, but I feel like she is steadier and more broke than my goofy ex-1.25m jumper.
We have been swimming and XC schooling and waded through streams and crossed trails. We have jumped and galloped and just generally goofed off, and we have schooled and worked hard to get where we are now. I may not have the relationship with her that I did with the boy, but we certainly have a rapport.
In two weeks, we have a goofy little 4H show. She is going to try her hoof at the handy hunters, equitation O/F, HUS, and showmanship. I feel like we will do fine, but I definitely have stuff to work on. Looking forward to seeing how this goes.
1.) Maintain my veganism with NO cheating! This year, I slipped up a few times and had dairy- ice cream is so hard to resist!
2.) Practice yoga at home instead of waiting for class
Horsey (more goals, than resolutions, per se)
1.) Perfect our flying changes
2.) Ribbon in the working hunters
3.) Claim a year end HSITP award
4.) Gain better control over ankle and hip angle for a better position
We shall see. I am moving to Twin Gaits in February, hallelujah, because our current facility it in shambles and it just isn't working. I feel like that will really boost our schooling.
Anyways, year in review.
2010 was tough. Coming into it, Berky's hocks and back were giving him trouble and he had a good bit of time off. We hit a high point when we took overall Reserve in equitation in Denna's little show series in February after just bringing him back into work. Shortly after, his health started to deteriorate, and test after test later, we made the decision to put him down in May.
But it's funny. When I got him, I promised him I would never, ever sell him and risk him being abused again. He was very fragile and a smack with a crop just about reduced him to jelly, so I can't imagine putting him through that. And even though it happened much sooner than I expected, I kept that promise.
I had been shopping for a while, since Berky had started to get sick. I just had this feeling that he wouldn't make it. And that's how I found Bunny.
I had wanted another Thoroughbred, preferably a made horse, or perhaps a warmblood cross. I tried quite a few, yet I ended up with a not-quite-four year old Quarter Horse. Which is also funny, because I used to say, even before Berky was ill, that my next horse would be a chunky stock horse. Well there you go. I have my own little chunky stock horse.
She has been fabulous. I can't believe I've had her six months. It's been amazing to watch her grow up and develop her own unique personality. We have plenty to work on, but I feel like she is steadier and more broke than my goofy ex-1.25m jumper.
We have been swimming and XC schooling and waded through streams and crossed trails. We have jumped and galloped and just generally goofed off, and we have schooled and worked hard to get where we are now. I may not have the relationship with her that I did with the boy, but we certainly have a rapport.
In two weeks, we have a goofy little 4H show. She is going to try her hoof at the handy hunters, equitation O/F, HUS, and showmanship. I feel like we will do fine, but I definitely have stuff to work on. Looking forward to seeing how this goes.
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