It looks like spring has sprung in Ohio, for the most part at least. I'm sure we'll get some more crappy weather, because it's Ohio. But for now, I have six weeks to get my horse back in shape before he goes into training. That does not sound like much time at all, especially with how busy I've been lately. At least it's staying light longer. I see lots of lunging in side reins in our future...he can get in shape without me bouncing around on his back while *I* get in shape.
It looks like our first show of the year will be a CT at South Farm at the end of May. Hopefully BBN...I don't really want to ride an intro test again if I can help it!
The boys survived the winter, although they probably feel very neglected since they haven't been ridden. I'm trying to figure out how to get Jodi back in shape at the same time, since I don't have much time. We might try some ponying.
The goal for the summer is
May 29th/30th - CT at South Farm, BBN?
May 31 - Stone Gate hunter pace
June 20 - Grand River mini trial - BBN hopefully
July 18 - South Farm mini trial - BBN
July 25 - Bath Pony Club mini trial?
August 1 - Grand River mini trial?
Agust 22 - Bath Pony Club mini trial - BBN?
And then in September, hopefully either the starter division at South Farm or Stone Gate, or moving up to BN at one of the mini trials. That's IF all goes according to plan, which it never does!
Hopefully I'll have some updates in the adventures of restarting Luke coming up soon :) Our first ride was pretty interesting, he decided steering was optional, but we fixed that pretty quick.
Cannot wait for the month of May! :)
Showing posts with label spring. Show all posts
Showing posts with label spring. Show all posts
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Monday, April 6, 2009
Updates!
Oh man...I have so much stuff, I don't even know where to start. So it'll probably be a long, boring entry!
Let's see...last Sunday we went on a trail ride, which is becoming a weekly Sunday occurence. I was supposed to be the responsible adult and say that we should stay inside because it was gonna rain on and off all day, but when Molly said "Look Kim! No clouds!", I couldn't resist...so across the street we went. We meandered over to the trails, and about twenty minutes in, the skies opened up. Sprinkles at first, but it didn't take long before it was flat out pouring. So off we went back home at a good clip. Both the boys were excited to get back to the barn, and were looking at us like "My human is an idiot". So we threw coolers on them, put them in their stalls, ran to Speedway for hot chocolate, and then turned the heat in the lounge way up until we were [mostly] dry. Man it was fun doing chores in wet jeans...not!
Then Monday, he got his teeth done. I feel awful. I knew that they needed done, but they were reallly bad...he actually had cuts on both sides of his mouth. :( Poor baby! So he got a couple days off, and then back to work we went, with much improvement. I had a lesson this past week, and he was wonderful. Lots of trotting and cantering on the bit, and he gave me correct leads, and *sort of* had collected transitions. Progress takes time, I keep telling myself. I should probably not let him gallop around so much on trails...he tends to forget what a slow canter is, and gets heavy on the forehand.
On Friday, I rode for a while before I did chores. Molly and I put up a little crossrail, which we flipped to a vertical later. Luke has figured out that the PVC poles don't really hurt, and that he doesn't have to put forth any effort on little fences. So he halfheartedly trotted/hopped over them, taking them down with us several times. Next time I'm breaking out the wood poles, and leaving his splint boots off, I think. He is actually a really cute jumper when we canter to the jumps, or when they are wood poles. Otherwise, he thinks it isn't worth his time. Molly and I traded and I got to ride Atticus for a little bit...I hope Luke grows up to be like him! He's so even and doesn't speed up like Luke does.
On Saturday, Jodi's old mom came out to visit. It was super fun for her to see him, and it made me feel really good that she kept saying how good he looked. We gave her son a pony ride, and then took a bunch of pictures. I had to do a double take when I logged onto facebook and saw Jodi as her profile picture. He's famous! :) He's such a good soul...even when he's a jerk about stuff. But he'll be 25 on the 30th, so basically, he gets to do whatever he wants :)
Yesterday, we rode in the outdoor, and had fun. Both of the boys were WOUND though...maybe it was the weather? They both pretended that they didn't know how to canter on the correct lead, and were both pulling so hard that it was next to impossible to sit down and canter. I finally gave up, gave him his head, and let him blow off some steam. Once we got that out of the way, it was a good time. I'm so glad I'm riding more, and seeing the boys more.
I was told last night that I need to get some new pictures of Luke, so I'll try to do that in the next week. I took a cute picture on my phone last night of Luke with his head over the stall door, standing by his new stall sign. I'll try to upload it.
Whew! That was loooong!
Let's see...last Sunday we went on a trail ride, which is becoming a weekly Sunday occurence. I was supposed to be the responsible adult and say that we should stay inside because it was gonna rain on and off all day, but when Molly said "Look Kim! No clouds!", I couldn't resist...so across the street we went. We meandered over to the trails, and about twenty minutes in, the skies opened up. Sprinkles at first, but it didn't take long before it was flat out pouring. So off we went back home at a good clip. Both the boys were excited to get back to the barn, and were looking at us like "My human is an idiot". So we threw coolers on them, put them in their stalls, ran to Speedway for hot chocolate, and then turned the heat in the lounge way up until we were [mostly] dry. Man it was fun doing chores in wet jeans...not!
Then Monday, he got his teeth done. I feel awful. I knew that they needed done, but they were reallly bad...he actually had cuts on both sides of his mouth. :( Poor baby! So he got a couple days off, and then back to work we went, with much improvement. I had a lesson this past week, and he was wonderful. Lots of trotting and cantering on the bit, and he gave me correct leads, and *sort of* had collected transitions. Progress takes time, I keep telling myself. I should probably not let him gallop around so much on trails...he tends to forget what a slow canter is, and gets heavy on the forehand.
On Friday, I rode for a while before I did chores. Molly and I put up a little crossrail, which we flipped to a vertical later. Luke has figured out that the PVC poles don't really hurt, and that he doesn't have to put forth any effort on little fences. So he halfheartedly trotted/hopped over them, taking them down with us several times. Next time I'm breaking out the wood poles, and leaving his splint boots off, I think. He is actually a really cute jumper when we canter to the jumps, or when they are wood poles. Otherwise, he thinks it isn't worth his time. Molly and I traded and I got to ride Atticus for a little bit...I hope Luke grows up to be like him! He's so even and doesn't speed up like Luke does.
On Saturday, Jodi's old mom came out to visit. It was super fun for her to see him, and it made me feel really good that she kept saying how good he looked. We gave her son a pony ride, and then took a bunch of pictures. I had to do a double take when I logged onto facebook and saw Jodi as her profile picture. He's famous! :) He's such a good soul...even when he's a jerk about stuff. But he'll be 25 on the 30th, so basically, he gets to do whatever he wants :)
Yesterday, we rode in the outdoor, and had fun. Both of the boys were WOUND though...maybe it was the weather? They both pretended that they didn't know how to canter on the correct lead, and were both pulling so hard that it was next to impossible to sit down and canter. I finally gave up, gave him his head, and let him blow off some steam. Once we got that out of the way, it was a good time. I'm so glad I'm riding more, and seeing the boys more.
I was told last night that I need to get some new pictures of Luke, so I'll try to do that in the next week. I took a cute picture on my phone last night of Luke with his head over the stall door, standing by his new stall sign. I'll try to upload it.
Whew! That was loooong!
Thursday, March 26, 2009
The Best Trail Ride!
I'm a little late updating from it, but I had a great trail ride with Molly on Sunday.
She was on Brandy, and I was on Luke. We decided to check out the trails across the street. I was nervous to cross the street and walk through the allotment, but Luke is totally traffic safe, and only got a little tense when he heard dogs barking behind a wood fence and couldn't SEE them.
We crossed another street, and turned onto the dirt path, and off we went. We had a nice canter through a field to start off with, and then went up a hill into the woods. It was gorgeous back there. I am so excited...the trails are AMAZING, and are there any time I want to go! Much better than just riding around the farm, which is fun too. There are some steep hills, but it will be great to do trot sets and get Luke in shape. We cantered up hillls and then walked back down them, looped around, galloped along the edge of a cornfield, walked around some more hoping we weren't lost, and then wound our way out of the woods, going back the way we came. I was glad for my helmet, cuz I got whacked on a few branches, but no biggie.
We walked around in the outdoor for a bit, and then decided to hit the back pasture to go canter in since it was empty for the afternoon. Luke couldn't figure out how to go down hills faster than a walk, and basically slid down a couple before figuring it out. We cantered laps up in two point, and then I let him gallop a bit. It was an awesome feeling, and he was totally manageable. The only thing that threw me was that I forgot that they're trained to gallop by balancing on their riders. So I was up in two point, and he stretched down and started pulling. I almost slid down his neck! But I got my balance back, and we had a blast. It was a wonderful horsey day!
I am getting so so excited for summer! We're building more jumps, and putting cross country jumps up, and now that I know about the trails...this place just keeps getting better and better! I am so in love with it there...and the boys seem thrilled too! I need to take some new pictures...oops :)
Tomorrow is the tack swap, which I'm going to head to for an hour or so before I go babysit for Caroline. Then I'm gonna hang with her until it's time to go feed horses, then I'll go back over and Mandi and I are going to finish making stall signs. yay! :)
Jodi got a nosebleed the other night, poor guy. He seems fine now though, so I dont know what's up. I guess he's just trying to take years off my life. First his eye, then this...I can't take much more!
She was on Brandy, and I was on Luke. We decided to check out the trails across the street. I was nervous to cross the street and walk through the allotment, but Luke is totally traffic safe, and only got a little tense when he heard dogs barking behind a wood fence and couldn't SEE them.
We crossed another street, and turned onto the dirt path, and off we went. We had a nice canter through a field to start off with, and then went up a hill into the woods. It was gorgeous back there. I am so excited...the trails are AMAZING, and are there any time I want to go! Much better than just riding around the farm, which is fun too. There are some steep hills, but it will be great to do trot sets and get Luke in shape. We cantered up hillls and then walked back down them, looped around, galloped along the edge of a cornfield, walked around some more hoping we weren't lost, and then wound our way out of the woods, going back the way we came. I was glad for my helmet, cuz I got whacked on a few branches, but no biggie.
We walked around in the outdoor for a bit, and then decided to hit the back pasture to go canter in since it was empty for the afternoon. Luke couldn't figure out how to go down hills faster than a walk, and basically slid down a couple before figuring it out. We cantered laps up in two point, and then I let him gallop a bit. It was an awesome feeling, and he was totally manageable. The only thing that threw me was that I forgot that they're trained to gallop by balancing on their riders. So I was up in two point, and he stretched down and started pulling. I almost slid down his neck! But I got my balance back, and we had a blast. It was a wonderful horsey day!
I am getting so so excited for summer! We're building more jumps, and putting cross country jumps up, and now that I know about the trails...this place just keeps getting better and better! I am so in love with it there...and the boys seem thrilled too! I need to take some new pictures...oops :)
Tomorrow is the tack swap, which I'm going to head to for an hour or so before I go babysit for Caroline. Then I'm gonna hang with her until it's time to go feed horses, then I'll go back over and Mandi and I are going to finish making stall signs. yay! :)
Jodi got a nosebleed the other night, poor guy. He seems fine now though, so I dont know what's up. I guess he's just trying to take years off my life. First his eye, then this...I can't take much more!
Saturday, March 21, 2009
We have Flying Changes!
So I got spoiled this week, and had 2 lessons - One on Tuesday and then one on Wednesday.
Tuesday's lesson was...interesting. We started on the lunge without reins, and maybe I got too relaxed because I just couldn't get it together after that. I can't support him at all at the posting trot - I lock my hands by the pommel, and I can't keep my leg under me very well.
So my trainer ended up riding him for a while, and he looked so pretty! He's growing up!
Wednesday we tried a different saddle, and I think I kept my leg under myself a bit better. We worked on a couple of jumps on the diagonal. Started with little crossrails that he could trot over, and then moved up to bigger crossrails that he still trotted over, and then made a 12" vertical. By the end, we were able to canter to the jump and way from it, doing figure 8's across the two jumps. We managed a few circuits before I got dizzy and almost passed out..oops. I n eed to learn to not hold my breath, but I don't really think that was totally it. I thought the passing out thing was better but maybe not.
But when Luke didn't land on the right lead, he would do a flying change and fix it himself. Mandi told me that if we were brave, we could just do jumpers, but I don't think I'm quite that brave. I'll stick to mini trials, and HOPEFULLY be able to move up to Baby Beginner Novice by the end of summer.
Now...he just needs to learn to canter better, so he can learn to counter canter, so we can put a cue on that flying change. *sigh*... One step at a time!
In other news, I rode in the outdoor yesterday and he was pretty good. We got some nice canter work in both directions, which was nice, and it was beautiful out!
Tuesday's lesson was...interesting. We started on the lunge without reins, and maybe I got too relaxed because I just couldn't get it together after that. I can't support him at all at the posting trot - I lock my hands by the pommel, and I can't keep my leg under me very well.
So my trainer ended up riding him for a while, and he looked so pretty! He's growing up!
Wednesday we tried a different saddle, and I think I kept my leg under myself a bit better. We worked on a couple of jumps on the diagonal. Started with little crossrails that he could trot over, and then moved up to bigger crossrails that he still trotted over, and then made a 12" vertical. By the end, we were able to canter to the jump and way from it, doing figure 8's across the two jumps. We managed a few circuits before I got dizzy and almost passed out..oops. I n eed to learn to not hold my breath, but I don't really think that was totally it. I thought the passing out thing was better but maybe not.
But when Luke didn't land on the right lead, he would do a flying change and fix it himself. Mandi told me that if we were brave, we could just do jumpers, but I don't think I'm quite that brave. I'll stick to mini trials, and HOPEFULLY be able to move up to Baby Beginner Novice by the end of summer.
Now...he just needs to learn to canter better, so he can learn to counter canter, so we can put a cue on that flying change. *sigh*... One step at a time!
In other news, I rode in the outdoor yesterday and he was pretty good. We got some nice canter work in both directions, which was nice, and it was beautiful out!
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Spring is in the air!
Yikes, I haven't updated in a while. I've been meaning to keep up with this better, but I forget about it sometimes.
Spring is coming, and it can't get here soon enough. The only thing I'm worried about is getting too hot while doing chores this summer and passing out, but I haven't passed out recently so I should be okay.
Jodi had a swollen shut eye on Thursday, and I was pretty worried. We put compresses on it through out the day, and some clear eyes in it when it opened up. We were planning on calling the vet Friday morning, but his eye was about 70% open in the morning, and by afternoon, it was at 95%. Maybe he just got some hay in it? He's fine now, which is a huge relief.
The vet came out yesterday to do spring shots. I'm doing my own this year, but I did have her pull a coggins on Luke. She checked both boys, and Jodi doesn't need his teeth done, but Luke does. So that will be next Monday. Maybe that's why he's getting so skinny. I hope so. He gets a bale of hay a day, and six pounds of grain, plus some grass outside. If he doesn't pick back up in the next month, I'm going to look into cool cals or something like that. I'm going to stop and get some corn oil tonight I think.
He's been going really really well though. He never spooks, which makes him so nice to ride because you don't have to worry. One of the younger girls at the barn has been riding him now and then for me, and she took him on two trail rides this week. She said that he was even good when he was cantering behind another horse, and he didn't try to speed up or catch up. I'm so proud of my boy. We have a lesson tonight, I can't wait!
I'm hoping to have a massage therapist or chiropractor out for him in the next couple months. He's sound, and doesn't seem sore, but I'm wondering if that would loosen him up. We're still having trouble with the right lead. More likely, I've just built up some mental block against it, because he's fine on the lunge line.
Anyway...that's what's new here!
Spring is coming, and it can't get here soon enough. The only thing I'm worried about is getting too hot while doing chores this summer and passing out, but I haven't passed out recently so I should be okay.
Jodi had a swollen shut eye on Thursday, and I was pretty worried. We put compresses on it through out the day, and some clear eyes in it when it opened up. We were planning on calling the vet Friday morning, but his eye was about 70% open in the morning, and by afternoon, it was at 95%. Maybe he just got some hay in it? He's fine now, which is a huge relief.
The vet came out yesterday to do spring shots. I'm doing my own this year, but I did have her pull a coggins on Luke. She checked both boys, and Jodi doesn't need his teeth done, but Luke does. So that will be next Monday. Maybe that's why he's getting so skinny. I hope so. He gets a bale of hay a day, and six pounds of grain, plus some grass outside. If he doesn't pick back up in the next month, I'm going to look into cool cals or something like that. I'm going to stop and get some corn oil tonight I think.
He's been going really really well though. He never spooks, which makes him so nice to ride because you don't have to worry. One of the younger girls at the barn has been riding him now and then for me, and she took him on two trail rides this week. She said that he was even good when he was cantering behind another horse, and he didn't try to speed up or catch up. I'm so proud of my boy. We have a lesson tonight, I can't wait!
I'm hoping to have a massage therapist or chiropractor out for him in the next couple months. He's sound, and doesn't seem sore, but I'm wondering if that would loosen him up. We're still having trouble with the right lead. More likely, I've just built up some mental block against it, because he's fine on the lunge line.
Anyway...that's what's new here!
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