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!

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!

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!

Update Time!

Wow, it's been a little while since I've updated! It's just been cold and yucky and I haven't been too motivated to ride. I had a lesson last week, and then didn't ride at all after that, and then had another lesson on Tuesday.

Lesson #1 was not my best ride ever. I was stressed out and frustrated about other things and I think that tension was carrying over to Luke. Plus, I just couldn't get my position right. Poor Luke. He really was trying hard to please me and do what he thought I wanted him to. He's such a sweetheart. He's still a little head shy which makes me really sad...I want to know what they did to him to make him that way. He's improved SO much since coming to the new barn though.

On Thursday I hopped on Jodi bareback for a little bit. I love that old man, he's such a sweetheart. We mostly just walked with a little bit of trot. On Sunday when I was bringing horses in, he was going nuts out in the pasture. Full out galloping...I didn't know he could still move that fast. He stretched his neck out and got low to the ground and everything. Melissa got some great pictures that I'll try to get uploaded. He paid for it though, I think, cuz he was off last night. Not bad, just pretty stiff. So Melissa walked him around for a while when I was riding Luke.

Lesson #2(Last night) was 100% better than last week'sl. I had a better mindset going in, and I was really focused. I also rode him in his new bit, a KK ultra, and I think it's really going to work out well. We did some trotting, and he's really starting to accept contact nicely, it feels great. We also started a little bit of shoulder-out at the walk, and he's doing much better than I thought he would. It also really seemed to help him stretch out. I got some great canter work on his left lead, and his right lead is improving. He picks it up correctly every time on the lunge line, so I guess I'm just not asking right. We're getting better though.

I am so happy with the barn...everything is better than I thought it would be, everyone is super friendly, I'm so glad to be getting back into regular lessons, and it's awesome to see the horses more. I can't wait until nice weather where I can ride outside, go trail riding, and start to think about summer shows. It will be great!

Yay Luke!

I think I start a lot of posts with that...oops! I'm just so proud of him.

I was realizing this week that Luke and I are really starting to develop a close bond. I'll never have the bond with him that I have with Jodi but it's pretty darn close. Seeing him more has helped I think.

I rode again on Saturday and he was wonderful. He might be getting a little overwhelmed with jumping lines, or maybe I didn't have the striding set up quite right, because we knocked some down. Or maybe he's just realizing that PVC poles don't hurt at all.

I rode him in a Herm Sprenger bit and he went fabulously. Now I need to save my money for one! He really liked it, and wasn't fussy in the bridle at all. We did lots of trotting, and did some canter transitions. He consistently picked up the right lead for me, which is usually his difficult one. Yay! Maybe training level dressage is in the near future!

My life is so crazy right now, and I have no idea why. I'm just overwhelmed, and trying to figure out how to fit in riding more than 3x a week. I'll get to ride tomorrow though, so that will be nice!

Can it be spring yet?

I haven't updated in a while...oops!

I had a lesson last Tuesday, and Luke was really good. We did lots of trotting and cantering, and at the end jumped some little crossrails. He's settling in really well, I'm really impressed with him. It took him maybe one ride in the indoor before he was ready to get down to business. He's such a fun horse, I can't wait til warmer weather.

I rode him on Sunday, and had a great ride. We did a line of three jumps - crossrail, vertical, crossrail. He was great to the left, but to the right, he had a tendency to pop his shoulder and run out. Once I realized that that's what he was doing, he was perfect. It just took someone telling me, "Hey - more leg and rein!". He was like a little kid - once he realized he'd been caught, he did it perfectly.

Tonight I'm headed out to ride, and want to work on his right lead canter, and do some bending with him. I really want to get him more comfortable at the canter, because we can't show at intro level forever! Hopefully he just needs more muscling. I can't wait to get out to the hunter paces...I'm tired of riding in the arena!

Yay Luke

The boys are doing well. They've both settled in really well. Jodi was so cute today when I fed and brought in horses. He came trotting up to the fence, stuck his nose in my face, and demanded to be brought in first. Who could resist that?

Melissa rode Jodi yesterday and he was really good for his first time in the arena. He was lazy, but he's old, he's allowed to be. Luke was kind of a brat yesterday so Mandi rode him for a few minutes and we were able to end on a good note.

I went out today to feed and after I was done, I hopped on Luke. He was really really good tonight. I rode him in a kimberwicke, and he was respecting me a lot more. We mostly trotted, did a little canter, and a couple trot poles thrown in, to see if he'd forgotten what they were. Nope, he's a superstar. Then one of the younger girls hopped on him and rode him for a bit. It was nice to see someone else on him. I told her she can ride him whenever she wants...he goes really well for her, and he needs the exercise! Poor boy. He's not sure what to think about being back in work, but I think he's enjoying himself. He looks SO cute. Not that I'm biased :)

TWO Great Rides!

I never got around to posting about Sunday's ride, but it was really good. He hasn't been ridden since December, so I thought he'd be nutty, but he wasn't. I lunged him, and then hopped on. There were two other horses in the arena, and the radio was blaring, and he did really well. We mostly just walked with a little bit of sitting trot. He spooked once, but other than that, he was really good.

I had a lesson tonight, and it went really well. Mandi rode him first, and he picked up the correct lead every time. Yay for improvement! I hopped on and did lots of trotting, working on going between more collected vs. more extended, not just faster. He was so cute, and so good. I got a 1 minute crappy quality video of her riding, but I'm uploading it now. Here it is!

Luke is loving being able to stick his head over the door. He doesn't even try to crib anymore, which is AMAZING. I never thought I'd see the day. He still wears the collar, but I haven't seen him try at all. Jodi on the other hand, has apparently become more of a die hard cribber over the past few months. We took his feed tub out and replaced it with a rubber dish so it's one less thing for him to crib on. I think that will cut down on the cribbing. I'm not sure why he doesn't stick his head out more - I thought he'd love it! He seemed happy to see me yesterday though - he was at the far end of the outdoor, and when he saw me, he looked up, starting walking, took a couple of trot steps, and then came full blast cantering at me. He did a sliding stop at the fence, and stuck his head in my face. It was so cute. I hadn't seen him canter in months, so it was an amazing feeling. I was also told that this morning, when Mandi was taking Luke down the hill to the outdoor, his front legs started sliding forward, and he just sat down on his butt and slid down the hill. I'd give anything to have video of that!

All Moved In!!

The boys are moved in, finally!

We moved them yesterday morning, which was torture since I had volunteered at an overnighter on Friday night. I was so dead on my feet, and then my feet hurt once Jodi stepped on one!

They settled in well, and are getting acclimated to the new place. I'm heading out in an hour or so to ride Luke if he seems calm enough (I'll lunge him first!!), and feed. I'm also stopping at TSC to buy some No Chew spray for their stalls. Apparently Luke can't figure out how to eat with the muzzle on, so I think I'm gonna send it back.

I'll try to post pictures later!

Yay Spring Cleaning!

Wow, two posts in one day.

When I got home from work tonight, I brought all my horse stuff in from my car and the garage, and dragged out the stuff from the basement. I went through it all, and chose what was coming to The Hollow with me, what was trash, and what I wanted to keep. I'm proud to say that not much is coming with me (Most of my important stuff is already out there), and I have everything else packed away in rubbermaid boxes with labels on the front clearly stating what's in each box. No more lost or forgotten stuff! I found my winter riding pants and a new pair of splint boots, so I'm a happy camper!

I also threw away a big bag of stuff....yay for not being a packrat anymore! I still have a few more things at Nickajack that will need sorted, but for the most part, I'm done! I have waaay too much stuff. New rule...anytime I buy something, I have to give away, sell, or throw away something first. Good plan?