Selena Ride 29; Wizard Ride 99: Congratulations are in order…
Congratulations to Mary the Morgan and her owner for a VERY successful first show ever! They were a great team and they handled their English pleasure, showmanship, and model classes beautifully. It was a great schooling experience, as well as a great show for them- the ribbons are proudly displayed on Mary’s stall door :^)
Monday, 9/21/09
Another lovely late summer/early fall day at the barn. I just barely got out of work in time to hit the trails with Wizard and Mary the Morgan. We were out for about 2 miles. I rode one and walked the last mile. Wizard was fantastic again. I’m a huge advocate of keeping rides on a good note and it has worked beautifully so far. It was getting dark on the way out so the horses were more focused and a little slower than they are in daylight. It was a bit of a trust-building exercise on the way back, since I could just barely see the winding trail. I had to let Wizard pick his way back and he did like a seasoned pro.
I rode Selena outdoors under the lights. We did our usual long rein walking warmup, followed by some stretching at the trot. Then we focused on bending and rode patterns around the jumps that were set up in the arena. Selena was so relaxed that I was using a little more leg than usual, and was able to get her to bend around my leg a bit. The ride was about 35 minutes total. She is getting her fall shots on Wednesday so she will most likely get a night of grazing and grooming.
Selena Ride 28; Wizard Ride 98: Chasing Daylight
Friday, 9/18/09
I slipped out of work a little early, changed into my riding clothes, and drove to the barn. Summer is fading fast and so is the summer light. I love the cooler weather, but with it comes short days. Within the next week, I won’t be able to ride in daylight after work anymore. At that point, I need to decide when I’m going to do my trail riding with Wizard and Selena. Should I wake at dawn and ride before work? Should I hit the trails on my days off from work? And how will hunting season affect local trail riding? Bow season is here and I need to make sure I keep the horses and hunters safe.
But for now, I’ll enjoy what daylight is left :^)
As soon as I arrived at the barn, I tacked up Wizard and we hit the trails with Mary the Morgan (pictured above) and her owner. I rode Wizard for about 1.3 miles. He was fantastic, even when we had two encounters with deer. Both times, the deer startled loudly and crashed through the woods. Both times, Wizard was sensitive but sensible. He looked, startled a bit, and responded to me. He did just a little jigging after the first deer but then he settled. Before we arrived at the road crossing, I dismounted and hiked the rest of the way with Wizard (about 3.5 miles). I did this because he was so good for the first leg of the ride. I wanted to keep everything positive and it worked beautifully. We walked past the pigs- Wizard snorted but bravely marched on. He did very well on the lead.
By the time we got back to the barn, it was dark. I scrubbed Wizard’s legs with Betadine to avoid bug/tick bites and put him back outside with his buddies. I tacked up Selena and had a nice quiet ride. It was fun to have a quiet, easy hack with her. After a 10-minute walk warmup, I mostly let her work on a large oval, stretching into the bit and playing with “long and low”. The ride lasted about 35 minutes. Some barn buddies watched us ride and they were happy to see the progress and fitness she has attained.
Selena Ride 27; Wizard Ride 97: Mrs. Potato Head
Thursday, 9/17/09
Pony pedicure day. I had to go 5 weeks with the herd this cycle because their feet were growing like weeds and chipping a bit from stomping at flies. The farrier was pleased with the amount of foot they grew. It looks like I can still keep Selena barefoot for now.
Mary the Morgan also got a trim. While she was getting her feet done, we all noticed the strangest smell, almost like potatoes. The farrier said that it’s actually the smell of really healthy horse feet- I’m sure Mary’s owner was pleased to hear that :^)
It was dark after the farrier left so we turned the arena lights on and rode Wizard and Mary the Morgan perimeter of the property. Wizard was a little keyed up, but totally manageable and he stood quietly when I asked him to halt a few times. I casually walked him into the arena and walked around a few times, doing a few circles. His neck was tense at the beginning of the ride but by the end, he was relaxed. I had to remind myself over and over to give, give, give, especially when he curled his neck. I rode him for a total of about 15 or 20 minutes, just a little more than the last few rides. I hope to get out on the trails with him soon.
I rode Selena indoors. We followed the same basic ride plan:
– Walk 10 minutes on a loose rein
– Trot work on a large oval, asking for relaxation and stretching in the neck
– Walk in shoulder-in
– Figure 8 at the trot, asking for bend in each direction
– Trot over ground poles that were set up in a line-diagonal pattern
– Walk in serpentines, asking for bend in each direction
– Trot and ask for Selena to chew the reins out of my hands and stretch downward
– Walk until 100% cool
Selena got excited trotting over the poles and hopped over one of them. You can’t take a jumper out of the dressage horse, eh? The ride went well. Now that she is fitter, I want to work more on suppling exercises in order to prepare for more bending. I also want to work more in shoulder-in.
Groomin’ and Grazin’
Wednesday, 9/16/09
The horsey advice books always tell riders to take a day off from riding and just spend time with their horses. I had a tack cleaning extravaganza on Tuesday night so I took the opportunity to let my saddles soak up a little more Lederbalsam and gave Selena and Wizard a good grooming and some grazing time.
Selena is such a sweet mare. She nickered when I arrived (probably was really saying, “APPLE! I SEE APPLE!”) and playfully arranged my hair for me while I groomed her.
It is good to take a day off to check the overall condition of the horses. Selena is gaining muscle and fitness- it’s a wonderful thing. Wizard, on the other hand, looks like he dropped a few pounds. It is not enough to cause concern but it was noticeable enough for me to take a mental note of it. I turned Wizard out in the indoor arena and he trotted and played for about 15 minutes. I had to reschedule my farrier appointment for a 5-week interval because both horses’ feet grew so much. I’m watching the weather for tomorrow. So far, it looks like a good day for a ride and a hike.
Selena Ride 26; Wizard Ride 96: Sticktoitiveness
Monday, 9/14/09
Another dose of top-shelf Jersey weather. Ahhhh!
The horses have been spending all day and night outside and I can feel a difference in Wizard and Selena. Both are more focused and settled.
I rode Wizard for about 15 minutes at the walk. We walked around the property with Mary the Morgan. I did not take him in the arena because I’m still trying to figure out if his resistant behavior from a few months ago was more physical or behavioral. He stood quietly for mounting (and cribbed on the fence- little booger!) and was a perfect gentleman for our walk.
Selena was also fantastic- this may have been our best ride yet. This was our ride plan:
– walk on loose/long rein for 10 minutes
– trot on a large oval, asking for contact and asking for a stretch
– walk and ask for leg yield in both directions, using the wall
– trot in figure 8, making sure to make them loopy without too much straightness at the center
– trot in large oval, asking for a longer stride on the long sides and as shorter stride on the short stride (I hesitate to call it lengthening since we are not at that level)
– ask for the horse to stretch and chew the reins at a trot on a large ciecle
– walk to cool out
I got more bend tonight than I’ve ever gotten before and Selena is responding really well to my half halts, meaning that I’m doing them better. Hooray! I did not feel quite as secure in my position as I did last week, but I think it is because I was doing so much hiking and activity last week. I need to keep it up.
As a final exercise, I lined Selena up with Mary the Morgan, horse show style. Selena stood quietly and sighed as if to say, “I’ve done THIS before, silly!”
I asked Mary’s owner to leave the arena before us to work on separating Selena from other horses. We’ve done this exercise a few times and Selena is becoming more and more relaxed.
Progress is a powerful thing. It makes all the difficult days so worthwhile.
Ride Plan Evaluation Time
“We want to understand the nature of the horse, respect his personality, and not suppress it throughout his training. Then we are on the right way.” -Dedication of Basic Training of the Young Horse
According to Ingrid and Reiner Klimke’s Basic Training of the Young Horse, suppling exercises in the first year include:
1) 10 minutes of walk on a loose rein (or a long rein for horses with poll problems).
2) Rising trot on a circle.
3) Changes of rein in trot: out of a circle, across short and long diagonals.
4) Frequent walk/trot transitions.
5) Trot/canter transitions on a circle (approx. one of every two circles).
6) On the long side, lengthen the stride, maintaining the tempo.
7) The “stretchy circle” (or straightaway), allowing the horse to chew the reins out of the rider’s hands in rising trot.
8.) One shallow loop on the long side.
9) Three-loop serpentines in rising trot with loops instead of straight changes of direction.
10) Leg-yield to the outside (head to wall).
11) Turn on the forehand.
Now it’s time for me to incorporate more of these exercises into my rides. The transitions have been highly successful but I need to do more than my cone-circle.
Riders who may be reading this blog: would you care to share some of your favorite suppling exercises as well as how you design your ride plans?
Selena Ride 25: Hot Air Balloon
Friday, 9/11/09
The horses were indoors all day due to the rainy weather. I groomed Wizard and free longed him in the indoor arena for a little exercise. His belly looked rounder than usual and his left hind leg was a little puffy from his old bug bites. I am suspecting that he was a little gassy. His appetite was good and he was eating, drinking, and acting normally so a little light exercise seemed to be the best course of action. After a few minutes of trotting around the arena, his leg looked better and his belly did not look as puffy. I checked up on him the next day and it seems like whatever it was is gone, thankfully. Seasonal? Cribbing? Indoor/outdoor shift? Could be anything.
I rode Selena indoors with Mary the Morgan. The ride lasted about 35 minutes. I did not quite get Selena to the awesome softness that we got on Monday, but that is OK. As long as I keep feeling progress, it is OK to not have a perfect ride every night.
It is time to shape up my ride plans and really think about my goals. We’ve been doing the same-old, same-old rides lately, transitioning, riding around the cones, and it is OK but I need to help her make progress. We did trot a few ground poles in each direction. One time, she LEAPT over them but every time, she trotted them nicely. It’s not time to jump yet, girl ;^)
Selena Ride 24; Wizard Ride 95: Crying… Crying…
Thursday, 9/10/09
Yes, dear friends, you read that right, I rode Wizard for the first time in over three months :^)
September 10 is an anniversary of many sorts. It is the day I said my final goodbyes to my beloved Alibar and it is also the first day I started my relationship with Wizard. In the very beginning, I spent most of my time grooming him and grazing him but eventually he changed from my equine therapist into a riding horse.
Due to a recent injury, Wizard got a few weeks off. I have been hand walking him and working on preparing him for under-saddle work. Last week was the 6-week mark since his stifle looked 100% so it was time to ride. Due to his mysterious resistance under saddle during the past few months, I changed my battle plan. I decided to completely change the scenery and see how it works. After I grazed him for about 15 minutes, I tacked up and mounted up and we did absolutely nothing in the arena and instead went for a walk on the trails with my mom (she was not riding, she walked with us).
A trail ride after no under-saddle work in months might sound a little nutty, but I had a hunch it would work and it did. My hope is that the under-saddle walk work will strengthen him for arena work in a few weeks and also keep our heads clear while we get re-acclimated to each other.We walked on the trails for about 20 minutes. On the way out, I rode behind my mom and Wizard was a little tense, jigging a few times, but settling easily. On the way back, I took the lead and it seemed to settle Wizard. He walked the whole way back, no jigging. At the edge of the woods, I stopped him and asked him to take a few bites of grass so he did not immediately go to the barn after the ride. It worked out perfectly… and Mom got a cute photo of us :^)
After I untacked Wizard, it was Selena’s turn. The ride began very nicely. I was happy to show my mom Selena’s new exercises and how relaxed she is getting in her neck. I got about ten minutes of this relaxed warmup at the trot before the horses were brought in for feeding. As we rode, Selena peered over the fence as the horses were led into the barn. She was still responsive to my aids. When the final two horses went in the barn, the crying began. Selena began crying… even at the trot, she was whinnying a funny little whinnee-nee-nee-nee-nee-nee-nee with each trot stride. I rode her through it. I kept focused and continued our exercises. Walk, trot, walk, circle, halt, walk, trot. The plan began to work and she came back to me. I never quite got back to her original relaxed state, but I was proud that I got her back on contact without tension and she settled. Annnnd I think it’s time to check her heat cycle again.
I was also happy that I’m maintaining more contact and keeping a little bend in my elbows :^)
Alibhai’s Alibar 3/28/1979 – 9/10/2008 (One Year Later)
It has been one year since I said goodbye to you and yet, you have made yourself known at the most delightful and needed moments.
I pull my car into the driveway at the barn. All the horses are outside. If I squint my eyes just right and look at your paddock, I see your blaze shining like a beacon, topped by your tiny, perfect tippy ears.
The horses whinny at feeding time. Amidst the chorus, I hear your deep, musical neigh beginning and ending each round.
A strong gust of wind blows and the horses suddenly cavort in their paddocks, snorting and pawing the air. I know you roused the troops and led the charge.
On the coldest and snowiest days, sometimes I can catch a glimpse of the wildest snow-horse of all.
Your green fly bonnet has been retired, but I ride horses in your old saddles and bridles. I cannot help but think that any bridle that the mighty Alibar looked through must be charmed.
I lean my face against a horse after he has gotten a bath. I can smell your coat, always sweet, even on a hot summer day.
After a difficult ride on one of the new horses, I cannot help but smile. Nothing frustrates me because for almost 20 years, I rode the gamest and greatest horse of all.
At every horse show, there is a teenaged girl proudly posing with her horse. She is wearing rubber boots and her horse is mud-spattered- they had the fastest time in the slop in the jumper class.
When I went to Devil’s Hill to scatter your ashes, I felt your unwaveringly solid feet picking their way down the slope. I heard the wind howling in my ears and felt tears streaming down my face as we outran the wind.
It is late and I turn the lights out in the barn. I slowly make my way back to my car and your left nostril is pressed against my right hand, as it was hundreds of times before.
And just every so often, I close my eyes and dream a dream of you. In death, you carry me as you did in life.
Selena Ride 23; Wizard Session 94: Nibble, Nibble…
Wednesday, 9/9/09
Poor little JR’s ankles are covered with itchy bites. He got them on our trail walk on Monday. I hosed his legs, scrubbed them with Betadine, and dried them off.
Wizard has them as well. I took him for a short trail walk tonight (light was fading fast!!!) for about 3 miles and did the Betadine scrub routine for him as well.
Another great ride on Selena! We had the deck stacked against us, since it was a chilly, windy night and most of the horses were in the barn, but we worked right through it! She was just a little tense and snorty at the very beginning of the ride, so I went right into our work on transitions and she responded nicely. We did walk-halt-walk work, some big circles, and used the traffic cones as guides. Then we graduated to walk-trot-walk transitions. She is working off my seat for downward transitions really nicely. During our last ride, I felt Selena round and maintain contact with the bit a few times- tonight, I felt it several more times. Yippee! She did it in both directions and did not back off when I held the contact with the reins. We trotted a ground pole about 4 times during the ride- she was a little wobbly over it so I kept my leg on her.
We’ve had a few big steps forward with our progress. Time for me to sketch up some new ride plans :^)
Rock and Racehorses: The Blog 