Mental health days

So I forgot about dressage-ing this weekend and just took a mental break with the horse. Saturday I set up a simple little free jumping shoot and three of us (It was Hampton, a little paint and a Walker plus my two human friends), sent our ponies through the chute. You may remember the last time I tried to free jump Hampton (early 2010 I think):

It was mostly me picking up the poles which he knocked over about 90% of the time. Well this time it went much better! Not only did he pick up his feet, but I had him jumping over two barrels (lying on their side). Looks like someone did some growing up and has started to figure out how to organize his legs! Although as far as form and scope go, he was easily outclassed by the Paint and Walker. lol. In fact the little Tenn. Walker was a scopey little thing! Who knew? Oh well. Guess we need to start some jumping lessons soon!

On Sunday I threw on my friend's hunt saddle and took Hampton for a hack. He packed me around while I worked on my two-point and galloping positions. I felt a little like a jockey with my stirrups so short (they were the correct length for jumping), but it was good for me. Then I took Hampton out to the wide open hay field and enjoyed a lovely hand gallop. Boy, he ROLLS over the land now. Last year he was a little poggo-stick like, and wouldn't really open his stride up. He is getting much better at that and relaxing into a nice gallop instead of just a quick canter. It also doesn't wind him up, he came right back to me when I said whoa and we walked calming back to the barn. What a treasure he is!

Today I am SORE from the 2-point work so I wimped out and just lunged Hampton. Tomorrow we are back in dressage land with a lesson. 

In other news:

• I am [THIS CLOSE] to getting a horse trailer. Right now it's between a KeiferBuilt and a Hawk. Here's the Hawk:

And here's the Keifer:

The Hawk has a rumber floor which I  LOVE ...  but of course it's more expensive. Both are two horse bumper pulls. The Keifer is a step up, the Hawk is a ramp. Both have dressing rooms (yipee!!) and are pretty similar otherwise. Although the Keifer is steel, the Hawk is aluminum. Thoughts?

Thunder poneh

After Tuesday's bomb-diggity lesson, I was almost dreading riding on Wednesday because I knew we couldn't top the performance from the day before. But I decided it would be an easy day so that there was no pressure. I picked the forward and back within the gaits exercise to concentrate on.

Well funny how your plans get screwed up in the midwest. As I was going out to the arena to lunge, a storm started rolling in. It had been about 75 degrees that day and I swear in the 10 minutes I was lunging, it must have dropped 20 degrees.

Hampton didn't seem at all bothered by the howling wind and scary clouds, so I got on, hoping to be a little productive before the weather forced me to stop. It was an ok ride. His poll stayed up (thanks wind and thunder!), and he was obedient. Tried some walk-canter transitions which were wonky and sticky. meh. I blame myself there for just not preparing him well enough. However the slow trot- big trot back and forth went quite well and I ended up getting some lofty big strides from him a few times.

There were a couple of spook'n'scoots as I call them as the barn dog was tearing around. Plus wind and thunder and the pressure changes. A lot of the horse in the field were running around but Hampton stayed right with me. I called it quits when I saw lightening. Just in time, too. As we made it back to the barn it started to pour. It was a short ride but oh well. That's Indiana for ya. *shrug* We have another lesson on Tuesday so I'm hoping I can get in some rides this weekend and Monday. One of those days maybe a trail ride or hack day.

Thank you everyone for your comments on the protected post. :) I'll be updating soon. My job hunt is going really well right now and I have a post about that, too! Funny how life can change so quickly!

In which Hampton channels his inner Totilas

We have crossed the threshold.

For a while now we have been tinkering on that line between still unbalanced, gangly 3-year-old to a more sophisticated 4-year-old. Well today we crossed the line.

My instructor said Hampton was the best she had ever seen him today. He was beyond brilliant and was trying. so. hard. for me. "Worthy of tears," my instructor said of our ride. :)

Yes it was as fun as it looks!

His canter was uphill, rhythmical. Transitions were crisp, round. I mean LOOK at the above photo? I can hardly believe it is my Hampton! Oh yeah, for comparison here was our canter one year ago:

EW! Crooked, leaning, out of balance and WTF with my foot?

We did work on making the leg yields more electric. Here's something new I learned. Say you want to leg yield to the right. Once your horse is sharp off your left leg (using spurs and whip if needed), then switch your whip to your right hand. As you leg yield, tap tap with the left leg AND tickle with the whip as a driving aid. This makes the horse really snap BOTH hind legs and develop a much straighter, sharper leg yield.

We also worked a bit on developing his trot lengthenings. He needs to learn how to put his front legs out in front of him a little more. So a few of our tries ended up more on the forehand than I prefer. Like this:

But that's ok for now. He's still in the developmental stage. :) Here is our working trot:

He was so uphill and supple today. He rode like a well-trained horse and also looked like one. This horse makes me look forward to seeing him every single day. Riding him is how riding is supposed to be - fun, challenging and rewarding. Looking back a year ago ... here was our trot:

Hard work DOES pay off! He was my Totilas today. THESE are the days we all hope and work towards. When your horse gives you 100% and is right there for you. My instructor said if I rode like I did today, we'd easily hit 70% at training level. That's assuming I don't mess up the test or have any other "situations." Uh, easier said than done. :)

March 22, 2011

oopsie

For those who got the password to my protected post, please make the first letter a capital F. :)

The pony's uh "other" job

So blogger does not to protected posts. So I went ahead and posted that on Wordpress.

You can read it here.

Please post your e-mail in the comments if you'd like to read it. Like I said, if you are a follower than I don't mind if you read it. I just don't want it "out there" for the general public. :)

***

He luvs the women

In other news, it seems Baxter the pony is more than just a fancy dressage mount. The BO is wanting to breed her Paint mare this spring and guess who makes a great teaser gelding?

You guessed it.

I had a lesson on Hampton yesterday and Baxter must have jumped the mare 4-5 times in the 40 minutes I rode. And by jumped I do mean that he took it all the way to the finish line. If you catch my drift. I warned the BO that she should make sure the mare is cultured as Baxter is not, uh, the cleanest of men and we don't want the mare to get infected. I was quite grateful that there were no kids at the farm yesterday. Hate having to explain THAT one.

***

Hampton was a super star yesterday! I am just so stinkin' happy with him. We worked on trot lengthenings, collecting the canter, shoulder-in, 10 meter circles, walk-canter and we tried our first canter-walk. No it wasn't good, but like my instructor said - you gotta start somewhere! :) My instructor really knows how to explain things to help me "get" an exercise. For instance, I was trying to get Hampton to collect his canter some (he tends to get the jumping horse canter going, lol) and on the left lead she says, "use your right rein to put his right hind leg on the ground." Bingo! That clicked in my head and we ended up getting a few good strides.

She also said that if I rode a test the way I rode yesterday, there is no reason we shouldn't be getting 70% at Training Level. So it's a goal I know I can reach! Yay!!

Even cooler in person!

Yesterday I met fellow blogger Amy from Slow and Steady Wins the Race. :) How cool is that! I also met her gorgeous steed, Steady. No offense to Amy's photography skills, but photos do not do him justice. He is tall (17 hands I think) and has an incredibly intelligent look about him. I of course fell for him instantly, how can you not? Check out her blog for their adventures. She is a really sweet person and I don't think that will be the only time we will meet up. Sadly I could not stay to watch them ride - but sometime soon I will.

Also, I stole this photo of Steady while his human was in the barn. So handsome!

I also have a protected post that is coming up. It's something I don't mind any of my followers reading, just not the general public. As soon as I get that set up I'll let those who want to read it know the password.

And I'm looking forward to riding Hampton tonight. Yay!

A little sumthin'

Hampton's eye looked so much better today. The swelling is almost totally gone and there wasn't any discharge today. He has a few more days of bute and ointment and I think we'll be in the clear. He's also wearing a flymask for added protection. If the eye still looks good tomorrow, I don't see any reason not to ride him. But then again, it's supposed to rain. Of course.

Tired poneh

So while Hampton was chowing down, I rode Baxter. Boy was he fun today! I worked on shoulder in and some half pass, but I think I'm doing something wrong on the left rein. When I put my inside leg back (for shoulder in), he swings his haunches in. Maybe I am still weighting my right seat bone too much? Also worked a little at the canter. Did some walk-canter transitions and worked on keeping the canter uphill and slow.

He's not nearly as fit as Hampton, so by the end of 30 minutes he was breathing pretty hard. Poor guy. :)

Zippy was also good today. He has starting working in side reins and learning all about contact. Under saddle he wanted to argue a bit and seemed to think turning his head upside down was fun. Ugh. But after a while, he was going round and soft and I was really quite pleased with him. He doesn't have the best neck for dressage work - it's sort of connects really low - but he's trying.

Still on the hunt for a new trailer. It's one of those "right time, right place" things when looking for a good used one. Shouldn't be too much longer, tho. I'd love to hit up the April show at Come Again Farm and take both Hamper and Baxter. That's a big maybe at this point. May is Harmony in the Park in Edinburgh - which would be our first rated show of the season. I was aiming for the 4 year old test there ... but I'm not sure Hampton is ready. It's no big deal if we just stick to training level.

Of course all my plans could go right out the window if my job situation changes. eeeps.

(also, it'd be really awesome if some of my readers would click on my google or Amazon ads so a poor horse-lovin' gal can make a little extra cash ... yeah, I'm shameless)