Slowing Down the Mare

Yesterday's lesson focused on slowing down the mare over the jumps after her superhero impression in our last show. First in the flat we focused on adjusting my two point to find the position that worked best for Satin and I. Once we got that straight, we took that position to the jumping. Renee had us practice one line working on making her adjustable and keeping her slow. Our goal was to trot into the line and do it in a 7. She ended up going so nice and slow and collected that we did it in an 8. Renee was happy with that though because her pace and distances were good so we did it again in an 8. Then we began working on my hands and finding the right position for them, as well as, steadying myself because I was anticipating Satin speeding up or jumping big as she tends to do at trot jumps. Well, she eventually woke up from her nice slow pace and began speeding up a few strides from the jump than getting strong down the line. Renee then had me practice trotting the first jump than halting in the middle of the line before the second jump. She wanted me to do this by adjusting my position and having her halt into the bridle, as opposed to to sitting deep and leaning back to get the halt. Well, it took quite a few times before we got a halt. Satin was a bit confused since we spent so much time teaching her not to stop and now we were asking her to. The point of this was Renee wanted me to learn the proper position to be in to slow her down when she got strong, so we took this a step further by halting instead. When we turned around to do the line towards home she got strong again. Renee was having me do a very slow jog to the line to keep her calm, but she would still try to speed up right before the jump. When I did keep her slow all the way to the jump she was calmer in the line and halted easily when asked. After a few times going towards home with no halt and not a lot of slow down, Renee hopped on to give it a try. She did some hopping up and down for her and got strong in front of the jump a few times, but of course after a few minutes Renee got her settled down. She had her trotting in, halting, and trotting out very easily. She was even able to get the halt in just a few strides in both directions, while I had only been successful in the one. When I got back on she had me trot into the line, halt, and trot out in both directions. She did so nicely and easily. Then she had me trot in and do the whole line. In the direction going away from the gate she stayed nice and slow and steady. She even did the line in a 9 it was so collected. In the other direction, however, she immediately got strong again. We ended up having to do the line in that direction a few times, and Renee decided we should work on trotting the first jump then getting the halt and would end on one of those. After a couple tries, we finally got one where she did not rush to the first jump so I was able to get a nice halt.

Last Few Lessons

The two lessons following the last horse show were spent focusing on improving our flat work. We spent a lot of time on the trot. In the lesson following the show I think we did an hour of just trot work. In that lesson she did very well to the left as far as giving me a good pace and getting on the bit and staying there without much maintenance. The right was another story. The right is the bad direction for a both of us. I tend to let my right shoulder get too ahead of me, so we did some exercises to fix that such as riding with my hand on the back of the saddle. She was also refusing to bend and drop her head in that direction. Renee was having us do the exercise where I bring her head in as far as I can and then let it go, as we had done at the canter a few weeks ago, but to the right she was not having. Finally my body couldn't take it anymore and I had Renee got on to work her magic. She got the same resistance, but after about 20 minutes of trying some different tactics she started to get some really nice stuff. She had me get back on and told me lateral half halts worked much better than our previous tactic. By the time I got on Renee had her going so beautifully I didn't have to do anything. She just stayed going along perfectly. In between lessons, I did not have much luck getting the head set as nicely we Renee had been able to. When we had our next lesson the following week though I found out why. I did my warm up and asked for the head set the way I had been doing at home. Renee pointed out that my issue was my hands and elbows. She said I needed more bend in my elbow to make a smoother line from elbow to hands to reins. I also needed to lift my hands to achieve this. Once I did this she went right on the bit and into a beautiful head set and trot. What a huge difference something that seems so small makes! We also did the same work at the canter, but I had locked my elbows a little to much at this gait. Renee gave me an exercise I call the Superman to fix this. Every few strides she had me put my arms straight out in front of me to loosen my arms and body and get the feeling of where I need to be. This week, it was finally nice out on a lesson day so we were able to ride outside. We started with our flat work, which Renee had though was much improved over all. I was still not quite right with my right shoulder, so we did the hand on the back of the saddle exercise again. Then we moved on to some courses. Renee didn't give us a warm up jump, but instead had us jump right into the course, so our first course was a bit iffy. I called it practice LOL. The next time through the course was a little better. We had a few rushy spots, especially on our bending line. Renee then gave us a second course. The course started out well with a nice even pace through the first three then got a bit rambly. Our final jump was a single diagonal, which had been part of our bending line, going in the opposite direction now. We were cantering along quite nicely, then about 5 strides out she started to suck back and stared down at the jump. I could feel she wanted to stop, but I put my heel in her and kept my focus up and she went over. I was quite proud of myself, as was Renee, because her sucking back would normally cause me to go with her and result in a stop. After this Renee had me do an exaggerated position with my shoulders very low, but my chest and chin up. She had me do it down this one line that she was getting particularly quick on to show my that that position slows her down better than sitting up or going to the reins as I had been doing. It made it ten times better. Then she had me do my first course again and wanted me to do whatever I had to in my position to make the course nice. Well, that was a bit of a fail. There was basically nothing nice about the course. She got quick in spots, took some short and long distances, etc. I did the course again and this time I kept my eye and position steadier and worked on the lower position. This was our best course so far. She stayed at much nicer pace all the way around, including a better bending line. The only thing that neither Renee or I liked was our final outside line. She had rushed a bit into it, but I got her to hold and not get the long distance coming out. We worked on that line by itself a few times and finally got it nice and smooth with good distance. Overall, it was a successful lesson and I feel confident going into our next show this weekend.

Yet Another Wonderful Lesson

Yesterday my little wondermare put in yet another great performance in our weekly lesson. We did a LOT of work on the trot. The last two weeks we focused a lot on the canter and now we are back to focusing on the trot, which has been our primary focus for the flat work. We worked on getting her to go on the bit and stay there with slight contact. It took a while, but once I got us both in the right place it really improved the trot and once the trot was steady we began working on getting the head set back to the right spot. Just as with everything else with Satin it was much easier to the left than the right, but we finally got some nice stuff to the right after quite a few times around.

The main focus was getting my hands and body in the right spot in order to get Satin in the right spot. Once this was achieved it was easier to get the trot where we wanted it. Renee has me take a slight contact with my hands touching her neck so I was not tempted to want to move them or do too much with them. I also have a tendency to let my right shoulder get too far out in front going to the right, so we also had to work on adjusting that, which we had worked on last week.

After we finally got what we wanted to the right, Renee had me turn around and try it to the left one more time. Well, if we got good trot to the right, we got fantastic trot to the left! I could feel it before Renee even said a word. She put herself into perfect frame and stayed there. She also had a wonderful pace and was coming up from behind perfectly. Renee and I were both beaming as she just kept repeating "There", "That's it", "perfect". It was what Renee called a "flat class winning trot". Our homework is to keep doing those trot exercises and achieving that "flat class winning trot".

As far as the jumping, that went very well too. Renee had moved some of the smaller, interesting jumps from the indoor outside changing the course up a bit. We started with a simple 4 jumps course, all jumps we had done before, 2 singles and a diagonal line. She went over them all no problem, just slight hesitations on my part. It takes me longer to warm up for the jumping than her! LOL

Anyway, after that we worked on a single line we had done before, which went okay except for a long spot. Then we did another course starting with what Renee called a "stile" jump. It was a narrow 6 foot wide jump coming off the standard of another jump. I am not a fan of the narrow jumps so I was a bit hesitant, which translated to Satin. That plus not having her straight enough, since it was a diagonal jump coming off a turn, caused a couple of stops. I straightened her out, lifted my seat, and attempted it at the trot and she popped over no problem. Then we went right back to it at the canter and she was perfect. Then we continued the rest of the course which was the diagonal line around to two single jumps. It was our best trip ever up the diagonal line. She got the striding and distances perfect.

We finished up working on the one stride which was a cross rail to an oxer. Well when we cantered around to face it, Miss Mare did a double take and slowed to stop. She gave a look like "Um guys, do you know there are 2 jumps very close together here??". We attempted it a few more times, including at the trot. We finally got her over the cross rail than she cut out on the oxer. Renee came down and took the cross rail down so we could do the oxer on its own. She stopped once than realized "oh it's just one jump now, okay" and then went over the oxer fine. We did the oxer on its own a few times and once she was comfortable put the cross rail back up. We put her through the one stride a few times and she got some really nice jumps. In the end Renee and I were quite pleased with the little wondermare.

Wondermare Strikes Again

We had yet another awesome English lesson today! My little wondermare never ceases to amaze me. Our main issue these days in the English realm is the trot. Satin is a bit of a lazy trotter and hates moving out into what I call the "Big girl trot". We have been improving it little by little each week, but this week we had a major break through.

She started off the lesson with a pokey trot, so Renee decided to hop on and see if she could find the key. Well, as always, she did. She would start by framing her up at the walk and then the sitting jog. Once she was round and on the bit, she would then push her up into a bigger trot. It did not come easy, even for Renee. Satin did put up a bit of a fight and had some swishy tail "I don't want to do this" moments and broke into the canter a few times to avoid the work of a big girl trot.

After a few minutes Renee had me get back on and try the exercise. I started the same way she did, rounding her up at the walk / sitting jog then pushing her into the big girl trot. We got some absolutely BEAUTIFUL trot. She stayed perfectly framed and on the bit and moved forward in a nice big trot. We would go a time or two around then stop to praise her and than again, in each direction. After that we did some canter work and with both the trot and canter worked on round downward transitions.

We finished up with work on the serpentine using two side by side jumps, that we have been working on the past two weeks. We had some rough patches, but overall it was much improved. She isn't cutting the jumps as tight or jumping them on a diagonal. She is jumping straighter and her turns are nicer and wider, though we could still stand to use a bit more of the ring.

All in all, I am very proud of her today, especially her improvement at the trot. We may have a future in Hunters after all!

Another Great Lesson

Last week we had another great English lesson. Our lesson partners Lisa and Lexie were back in action. It has been raining all day, so we were in the indoor, which leaves limited space for jumping. It did, however, give us the opportunity to do a lot of good flat work exercises.

We started with shoulder-in at the walk in both directions, then we added some trot and canter to that. We would trot half the ring until we got to the long side by the door and then come back to the walk and shoulder in down that side and repeat. Then we did the same thing, but added canter instead of trot. This exercise was great for transition work as well, which the princess pony is quite sharp at. Afterwards Renee set two rails on the ground parallel to each other. One was a few feet from the indoor wall and the other was at the center of the ring. She had me stand parallel to one and Lisa across from me standing parallel to the other. She had us go around in a circle, never taking our eyes off of the other, and we had to stay across from each other the whole time. Each time we passed the rails, Renee would call out a command, such as sitting or posting trot, canter, reverse, halt, etc. It was fun and quite helpful.

Next, Renee set up two small verticals next to each other (well not right next to each other, they were a few feet apart). She had us do a serpentine exercise where we picked up our left lead down the long side and around the first jump, then turning and coming over it. We would land on the right lead and go over the next jump, land on the left lead, canter up a few steps and halt, completing a serpentine pattern. A serpentine over two jumps doesn't sound that complicated, but put it in a small space and it requires a lot of collection, focus, and smoothness. The first time through she stopped at both jumps as she sometimes does the first time she approaches, but then she went over them and completed the pattern nicely. Every few times through Renee raised the jumps. We probably went up to about 2'6". We worked on focus and smoothing out the turns to use up the space we had and make nice straight approaches. In the beginning Satin wanted to cut the turns short, which had her jumping the jumps on a diagonal. By the end though, she was jumping perfectly and doing the pattern quite smoothly.

Perfect Hunter Pony Has Returned!

Last week Satin and I had a fabulous lesson! As Satin has come further along in her jumping training, she has been slowing down over the jumps and going around more like a hunter. The last couple of lessons however, she reverted back to jumper pony and was a speedy gonzales through the courses. Also, last week Renee and I decided to up her grain ration to two full scoops of sweet feed at each feeding, in order to help put some more weight on her. She is a little horse so I figured this new feeding program would add to her hyperness over the jumps.

Luckily for me, it seems to have had the opposite effect. In our lesson last week (the first since the diet change) she jumped like a perfect little hunter pony. We have been working on developing her trot which is much better. We also worked on my position at the trot which needed some tweeking. Then we worked on two point at the trot and canter which in Renee's words was "perfect" which made me quite happy.

As we cantered around going from our normal seat to two point, Renee had us pop over a simple white vertical, just using it as part of our circle. She had me go up into the two point as I approached the jump so all I had to do was release as she went over, since I was already up in a two point. This worked very nicely for both of us and we got some beautiful jumps and some "perfects" on my jumping position, which again made me a happy camper as that has been one of the things I have been working on the most.

After a few times over the vertical to warm up, Renee gave us a course to work on. We started with a shorter course of about 6 jumps. After a time or two through that, Renee changed the course making it 9 jumps, which included a two stride, diagnonal, a few singles, and a three jump bending line. Height wise, the course ranged from 2 foot to 2'3" with maybe one or two 2'6" jumps in there. It was our first time ever through a two stride and though height wise it wasn't large and they were plain verticals, I was a bit nervous. Satin picked up on this making the first time or two through a bit awkward, but after that I got over it and it rode quite nicely.

She rode through the whole course beautifully and at the perfect pace. The first time or two through the longer course she got quick going to the last two jumps because there was a long canter distance to get to them so she got a bit anxious, but after a few times through she settled and rode the whole course at a nice, even pace. Renee was quite happy with both of us and I was feeling quite confident about the course by the end of the lesson. When we are both in the groove with out jumping we do quite well. When she is in fast paced, jumper pony mode I get more disheveled which translates to her and we don't ride as smoothly. We are both getting better with each lesson though and Renee is slowly but surely working to build my jumping confidence.

Satin even jumped like a perfect hunter pony again on Saturday at home. This was even more shocking because she tends to be even quicker at home. I just did some lines and single jumps then a short 4 jump course, but she remained nice and quite through out. Then Ember, who rode her in the Firecracker Fun Show jump-off, wanted to get on. So, she jumped a 6 jump course and she though she got a little quick for her in the beginning, once they both settled into each other she rode quite nicely.

The icing on the cake was yesterday though. I was riding bareback with my friend Shannon and I just had Satin in a halter with the lead rope tied to the loop on the bottom under her chin. Shannon and I decided to switch and she asked to jump her over the crossrail. She jumped her bareback with no bit in her mouth and going in the direction of the gate and she went along perfectly at a nice, even hunter pace! I was quite proud and surprised and think this new diet may be our friend rather than the enemy I thought!

We Jumped Big Girl Jumps!

Today, Satin and I had one of our solo lessons. It was raining all day, so we were in my trainer's small indoor. We started with work on our posting trot, since Miss Mare isn't really a huge fan of the forward, working trot. We worked on pushing her out and getting her to extend and move forward. R had us go to the sitting trot and frame her up, tuck her nose in a bit, and shorten her back to give her more power in her trot as I moved her back up to the posting trot. We worked on getting slight contact and the frame in the more forward trot as well.

Afterwards we did some work on our flying lead changes. R set up two sets with two poles in each set. We cantered figure eights through the sets, using them to get our lead changes. She nailed her lead change from left to right basically every time. Right to left was a bit of a different story, as she would get crooked and loose the hind end. With some pointers from R, we were able to fix this and get nice changes both ways.

Then R added a small vertical to our pattern. Well, at least it started as a small vertical, probably under 2 foot in the beginning, as an extra pole to work on the right to left change, which she got easily coming off of the jump. Soon though R was lifting the rail. Every time or two through the "course" she would walk over and lift the rail a hole, thinking I wasn't paying attention as she was giving me instruction as she did it. She can be quite sneaky when she wants to be. LOL Eventually she got the jump up to about where we have been jumping, around 2'3. Then she lifted the jump a hole and sent me over it on its own. I did it though not without some hesitation. Luckily, Satin had no hesitation and sailed over beautifully.

"How about one more hole?" R said next. I gave her the "do I really have a choice look" and shrugged my shoulders. "Whatever you want". So up went the rail one more time. Satin knocked the rail, but due to rider error. Her toes clipped again on the second time, again my fault as I came out of my 2 point too early. The third and fourth time though she sailed right over and did so beautifully according to R and other onlookers. Felt pretty nice to me too!

Afterwards I asked R about how high the jump was. She brought out her handy measuring tape and announced that it was just over 2'9"! 2'9"!! I was shocked! I figured it was about 2'6" at the most, which was about as high as I thought we would really ever go as my mare is older and small. Seems like I underestimated us both, but luckily R never does!

Last Week's Lesson

Last week Satin and I had our second individual lesson. R started out by asking me if I took Satin to jump at a horse show next year, what would I do? My reply was, "Vomit". LOL What R meant was Jumpers, Hunters, etc. I had always thought the jumpers looked fun as I have a need for speed, but on the other hand until I am more confident Hunters may be a better fit. I expressed this to R, when my other response of "Whatever you told me to do" did not suffice. R agreed that the Hunters were a good basis for everything and that we would focus on that this lesson. She decided we would do some English Pleasure in our warm up since that is what I originally inquired about when starting these English lessons (though now I think Hunters or Jumpers are more my thing).

Satin hates to trot. She prefers either walk or canter, and gallop of course! The first thing we did was work on getting her to extend her stride a bit and go in a more forward trot, which we achieved with the help of a vine that served as a crop. One thing about Satin is that you never actually have to touch her with the crop (or in this case vine). All she has to do is see it and she gets the picture. After waving it by her eye a few times she was trotting right along. Her canter was pleasure perfect so that wasn't a problem.

Anyway, after that R reset the jumps to be more Satin's size and told me to go warm up a bit before she gave us our course. Well, Satin decided she was only jumping the jumps in the direction of the in gate, but not the opposite direction. We tried and tried for about ten minutes and then all of sudden she changed her mind and was ready pop right over everything in both directions. She is quite the silly little mare sometimes.

After we had managed to get over the jumps in both directions R gave us a short hunter course to do of an outside line with two bending lines. Satin went over everything very nicely and she gave us another slighty longer course adding another bending line, with much more bend then the other two. The old mare never ceases to amaze me though. She took all of the jumps beautifully, going at the perfect pace, like she had been a hunter all of her life. I managed to do pretty well too, if I do say so myself. R was very happy with us both. Maybe a hunter show is in our near future after all.

Gambler's Choice Lesson

Last week I had my regular bi-weekly lesson with my friend L. We started out with our usual warm up flat work. Satin was a bit stiff and a little sluggish at the trot (which is typical, she hates trotting). We did some exercises to fix that, such as changing my seat to encourage her forward and breaking up the trot with a few strides of canter here and there to wake her up. This helped a bit then we did an exercise trotting a quarter of the way around the ring, then cantering a quarter of the way around, then trotting, etc.

After that R decided we would have a bit of a competition and instead of giving us a set course or exercise as she usually does, she said we would do some Gambler's Choice. For those of you that don't know, Gambler's Choice is a jumping competition. When done at a horse show, each jump has an assigned number of points and the riders have a designated amount of time to jump a course of their choosing and acquire as many points as possible. Usually the rule is that you can only jump each jump twice (once in each direction).

Anyway, in our version there were no points or time restraints. R said just keep jumping until you mess up (meaning you get a stop). We were allowed to jump each jump once each direction and as long as we were still trotting or cantering we were still in. She had dropped about half the jumps to a height Satin was capable of jumping. L started and got 3 jumps under her belt before getting a stop at the fourth. I did not get that far. The first jump rode beautifully and went to the second expecting a stop and I got one. It was totally my fault so on my next turn I rode more confidently and got through about 6 or 7 jumps before getting a stop when I last minute turned to a jump Satin wasn't expecting. After that, we had no issues and she jumped everything she could in every direction. We even through in a few jumper turns. R and I were both very happy my jumping position as well :)

Introduction to Grid Work

Yesterday Satin and I had a solo lesson (as my loyal readers know I usually lesson with my friend L and her fabulous mare and Satin's best friend Lexie). Anyway, L and I usually only lesson every other week and starting with this week Satin and I will be taking private lessons on the off weeks. R and I discussed it and I thought this was a great idea. It gives me a chance to work on improving my English riding as Satin and I are both still learning in that department and a weekly lesson will speed along the process. It also gives me more continuous reinforcement of the things R is teaching me. Plus, it will give me a chance to get back to some western lessons too. :)

We started with some basic warm-up flat work. R had a grid set up that she had been working with one of her other horses on. She suggested we work with that. I was a little intimidated by this set of four jumps right in a row. L was never a fan of them and while I had seen her and several others (including R the day before) do them, I had never done any myself. R was her usual wonderful, reassuring self and told me we would take it slow, set it for Satin's striding, and slowly build it up as we went along.

We started with the first jump set as a cross rail, with three trot poles leading up to it. The last of the jumps was set as a small vertical gate. First, I trotted the gate on its own a few times to warm us both up. We had lengthened my stirrups this lesson and I felt a bit off balance at first by that, as well as, the fact Satin was popping the small gate like a deer. Anyway, then we started through the grid which R added canter poles to each time we went through. At first we had to work on pushing her trot forward so she did not suck back through the grid, as Satin hates doing a forward trot. After a few times and several canter poles R put jump number 2 into a very small vertical, basically a raised cavaletti. Satin was apparently shocked by this change and stopped for a hard look, so I trotted it solo and she was fine. After a time or two of this she added the third jump, a small plain vertical, then finally raised the second jump into another vertical of about the same height. It was basically a one stride from jump 1 to 2 and 2 to 3 then a two stride to the final jump. After we completed this successfully a few times, R made the first jump from a small cross rail to a small vertical. I did not think Satin would stop at this, as it was not a major change to the grid, but apparently it was enough for her. I thought she was going and went into my two point and she hit the breaks hard. I was thrown forward (probably mostly due to my not yet completely steady balance in an english saddle) onto her neck. Luckily my feet stayed in the stirrups and my mare remained still as my whole body was on her neck with my feet still in the stirrups. In R's words "a very nice save".

Anyway, R's main focus for us with the grid was to keep Satin slow and calm and work on her striding with the jumps and for me to work on my position and releasing. The first few times were a bit rough for both of us. But, with R's patience and guidance we got some very nice trips through the grid. Satin was going through very nicely, at a calm steady pace (though she did get a bit quick the first few times we went through after all 4 jumps were up, but settled nicely). I, again thanks to R, got some very nice two points. I found my comfort spot to stay in through the grid and bent forward in perfect time, keeping my hands forward and releasing. R was very happy with us both. We ended by cantering over the straw jump a few times to practice the position I had just worked on with a canter jump and again R and I were both pleased with the results.

In the end R asked if I was still intimidated by the grid or if I now agreed with her that they were fun. I did end up really liking the grid work. It was fun and not as intimidating as it looked from the ground. It also really helped me with working on my position because I felt like I had more chances with the four jumps in a row rather then a two jump line. The slower pace helped too, as did the fact that R was standing beside the grid coaching me through it since she was adding and raising every trip or two. All in all, it was another successful English lesson and the grid ended up being very good for both Satin and I.

Another Overall Successful English Lesson

Yesterday I had yet another English lesson. It is becoming kind of a routine now. We did some basic flat warm up. Then R had set up 4 jumps in a small circle, which she put down into 4 piles of poles. We started with those trotting the circle then cantering it, which went well. We had done a similar exercise over the winter in the indoor.

After we did this a few times, she put the poles back up into small verticals. This made the exercise harder, a circle of small jumps may not sound hard, but anyone that has done it understands it is. You have to keep a consistent, even pace, have a good focus, and steady seat. It helped to slow Satin down. She did a nice collected canter all the way around.

To the left we did pretty well. My seat and eye were much more consistent and where they were supposed to be. To the right, was a little stickier. She kept taking the one jump that was facing the gate from the long spot and lunging, making it hard to get to the next jump because she was quick and crooked. At one point when she did this it got me all discombobulated and I between trying to fix myself and fix her to get her to the jump I inadvertently asked her for a whoa. I got her to the jump, but also got the whoa so she put on the brakes right at the jump and I went over it without her. Apparently it was quite a spectacular fall according to my witnesses. I basically did a back flip off of her and over the jump landed on my feet in a squatting position, with the reins in my hand. R said I looked like a vaulter. Other then a little whiplash I was fine. I climbed right back up and went and did the circle again.

I fixed my eye and got that part of the circle smoother and it rode better. We tried again one to the left and one to the right and she was a bit tired and got dull. I fixed my seat and got her into a more consistent pace and fixed that, but was still all discombobulated to the right and couldn't get it. R gave me some tips to fix my seat and between that and fixing my eye my next two times around rode very smooth and perfect.

We had a few bumps in the road, but it was all in all a successful lesson. Today we just did a light hack since we both worked hard yesterday and tomorrow we are hoping to go team penning since we haven't done so in a while.

Last Weeks Lessons

Last Tuesday I had another lesson on Try outside. It went well for the most part. We did more work on getting him to put his down and round up his back which he did nicely. We also did more work on transitions which are coming along nicely as well.

It was pretty hot out that day, probably around 80 degrees. Well Try decided he was hot and tired near the end of our lesson and ended it early by laying down (yes, I did say laying down). We were jogging along the rail working on our slow jog with a low head set and he broke to the walk but kept his head head very low. I tried to bump him back up into the jog, but next thing I knew were on the ground. He did not give any of the typical signs of laying down, like pawing, etc. We were jogging then we were walking and then we were on the ground. Luckily he did so slowly and easily not just plopping and even more luckily he did not roll. I jumped off of him as soon as he did it and got him up. R thinks part of the reason he didn't roll right off was because it was a bit up hill on one side where he laid down. She thinks he just got tired and overheated. His owner was there and she said he had done that before as a baby. We untacked him and hosed him off and he was fine.

Satin was wonderful in her lesson and kept all 4 feet on the ground. We were in the indoor unfortunately because it rained all day. We did some intense pattern work. She set up 3 poles in one corner of the arena and we trotted and cantered them, which was fine. She set up 3 more poles opposite them in almost a circle, so going through them in a circle was a bit of a challenge. For my pattern I started in the middle cantering to the left went on the rail over the poles doing the full circle which would switch me to right lead. I went half way around on the right lead then had to turn and do a flying lead change over a pole set up on one end. So, this put me on left lead and I had to go over the circle of poles the opposite way, which was a bit awkward because you had to switch leads as you got over the first set so you would be on right lead for the following set. Then I cantered out of that to the middle, halted and backed up. The pattern was a bit tricky in spots, but she did it very well and all in the hackamore.

Two More Great Lessons!

I had two more great back to back lessons this week. First on Tuesday I had my weekly lesson on Try. We rode outside for the first time since I started riding him, as when I first started it was still cold and then it happened to be bad weather lesson days once spring hit. He was very excited at this prospect, as well as, the fact we were sharing our lesson with R's boarder M and her horse Lance. We did more transition work and he is getting much better especially on his upward transitions to the canter. He is also able to hold his canter much longer. We did some more work on getting him round and on the bit.

We finished with pattern work. We did two figure eights, the first at the jog, the second at the lope with simple changes and finishing with a halt and back. His jog figure eights were perfect. He was a little slow on his transitions into the canter for the second figure eight, but once he picked it up did it well. The last few attempts were a little harder as he started getting lazy, plus I think had to poop but just wouldnt of course. It was hot and he hadn't been out in the sand for a while so I can't blame him for tiring out. So it was a bit of struggle getting the canter transitions at that point, but we finished up with a decent one.

His owner plans for him to go home in the end of May, so our lesson time is almost up. While I am feeling much more confident about riding him after much guidance from R, it will be strange doing it on my own. His owner said if I felt I needed more time that was fine by her. I told her we can discuss it with R as she would know best if we were good to go or not.

The second lesson was not my usual Wednesday lesson on my lovely mare, but a first ever western lesson for my handsome BF, aka JB. After the last horseshow H suggested bringing him down to R so she could give me some help. As usual R worked her magic and he was awesome, a total rockstar! She had me do transition work going into 3 steps jog then walk then 2 steps jog again to help slow him down. We started in a small circle then serpentined across the ring, then did a small square, before worked the entire ring trying to keep the jog. She showed me the best place to put my hands and way to ask him to drop his head and slow. Of course it worked fabulously. By the end he was jogging slower then even I thought he could and with his head nice and low! I was so proud! We did a little work on backing up which helped and turns on the haunches. We also practiced the horsemanship pattern from the last show, since the judge this Sunday is a freak about perfect patterns.

After the lesson I am feeling much more confident for the upcoming show this Sunday. I am going to ride him again later today to remind him. Hopefully over the summer we can get in another lesson or two with R to help move him along even more. She liked him and thought he definitely had the ability for it.

I will of course also be showing the princess pony, aka Satin, in speed on Sunday. She has been loving th hackamore and I think it will be just what we need to step up our game for Sunday. I will let you guys know how it goes!

Show Season 2011 = T - 2 days

Show season is just two days away! As you can all probably tell by the fact that I went from hardly posting to posting twice in the same week LOL I am excited but also have time to write because I am sitting in my internship with nothing to do right now.

Anyway, so Satin and I had a lesson on Wednesday. We tested out out new western spurs which went well and did help. It started a little rough and we had some rough spots on our lead changes, but had some beautiful ones as well. We went inside at the end to try and fix the problem with the one change and I asked if I could some practice pole bending first. My trainer had 4 standards set up like poles from my last lesson on Try. We did and she was perfect, especially for not having done them in months and for them not really set up for real pole bending. My trainer was equally impressed asking How I could get every change flawlessly and do what she was trying to explain to me to do in the poles and not in the figure eight. My reply was because when I am doing poles I am not thinking about getting lead changes. The crazy mare seems raring to go for Sunday!

I also rode JB yesterday and we practiced some trail obstacles. We did the shoot which he did perfectly and knocked down the pole. Then we went for the bridge which he did not like last time he encountered it. It took a team of people and carrots but we convinced him and by the end had him doing it on his own with just be aboard. He looks like a million bucks so I have no worries for in hand. I am looking forward to the beginner western too. It will be fun.

I had a great lesson on Try last week too. We did more work on transitions and simple lead changes and did some pole work. R is basically teaching me how to train as she said, since he is a young, green horse and basically everything you do is a training opportunity, as well as, excercise. This is awesome because who better to get training tips and methods from then the best trainer I know.

Show Season Has Arrived!

Show Season is officially here! We are exactly 6 days from the first show of the season! This season Satin and I will once again be showing in the speed division. She has been geared up and ready to go all week. She has been very hyper, which is a good thing for speed. Also, our flawless lead changes are back! It seems our chiropractic worked because our last lesson went great! Satin was a rockstar! We have another lesson this week so looking forward to that and some show prep. We need to work on our rollbacks again. We practiced the other day, and she did well. We just hadn't done them all winter before that.

So back to show season. Anyway, I am also showing my friend's horse I refer to as boyfriend in model (which he is already a rockstar in) and beginner western. It will be his western debut and I am pretty excited about it.

My last two lessons on Try went good as well, especially the last one. We did some work on patterns (figure eights, pole bending, etc) and simple lead changes. We are both getting better and better each time. His owner got him a new saddle so I am trying to get the hang of that. All horse people know breaking in new leather, especially tack, stinks. We have our next lesson tomorrow so looking forward to that.

Here is hoping to good weather on show day!

Spring is Finally Here .... Supposedly

Last week it was evident that was spring was on it's ways with many days in the 60s and even 70s. Sunday was the first official day of spring and the weather has gone down hill from there. They are talking about possible snow tomorrow, though hopefully it will really be all rain.

My last lesson on Satin went well though she did have a hard time with her lead change in the one direction. I had one a gift certificate for chiropractic which happened to be with my regular vet so he came out last week. It was quite interesting as I had never seen anything like it before. He did say though that all her problems were on her right side, which I expected because when I bend her on the ground she has a harder time in that direction. When I told R this she said that could be the reason for her lead change issues. I have my next lesson tomorrow so we will see if things have improved.

My last lesson on Try was great. The lesson before we had a few stopping/stubborness issues but R helped me work through it and I finally figured him out on that stuff at least. So, my last lesson went much better. We had none of that stopping stuff. He did think about it once or twice but he was able to stop it before it started. R had us canter with the reins hooked over the horn which was interesting. She wanted me to trust him more and not go to use my hands so much, but rather to rely more on seat and legs. Since I have only ridden the horse about 5 times it was hard for me to resist picking up the reins to fix him as I do not know him well enough for that kind of trust yet, but he is a good boy and has no where to go in that indoor.

Anyway only had time for a quick update. I have to get back to interning so I can get to the barn soon.