Rock bottom will teach you lessons that mountain tops never will.
[Word Porn]
Two days ago, I sat quietly in the barn, late at night, sobbing silently into the neck of my oldest, most cherished friend Emmy.
It had been a week from hell. Between lame horses, a non-stop crabbing, crying baby, and feeling like a single mother in the face of my husband working long, late hours, I'd had enough.
Yep, you read that right. I said "baby."
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Three years ago I sat down and wrote my last post regarding my barefoot journey with both Cool and Johnny. Since then, both horses have come back to fairly successful soundness. Its been a never ending journey with its fair share of ups and downs. Some days are better than others for Cool, but somehow, I do still manage to ride a little.
Two years ago Johnny moved 1.5 miles down the road to my neighbors house. She's loved and trail ridden him ever since then, but just last week, her world came crashing down a little, and there is now a very distinct possibility that Johnny will be coming back to our farm in the next several months. When/if he does, it will be for good this time. I'm never letting him leave again <3 p="">
Two years ago, my husband and I also found out that we were expecting our first child. Killian was born in June 2017 and just celebrated his first birthday a few months ago.
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Anyway, there I was, crying into the neck of thirty-one year old Emmy just like I had done so many times before in our relationship. Cool was in the stall next to her, he stuck his head over the divider wall and lipped at my hair, breathing warm muffled breaths into my ear. It was like being surrounded by the arms of my best friends. And in that moment, I suddenly thought about Johnny and I suddenly thought about this blog.
After a while, I wiped the tears away, fed my horses cookies and went back into the house. Killian was sleeping peacefully in his crib and I crept into his room, sat down in the arm chair in the corner and pulled out my phone. I found this blog on the internet and started at the beginning.
It took me two days to read the blog from start to finish. Part of me can't believe that its been almost TEN years since I first put finger tips to computer keys and began documenting my horse journey. I sat up late into the night and read about Johnny, about my college days, my horse shows and IHSA, I laughed. I cried. I cringed a couple times at my own childish stupidity.
But it was exactly what I needed. A trip down memory lane...a reconnection to my past...I'm not exactly sure, but it healed my heart in a way that I can't quiet explain.
Tonight, I put my baby to bed, went out into the barn and hugged and kissed both of my horses. This past year has been all about getting back to the simplicity of what brought me to this point in my life to begin with: my love of horses, but what I really needed, I think, was a swift kick in the pants. I needed my own words to steer me out of the darkness and back into the light.
Sometimes, life gets us down. And that's okay. The most important thing is getting back up. So here I am, picking myself back up off the ground, and looking to the sky. And part of that, is getting back to writing again. So I'm cracking my fingers, shaking off the dust, and getting back at it.
As always,
Peace.Love.Ponies.
Showing posts with label dressage. Show all posts
Showing posts with label dressage. Show all posts
Monday, September 10, 2018
Sunday, October 6, 2013
Professional Photo
Got our professional pictures from the horse show, Gus looks fantastic!
Peace.Love.Ponies.
Monday, September 30, 2013
Dressage Day for Gus
What a beautiful fall day today! Perfect temperatures (low 70s) with just enough sunshine to warm your body but not enough to make you feel hot! My best friend C and I took our horses to a dressage show today. C has always loved dressage and her Canadian Thoroughbred George is just a wonderful dressage horse. While he's still young and green, he's part Fresian and an extravagant mover. I took Gus along to the show...even though he hasn't been ridden in almost a month since he popped a splint back in early September. I have the vet out to check him over last Thursday prior to the horse show. She found the splint to be good, cold and settled and gave me to ok to ride him. C and I both picked Intro Level tests for our horses. She rode all 3 tests, but I just picked one. I figured that it wasn't worth breaking Gus again and trotting in a couple circles for 2 minutes shouldn't kill him right? I rode him Saturday evening and that was it pretty much.
We arrived at the show early this morning, got the horses settled in their stalls and picked up our numbers. The show was outside at a venue which we have never been to before, but it ran nicely and we had a great time. Gus was phenomenal! So calm and quiet! He was a little stiff since he hasn't been worked much but over all I was super impressed with him! He's never seen dressage rings or judges stands and he just stood by the in gate watching the other horses go around, then walked into the ring like he'd done it his whole life. The footing was a little hard and so I was very conservative in my warm up, especially with all of the problems we've had with his feet and his latest splint catastrophe. While all of the other dressage horses trotted and cantered outside the ring waiting for the bell, Gus and I trotted one lap and then just walked around waiting for our que to enter the ring.It seemed like we walked around forever!
Gee, I hope he trots through that narrow opening into the dressage ring...
I thought as I walked him past the entrance at A and realizing that I had no idea how he would feel about suddenly turning and trotting through such a narrow opening into some scary small white ring with big black letters. Oh well I thought, at least this is a good experience for him. Whats the worst that could happen anyway right? He goes sideways and we try again.
When the bell sounded we picked up our trot, took a deep breath and entered at A.
I honestly expected....something. Anything really. I was ready for there to be a fire breathing dragon, weaving, snorting and jumping left-right-left-right as we trotted down center line. Based on what I had learned from Gus's previous owner/trainer, I was ready for a bomb to explode the second that I walked into that ring.
Instead, I got nothing.
He glanced slightly sideways upon entering the arena, and then trotted straight to X. I settled in the saddle and whispered "whoa." He stopped square and pricked his ears at the judge ahead of us who stood up to acknowledge our salute. When I closed my leg, he trotted off, continuing down center line. As we reached C, I was again ready for the bolt and spook that I assumed would come as we turned by the judges box.
Instead, he just turned.
We rode our entire test with no drama, no explosions, no fireworks. Not a single spook, snort or sideways step. This was the horse that I had been told to lunge for 40 minutes before showing. The horse that hadn't been ridden in close to 30 days prior to this horse show. The one that I took out of the field, cleaned up, and loaded into the trailer.
We scored a 61.093 on our test, the third highest score for our division.
I was so pleased with him, what a champ! And what a positive horse show experience for him. There was no lunging, no hard warm up. We literally showed up, trotted and cantered once each direction and then stepped into the show ring for 2 minutes and he was done. Just like that.
Easiest horse show ever.
My friend C put in stellar rides on her gelding George and after tieing for first place (tie broken only by the score of the collective remarks) came out with 2nd place ribbons in both of her classes under 2 different judges.
What a wonderful day!
And now it's time for Gus to go back into the field and slowly step back up into a training program. For now, the next two weeks are focused on Cool as we get ready for our last hunter show of the season!
Waiting to check out some professional pictures from the photographer...hopefully there are some good ones!
Until next time...
Peace.Love.Ponies.
We arrived at the show early this morning, got the horses settled in their stalls and picked up our numbers. The show was outside at a venue which we have never been to before, but it ran nicely and we had a great time. Gus was phenomenal! So calm and quiet! He was a little stiff since he hasn't been worked much but over all I was super impressed with him! He's never seen dressage rings or judges stands and he just stood by the in gate watching the other horses go around, then walked into the ring like he'd done it his whole life. The footing was a little hard and so I was very conservative in my warm up, especially with all of the problems we've had with his feet and his latest splint catastrophe. While all of the other dressage horses trotted and cantered outside the ring waiting for the bell, Gus and I trotted one lap and then just walked around waiting for our que to enter the ring.It seemed like we walked around forever!
Gee, I hope he trots through that narrow opening into the dressage ring...
I thought as I walked him past the entrance at A and realizing that I had no idea how he would feel about suddenly turning and trotting through such a narrow opening into some scary small white ring with big black letters. Oh well I thought, at least this is a good experience for him. Whats the worst that could happen anyway right? He goes sideways and we try again.
When the bell sounded we picked up our trot, took a deep breath and entered at A.
I honestly expected....something. Anything really. I was ready for there to be a fire breathing dragon, weaving, snorting and jumping left-right-left-right as we trotted down center line. Based on what I had learned from Gus's previous owner/trainer, I was ready for a bomb to explode the second that I walked into that ring.
Instead, I got nothing.
He glanced slightly sideways upon entering the arena, and then trotted straight to X. I settled in the saddle and whispered "whoa." He stopped square and pricked his ears at the judge ahead of us who stood up to acknowledge our salute. When I closed my leg, he trotted off, continuing down center line. As we reached C, I was again ready for the bolt and spook that I assumed would come as we turned by the judges box.
Instead, he just turned.
We rode our entire test with no drama, no explosions, no fireworks. Not a single spook, snort or sideways step. This was the horse that I had been told to lunge for 40 minutes before showing. The horse that hadn't been ridden in close to 30 days prior to this horse show. The one that I took out of the field, cleaned up, and loaded into the trailer.
We scored a 61.093 on our test, the third highest score for our division.
I was so pleased with him, what a champ! And what a positive horse show experience for him. There was no lunging, no hard warm up. We literally showed up, trotted and cantered once each direction and then stepped into the show ring for 2 minutes and he was done. Just like that.
Easiest horse show ever.
My friend C put in stellar rides on her gelding George and after tieing for first place (tie broken only by the score of the collective remarks) came out with 2nd place ribbons in both of her classes under 2 different judges.
What a wonderful day!
And now it's time for Gus to go back into the field and slowly step back up into a training program. For now, the next two weeks are focused on Cool as we get ready for our last hunter show of the season!
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| Gus and me (left) and C with George (right) Gus and I can't help it that we look like hunter riders! |
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| What a gorgeous boy! |
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| Sporting his dressage number with pride |
Until next time...
Peace.Love.Ponies.
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
South Farm Photos
As promised, here are some photos from the South Farm show. Unfortunately, I only have dressage pictures because C had to go get her horse ready during my Stadium round :(
Peace.Love.Ponies.
Sunday, May 2, 2010
South Farm Combined Test - Results
The rain stayed away today long enough for us to have a good show outside at South Farm. C and I took the horses up for a Combined Test (dressage and show jumping.) It was Johnny's first combined test ever, as well as his first time showing Dressage and just his second time in the Jumpers (the first was less than successful if you remember my previous posts about it...) After a great warm up, we headed over to the dressage ring. C warned me that John might be "looky" at the "judges booth" which was really just a horse trailer backed up to the ring with the ramp down and the judge and scribe sitting at a table inside. I waved it off, thinking "he'll be fine...its just a trailer!" We had the chance to walk all the way around the ring before the bell rang to start the test, and wouldn't you know that Johnny was TERRIFIED of the trailer. Poor guy! Since the show is held outdoors in the heart of (what I call) "Amish Land" there were LOTS of buggys going pasting the show ring all the time. Sometimes, horses are spooked by the carts, but not Johnny, he just thought they were FASCINATING and must have been re-living his race days because every time he even heard one he wanted to spin around and STARE at the buggy. Needless to say, about 6 of those buggys came past during the course of our test, so his paying attention factor was functioning some where around 10%, which showed in our test. The judge, however, was more than generous and even though Johnny did multiple pacey-hopy-cantery steps, she still gave us 5's and 6's and a 7 on our last centerline halt, which is far more than I would have given us! Most of the movement comments include things like "head high," "distracted," and "irregular," which were things that I already knew. Our free walk was "active but needing more stretch" and our last trot circle had "improving connection." For our final center line halt she wrote "slightly above the bit but square." Our collective marks had a very nice little blurb which read "A little distracted to really show movement today, time and experience will iron out inconsistencies. Kindly and gently presented by the rider." Our further remarks section read simply "Beautiful head!"
See? I always knew he was pretty! LOL
After our little dressage disaster I was still calm, but less than pleased with Johnny and he was now whinnying his head off and walking ALL OVER me. Now folks, I am a very patience person when it comes to horses. I don't ever yell at Johnny, or hit him or really punish him all that much for things like this at horse shows because I understand that he's nervous or worried...but running into me, bullying past me and spinning in circles when I ask him to stop? After I walked the course and changed for Stadium he almost shoved me over at the mounting block with his head and finally, I'd had enough. I took my stick and smacking him square in the chest. His eyes just about bugged out of his face and his ears shot forward so far that I thought they would fly off his head. Instantly he was perfectly still and didn't move again. His manners were much improved after that!
I had check the dressage postings before walking the jump course and we were 4th out of 6 after the dressage phase. Our Stadium warm up went very well, with him landing balanced and beautiful on the right lead. I didn't do a whole lot because he's one of those horses where you can easily leave your best ride behind in the warm up ring if you over do it. We trotted a cross rail and a vertical both directions, jumped a brick wall jump with ivy, and then cantered the cross rail and went to watch a few rounds. Johnny is so funny at the in-gate. He actually stands there with his ears perked and watches the horses go around the ring. His head follows them and everything! Finally it was our turn and in we went! The only jump that really concerned me was the second fence, which was a vertical with black, orange, yellow and bright green rails. It was quite the color combination! Plus it was one of the larger jumps on the course, probably about 2'3".
The whistle blew and I asked Johnny to trot. Spooking a little at the end of the ring, we came completely counter-bent through the start timers and he was already peeking at the first fence. I clucked and pressed him up over jump one. He landed in a heap on the back side, half running-trot half cantering back down towards the in-gate. I turned him up the diagonal towards fence two and felt him totally suck back. His left shoulder was bulging and he was completely set on running out. I could see it already, a total repeat of the LEC jumper show....over my dead body was that happening again! I opened the right rein, dug down in my heel and got mad. Kicked him off the left leg and growled at him, to which (as usually) he completely over-reacted to when he realized that a) I was angry with him and b) I meant BUSINESS. He leaped forward the last two strides and launched over the jump. From that point on, it all just came together. His ears shot forward and suddenly he was in it to win it. We rounded the end of the ring for fence three and he charged at it, leaped over and landed on his right lead. Three to four was a line and (although I was praying a little because we don't jump a ton off the right lead yet) I dug my heels down, sat back and held on. Johnny FLEW over fence four, we made a tight turn for fence 5 and got a beautiful distance, a beautiful jump and landed balanced on the back side. He was galloping now, all the way down the diagonal and around the fence 6 and 7, another line, which he attack with so much vigor that I actually found myself pulling the reins to fit in the last stride. From there it was another left turn to fence 8 and a bending line to fence 9, which was the only oxer on the course. I thought he might look at it, but he sailed over that one as well, landed again on the right lead and was galloping so hard back towards the in-gate that I thought I was going to have to circle to pull up. I was literally along for the ride this time! He came out of the ring to a burst of applause from the in-gate crew! He was blowing and jigging out of the ring, lit up and so excited and proud of himself! It was really cool because the announce your horses breed when you go in for your round, so lots of people were looking at him after that!
It was the first time we've ever cantered almost the entire course (save for fences 1 and 2...and briefly in the turn to 3 where we also trotted to re-balance) and the first time I've just sat back and let him run to them. He never got flat or sprawly...when it got ugly, he figured it out and by the time we were to fence 5 he wasn't letting it get ugly...he was fixing himself!
In the end, we had the third fastest Stadium time with pulled us up into 3rd place to finish off! Third out of 6 at out first combined test! I'm so proud of him!!!
Peace.Love.Ponies.
See? I always knew he was pretty! LOL
After our little dressage disaster I was still calm, but less than pleased with Johnny and he was now whinnying his head off and walking ALL OVER me. Now folks, I am a very patience person when it comes to horses. I don't ever yell at Johnny, or hit him or really punish him all that much for things like this at horse shows because I understand that he's nervous or worried...but running into me, bullying past me and spinning in circles when I ask him to stop? After I walked the course and changed for Stadium he almost shoved me over at the mounting block with his head and finally, I'd had enough. I took my stick and smacking him square in the chest. His eyes just about bugged out of his face and his ears shot forward so far that I thought they would fly off his head. Instantly he was perfectly still and didn't move again. His manners were much improved after that!
I had check the dressage postings before walking the jump course and we were 4th out of 6 after the dressage phase. Our Stadium warm up went very well, with him landing balanced and beautiful on the right lead. I didn't do a whole lot because he's one of those horses where you can easily leave your best ride behind in the warm up ring if you over do it. We trotted a cross rail and a vertical both directions, jumped a brick wall jump with ivy, and then cantered the cross rail and went to watch a few rounds. Johnny is so funny at the in-gate. He actually stands there with his ears perked and watches the horses go around the ring. His head follows them and everything! Finally it was our turn and in we went! The only jump that really concerned me was the second fence, which was a vertical with black, orange, yellow and bright green rails. It was quite the color combination! Plus it was one of the larger jumps on the course, probably about 2'3".
The whistle blew and I asked Johnny to trot. Spooking a little at the end of the ring, we came completely counter-bent through the start timers and he was already peeking at the first fence. I clucked and pressed him up over jump one. He landed in a heap on the back side, half running-trot half cantering back down towards the in-gate. I turned him up the diagonal towards fence two and felt him totally suck back. His left shoulder was bulging and he was completely set on running out. I could see it already, a total repeat of the LEC jumper show....over my dead body was that happening again! I opened the right rein, dug down in my heel and got mad. Kicked him off the left leg and growled at him, to which (as usually) he completely over-reacted to when he realized that a) I was angry with him and b) I meant BUSINESS. He leaped forward the last two strides and launched over the jump. From that point on, it all just came together. His ears shot forward and suddenly he was in it to win it. We rounded the end of the ring for fence three and he charged at it, leaped over and landed on his right lead. Three to four was a line and (although I was praying a little because we don't jump a ton off the right lead yet) I dug my heels down, sat back and held on. Johnny FLEW over fence four, we made a tight turn for fence 5 and got a beautiful distance, a beautiful jump and landed balanced on the back side. He was galloping now, all the way down the diagonal and around the fence 6 and 7, another line, which he attack with so much vigor that I actually found myself pulling the reins to fit in the last stride. From there it was another left turn to fence 8 and a bending line to fence 9, which was the only oxer on the course. I thought he might look at it, but he sailed over that one as well, landed again on the right lead and was galloping so hard back towards the in-gate that I thought I was going to have to circle to pull up. I was literally along for the ride this time! He came out of the ring to a burst of applause from the in-gate crew! He was blowing and jigging out of the ring, lit up and so excited and proud of himself! It was really cool because the announce your horses breed when you go in for your round, so lots of people were looking at him after that!
It was the first time we've ever cantered almost the entire course (save for fences 1 and 2...and briefly in the turn to 3 where we also trotted to re-balance) and the first time I've just sat back and let him run to them. He never got flat or sprawly...when it got ugly, he figured it out and by the time we were to fence 5 he wasn't letting it get ugly...he was fixing himself!
In the end, we had the third fastest Stadium time with pulled us up into 3rd place to finish off! Third out of 6 at out first combined test! I'm so proud of him!!!
Peace.Love.Ponies.
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Heading Home
The semester here at college is finally over! I'm in the process of packing up myself and my horses to ship home Saturday morning :)) Poor Johnny though will have to turn around Sunday afternoon and ship out again for a horse show, but I'm sure he's gone through worse traveling in his life as a race horse so I'm not super worried. I checked online today and got our ride times. Dressage is at 1:42pm and stadium is from 2:30-4:00. The good news is that we don't have to get up super early and rush around to get there...the bad news is that the forecast is calling for A LOT of rain...and of course, the show is held outdoors :( I guess that in bad weather they open up the indoor for warm ups, but the show rings are still outside. C and I were debating about what we were going to wear for the show. I'm DEFINITELY not wearing my show clothes in bad weather, but all of my rain coats have hoods and that's frowned upon as a safety hazard. Might be heading to Walmart tomorrow to try and find a hoodless rain coat. Some slightly better news is that the footing in both the dressage and jumper rings is really good, so even if the weather is less than perfect, at least we won't be slipping. I was going to use my nice new Roma boots for stadium but I think I may forgo that if the weather is bad. I want more protection for his legs so it will probably be the SMB's on the hind and my brushing boots and bell boots on the front. I'll update again after the show! Wish us luck!!!
Peace.Love.Ponies.
Peace.Love.Ponies.
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Johnny goes to College
Today was Johnny's dressage lesson at school! After my Hunter class, I went back to the barn and got him all ready to go. A had so kindly agreed to haul him the 15 minutes to the LEC barn and so we loaded up and headed off. John was such a champ, well...he's always a champ really. One of the best traveler's I've ever dealt with. No matter what kind of trailer, he just kind of looks at it, signs "Ok" and lumbers on. He doesn't rock or paw in the trailer, he just stands quietly until we get where we are going and he can lumber back off the trailer. He must have been tired today because he practically fell asleep in the wash stall at the school barn. A helped me saddle him up and we headed to the outdoor arena where B, our trainer (and local judge) was waiting. The dressage ring was set up and Johnny took a good sniff at it when we first got to the ring. He smelled it, licked it and bit it before deciding that it was a perfectly acceptable piece of equipment. From that point on he never looked at it again. We warmed up slowly under B's watchful eye and she watched as we trotted around on a lose rein before she started to work with me. She immediately saw Johnny's left stifle weakness and classified his A.D.D-ness as an actual evasion to using his right side, which is something that I never thought about before. He really does only counter-bend to the right....B suggests lots of slow trot work to make him really flex his joints while keeping him straight and relaxed so that he strengthens his stifles and hocks while letting go with his top line. I told her that we've been working on some gymnastics jumping which seems to be helping stretch his top line. She agreed that gymnastics, slow trotting and hill work would be the fastest things to help him improve. "He's a really big sweet heart" B commented. "He wants really badly to do what you want...he's just not always sure what that is and when it gets hard he wants to try twenty other options, but he never get frazzled or mad, just unsure. You probably wouldn't get great dressage scores for movement...not yet at least, but you would get high marks for submission." Although Johnny isn't the typical warmblood dressage horse that B is used to, she did admit that he looked nothing like a Standardbred and that he was very cute with a great personality. I ended our lesson with a little left and right lead canter work. John cantered both leads like a pro! After the lesson, I called my old trainer K because I was a little confused about where to go with Johnny's training from here. B suggested slow work, but in my Hunter class M always tells us that the horse must go forward before it can balance back. K suggested a four day rotational training schedule including both aspects: A day for slow work, lateral work, forward work and jumping followed by a day off. This sounds like a reasonable rotation schedule to me. I may update it a little when we get home and can do some hacking and hill work. I will probably add back in the 1/2 hour hacks after each ride that Jimmy Wofford suggests for conditioning horses.
This Saturday we are heading to Chagrin Valley Farms for a hunter/jumper schooling show. I don't plan on showing, probably just schooling the course in the morning. If he is really good I might put him in the 18" hunters because the jumpers only go down to 2'6," which by the way, did I mention that Johnny jumped 2'6" last night!?! Go him!! Tomorrow he gets a day off to de-stress!
Peace.Love.Ponies.
This Saturday we are heading to Chagrin Valley Farms for a hunter/jumper schooling show. I don't plan on showing, probably just schooling the course in the morning. If he is really good I might put him in the 18" hunters because the jumpers only go down to 2'6," which by the way, did I mention that Johnny jumped 2'6" last night!?! Go him!! Tomorrow he gets a day off to de-stress!
Peace.Love.Ponies.
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
So Busy!
So I finally found my camera (yay!) Sorry for the lack of updates...I've been so busy lately with this being the last week of school and finals coming up next week. I'm on overload with homework, projects and tests...not to mention packing up myself and my horses to go home! I've got a to-do list a page and a half long...gaahhhh!
The good news is that Johnny has been REALLY good lately! (*knock on wood*) Today we worked over fences a bit and at the end I put the jumps up to 2'6" and Johnny SAILED over it! E said he looked really great! I wish I would have had my camera then :( I'm really excited because 2'6" didn't feel like it was an effort for him, so maybe he does have the scope for 3ft? I hope so...it would be really fun to do the Prix de Villes next year! He rounded his back over 2'6" which is more than he does usually. I've been doing what K calls the "Geoff Teal release" which is a super over exaggerated crest release. I know it's a little unorthodox, but I've seen it work WONDERS on some of K and J's horses...one of which was the National Children's Hunter Champion at Harrisburg last year...clearly it does something good for the horse if you can keep your body position proper and just release your arms. It seems to be working for Johnny (who used to get hit in the face a lot when he first learned to jump...not by me, but by a previous rider) because the other night we were playing around over a cross rail and he rounded over that too!
Tomorrow is my last day of riding classes at school, save for my dressage final. I am hauling Johnny in to ride him in my dressage class (Hunter class probably isn't the best place for him right now...lol) and hopefully improve his gaits a bit. Our trainer is a very good local judge, so I can't wait to hear what she has to say about him...lol. I told her Monday that she wasn't allowed to laugh!
I'll let you know how it goes.
Peace.Love.Ponies.
The good news is that Johnny has been REALLY good lately! (*knock on wood*) Today we worked over fences a bit and at the end I put the jumps up to 2'6" and Johnny SAILED over it! E said he looked really great! I wish I would have had my camera then :( I'm really excited because 2'6" didn't feel like it was an effort for him, so maybe he does have the scope for 3ft? I hope so...it would be really fun to do the Prix de Villes next year! He rounded his back over 2'6" which is more than he does usually. I've been doing what K calls the "Geoff Teal release" which is a super over exaggerated crest release. I know it's a little unorthodox, but I've seen it work WONDERS on some of K and J's horses...one of which was the National Children's Hunter Champion at Harrisburg last year...clearly it does something good for the horse if you can keep your body position proper and just release your arms. It seems to be working for Johnny (who used to get hit in the face a lot when he first learned to jump...not by me, but by a previous rider) because the other night we were playing around over a cross rail and he rounded over that too!
Tomorrow is my last day of riding classes at school, save for my dressage final. I am hauling Johnny in to ride him in my dressage class (Hunter class probably isn't the best place for him right now...lol) and hopefully improve his gaits a bit. Our trainer is a very good local judge, so I can't wait to hear what she has to say about him...lol. I told her Monday that she wasn't allowed to laugh!
I'll let you know how it goes.
Peace.Love.Ponies.
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
An Apology
So I have to admit that the reason I haven't updated is because I seemed to have misplace (not LOST...just misplaced...lol) my digital camera, meaning that I have no new videos or photos to update with, which is SUCH a bummer because Johnny and Emmy were so amazingly good today in our over-fences schooling. E and I kept the jumps low, just some cross rails, but Johnny was landing his right lead EVERY time he needed too, even when we did a tight roll back and jumped a little off the diagonal. He feels so much more comfortable on it now! We even cantered a small cross rail off the right lead. It wasn't super pretty, but he got over it safely and continued to land in right lead canter on the back side. Over all, he was quiet before and after the jumps, bouncy and comfortable in his canter and he held a really great pace the whole time, plus we landed ALL of our leads, which is definitely the biggest accomplishment for the day.
Sunday, my best friend C and I went conditioning down at a park near my barn up here. Both Johnny and Abbie were very good, although Johnny and I did have a little debacle over a water crossing. It's not that he doesn't like water, he LOVES water, he just hates the step down into the creek and freaks out when he has to make that step. I have to admit that I layed into him pretty hard, which I'm not super proud of, but he deserved it (rearing and spinning is NOT okay with me...I don't care what he's got to do...plus it was like a 6 inch step down....) and after 15 minutes I finally got him in. Of course, he splashed around like a little freak and had the time of his life once he was in. We crossed two more creeks after that without a problem and today I found him drinking out of the pond in the pasture with Emmy and Romeo. Hopefully our water problem is solved?
I wish I could find my camera because I would post all of the pictures I took last Thursday down at Equine Affaire. My dad and I drove down for the day and had a blast watching clinics and SHOPPING. Two pictures of Johnny, one of just his face and one of me riding him, were on display at the SPHO Ohio booth, so that was really exciting to see! I ordered an SPHO polo shirt which should be coming in the mail soon! I can't wait to wear it and show my support for the organization...I love my Standie :) We also watched two Linda Allen clinics, one which focused on schooling the novice or green horse over fences. I got some really great exercises for Johnny out of and I took pictures of all the jumps set up and videos of the riders riding through them...if only I could find my camera! I did make some very nice purchases though. A new dressage bit for Johnny, nice Roma brand open front and ankle jumping boots (with fuzzy insides!), a new leather stable halter to replace his nasty blue nylon one (I really hate nylon halters...I'm just a traditional freak lol), new black polo wraps, a new helmet for me (finally one that fits my head!) and some new riding gloves, since my old ones ALSO seemed to walk off...what is it with me and losing things? Overall it was a super awesome trip!
In other news, I'm working on getting Johnny hauled over to school either tomorrow or next week so that I can ride him in my dressage class. Our trainer is a local professional who is also a judge and I would love to hear what she has to say about him. Unfortunately, the girl who is going to trailer him told me today that she might be having truck problems, so tomorrow might turn into next week. Either way, I just really want a dressage lesson on him!
I'm going to go scope around for my camera some more...hopefully I will find it :( Keep your fingers crossed.
Peace.Love.Ponies.
Sunday, my best friend C and I went conditioning down at a park near my barn up here. Both Johnny and Abbie were very good, although Johnny and I did have a little debacle over a water crossing. It's not that he doesn't like water, he LOVES water, he just hates the step down into the creek and freaks out when he has to make that step. I have to admit that I layed into him pretty hard, which I'm not super proud of, but he deserved it (rearing and spinning is NOT okay with me...I don't care what he's got to do...plus it was like a 6 inch step down....) and after 15 minutes I finally got him in. Of course, he splashed around like a little freak and had the time of his life once he was in. We crossed two more creeks after that without a problem and today I found him drinking out of the pond in the pasture with Emmy and Romeo. Hopefully our water problem is solved?
I wish I could find my camera because I would post all of the pictures I took last Thursday down at Equine Affaire. My dad and I drove down for the day and had a blast watching clinics and SHOPPING. Two pictures of Johnny, one of just his face and one of me riding him, were on display at the SPHO Ohio booth, so that was really exciting to see! I ordered an SPHO polo shirt which should be coming in the mail soon! I can't wait to wear it and show my support for the organization...I love my Standie :) We also watched two Linda Allen clinics, one which focused on schooling the novice or green horse over fences. I got some really great exercises for Johnny out of and I took pictures of all the jumps set up and videos of the riders riding through them...if only I could find my camera! I did make some very nice purchases though. A new dressage bit for Johnny, nice Roma brand open front and ankle jumping boots (with fuzzy insides!), a new leather stable halter to replace his nasty blue nylon one (I really hate nylon halters...I'm just a traditional freak lol), new black polo wraps, a new helmet for me (finally one that fits my head!) and some new riding gloves, since my old ones ALSO seemed to walk off...what is it with me and losing things? Overall it was a super awesome trip!
In other news, I'm working on getting Johnny hauled over to school either tomorrow or next week so that I can ride him in my dressage class. Our trainer is a local professional who is also a judge and I would love to hear what she has to say about him. Unfortunately, the girl who is going to trailer him told me today that she might be having truck problems, so tomorrow might turn into next week. Either way, I just really want a dressage lesson on him!
I'm going to go scope around for my camera some more...hopefully I will find it :( Keep your fingers crossed.
Peace.Love.Ponies.
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Day One: Dressage
Yesterday Johnny and I began our rotational training schedule starting with our dressage day. It was SO HOT outside, but the indoor was dusty and the outdoor had better lighting so we road outside. One long side of the arena was still a little mushy and deep, which as you can see in the video, Johnny struggled through slightly. I cut some of our circles and diagonals a little short to avoid the really deep spots. The last thing I need is (at best) a thrown show and (at worse) a soft tissue injury!
Here are some photos and a video link:
His contact is far from consistent at this stage in his training but we do have some nice moments as you can see by these photos. Plus, I am VERY happy that he is tracking evenly with his front and hind legs...another big issue for us!
Here is the video of our walk/trot Intro. B test...not too shabby for not having practiced much at all!
Here are some photos and a video link:
Here is the video of our walk/trot Intro. B test...not too shabby for not having practiced much at all!
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Dressage and Summer Show Plans
Lately, I've been thinking that it's time to take the next step and start Johnny's dressage training for real. Last week I looked at a friends dressage saddle which she has for sale and I think I'm probably going to buy it. Of course, that transaction probably won't be going through until May because I don't have the money right now (I need to go work a horse show!) but I will in another month or so :) In the mean time, I borrowed a friend's dressage saddle and worked Johnny in it last night for the first time. It is SO much easier to get Johnny to really work correctly when I have the right tools to do it! Just having the different seat of the dressage saddle made sitting his trot a whole lot easier. We worked on some leg-yield and shoulder-in last night (he didn't like shoulder in at the trot...but was very good in the walk) and then also worked for a while on a circle with me taking up and letting out the contact. To finish, I trotted him both direction on a loose rein ans let him stretch. Can you believe that he actually kept his inside shoulder lifted? Even to the right! It was pretty exciting :) I plan on working him a little in the side reins today before doing some more dressage work.
As promised, here is our tentative spring/summer show schedule. I've picked one or two shows a month that I think will be good training and experience for Johnny AND that doesn't conflict with my grooming schedule:
(** marks a show as tentative)
~ March - LEC Jumper show**
~ April - None...lots of schooling because it's our last month up here at school with a nice indoor arena!
~ May - South Farm Combined Test (May 29-30th)
~ June - South Farm Combined Test (June 5-6th) / SCSHA Open Show**
~ July - Chagrin Valley Classic (goal is to actually just complete the course this time!)
~ August - Brecksville Horse Show (Aug.1st) / Bath Pony Club Mini Trial
~ September - South Farm Mini Trial** (Depends on my school schedule...but I REALLY want to go!)
~ October - South Farm Hunter Pace** (Oct. 3rd)
(My FAVORITE hunter pace, but this all depends on what my school schedule is like)
Of course, this is all subject to change depending on my financial situation and trailering opportunities. Since I don't have my own trailer, I have to get rides with friends or call J, who usually trailers me almost anywhere. C generally likes to do the mini trials and combined tests, so I will probably try to go with her!
Thats all for now :) Hopefully getting some pictures posted later today.
Pace.Love.Ponies.
As promised, here is our tentative spring/summer show schedule. I've picked one or two shows a month that I think will be good training and experience for Johnny AND that doesn't conflict with my grooming schedule:
(** marks a show as tentative)
~ March - LEC Jumper show**
~ April - None...lots of schooling because it's our last month up here at school with a nice indoor arena!
~ May - South Farm Combined Test (May 29-30th)
~ June - South Farm Combined Test (June 5-6th) / SCSHA Open Show**
~ July - Chagrin Valley Classic (goal is to actually just complete the course this time!)
~ August - Brecksville Horse Show (Aug.1st) / Bath Pony Club Mini Trial
~ September - South Farm Mini Trial** (Depends on my school schedule...but I REALLY want to go!)
~ October - South Farm Hunter Pace** (Oct. 3rd)
(My FAVORITE hunter pace, but this all depends on what my school schedule is like)
Of course, this is all subject to change depending on my financial situation and trailering opportunities. Since I don't have my own trailer, I have to get rides with friends or call J, who usually trailers me almost anywhere. C generally likes to do the mini trials and combined tests, so I will probably try to go with her!
Thats all for now :) Hopefully getting some pictures posted later today.
Pace.Love.Ponies.
Monday, October 19, 2009
Let the Process Begin....
My trainer came the other day for a lesson and we worked through our Intro B dressage test to pin-point the problem areas. Overall, the test itself was pretty decent...the spots where I thought we would run into trouble (turn onto/off of center line and the halt) weren't actually bad at all (Johnny wanted to step right a bit in the hault but he corrects himself quickly when you catch him with your leg) but the places that I knew we would have trouble (aka the free walk) definetly needed some improvement. Not only that, but Johnny still has a hard time keeping his consistant 4-beat walk and 2-beat trot because of his weak left hock. From just a normal perspective, he looks just fine, but when an experienced eye (like a dressage judge) really breaks it down, you can see that he pushes harder with some legs than others. For example; his walk is more like a onetwo-THREE-four instead of a one-two-three-four because he swings his left leg in a bit when he brings it forward (to avoid having to fully use his hock.) There is no real "soundness" issue with him, just a weakness that hasn't been addressed prior to him becoming a riding horse...probably a little arthritis as well which I've been trying to manage with joint supplements and some yucca and devils claw. I'm also thinking about trying heat therapy on the area prior to work and seeing if that helps any...my own physical therapist reccomended it for me, and my problems arn't so different than Johnnys.
Anyway, in our lesson we worked on establishing the true gaits through some lengthening and shortening exercises to get his back up and his hind legs working underneith him. We also worked on his sitting trot, which is hard for him because he tenses his back muscles and makes it almost impossible to sit to. K had me work ona circle and move around on him, experimenting with a different way to move my hips to get him to break up his back tension. We found out that if you swing your hips more "side-to-side" for a while, he realeases then tension in his muscles and lets his back swing propery...and his sitting trot is actually quite comfortable!
At the end of our lesson, I rode the test again with a COMPLETELY different horse underneith me and we did really well...we even got a real free walk!
Unfortunatly, since then I've managed to come down with a cold and haven't ridden Johnny in two days. I ran him around (free lunged) in the indoor today and wouldn't you know that he cantered just fine on that sticky right lead. Not only was he balanced, but he also held it all the way around the arena, making circles and such also! I am thoroughly convinced now that he really just doesn't understand the leg cue for it (long story behind that one, but long story short...I am not the cause of that problem...really, I'm not.) because he seems perfectly confortable to canter on it and K's theory about his hock weakness being the problem clearly isnt the problem without a rider on his back. I think it may be more of a balance and understanding issue than anything. I'm sure we'll find out soon at least.
First IHSA show is this weekend...I hope this cold clears up by then because I almost DIED in practice today. Two rounds of no-stirrups with a cold doesn't work so well when the crap in your nose and throat is preventing you from breathing properly. I know you all wanted that visual ;)
Til next time!
Peace.Love.Ponies.
Anyway, in our lesson we worked on establishing the true gaits through some lengthening and shortening exercises to get his back up and his hind legs working underneith him. We also worked on his sitting trot, which is hard for him because he tenses his back muscles and makes it almost impossible to sit to. K had me work ona circle and move around on him, experimenting with a different way to move my hips to get him to break up his back tension. We found out that if you swing your hips more "side-to-side" for a while, he realeases then tension in his muscles and lets his back swing propery...and his sitting trot is actually quite comfortable!
At the end of our lesson, I rode the test again with a COMPLETELY different horse underneith me and we did really well...we even got a real free walk!
Unfortunatly, since then I've managed to come down with a cold and haven't ridden Johnny in two days. I ran him around (free lunged) in the indoor today and wouldn't you know that he cantered just fine on that sticky right lead. Not only was he balanced, but he also held it all the way around the arena, making circles and such also! I am thoroughly convinced now that he really just doesn't understand the leg cue for it (long story behind that one, but long story short...I am not the cause of that problem...really, I'm not.) because he seems perfectly confortable to canter on it and K's theory about his hock weakness being the problem clearly isnt the problem without a rider on his back. I think it may be more of a balance and understanding issue than anything. I'm sure we'll find out soon at least.
First IHSA show is this weekend...I hope this cold clears up by then because I almost DIED in practice today. Two rounds of no-stirrups with a cold doesn't work so well when the crap in your nose and throat is preventing you from breathing properly. I know you all wanted that visual ;)
Til next time!
Peace.Love.Ponies.
Friday, October 16, 2009
Johnny plays...dressage??
"Hunter pace this weekend?" The text flashed across my cell phone screen.
"No :( " I replied "I have barn tours"
Silence.
"Hunter show next weekend?"
Reply: "IHSA show :)"
Silence.
"You're killing me. dressage show nov 1st?"
I started to type "No way...we cant--" when I looked up to to horse trotting circles around me. I was in the middle of the indoor arena and E was working Johnny through some cavaletti exercises. When I first got Johnny, my orginally goal (as had once been with Emmy) was to make him a low level event horse. Eventing was something I had grown up doing. Even when Emmy and I made the transition to hunters after a scary stadium crash, I still rode with an event trainer. It had seemed to fit Johnny well. He was by no means a fancy mover...but he was level headed, smart and almost never tapped the rails on the jumps. He would never be tight enough with his front end to be competitive in the hunters, but he was definetly a safe and servicable enough jumper to play around in the Beginner Novice divisions for a summer. Not to mention that he wasn't afraid of anything (a trait that I ESPECIALLY adored after showing everything's-going-to-eat-me Emmy for 7 years.)
Those had been the goals at least. I worked all summer developing his jump form, teaching him to be quicker, smarter and more aware of his legs. We schooled on the neighbors property over fallen trees and log piles, I put together "gates" from old scraps of wood. I spent so much time riding him that I never really knew exactly what we looked like together until a friend of mine came one day with a camera to help work Johnny through a grid combination.
It wasn't until I saw that pictures that I thought maybe I had been wrong about eventing. Not only was Johnny getting his knees up now, but they were tight and square and he was "wearing the bridle" like it was his job. He had a beautiful soft facial expression over the jumps with his ears perked forward as if he would like nothing better that to spend all day flying through the air. When I brought him to college, he jumped right into his new training program with vigor and enthusiasm. His topline began to come together, this paces evened out and grew steadier. The horse that I had put into the "eventing because he's not pretty enough to be a hunter" category was starting to prove me wrong, so when I my best friend asked me if we wanted to show dressage, my first thought was "No way! The judge will laugh at us." Besides, Johnny had never even done a dressage test.
And as I stood there watching E ride, I realized that there were a lot of things in life that Johnny had also never done. When I got him, he had never been ridden. He had never cantered, he had never jumped, he had never been clipped or shown or had his mane pulled and braided...
Who was I to say that this horse could and couldn't do?
I hit the clear button on my phone and backspaced.
"Pick us up?"
"No :( " I replied "I have barn tours"
Silence.
"Hunter show next weekend?"
Reply: "IHSA show :)"
Silence.
"You're killing me. dressage show nov 1st?"
I started to type "No way...we cant--" when I looked up to to horse trotting circles around me. I was in the middle of the indoor arena and E was working Johnny through some cavaletti exercises. When I first got Johnny, my orginally goal (as had once been with Emmy) was to make him a low level event horse. Eventing was something I had grown up doing. Even when Emmy and I made the transition to hunters after a scary stadium crash, I still rode with an event trainer. It had seemed to fit Johnny well. He was by no means a fancy mover...but he was level headed, smart and almost never tapped the rails on the jumps. He would never be tight enough with his front end to be competitive in the hunters, but he was definetly a safe and servicable enough jumper to play around in the Beginner Novice divisions for a summer. Not to mention that he wasn't afraid of anything (a trait that I ESPECIALLY adored after showing everything's-going-to-eat-me Emmy for 7 years.)
Those had been the goals at least. I worked all summer developing his jump form, teaching him to be quicker, smarter and more aware of his legs. We schooled on the neighbors property over fallen trees and log piles, I put together "gates" from old scraps of wood. I spent so much time riding him that I never really knew exactly what we looked like together until a friend of mine came one day with a camera to help work Johnny through a grid combination.
It wasn't until I saw that pictures that I thought maybe I had been wrong about eventing. Not only was Johnny getting his knees up now, but they were tight and square and he was "wearing the bridle" like it was his job. He had a beautiful soft facial expression over the jumps with his ears perked forward as if he would like nothing better that to spend all day flying through the air. When I brought him to college, he jumped right into his new training program with vigor and enthusiasm. His topline began to come together, this paces evened out and grew steadier. The horse that I had put into the "eventing because he's not pretty enough to be a hunter" category was starting to prove me wrong, so when I my best friend asked me if we wanted to show dressage, my first thought was "No way! The judge will laugh at us." Besides, Johnny had never even done a dressage test.
And as I stood there watching E ride, I realized that there were a lot of things in life that Johnny had also never done. When I got him, he had never been ridden. He had never cantered, he had never jumped, he had never been clipped or shown or had his mane pulled and braided...
Who was I to say that this horse could and couldn't do?
I hit the clear button on my phone and backspaced.
"Pick us up?"
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