Easy Mode

 

Poor Dan... he got picked again today. I was actually going to ride Lyric at home in the morning but she had a fat hock that was oozing slightly. So I opted to cold hose her and turn her back out. She looked sound though, so yay! I bush hogged instead. And then Sharon and I had made tentative plans to go ride, so I debated Dan or Funny. Funny probably would have liked it and probably needed it more than Dan. Especially since Dan got hauled to Aiken and back yesterday and then had a hard ride Friday and then a hard ride last Tuesday. BUT... my beautiful paracord mecate reins came in yesterday and I wanted to try them out. Mostly because I'm being naughty and now I want a turquoise pair and she said she could get them to me before October 1st, but... I had to make sure I liked riding in them too. Turns out, I do. :) And he looked so good. So I decided to take him. Plus, he deserved a nice long walk ride. After his hard days. I was hoping I'd have enough time to take Funny back out later, but alas, I did not. 

 

 

We ended up going to Charlie Elliot so that I could maybe not spend as much in gas and get back quicker to ride Funny, but... by the time we got our lives organized and got to Charlie Elliot, it was almost 3 pm. So.. we ran out of time. Well, technically not I guess, but I opted to ride my ebike with Mike instead of riding Funny and then we went to dinner. I've got the week mostly off though so I'll ride the girls tomorrow!

   

Sharon and I had a fun ride. And I do like those reins. They are a bit stiffer than the yacht reins, but equivalent to the mohair ones but not scratchy. And granted, I didn't do dressage in them, but I don't think it'll matter. We walked most of the way but did a little bit of trotting, mostly because I just was trying to be a little quicker but I also wanted to make sure he wasn't sore from the last two days. He wasn't! Yay! The bugs weren't too bad either today. I did double spray Dan with the Toad mist stuff. Equine Shield.. whatever it's called now. He did have two times where he kicked up at his belly, but only two. So that was helpful. They still don't have the water on, but I had filled up my tank so we could sponge them off. Dan was still sweaty because it was still HOT and HUMID today. I was giggling because before I could pull his saddle off today, he turned to scratch an itch and when he did, his belly started dripping from the girth area... like a lemon being squeezed out. ha ha. Silly boy!

 

 

Oh, and earlier this morning, when I went ot catch Lyric, I caught him scratching has hiney on the tree branch. That's the best branch ever! Ha ha. All of them have been scratching themselves on it. 

   

Three Hards!

Dan and I managed to get into the Working Equitation clinic with Polly today. We were on the wait list because I was a slacker. But we got in, so yay. I figured it would be very helpful because Polly is one of the judges for regionals. Luckily for us, her and Doreen are the judges and that's who I've been showing under at all the shows so far. So I kind of know what they are looking for. I think. 

I got up early and fed the ponies and then got stuff together. Then I got Dan and gave him a quick bath. Luckily he wasn't too filthy since I had clipped most of him. He was just so sweaty and hot with the little bit of winter coat he had already grown. I loaded him up and noticed that my left rear trailer tire was a little flat looking. But only a little bit and it kind of looks like that all the time. So, I ignored it. Mostly because I needed to get going!

We made it to the farm where the clinic was. It's a gorgeous place. A long driveway though with some tight pine trees lining the drive. But we made it. I got there and got him groomed and tacked up. They had said we could play on the obstacles or use the outdoor arena to warm up, but I only had about 20 minutes if that, so I opted to play on the obstacles in the woods. They had some fun ones too. Not just working equitation stuff, but other obstacles. They had milk jugs full of water hanging. Dan just barged right through those, even when they were swinging. They also had some hay strings hanging, and I had to seriously duck, but he went right through. And the pool noodles were saggy but he wouldn't have cared anyways. They had a raised platform bridge thing that he was great on, although when he came off it, down the step, he either slipped or his stifle got hung, because he scrambled, but he was non-plussed. Then we zig zagged the tree/log on the ground, which was nice. And we also did the teeter totter which gave him zero pause! They had a big loud livestock pen and he did that. Although he was curiuos about the decor in the middle and tried to touch it. Ideally you look at it friend, but you're not supposed to touch! They also had a pedestal which he walked right up on. But the tires.. he said no. He did not want to walk up on the tires. I didn't push it because.. it doesn't matter. We also practiced some trotting and halting and walking with a march and trotting from the halt. Then it was our turn. They have a fun "runway" of red carpet movie drape railings, so we went through there, which was cheesy fun. 

I told Polly what I thought I needed to work on and we got to work. She had us get a more marching walk and then we talked about the trot. Tempo and rhythm. Which, is a little embarassing that I didn't know the correct distinction between the two. I do in theory.. and I get the concept, but I couldn't put it into words. But that's okay. We trotted and got a nice trot with a good tempo and rhthym. I sang Lovely Rita to help. Then I sat the trot, and tried to shorten him up and rev him forward. It took a minute but we got it. Although he did try to canter or passage a few times. Good try buddy, good try! But we got the hang of it. 

Then we started doing some obstacles. We worked on the figure 8, the double slalom, the single slalom, the jug, the bell corridor, the bull line, and the drums. The first time I picked up the garocha pole I managed to smack him upside the head with it, right in the eyeball, and then drop it. Good gravy! That's so embarassing!! I guess I was more nervous than I thought! Later I was talking to Kathy who rode after me and she said she did the same thing. Well, she didn't drop it, but she did hit Decano. Whoops. At least I felt better. 

Bull line: Be careful that my pole gets all the way to the bottom of the barrel before I let go and don't fling it so it bounces. The one time I did it, it was perched half way up the side of the barrel, so I got lucky that it didn't tip the barrel or bounce out. I also need to do the big pretty trot around the arena and then collect/shorten him as I'm turning to the bull line and then keep him shortened as we go through it so I can give myself time. 

Figure 8: Sit the trot and collect him into the figure 8. Make sure I've got the correct bend as I come into the obstacle. Ride his shoulders and ride the outside rein to make the turn, but keep my inside leg on AT THE GIRTH (especially tracking right, because he kept trying to canter) to keep the bend. Make him bouncy. When he turns to the left, he wants to fall in, so really push him out with my inside leg as we make that turn. 

Double Slalom: The turn into it is what makes or breaks it. I need to figure out how to get through the markers without cutting my line too tight and then swinging wide. I'll have to play with that at home and put out some markers. But overall, the same thing as the figure 8.

Single Slalom: He actually did that one pretty great! She reminded me the goal was to keep as straight of a line as possible, but show change of flexion/bend. So lots of inside leg and outside rein to turn the shoulders. Ride the shoulders instead of his nose. 

The Jug: We only did this one once and he was a bit too far away from it, but it was a prompt and square halt so yay. 

Bell Corridor: We trotted in and got a nice square halt, although we almost passed through the end. Our reinback was pretty decent... he was more marching and stayed pretty straight. She asked the audience "What caused that to score a 4 instead of a better score"? Well dang.. I thought it was pretty good. No one knew, but... Polly did. L1 has to WALK into the bell corridor. And the rounding posts too! Whoops. She admondished me and told me to read the rules. Yes ma'am. Though I admitted that I usually do that last minute. But valid point. No sense practicing it wrong. So we tried it from the walk. And he was a slug at first and our halt wasn't square. So then I had to get a nice trot, get a nice forward downward transition and then push for the marching walk into a square halt. Which is hard. And our reinback was still pretty good, although at the end, he wanted to start swinging his haunches a little. Polly told me to ride his shoulders to keep him straight. And I have to remember to not jacknife him. If he starts turning to the right with his haunches, pull the left rein!! Not the right. The left rein pulls his haunches back ot the left and puts his left shoulder back in front of the haunches, thus straightening him. If I pull the right rein, it just jacknifes him and makes his haunches go more right. 

photos: 9-26 polly clinic

Hard workout

 So after our last lesson Dan had two days off because of work. So, I rode him today to see how he felt. And he felt good! We met up with Sharon and Baylor at Ashland. She had a video consult with Mark to check her saddle fit and cinch sizing and options and then we were going to hack after. I was sort of thinking I'd get there early and do an arena ride first but then I didn't get there early enough. Partly because Dan was filthy and needed a good rinse first before we left and partly because I was just a slacker. She was pretty much done and mostly tacked up by the time I got there. Of course then I talked to Mark very briefly and showed him Dan's topline! And then Sharon had to show me about the cinch and then I had to show her my new purchases, but.. then we were ready to ride. So I decided I wouldn't do the arena ride or would do it after since she was ready and I was too. 

 

So we went for a nice long hack. We did the perimeter loop more or less and started with the small dam and then did behind Ashland and then behind the school, then to Oxford Manor, and then all the way around. It was a lovely ride. The spiders are out and I had a few get stuck on my whip/decobwebber. But I deposited them on the next tree. I also had the cutest little inchworm hitchhiker! I also deposited him on Ann Haller's lovely tree. 

 

After our ride, I did decide to go into the arena. I wanted to do a tiny bit of work just to feel him out and also run through the test. I ended up doing much more work than I had anticipated so I feel sort of bad, but he was up for it! Poor guy was so hot and sweaty though. It was so humid and he's already getting his winter coat in. I partially clipped him but definitely need to do more. He and I were both literally dripping! But it was a good ride. We warmed up briefly and then did our "squares" to practive revving and he's getting the hang of it. I also made sure that there was no sluggishness today. I had to be a bit adamant at first, but then he picked up on it and I didn't have to use my whip. We were prompt and marching, whether at the walk or trot. We played with canter too and he was quite good. I did have to use my inside leg and really keep using it to get some bend in the canter but that worked. We ran through the test a few times and practiced our prompt transitions. I also noticed our centerline tended to drift slightly right, so if I ride with an exaggerated inside bend to the left, tipping my sternum slightly left, and almost think of riding a left leg yield... he stays straight. Our first centerline was really drifty! 

 

We finished up and headed back to the trailers. Sorry buddy.. I didn't realize you were that sweaty! He got a nice long hosing off and then he got to get in the trailer with the fans and I drove fast. Ha ha.. I drive fast anyways. And he was fine by the time we loaded up. Good boy! I'll start his legend injections mid week next week to get the timing great for regionals. Now to just figure out my outfits ;) 

 

Revving and Rocking and Rolling

 Fun lesson with Liz.

When it was Funny's turn and I left with her to go tack up, he came up to brag to Liz about how good he felt! Yay! Just a little bit in his right neck - mid cervicals.

We tacked up and trotted up to the arena and then we went to work. We talked about the things i wanted to focus on for the show... prompt trots from the halt, square halts, the livestock pen, a marchy walk... 

so we started with square circles. Ride all four corners. Tracking left he wants to counter bend, so I have to ask for left flexion and then ride the square turn. Ride his right shoulder over... turn from the outside rein. But tracking right, he overbends so he almost turns more than 90 degrees so i have to hold the outside rein much more firmly. Still ride from the outside rein but I don't have to ask for flexion. It's already there. And he wants to run a little bit, so half halts to balance. But, the square turns helps him stand up and be straight. and if I rev him up in the corners and allow on the straight lines, he gets more "bounce" to his trot. (Think of the exercise Jessica Strott had me do... allow on the long sides, shorten and collect with leg on in the short sides). 

Then we did some trots from the halt becuase he walked off like a slug! Unfortunately, it's a bad habit, so I am going to trot from a halt an awful lot and I may have to remind him with the whip to be "sharp". But it worked because by the end of the lesson he was marching right off and even offering a trot when I asked for a walk. Smart boy. We did some halts to square turns to halts to square turns and then we did a square turn into the livestock pen. And same thing.. marching walk... don't let the walk be sluggish. Also, his turn on the haunches to the right is better. Which makes sense that he's leaning on the left hind vs the right hind. So we'll do that. It also sets us up better if we go right first, then right turn on the haunches and then we go left. 

Then we did some canters. Liz said that's the best canter he's EVER had!! It felt good. He did stumble once on the right lead but caught himself and kept going and had a nice canter. It's so uphill and round. Tracking to the left though he wants to counterbend so I can ride a square turn (think tiny turn, like my octagon) and then put my inside leg on to ask for bend. It works, but he can't hold it long. So baby steps. Then rev him up into the downward. He almost popped right back into the canter one time. :) 

Good pony!!! He's happier with his tiny haircut I gave him last night too.

photos: 9-26 liz lesson

Working hard

 Yesterday I managed to get the arena drug and moved some of the obstacles and added some. I added one barrel with a pole that was basically a long thin pvc pipe. Close enough! I'll hopefully get the top cut off another barrel soon so I can practice more accurately. Then I moved the single slalom to a double slalom and then added drums after the jump. I also made trot poles over two of the three jumps. So.. Dan and I played this morning. 

 

It was actually hotter this morning it appears. Sorry dude! The humidity was high and the sun was out, so even though it was a lot cooler than it has been, it was still hot! Later the clouds came out and a breeze picked up but when I rode Dan, it was still pretty humid and warm. Sorry buddy... it might be time for a haircut!

 

We walked up under saddle but then I had to get off to fix the double slalom poles. I made them way too tight. I let Dan wander around while I did that so he could weedeat for me. I'm not sure he did, but he did investigate the jump poles. He let me catch him easily and I got back on and we went to work. 

 

We had a good ride. He felt decent and we had some good work. We are getting better at the drums and the livestock pen. And we had some good gates. And he did the rounding posts perfectly! The double slalom wasn't actually too bad either. So yay. We played with the canter too and some leg yields. Good pony. He was puffing and huffing though. It's just so humid. We did a tiny bit more work and then did the gate once more and then we headed back for a shower!

 

Tomorrow is a Liz lesson! I did manage to give him a partial haircut tonight after dinner. Basically I just unzipped his neck and chest and did his belly and shoulders. It's probably going to look terrible as I did it in his stall just real quick. Oh well. Ha! It'll grow back. I'll give him a proper haircut soon. Soon enough that it has time to even out before regionals! But it's just too darn hot and humid for him to be hairy!

 

Beautiful Day

 Well, beautiful morning. It got HOT later today. I slept in and reveled in it. And it wasn't nearly as humid and miserable this morning and even late morning. So yay! After I got everyone fed and had cereal for myself, I loaded Dan up and we headed to Ashland to meet Sharon and Baylor. 

 

She wanted to lunge first which was awesome because I wanted to do a little flat work and was going to do it after, but before worked great too. So Dan and I headed to the arena to play. We were able to get a decent amount of work in so that was nice. He felt good. We played with the canter and he fell out the right lead on a circle once but only the one time. We did some leg yielding and played a little with some lengthenings (baby ones) and some 10 meter figure 8's. He was a good boy although he was a little resistant to bend left at the end. I'm not sure if it was more related to him wanting to go say hi to Baylor though or just being stiff. But we did get some nice left bends. 

 

We had a fun hack. We just walked, which was fine as Dan was maybe feeling a tiny bit fatigued after the ride yesterday and the dressage before our hack. He still feels better overall though in many ways. He felt like he was a bit quicker than lately, although definitely a little slower than yesterday. And he lost his hind end once and tripped up front once. We had a good ride though and found some flowers! 

 

 

Poor Dan is gonna need a haircut soon if this weather doesn't start cooperating! It's so miserable hot and humid and he's starting to grow his coat already. Poor guy. Later tonight when I rode the girls he came up to say hi and was making me laugh with his fly mask. He's been twirling it and now he looks silly!