Today I am suffering a very sore hip, shows that I am not spending enough time in the saddle this year lol. Last night I rushed home from work cooked dinner for Boyfriend then jumped in my car and made it to the barn while it was still light out. It was nice not having to follow him around in the dark for a bit trying to catch him.
I was hoping to get some pictures for you guys last night but unfortunately my ex husband made off with my camera and I now have to drive 3 hours to go get it and my phone is still disconnected due to the massive bill that he wracked up so I cant even take the pictures that way. So ill just have to wait and do some picture posts when either source of pictures is back up and running.
My horse is odd I realized, he will not eat carrots like most horses or apples… I brought out an apple last night to share with him and he had no interest in it what so ever. Boyfriend thinks he is going to end up liking random things like chips and sandwiches.
Anyways, Last night it took me a good 15 minutes to groom G out due to the pasture being 3 inches of mud and the hot temperatures lately are making him shed like crazy. It was nice and relaxing for both of us to get to enjoy the sun while spending time together. Lunging went great as well he is really starting to get it and understands what I am asking of him and does it willingly so there is very little fighting on the lunge line now. Every time he changes gait into that beautiful canter of his I just wish I was brave enough right now to ride it, he is such a big mover and his canter looks so smoothly, now to work up the courage to ride it… maybe tonight… maybe.
It took about 5 minutes to get on because G kept walking off at the mounting block so we kept circling until he would stand politely and wait for me to get on. Once I was on we started out at a nice slow walk, I was focusing on long legs, heels down and keeping my toes pointing straight ahead not to the side like I’m used too. We worked on serpentines at each letter in our arena, every lap we would add additional serpentines making them so small that G basically had to bend his body and turn on the spot to make the turn I was asking him to do. He was very relaxed not nearly as nervous as he usually is in the arena. We also worked on doing circles at each letter or the arena (again at a walk) to work on bending and focusing on what I was asking him, we did this in both directions. I also got him to go into all four scary corners of the arena with very little fuss, so nice having a horse underneath me that is starting to trust me more and more every time we ride.
Then we picked up the trot, I am still pretty unbalanced at the posting Trot but it is getting much much better. We did big laps around the arena and it was a lot more controlled than last week, I would let him slow down to a walk every couple of laps and practice halts at the mounting block, I would request he waits there until I ASKED him to walk on then we would pick up the trot again. Something happened during this ride that made everything I have always wanted with a horse click, I trust him…. In a walk I was able to just throw away the reins and let him stretch long and low in the walk, in the trot I was able to give him almost all of the reins and hold onto my saddle if I needed to rebalance myself. It has been a long time since I felt that great about something, I read all these blogs about the great connections people have with their horses and I wasn’t feeling it until last night.
I used to have a habit of using my hands and unfortunately my horses face to keep myself balanced instead of my seat, legs and back. I found what I needed to break that habit and I plan on it progressing from there. We finished the night off with trotting on a 20 meter circle (tried my best to keep it a circle lol) in both directions before calling it a night. G got to have a well earned roll in the arena and some beet pulp in his stall before being turned out.
Tonight I will be back at it and I am hoping that it goes as well as last night, I’m hoping there is someone else going on a trail ride this weekend I think G and I are ready to go out on a nice relaxing ride on the property to build our bond a little more and mix things up a bit.
Have a great weekend everyone!
I was hoping to get some pictures for you guys last night but unfortunately my ex husband made off with my camera and I now have to drive 3 hours to go get it and my phone is still disconnected due to the massive bill that he wracked up so I cant even take the pictures that way. So ill just have to wait and do some picture posts when either source of pictures is back up and running.
My horse is odd I realized, he will not eat carrots like most horses or apples… I brought out an apple last night to share with him and he had no interest in it what so ever. Boyfriend thinks he is going to end up liking random things like chips and sandwiches.
Anyways, Last night it took me a good 15 minutes to groom G out due to the pasture being 3 inches of mud and the hot temperatures lately are making him shed like crazy. It was nice and relaxing for both of us to get to enjoy the sun while spending time together. Lunging went great as well he is really starting to get it and understands what I am asking of him and does it willingly so there is very little fighting on the lunge line now. Every time he changes gait into that beautiful canter of his I just wish I was brave enough right now to ride it, he is such a big mover and his canter looks so smoothly, now to work up the courage to ride it… maybe tonight… maybe.
It took about 5 minutes to get on because G kept walking off at the mounting block so we kept circling until he would stand politely and wait for me to get on. Once I was on we started out at a nice slow walk, I was focusing on long legs, heels down and keeping my toes pointing straight ahead not to the side like I’m used too. We worked on serpentines at each letter in our arena, every lap we would add additional serpentines making them so small that G basically had to bend his body and turn on the spot to make the turn I was asking him to do. He was very relaxed not nearly as nervous as he usually is in the arena. We also worked on doing circles at each letter or the arena (again at a walk) to work on bending and focusing on what I was asking him, we did this in both directions. I also got him to go into all four scary corners of the arena with very little fuss, so nice having a horse underneath me that is starting to trust me more and more every time we ride.
Then we picked up the trot, I am still pretty unbalanced at the posting Trot but it is getting much much better. We did big laps around the arena and it was a lot more controlled than last week, I would let him slow down to a walk every couple of laps and practice halts at the mounting block, I would request he waits there until I ASKED him to walk on then we would pick up the trot again. Something happened during this ride that made everything I have always wanted with a horse click, I trust him…. In a walk I was able to just throw away the reins and let him stretch long and low in the walk, in the trot I was able to give him almost all of the reins and hold onto my saddle if I needed to rebalance myself. It has been a long time since I felt that great about something, I read all these blogs about the great connections people have with their horses and I wasn’t feeling it until last night.
I used to have a habit of using my hands and unfortunately my horses face to keep myself balanced instead of my seat, legs and back. I found what I needed to break that habit and I plan on it progressing from there. We finished the night off with trotting on a 20 meter circle (tried my best to keep it a circle lol) in both directions before calling it a night. G got to have a well earned roll in the arena and some beet pulp in his stall before being turned out.
Tonight I will be back at it and I am hoping that it goes as well as last night, I’m hoping there is someone else going on a trail ride this weekend I think G and I are ready to go out on a nice relaxing ride on the property to build our bond a little more and mix things up a bit.
Have a great weekend everyone!
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