We've now left the 'show' portion of our year, and are heading back in to the 'training' portion. Dressage clinics are being scheduled, gymnastic grids assembled, and tack is being fiddled with. While I love showing, I find re-entering the training phase of our year (for lack of a better term...) always re-enthuses me. Trying out new exercises, focusing on new issues or new ways of dealing with old ones, and pushing our training ahead just seems to fill fall with so many new opportunities!
Anyway, I'm currently knee-deep in midterms, so I've got to keep this short. I just wanted to write a quick recap of our dressage lesson today, and try to get back into the habit of chronicling our training- I've been slacking on that front of late.
For today's lesson, I borrowed a friend's eggbutt snaffle. Its a relatively thick one, which Cadence seemed to approve of, but the strength provided by the nutcracker action of the single-jointed snaffle & the pressure of the eggbutt gave me a little bit of extra strength to stop her when she decides to plow through me. After a w/t stretch warm up, we moved into the lateral work starting with riding turn on the haunches to nose-to-wall leg yield. The first turn on the haunches (left) was lovely, the leg-yield was decent if a bit rushed, but to the right Cadence objected to my aid to move her haunches over, and kicked the arena wall instead... charming, mare. We worked through this exercise several more times until we had more consistent & relaxed movements. The pirouettes right were still a fair bit more difficult than to the left, but they improved bit by bit. We proceeded to shoulder & haunches in in the trot, which rode quite nicely save for one or two rude mare moments, and then we moved on to the half pass. I was actually quite impressed with Cadence here. We've worked on half pass maybe a half-dozen times at most, and for the most part its been a little like attempting to make a slinky half pass. You'd get some shoulder, and then the haunches would go zooming off, so you'd correct that, but then she'd grab the bit & barge her shoulders out.. or something along those lines. Though the half pass work today wasn't exactly show ring ready, I could aim her shoulders, ask for her haunches, and then stay fairly quiet as we bounced our way over towards the wall. No bolting, no fighting, no rushing madly off in all directions. What a novel concept! (Actually, in fairness to the mare she's not that bad. I probably make her sound like some atrociously mannered evil mastermind. In reality, she's just a wee bit too dominant for her (or my) own good!) Due to the small size of our indoor, one of the best tips my coach gave me re the half pass, was to ride shoulder fore through the turn. That way we're already partially set up by the time we're on the centre line.
Our canter work wasn't at its best today, but again it wasn't bad. My legs are pretty sore ATM, so I probably wasn't giving her all the support I could have, but our first few canter-trots left were a little sketchy. My coach suggested we do some canter walks to get Cadence to actually come under herself, and stop barging through up front. And so we canter-walked, corrected her haunches, and walk-cantered until we had a more respectful mare. At this point, we cantered right (and executed some absolutely lovely transitions up and down) before re-trying the canter-trots to the left. Much to my pleasure, we had a respectful transition! YAY! So we quit on that note. Overall, I ended the lesson pleased with the mare-face, and quite excited for what the winter has in store for us!
Showing posts with label Lessons. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Lessons. Show all posts
Thursday, October 10, 2013
Tuesday, May 21, 2013
Catching Up on Lessons and Shows
Lets go in chronological order. First up I have the video from last weeks show:
I have footage of the dressage warm up, but the video was long enough as it is & the footage was basically just me riding poorly as I attempted to navigate puddles and the hill we were warming up on (we warmed up on a hill because it was the only dry-ish place to ride) her spooking at stuff as we attempted to warm up on a hill. Overall, a pretty unsuccessful warm up so the awful quality of the test doesn't really surprise me.
XC is also a bit of an awkward moment, as we'd basically caught up to the horse in front of us and I wasn't sure what the etiquette was in that situation, since the jump judges hadn't held them to let us pass.... so we just trotted since we were a bit up on the clock anyway, and you get faults for being too fast.
Next- we had a lesson with my coach at a farm I used to ride at when I was a kid! It was fun being back there and seeing some of the old lesson ponies, but it was REALLY fun to get to take advantage of the awesome facility they've got. We warmed up in their massive jumper ring, before heading over and schooling some tests in their full 20x60 dressage ring.... which is next to their grass ring, which is next to their XC field, which is near their massively long indoor, which looks out onto their front (outdoor) lesson ring. Also, the part I really love about this facility is that for a facility with 5 fully functional arenas and a XC field, they're quite a small operation. Off topic though. So I digress- the lesson was really helpful, and we spent most of our time focusing on isolating the ideal warm-up. What we've discovered is that as Cadence gets more training and matures into a fit, somewhat hot-headed, highly opinionated event horse, we need a MUCH different warm up than our minimalist warm ups of yesteryear. Basically, we need a 'chill out and let off some steam' period in which we basically just trot around focusing on relaxing into the contact. Then we need a 'stretch and relax' period, and then a 'okay, pick back up and supple' phase completes our pre-dressage test warm up. However, those three phases each take 10-15 minutes minimum, so you've got a solid 45 minutes of work before every dressage test were before we had maybe 10-15.
Finally, on Saturday I got up at 3:30am to go haul my horse to our show. This meant that on Saturday morning, I woke up at the same time I went to bed the previous night! Which is not a fun experience. And over those two nights, only managed a total of 6 hours of sleep. So I was really freaking exhausted, not to mention somewhat unenthused about driving 2.5 hours to a horse show for my crack of dawn start time. Next time I have early ride times (and parties in the days before my shows) I need to make sure I have someone who can drive the trailer up for me so I'm not so worried about falling asleep at the wheel! I made my poor mum (who'd come along to help me at the show) play 'guess that tune' with me on my phone for most of the 2.5 hour drive up and the 2.5 hour drive home, since that was just about the only thing that would keep me awake. It was fun times. I was even nodding off as we stood by the start box waiting to go out XC!
Saturday, February 2, 2013
About the Lssons
Friday:
Cadence had Thursday off (well, I free lunged her... but really she had the day off) so I decided to jump her Friday, and flat Sat. After a good quick warm up in which Cadence was really nice and calm we started off cantering into a 2'9 ish bounce. The first 1 or 2 run throughs were a little awkward with her being a wee tiny bit backed off the first time, and getting in on a long-ish spot on the second. However, after the first two we (literally) hit our stride and so my coach added a 3'6 vertical 21 feet away from the bounce. For the non-jumpers, 21 feet is a tighter 1 stride, or an "indoor" 1. After popping neatly through that in the bounce to the 1-stride direction and in the 1-stride to the bounce direction.... if that makes sense... we made the 1 stride 24 feet. Cadence also calmly jumped through this, and surprised me by letting me rate her to the fences which resulted in perfect distances every single time. Go mare! We ended the lesson by working on flying changes. This was only the second time we've worked on flying changes, and we jumped right into them from the canter but she nailed every. single. one. Woot!! Her jumping is better than its ever been, and we're in a really fun stage right now. If only I could sort out that flat...
Saturday:
The lesson started out really well. After a quick w/t, we moved right into canter-trot transitions. My coach had me focus on using my left rein to close her shoulder and get her off the right rein when she started to lay on it when cantering right. This did wonders for us, and her transitions began to improve. Still not where they were before, but better. Then after a few decent ones to the left she asked us to go canter-walk. Cadence was not happy with this plan, and started barging through the trot taking us about 1/2 a circle to finally walk... even with the aid of the wall. We spent the remainder of the lesson settling her back down. Aside from the little attitude & muscle display, the lesson was on a whole good, and Cadence finally seems to be working out of her "dressage issues" she developed. Hopefully getting her teeth done (vet comes Thurs) will help with the last bit of resistance she seems to be harboring.
Cadence had Thursday off (well, I free lunged her... but really she had the day off) so I decided to jump her Friday, and flat Sat. After a good quick warm up in which Cadence was really nice and calm we started off cantering into a 2'9 ish bounce. The first 1 or 2 run throughs were a little awkward with her being a wee tiny bit backed off the first time, and getting in on a long-ish spot on the second. However, after the first two we (literally) hit our stride and so my coach added a 3'6 vertical 21 feet away from the bounce. For the non-jumpers, 21 feet is a tighter 1 stride, or an "indoor" 1. After popping neatly through that in the bounce to the 1-stride direction and in the 1-stride to the bounce direction.... if that makes sense... we made the 1 stride 24 feet. Cadence also calmly jumped through this, and surprised me by letting me rate her to the fences which resulted in perfect distances every single time. Go mare! We ended the lesson by working on flying changes. This was only the second time we've worked on flying changes, and we jumped right into them from the canter but she nailed every. single. one. Woot!! Her jumping is better than its ever been, and we're in a really fun stage right now. If only I could sort out that flat...
Saturday:
The lesson started out really well. After a quick w/t, we moved right into canter-trot transitions. My coach had me focus on using my left rein to close her shoulder and get her off the right rein when she started to lay on it when cantering right. This did wonders for us, and her transitions began to improve. Still not where they were before, but better. Then after a few decent ones to the left she asked us to go canter-walk. Cadence was not happy with this plan, and started barging through the trot taking us about 1/2 a circle to finally walk... even with the aid of the wall. We spent the remainder of the lesson settling her back down. Aside from the little attitude & muscle display, the lesson was on a whole good, and Cadence finally seems to be working out of her "dressage issues" she developed. Hopefully getting her teeth done (vet comes Thurs) will help with the last bit of resistance she seems to be harboring.
Saturday, January 5, 2013
Creating the Canter
Recently in my work with Cadence, we've been focusing a lot on her canter work. As an event horse, this is arguably the most important gait, as its the one we spend the most time in. It is also probably the gait that has the most versatility, as the speed, length, and impulsion of the canter are all so.... influencable? Versatile? Different? I can't really think of the word, but lets put it this way: the canter you have entering a canter pirouette versus the canter you have landing off a galloping fence are almost like two different gaits. They differ in impulsion, speed, and length in a way that is unattainable in the trot or walk. Unless you have a STB, that is.
With the basics now in place and (relatively) consistent, we've been able to move on to some more challenging work, such as lengthens, shoulder and haunches in, and a little half-pass... though that's still pretty green. In our jumping, angled fences, bending lines, skinnies, and corners have been introduced and with the level of the work increasing, the need for her canter to improve became apparent. It wasn't like there were holes in the canter work perse, more like we just needed to bring the canter to the next level as well.
Now Cadence's dam is a TB out of steeple chase lines on her dam's side, and A Fine Romance as her sire. So even though Cadence is half Holsteiner, she prefers the long, flat, and open stride of a TB gallop. We spent basically the first year and a half working on setting her canter back into something a little more collected and relaxed. When she's there, she's got a lovely canter... but her preference is definitely to flatten out and lengthen. She's always been fussy about sitting her canter down, and we've spent a long time slowly building that canter. We'd start by just bringing it back for one or two strides in our jump schools, letting her out as soon as she came back. Then slowly, the length of time we'd bring her back for increased, and we started adding it into our dressage schools as well. Eventually we'd progressed to collecting her up for transitions, which brought about a short period of breaking every time we collected, and set us back for a few weeks. Howevr, bit by bit the canter improved.
In the past few weeks, I've noticed the biggest improvement in her canter. About a month ago, we spent a few flat schools working on collecting her canter, spiralling in on a circle, transitioning to trot, and then spiralling out. This combination of collection, transitions, and getting her onto my aids, made quite the improvement to our canter work. Around that same time, we started working on building different canters in our jump school- cantering down a line in 4 strides, then in 5, and so on. Last weekend, we even managed to fit 6 strides in a 4 stride line! Quite a feat for a horse that kept putting in 3 at the start of the lesson....
Another big improvement to the canter came when we did a simple exercise- simple changes on a serpentine. The first time we tried this it was dreadful. To do this exercise well, the horse really has to collect and stay soft through the transition, because you only have 2 or so strides in which to prepare for the next canter transition. As we worked on this, we'd start off by getting maybe 1 or 2 good transitions per school. Then after about a week and a half, we were able to do 2 serpentines with only 1 or 2 poor transitions! As this progressed, magically so did other aspects of the canter. The next time we tried the relatively simple (yet challenging for us) exercise of collecting through the short end and lengthening down the long wall, we were magically able to not only lengthen, but come back again! Witchcraft, I tell you.
Anywho, the canter really seemed to come together for us this weekend. On Friday we rode the same collection on short end lengthen on long sides that we'd done previously, but we added 10m canter circles in the corners to our canter warm up. This really got her balanced and on my outside aids, and resulted in a beautiful lengthen and even better collection. Then today in our jump school, we did some bending lines and 2 stride triple combinations that required me to set her canter properly. I screwed it up a few times, but in general she was fabulous. We ended by cantering an oxer out of 10', 12' and 13' canters and Cadence was brilliant. So while we still have a long way to go, its fun to see something we've struggled with pull together.
With the basics now in place and (relatively) consistent, we've been able to move on to some more challenging work, such as lengthens, shoulder and haunches in, and a little half-pass... though that's still pretty green. In our jumping, angled fences, bending lines, skinnies, and corners have been introduced and with the level of the work increasing, the need for her canter to improve became apparent. It wasn't like there were holes in the canter work perse, more like we just needed to bring the canter to the next level as well.
Now Cadence's dam is a TB out of steeple chase lines on her dam's side, and A Fine Romance as her sire. So even though Cadence is half Holsteiner, she prefers the long, flat, and open stride of a TB gallop. We spent basically the first year and a half working on setting her canter back into something a little more collected and relaxed. When she's there, she's got a lovely canter... but her preference is definitely to flatten out and lengthen. She's always been fussy about sitting her canter down, and we've spent a long time slowly building that canter. We'd start by just bringing it back for one or two strides in our jump schools, letting her out as soon as she came back. Then slowly, the length of time we'd bring her back for increased, and we started adding it into our dressage schools as well. Eventually we'd progressed to collecting her up for transitions, which brought about a short period of breaking every time we collected, and set us back for a few weeks. Howevr, bit by bit the canter improved.
In the past few weeks, I've noticed the biggest improvement in her canter. About a month ago, we spent a few flat schools working on collecting her canter, spiralling in on a circle, transitioning to trot, and then spiralling out. This combination of collection, transitions, and getting her onto my aids, made quite the improvement to our canter work. Around that same time, we started working on building different canters in our jump school- cantering down a line in 4 strides, then in 5, and so on. Last weekend, we even managed to fit 6 strides in a 4 stride line! Quite a feat for a horse that kept putting in 3 at the start of the lesson....
Another big improvement to the canter came when we did a simple exercise- simple changes on a serpentine. The first time we tried this it was dreadful. To do this exercise well, the horse really has to collect and stay soft through the transition, because you only have 2 or so strides in which to prepare for the next canter transition. As we worked on this, we'd start off by getting maybe 1 or 2 good transitions per school. Then after about a week and a half, we were able to do 2 serpentines with only 1 or 2 poor transitions! As this progressed, magically so did other aspects of the canter. The next time we tried the relatively simple (yet challenging for us) exercise of collecting through the short end and lengthening down the long wall, we were magically able to not only lengthen, but come back again! Witchcraft, I tell you.
Anywho, the canter really seemed to come together for us this weekend. On Friday we rode the same collection on short end lengthen on long sides that we'd done previously, but we added 10m canter circles in the corners to our canter warm up. This really got her balanced and on my outside aids, and resulted in a beautiful lengthen and even better collection. Then today in our jump school, we did some bending lines and 2 stride triple combinations that required me to set her canter properly. I screwed it up a few times, but in general she was fabulous. We ended by cantering an oxer out of 10', 12' and 13' canters and Cadence was brilliant. So while we still have a long way to go, its fun to see something we've struggled with pull together.
Little baby canter lengthens from my ride on NYE.
Wow, that's really dreadful image quality... they're video stills from a video my cousin shot for me on my phone. Ah well... if I were technologically savy enough I'd just post the video, but since I'm not we're stuck with this. Funny, it looked like more of a lengthen in film. Here it just looks like a slightly rangy canter! At least her butt's engaged...
Wow, that's really dreadful image quality... they're video stills from a video my cousin shot for me on my phone. Ah well... if I were technologically savy enough I'd just post the video, but since I'm not we're stuck with this. Funny, it looked like more of a lengthen in film. Here it just looks like a slightly rangy canter! At least her butt's engaged...
Friday, December 28, 2012
Lesson Recap
Before heading off to spend Christmas with the family, I was able to fit in two fantastic riding lessons. We started off with a jumping lesson on Friday, putting another test ride on the Amerigo. My foot handled this ride a little better, & we jumped through a little gymnastic with the final oxer eventually being hiked up to 4 foot! Naturally, I didn't have any type of recording device with which to capture the event. Just my luck. Anywho, Cadence popped the 4' oxer a few times like it was nothing, but caught me in the butt once when she kicked up behind; I was surprised at how much it hurt... After the gymnastic, we jumped through a fun exercise with two oxers set 3 strides apart. You canter through the line, then ride a figure eight, taking both oxers on an angle. Cadence was a pro, and handelled it beautifully. There was one rider-induced screw up( rode a poor line/bad turn on the in to the 3 stride) which resulted in her catching a rail, but all things considered it could have been a lot worse. Overall though, it was a fantastic lesson.
The next day we had a dressage lesson in which we focused on Cadence's lateral work (mostly leg-yield in the trot & shoulder-in) and canter transitions. We did some nose-to-wall leg yields, & focused on keeping all her feet in the right place in the shoulder/haunches-in. She's caught on to the lateral work like a forest fire, and its been fun to watch her progress so rapidly. I however have some catching up to do in that department, as I feel like I'm inhibiting her progress.
The canter transitions are something that Cadence struggles with a bit more, as she really prefers to just run through my aids and go flying into a runaway trot. As fun as that may be, I personally prefer it when she sits back and flats into a collected trot. However, 90% of the time Cadence wins. We started to address this by spiralling in on a circle (at the canter) and riding our canter-trot transition on the smaller circle. We'd then spiral back out, getting her into my outside rein, and pop back into the canter. This was a great exercise, and was quite helpful for a while. But recently, serpentines with simple changes on the center line have proven to be a far more effective means of acheiving balanced transitions. I can't quite figure out why- maybe its the quick pace, or the constant changes of bend- but with this exercise we executed some truly beautiful transitions... probably our best transitions yet. I also discovered that her trot-canter transitions (which were weaker than her canter-trots in the summer) have become absolutely lovely! When I have her nicely balanced, that is.
So in the dressage, the areas that we're pushing are mostly the lateral work, and improving the quality of the canter & transitions. I'd love to get some dressage video footage soon, since the work is feeling good but I have this awful feeling that it feels way better than it looks. Ah well. Mehaps I can cajole some family members into coming to film crew for me ;)
The next day we had a dressage lesson in which we focused on Cadence's lateral work (mostly leg-yield in the trot & shoulder-in) and canter transitions. We did some nose-to-wall leg yields, & focused on keeping all her feet in the right place in the shoulder/haunches-in. She's caught on to the lateral work like a forest fire, and its been fun to watch her progress so rapidly. I however have some catching up to do in that department, as I feel like I'm inhibiting her progress.
The canter transitions are something that Cadence struggles with a bit more, as she really prefers to just run through my aids and go flying into a runaway trot. As fun as that may be, I personally prefer it when she sits back and flats into a collected trot. However, 90% of the time Cadence wins. We started to address this by spiralling in on a circle (at the canter) and riding our canter-trot transition on the smaller circle. We'd then spiral back out, getting her into my outside rein, and pop back into the canter. This was a great exercise, and was quite helpful for a while. But recently, serpentines with simple changes on the center line have proven to be a far more effective means of acheiving balanced transitions. I can't quite figure out why- maybe its the quick pace, or the constant changes of bend- but with this exercise we executed some truly beautiful transitions... probably our best transitions yet. I also discovered that her trot-canter transitions (which were weaker than her canter-trots in the summer) have become absolutely lovely! When I have her nicely balanced, that is.
So in the dressage, the areas that we're pushing are mostly the lateral work, and improving the quality of the canter & transitions. I'd love to get some dressage video footage soon, since the work is feeling good but I have this awful feeling that it feels way better than it looks. Ah well. Mehaps I can cajole some family members into coming to film crew for me ;)
Monday, December 10, 2012
A Weeks Worth of Rides
Monday: Tried riding in one of the trial close contact saddles. It was a Passier close contact (don't remember the model) and the minute I swung my leg over the saddle, I wasn't impressed. The saddle didn't fit Cadence at all, and she was tense, sucked back, and trying to buck. We walked, trotted, threw in a little canter, and hopped over a wee tiny x-rail, all the time my foot was in considerable pain. Clearly not quite ready to ride with stirrups yet.
I switched over to the dressage saddle with the hope of remedying some parts of the ride, but Cadence was still miserable and alternately sucked back or charging forward. Gave up on the best note possible.
Wednesday: Lunged Cadence and did some ground work. She was a bit pushy but relatively good all in all. A bit stiff right.
Friday: I'd had an awful ride on Tuesday, and was almost putting off riding again. School consumed me (neurophysiology and genetics, anyone?) and I just let it. So naturally with 3 non-riding days in a row, Cadence was difficult. She was tense, stiff to the right, and energetic. When she's had a bit too much time off, her excess energy tends to come out in excess attitude.
The trot work was decent enough, but it fall apart in the canter work. We started to the right (as we usually do, because her left lead canter is the one she likes to run on) but Cadence was far more interesting in galloping rather than sitting back and collecting, and locked up her body when I attempted to bring her back. And when she'd lock up, she'd become unbalanced and end up swapping out, grabbing the bit, and even breaking once. We ended up just pushing through some walk-canter-walk-side pass, keeping her busy, moving, thinking, and not giving her enough time to flip out. My right arm was SO SORE by the end of the ride I was set on having my coach ride her the next day, and popping the clammer in her mouth.
Saturday: Saturday was lesson day, and though I'd planned on having my coach ride her.... somehow I ended up sitting in the saddle instead. My foot was feeling okay after my ride (with stirrups) so, what harm could it do? I DID put the clammer in her mouth, and was glad I did. Her trot work was lovely. Soft, even, and not laying on the right in the transitions.
We ran through the lateral work, and Cadence's leg yield and shoulder-in work was fantastic! Nice and consistent, and most importantly... calm! She was a bit fussy in the haunches in, but it wasn't bad. I let the mare down majorly in the half-pass though. When my coach rode her last week, she introduced Cadence to the half pass, and quickly demonstrated beautiful, correct, and consistent half-pass work in both the walk and the trot. However, when I tried to replicate that it was a little less picturesque! To say the least. It felt like we were either in a shoulder in, haunches in, or leg-yield. I just couldn't seem to get the shoulder and the haunches working together for me! We got a few steps though.
The canter work was... well... better than Friday. Cadence was again unhappy about collection, and demonstrated this through bucking. Very un-Cadence like behaviour. Anyway, I picked up a dressage whip, corrected her when she bucked, and we went on our happy little way. Miss Mare was still heavier and stiffer on my right rein, specifically when I was bringing her back. We worked on getting quality transitions, even (or perhaps especially) when Cadence was a little revved up. The goal was to spiral in on a canter circle, making sure she was balanced and not pushing her/putting her in a place where she can't balance herself. Then when on the smaller circle, transition to trot staying on the small circle. Spiral out in the trot, then repeat. Its one of my favourite exercises to do, and I find it an incredibly helpful exercise for horses tha like to barge through downwards transitions and rush off. Cadence was sweaty at the end, but still had her spunk!
Sunday: Tried the other test ride saddle I had, a Prestige Roma Jump. The saddle did not fit me at all, and left my lower leg swinging like a pendulum over our cross rail, no matter what I did. However, it was far more comfortable than the Passier, and I think if I had a flap that actually fit (this was a very small and not very forward flap, whereas I need the exact opposite) the saddle may have left a better impression. However, I wasn't sold on it and for that price, I need a saddle that makes me want to wrap it all up in bubble wrap (to match my horse) and put it up on a pedestal.
Anywho, the good part of that was that we cantered a cross rail a few times, which is almost like jumping. Oh, and I successfully rode in jumping length stirrups without too much pain. Yay!
I switched over to the dressage saddle with the hope of remedying some parts of the ride, but Cadence was still miserable and alternately sucked back or charging forward. Gave up on the best note possible.
Wednesday: Lunged Cadence and did some ground work. She was a bit pushy but relatively good all in all. A bit stiff right.
Friday: I'd had an awful ride on Tuesday, and was almost putting off riding again. School consumed me (neurophysiology and genetics, anyone?) and I just let it. So naturally with 3 non-riding days in a row, Cadence was difficult. She was tense, stiff to the right, and energetic. When she's had a bit too much time off, her excess energy tends to come out in excess attitude.
The trot work was decent enough, but it fall apart in the canter work. We started to the right (as we usually do, because her left lead canter is the one she likes to run on) but Cadence was far more interesting in galloping rather than sitting back and collecting, and locked up her body when I attempted to bring her back. And when she'd lock up, she'd become unbalanced and end up swapping out, grabbing the bit, and even breaking once. We ended up just pushing through some walk-canter-walk-side pass, keeping her busy, moving, thinking, and not giving her enough time to flip out. My right arm was SO SORE by the end of the ride I was set on having my coach ride her the next day, and popping the clammer in her mouth.
Saturday: Saturday was lesson day, and though I'd planned on having my coach ride her.... somehow I ended up sitting in the saddle instead. My foot was feeling okay after my ride (with stirrups) so, what harm could it do? I DID put the clammer in her mouth, and was glad I did. Her trot work was lovely. Soft, even, and not laying on the right in the transitions.
We ran through the lateral work, and Cadence's leg yield and shoulder-in work was fantastic! Nice and consistent, and most importantly... calm! She was a bit fussy in the haunches in, but it wasn't bad. I let the mare down majorly in the half-pass though. When my coach rode her last week, she introduced Cadence to the half pass, and quickly demonstrated beautiful, correct, and consistent half-pass work in both the walk and the trot. However, when I tried to replicate that it was a little less picturesque! To say the least. It felt like we were either in a shoulder in, haunches in, or leg-yield. I just couldn't seem to get the shoulder and the haunches working together for me! We got a few steps though.
The canter work was... well... better than Friday. Cadence was again unhappy about collection, and demonstrated this through bucking. Very un-Cadence like behaviour. Anyway, I picked up a dressage whip, corrected her when she bucked, and we went on our happy little way. Miss Mare was still heavier and stiffer on my right rein, specifically when I was bringing her back. We worked on getting quality transitions, even (or perhaps especially) when Cadence was a little revved up. The goal was to spiral in on a canter circle, making sure she was balanced and not pushing her/putting her in a place where she can't balance herself. Then when on the smaller circle, transition to trot staying on the small circle. Spiral out in the trot, then repeat. Its one of my favourite exercises to do, and I find it an incredibly helpful exercise for horses tha like to barge through downwards transitions and rush off. Cadence was sweaty at the end, but still had her spunk!
Sunday: Tried the other test ride saddle I had, a Prestige Roma Jump. The saddle did not fit me at all, and left my lower leg swinging like a pendulum over our cross rail, no matter what I did. However, it was far more comfortable than the Passier, and I think if I had a flap that actually fit (this was a very small and not very forward flap, whereas I need the exact opposite) the saddle may have left a better impression. However, I wasn't sold on it and for that price, I need a saddle that makes me want to wrap it all up in bubble wrap (to match my horse) and put it up on a pedestal.
Anywho, the good part of that was that we cantered a cross rail a few times, which is almost like jumping. Oh, and I successfully rode in jumping length stirrups without too much pain. Yay!
Monday, November 5, 2012
Introducing the Shoulder In
This was originally part of another post, but that one got a bit long-winded and off topic, so Cadence's first shoulder ins got themselves their very own post. I still get off topic a bit at the end though.
Now that we're in the winter training season, we've been ramping up the flat work. After some decent trot leg-yields (we have a bit more trouble with those, because I have a bit more trouble controlling her tempo w/o losing the lateral momentum.. but they're still fantastic seeing as we've worked on it less than 10 times...) in our Friday dressage lesson, my coach decided it was time for us to introduce shoulder fore and shoulder-in to Cadence. Now, this is an area I'm a bit greener in. I've worked on shoulder-in... less than 5 times before. I know how to ask, and what it feels like, but trying to explain this to a horse who's got no clue wtf you're asking them for is a little more difficult, because while I know what is right and what is blatantly wrong, I struggle a bit more in the grey areas. However, Cadence was brilliant and definitely saved me a bit. She just gets things so quickly, and is flexible (not to be confused with supple) and co-ordinated enough to just simply do it without too much work. The only issues we had were keeping the slow tempo in the trot. She fought that WAY more than anything. To the left, her better leg-yield direction, her shoulder-ins were actually worse. They were better in the walk, but in the trot she just attempted (or maybe succeded is a better term!) to run through my right rein. Overall though she was brilliant, and once again made me look far better than I am.
Actually, I did have to pay for it in the canter work, as she was a bit tense from the new material, so when my coach asked me to collect her through the short ends and let her out a bit on the long wall... she interpreted that as my aid for her to gallop. To explain the feeling to a friend, I likened it to attempting to hold a train back with a piece of string. You can hold on to it, but if you take too much of a hold, the train will just snap the string and then you've got nothing. However, if you just let go completely you're SOL too. So its that fine balance.
Also, as a side note, feeling that amount of energy coursing through an animal really is an amazing feeling, and I can't think of another instance in which it would be replicated. For the sciencey type, you've got all this potential energy stored so close to the surface, and you know the tiniest lapse in your riding would turn that potential energy into kinetic energy... anyway, clearly midterms are getting to my head.
Sunday, November 4, 2012
Stepping it Up
First off, indoor eventing + canadian show jumping championships = awesome, but a bit of a late night. Anywho, I regretted not taking my camera but really enjoyed watching the show.
Back on topic. I had a double lesson weekend, with a dressage lesson on Friday night followed by a jumping lesson Sat am. Both lessons were fabulous, but two lessons plus ballet class has left me incredibly sore! My coach had mentioned to me that she was going to bump up the difficulty of our flat and jumping work, and this weekend Cadence and I experienced that in spades!
In our dressage lesson, we introduced Cadence to shoulder-in. She was brilliant, and picked up on it extremely quickly. We then did some leg-yielding in and out on a circle in the canter, which has improved tremendously since last time we tried that. However, the muscle-cramp enducing part of the lesson was actually probably one of the simplest parts.... I was asked to collect Cadence's canter through the short end and let her return to a working canter on the long walls. She'd collect fine, but once she learned that long wall = being let out, she was dreadfully difficult to hold onto. After the new material, she was understandably a bit wound up. So while she listened really well through most of it, she'd just kind of check out as I desperately tried to keep her in a sane-looking, relatively straight, mostly balanced canter down the long wall. Oh mare. We ended after a few decent ones, and called it a day. She was sweatier than I've ever seen her... looks like I may have to actually clip her this winter.
Saturday's lesson was another fun one. We started off jumping a one stride to a bending two. Cadence was a super star, so my coach pulled out a barrel, laid it on its side, and 'officially' introduced Cadence to skinnies. Cadence has jumped 2 skinnies before, both of them in the first HT she completed. I've never seen a skinny in competition since, and you don't really seem many of them up until Training level. However, in our little wee tiny Pre-Entry event, we saw one in stadium, and one out XC. She jumped both like a superstar, in spite of never having seen one before. But I digress. So we headed to the blue barrel (complete with guide rails on either side) and Cadence gave me a 'umm... are you sure you want me to do this?' kind of a feel. Not afraid, but confused. So I squeezed her, she popped in a canter stride, and voila- it was done. She went on to jump it beautifully several more times before we moved on. Up next: an introduction to corners. The corner was even smoother than the skinny. We trotted in, she calmly hopped over, landed, and got pissed when I asked her to slow down. So in short, a typical Cadence jump. We then cantered in, and while she took it a bit big, it was nothing compared to what she would have done a few months ago. Her confidence is really through the roof right now; its a lovely feeling. After great success with the skinny and corner, it was time to get down to some real work! I've created a dreadful diagram below in an attempt to minimize any long- winded explanations.
We started off heading to 1 on the right lead, swapping leads over 1, and heading to 2. Then we added on 3 to the end. Next, we did 2 to 1 off the right lead, before finishing with 3 to 1 to 2 off the left lead. The first time we did 1 to 2, I completely missed 2, because I couldn't get her back in time. The same thing happened the first time I did 3 to 1. Its hard to get an idea of just how close the jumps are to each other, and just how tight the turns are from the diagram. Even jumping 1 by itself on a circle would have been a bit of a challenge. The jumps themselves weren't huge or anything. The verticles were probably 2'6, and the corner was 2'3, but the point of the exercise isn't the height, its about the technicality of the questions being asked. Overall, the lesson was a great learning experience for both Cadence and myself, and I can't wait to see how far she comes over the winter. It feels like we're really getting into the good stuff now. We're officially out of baby green-bean land and are moving on to the real work! Or at least that's what it feels like to me :)
Back on topic. I had a double lesson weekend, with a dressage lesson on Friday night followed by a jumping lesson Sat am. Both lessons were fabulous, but two lessons plus ballet class has left me incredibly sore! My coach had mentioned to me that she was going to bump up the difficulty of our flat and jumping work, and this weekend Cadence and I experienced that in spades!
In our dressage lesson, we introduced Cadence to shoulder-in. She was brilliant, and picked up on it extremely quickly. We then did some leg-yielding in and out on a circle in the canter, which has improved tremendously since last time we tried that. However, the muscle-cramp enducing part of the lesson was actually probably one of the simplest parts.... I was asked to collect Cadence's canter through the short end and let her return to a working canter on the long walls. She'd collect fine, but once she learned that long wall = being let out, she was dreadfully difficult to hold onto. After the new material, she was understandably a bit wound up. So while she listened really well through most of it, she'd just kind of check out as I desperately tried to keep her in a sane-looking, relatively straight, mostly balanced canter down the long wall. Oh mare. We ended after a few decent ones, and called it a day. She was sweatier than I've ever seen her... looks like I may have to actually clip her this winter.
Saturday's lesson was another fun one. We started off jumping a one stride to a bending two. Cadence was a super star, so my coach pulled out a barrel, laid it on its side, and 'officially' introduced Cadence to skinnies. Cadence has jumped 2 skinnies before, both of them in the first HT she completed. I've never seen a skinny in competition since, and you don't really seem many of them up until Training level. However, in our little wee tiny Pre-Entry event, we saw one in stadium, and one out XC. She jumped both like a superstar, in spite of never having seen one before. But I digress. So we headed to the blue barrel (complete with guide rails on either side) and Cadence gave me a 'umm... are you sure you want me to do this?' kind of a feel. Not afraid, but confused. So I squeezed her, she popped in a canter stride, and voila- it was done. She went on to jump it beautifully several more times before we moved on. Up next: an introduction to corners. The corner was even smoother than the skinny. We trotted in, she calmly hopped over, landed, and got pissed when I asked her to slow down. So in short, a typical Cadence jump. We then cantered in, and while she took it a bit big, it was nothing compared to what she would have done a few months ago. Her confidence is really through the roof right now; its a lovely feeling. After great success with the skinny and corner, it was time to get down to some real work! I've created a dreadful diagram below in an attempt to minimize any long- winded explanations.
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
A Lesson Well Learned
Yesterday, Cadence and I had our first lesson since her injury back at the start of December. Now, almost two months later, we're finally really getting back into the swing of things. Our ride started off with her trotting away from the mounting block, and me not being able to stop her for a full lap of the ring. Pathetic, I know. She had Sunday off, and it was showing.
The lesson was going to be more of a see where we're at and where we need to go kind of thing. Assess her muscling, fittness, and rehab schedule. The rigorous part of the rehab schedule is over, and for the past few days I've just been riding to her fitness level & cough. The cold appeared to be on its way out, but yesterday kicked that assumption to the curb; she was coughing and sneezing worse than ever before.
Anywho, so Cadence was energetic. After a quick attempt at a walk stretch, I gave up. A key part of the walk stretch is actually walking, and it didn't look like we were going to be able to handle that. Thus, I conceded to pick her up and soften her up in the walk. She was pretty good, but quite grabby, slightly unresponsive, and HEAVY in the halts. Not too impressive. She improved a wee bit though, and we moved into the trot. We were immediately faced with the rusheyness (rusheyness? rushiness... so hard to determine the correct spelling of imaginary words) I've been attempting to work through, and after some trotting around (my coach was quick to inform me that that behaviour needs to be nipped in the bud; my hyper mare should never be given the impression that speed is okay or an appropriate response to anything.) trying rather unsuccessfully to steady her rhythm, we entered into the actual learning portion of the lesson.
To help you visualize the behaviour Cadence was exhibiting, she likes to go fast. Big, long, open, powerful strides are her preference. While she's been coming back I've been encouraging her to find her own rhythm... which works alright sometimes. When she settled into her own rhythm it was lovely, but when she didn't(19 times out of 20), it was a nightmare. Most of the time, she needs her rider to show her the slower, more relaxed tempo they're looking for. The hot TB event horse blood in her just won't go there by herself. She can be content when she gets there, but while some horses are happy to trot along slowly... she's happiest and most relaxed while running. The issue we've been encountering is that when I half halt, she comes back... then goes back out stronger than before. Even if I half halt every stride, its like taking a car down a hill. To avoid riding your breaks, you apply the break, then start to release. As you release, the car starts to surge forward... so you apply the break... rinse, & repeat.
What my coach had me do was put her on a left circle and while keeping her slightly counter bent (actually, it's more NOT having a left bend and staying straight) leg yield in on the circle. Once on a small circle with her at the center, I had to make sure the circle was totally even and I didn't lose her shoulder for even a millisecond as we went around the circle. As we were doing this, I kept rating her tempo & wonder of all wonders, it improved. We walked, and leg yielded slowly out. We did this in the walk and trot, focusing very carefully on the shoulders. Then, we switched directions and did it to the right, walk and trot.
What I learned is that she wasn't running away by grabbing the bit and havin' a good ole time like she used to (subtlety level: low) but instead she was ever so subtly evading me by losing her outside (most of the time) shoulder. When we tried this in the canter, starting on her rushy left lead, the results were outstanding! Her canter improved dramatically. Its still pretty flat and down hill, but she needs to build more muscle before we can fix that. Plus, there are a few more training blocks we need to re-install as well.
Before we cantered to the right, my coach had me pick her up and ride her in a bit of a more advanced frame. Just focusing on a nice round right circle, I barely asked and she came through into a gorgeous trot. Light up in front, pushing a wee bit more from behind, but maintaining the relaxed rhythm. I've never ridden anything so glorious. The best part? She kept it without even the tiniest bit of hesitation. We did a few more circles that way, and were perscribed a few minutes of trot like that for the next few weeks to get her muscles working a bit more, & rebuild that hind end! At the end of the lesson we agreed to meet next Saturday for a little flat school, followed by a reintroduction to jumping. Assuming all goes well in the next two weeks, that is.
Nothing beats the feeling of a lesson that leaves you thinking 'wow, I really learned a lot today'. They're the ones that you live for; the ones that give you puzzle pieces with which to build the picture of the equestrian you are and hope to become. At least that's the way it is for me.
The lesson was going to be more of a see where we're at and where we need to go kind of thing. Assess her muscling, fittness, and rehab schedule. The rigorous part of the rehab schedule is over, and for the past few days I've just been riding to her fitness level & cough. The cold appeared to be on its way out, but yesterday kicked that assumption to the curb; she was coughing and sneezing worse than ever before.
Anywho, so Cadence was energetic. After a quick attempt at a walk stretch, I gave up. A key part of the walk stretch is actually walking, and it didn't look like we were going to be able to handle that. Thus, I conceded to pick her up and soften her up in the walk. She was pretty good, but quite grabby, slightly unresponsive, and HEAVY in the halts. Not too impressive. She improved a wee bit though, and we moved into the trot. We were immediately faced with the rusheyness (rusheyness? rushiness... so hard to determine the correct spelling of imaginary words) I've been attempting to work through, and after some trotting around (my coach was quick to inform me that that behaviour needs to be nipped in the bud; my hyper mare should never be given the impression that speed is okay or an appropriate response to anything.) trying rather unsuccessfully to steady her rhythm, we entered into the actual learning portion of the lesson.
To help you visualize the behaviour Cadence was exhibiting, she likes to go fast. Big, long, open, powerful strides are her preference. While she's been coming back I've been encouraging her to find her own rhythm... which works alright sometimes. When she settled into her own rhythm it was lovely, but when she didn't(19 times out of 20), it was a nightmare. Most of the time, she needs her rider to show her the slower, more relaxed tempo they're looking for. The hot TB event horse blood in her just won't go there by herself. She can be content when she gets there, but while some horses are happy to trot along slowly... she's happiest and most relaxed while running. The issue we've been encountering is that when I half halt, she comes back... then goes back out stronger than before. Even if I half halt every stride, its like taking a car down a hill. To avoid riding your breaks, you apply the break, then start to release. As you release, the car starts to surge forward... so you apply the break... rinse, & repeat.
What my coach had me do was put her on a left circle and while keeping her slightly counter bent (actually, it's more NOT having a left bend and staying straight) leg yield in on the circle. Once on a small circle with her at the center, I had to make sure the circle was totally even and I didn't lose her shoulder for even a millisecond as we went around the circle. As we were doing this, I kept rating her tempo & wonder of all wonders, it improved. We walked, and leg yielded slowly out. We did this in the walk and trot, focusing very carefully on the shoulders. Then, we switched directions and did it to the right, walk and trot.
What I learned is that she wasn't running away by grabbing the bit and havin' a good ole time like she used to (subtlety level: low) but instead she was ever so subtly evading me by losing her outside (most of the time) shoulder. When we tried this in the canter, starting on her rushy left lead, the results were outstanding! Her canter improved dramatically. Its still pretty flat and down hill, but she needs to build more muscle before we can fix that. Plus, there are a few more training blocks we need to re-install as well.
Before we cantered to the right, my coach had me pick her up and ride her in a bit of a more advanced frame. Just focusing on a nice round right circle, I barely asked and she came through into a gorgeous trot. Light up in front, pushing a wee bit more from behind, but maintaining the relaxed rhythm. I've never ridden anything so glorious. The best part? She kept it without even the tiniest bit of hesitation. We did a few more circles that way, and were perscribed a few minutes of trot like that for the next few weeks to get her muscles working a bit more, & rebuild that hind end! At the end of the lesson we agreed to meet next Saturday for a little flat school, followed by a reintroduction to jumping. Assuming all goes well in the next two weeks, that is.
Nothing beats the feeling of a lesson that leaves you thinking 'wow, I really learned a lot today'. They're the ones that you live for; the ones that give you puzzle pieces with which to build the picture of the equestrian you are and hope to become. At least that's the way it is for me.
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Jump, Whoa, Wait, Repeat
For any of you that have ever endured the torture that is the 'circle exercise' (4 jumps dividing the four quadrants of the circle) then you understand the dread I felt when I was informed of this lesson's jumping exercise. Two jumps is bad enough, four is... just not fun. It's a wonderful exercise, especially in training the forward or hard to turn horse.
For those that haven't done it, the goal is to jump the jump, rock the horse back (or bring them back to trot to start), turn a nice square turn (effectively spinning them on their haunches when they balance back), release, and jump the next jump. Rinse, repeat.
Cadence and my last jumping experience didn't go too well (mostly due to bad planning on my part) but her warm up was good and she was nice and responsive, especially considering the two other horses in the ring (one of which is a very green horse/rider combination) She had a nice long canter warm up in which we concentrated on maintaining her nice calm canter, without too much fuss. I was especially proud of the fact that she maintained that nice bannana bend to the right!
Anywho, we started the jumping exercise with one jump and three poles. After trotting this a few times each direction, we popped up two cross rails. Starting with just the two jumps allowed me to instill the immediate 'back' after the fences (coming right back to a WAITING trot before going to each pole/fence) and then when we added the other two fences, it wasn't all that difficult. It took her a few tries to find her legs, but she remembered enough that we were able to jump, come back to trot, and then head to the fence with her rocked back and waiting, not galloping like a bulldozer. There were one or two 'oopsies' each direction, but I just corrected her, (not heading for the next jump) and then continued on with the exercise. When we tried it in the canter, I was surprized with how amazing she was! So good and calm. Better to the right than the left; it was easier to get her to bend right than it was to keep her fromgoing through that right shoulder. However, she picked up on a very difficult exercise perfectly her first try. I was so pleased. Her jumping and dressage are now both at or above the level of Bailey's when I stopped riding him, they far surpass Arty's, and well none of the other horses I ride/have ridden really compare.
On an interesting note, we tried her in a 5" loose ring (no hooks or anything harsh like that) myler and she seemed to do pretty well with it. I think the action's good (especially to help with her right side bend issues) but I think they're a little too thin for her... she was still a wee bit fussy with it. I'll either ride in the myler or her regular snaffle tonight; still not sure.
For those that haven't done it, the goal is to jump the jump, rock the horse back (or bring them back to trot to start), turn a nice square turn (effectively spinning them on their haunches when they balance back), release, and jump the next jump. Rinse, repeat.
Cadence and my last jumping experience didn't go too well (mostly due to bad planning on my part) but her warm up was good and she was nice and responsive, especially considering the two other horses in the ring (one of which is a very green horse/rider combination) She had a nice long canter warm up in which we concentrated on maintaining her nice calm canter, without too much fuss. I was especially proud of the fact that she maintained that nice bannana bend to the right!
Anywho, we started the jumping exercise with one jump and three poles. After trotting this a few times each direction, we popped up two cross rails. Starting with just the two jumps allowed me to instill the immediate 'back' after the fences (coming right back to a WAITING trot before going to each pole/fence) and then when we added the other two fences, it wasn't all that difficult. It took her a few tries to find her legs, but she remembered enough that we were able to jump, come back to trot, and then head to the fence with her rocked back and waiting, not galloping like a bulldozer. There were one or two 'oopsies' each direction, but I just corrected her, (not heading for the next jump) and then continued on with the exercise. When we tried it in the canter, I was surprized with how amazing she was! So good and calm. Better to the right than the left; it was easier to get her to bend right than it was to keep her fromgoing through that right shoulder. However, she picked up on a very difficult exercise perfectly her first try. I was so pleased. Her jumping and dressage are now both at or above the level of Bailey's when I stopped riding him, they far surpass Arty's, and well none of the other horses I ride/have ridden really compare.
On an interesting note, we tried her in a 5" loose ring (no hooks or anything harsh like that) myler and she seemed to do pretty well with it. I think the action's good (especially to help with her right side bend issues) but I think they're a little too thin for her... she was still a wee bit fussy with it. I'll either ride in the myler or her regular snaffle tonight; still not sure.
Saturday, December 3, 2011
Attention Shoppers....
... we now carry a right bend! Yes, yoou heard me correctly. Not only can we actually get a true right bend, but we can carry ourselves too.
To start at the beginning, Cadence was better last night but not perfect. I could get some bend/give to the right, but she never totally gave it. Its like she wasn't really moving through that right side. Make sense? I hope so... it's a little difficult to put into words. Today my lesson started off in much the same manner, except that we had a little more give to the right than previously. Then, about a third of the way through the lesson, she was grabbign and laying so we halted and rattled her off it, then asked for the bend. Bam! We had a right bend. Like a true I will give and bend my nose to your stirrup if you want me to right bend. Even better? We were able to keep it through the rest of the ride without much fuss (there was a little resistance after the canter) AND she was now carrying herself and not laying on me. What an awesome mare :)
We'd started off the ride with the clammer in (wrapped in vetwrap to make it softer for her! The things people come up with...) and took it off at the end of the ride to make sure we still had the bend. She was totally loose and jiggly in a way that I've never seen her before. We also were able to get a little more push from behind once that neck (and subsequently back) unlocked for me. I could truly get her working back to front! Honestly, I don't think she's ever been so free and bendable as she was today. It was a lovely feeling.
To start at the beginning, Cadence was better last night but not perfect. I could get some bend/give to the right, but she never totally gave it. Its like she wasn't really moving through that right side. Make sense? I hope so... it's a little difficult to put into words. Today my lesson started off in much the same manner, except that we had a little more give to the right than previously. Then, about a third of the way through the lesson, she was grabbign and laying so we halted and rattled her off it, then asked for the bend. Bam! We had a right bend. Like a true I will give and bend my nose to your stirrup if you want me to right bend. Even better? We were able to keep it through the rest of the ride without much fuss (there was a little resistance after the canter) AND she was now carrying herself and not laying on me. What an awesome mare :)
We'd started off the ride with the clammer in (wrapped in vetwrap to make it softer for her! The things people come up with...) and took it off at the end of the ride to make sure we still had the bend. She was totally loose and jiggly in a way that I've never seen her before. We also were able to get a little more push from behind once that neck (and subsequently back) unlocked for me. I could truly get her working back to front! Honestly, I don't think she's ever been so free and bendable as she was today. It was a lovely feeling.
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Monday Jumping Lessons
Monday we had a quick gymnastic school to make suree the mare didn't go too long without a jump school. I was actually quite impressed with how well lil miss mare was with her jumping! Warmed up over an x, then a vertical, then jumped through a bounce, then did some lower (2'3-2'6) grid work. The final exercise was the same basic bounce to one stride that we did in the video, but set with 2'6 - 2'9 verticals. We did it once, got it right, and moved on. To end, we cantered an oxer both directions, and ended. She was good cantering the oxer to the right, with only one long spot. To the left (her grabby direction) we got two long spots and one very (on the verge of being dangerously) long spot, but for the most part I was able to correct her when she went to grab me and keep her rythm the same to the base of the jumps. It was an improvement!
She had yesterday off, and today we'll go out for a hack... if the weather cooperates. This morning as I was driving in to school (at about 7am) and there was snow on the ground! It's snowed before, but never stuck. Now that the sun's up it's all gone, but it really made it feel like winter. Not that this is relevant...
She had yesterday off, and today we'll go out for a hack... if the weather cooperates. This morning as I was driving in to school (at about 7am) and there was snow on the ground! It's snowed before, but never stuck. Now that the sun's up it's all gone, but it really made it feel like winter. Not that this is relevant...
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
A Host of Updates
First off, I'm not sure if anyone read Sad News: For Sale, but if you did then you'll remember my comments about a show called Murdoch Mysteries. Well, last night they emailed and they have space for my friend (Laura) and I on Wednesday's show! So it looks like we'll make it on the show after all. They may very well cut our scene, but alas I'm in it for the Victorian era clothing, not the fame and fortune that comes with being an extra ;)
Next, Cadence and I had a wonderful jumping lesson. We worked on getting that nice round jump, something that we tend to lose since the Mare has enough ability to easily pop over anything we present her with. As a result, she gets long and flat, and avoids building muscle. We also came within millimeters of squishing my coach's dog, since she ran out into the middle of the grid we were jumping. It effectively backed Cadence off though! Something I'd been much less successful with.
Lastly, I'm off to see Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds! My excitement levels have sky rocketed. Ciao!
Next, Cadence and I had a wonderful jumping lesson. We worked on getting that nice round jump, something that we tend to lose since the Mare has enough ability to easily pop over anything we present her with. As a result, she gets long and flat, and avoids building muscle. We also came within millimeters of squishing my coach's dog, since she ran out into the middle of the grid we were jumping. It effectively backed Cadence off though! Something I'd been much less successful with.
Lastly, I'm off to see Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds! My excitement levels have sky rocketed. Ciao!
Thursday, September 22, 2011
My 17y/o Baby
I made it through my evening from hell (thanks to my stellar scheduling skills) yesterday, and even found time to eat! Though schoolwork seems to have fallen by the way-side or however that expression goes. Anyhow, Cadence was amazing. I haven't had a chance to do a write up on the lessons from last weekend (dressage friday and jumping Sat), but I'll quickly paraphrase:
Friday: The Mare was insane. Apparently riding every other day does NOT work for her. She was ready to go beat Secretariat and be the first TB cross to win the triple crown. She even refused to pick up her right lead for a while. Frustrating. We survived the lesson, and proceeded to go for a nice long hack.
Sat: Kaitlin (Cadence's old owner/breeder) came down to watch our lesson. Cadence was good at first. Good warm up, good gymnastics, bad single fences/oxerness. We grabbed the bit and bolted a couple of strides beore the fence, only to realize that there was no possible way we would make it over the jump and slamming on the breaks. I landed IN BETWEEN her front legs, on my back. I watched her lift her hoof gingerly over my vulnerable stomach, and was thankful my mare is careful with her feet. I hopped back up after giving her a quick pat, and we popped over the jump with considerably more care. I learned that I really do have to take control and stop her from bolting AT ALL COSTS. I've always tried to bring her back gently, but now I know if I have to haul on her mouth and do a pulley rein before the jump, it's better than the alternative. I was disappointed, because she had been so good in our last jump school. Good lesson to learn though. Oh, and we had a totally failed hack before the lesson.
Now onto Launa and our ride yesterday.
First I took Cadence out for a very successful w/t hack. She was absolutely amazing, and ground tied before and after the ride even when I went into the arena to grab something. GOOD MARE!!!!! Then it was Launa's turn. There were two other horses working in the arena, which isn't a big deal. I often ride her with them. Anyhow, we set up two trot poles, one after the other, and with standards either side. After a little walk/trot warm up (and some rein backs and quarter turns) we walked neatly over them, so I asked her to trot on over. SHe was having no piece of that. I'm talking knocking over the standards, and cantering away (the horse who doesn't know how to canter under saddle yet). Then the other horses left, and she walked and trotted calmly over the DEAD CENTER (something we've nevr been able to accomplish before) of the poles. I even hopped up into my two-point and trotted over them like that for the first time. What a goof. I have no idea what set her off; it's not like we haven't done something similar before... with other horses in the arena I might add. Anyhow, I'll be off to ride both ponies again tonight so we'll see how she does today.
Friday: The Mare was insane. Apparently riding every other day does NOT work for her. She was ready to go beat Secretariat and be the first TB cross to win the triple crown. She even refused to pick up her right lead for a while. Frustrating. We survived the lesson, and proceeded to go for a nice long hack.
Sat: Kaitlin (Cadence's old owner/breeder) came down to watch our lesson. Cadence was good at first. Good warm up, good gymnastics, bad single fences/oxerness. We grabbed the bit and bolted a couple of strides beore the fence, only to realize that there was no possible way we would make it over the jump and slamming on the breaks. I landed IN BETWEEN her front legs, on my back. I watched her lift her hoof gingerly over my vulnerable stomach, and was thankful my mare is careful with her feet. I hopped back up after giving her a quick pat, and we popped over the jump with considerably more care. I learned that I really do have to take control and stop her from bolting AT ALL COSTS. I've always tried to bring her back gently, but now I know if I have to haul on her mouth and do a pulley rein before the jump, it's better than the alternative. I was disappointed, because she had been so good in our last jump school. Good lesson to learn though. Oh, and we had a totally failed hack before the lesson.
Now onto Launa and our ride yesterday.
First I took Cadence out for a very successful w/t hack. She was absolutely amazing, and ground tied before and after the ride even when I went into the arena to grab something. GOOD MARE!!!!! Then it was Launa's turn. There were two other horses working in the arena, which isn't a big deal. I often ride her with them. Anyhow, we set up two trot poles, one after the other, and with standards either side. After a little walk/trot warm up (and some rein backs and quarter turns) we walked neatly over them, so I asked her to trot on over. SHe was having no piece of that. I'm talking knocking over the standards, and cantering away (the horse who doesn't know how to canter under saddle yet). Then the other horses left, and she walked and trotted calmly over the DEAD CENTER (something we've nevr been able to accomplish before) of the poles. I even hopped up into my two-point and trotted over them like that for the first time. What a goof. I have no idea what set her off; it's not like we haven't done something similar before... with other horses in the arena I might add. Anyhow, I'll be off to ride both ponies again tonight so we'll see how she does today.
Monday, January 31, 2011
I Thought Holidays Were Relaxing!
I was wrong. My last exam ended Thursday morning, and instead of gettign the nice relaxing weekend I'd been hoping for, I got a family Christmas get-together! Fun, but hectic, busy, and occasionally chaotic ;) Anyhow onto the riding part.
Thursday: Went to the barn to free lunge Cadence. She was awesome, so at the end I unhooked her, and we walked back towards the arena gate together. I realized I'd forgotten the lunge whip, so I headed back over and picked it up. This happened to coincide with my dad arriving at the barn, so the resulting incident could have occurred for a number of reasons. Cadence perked her ears foreward, and started to trot. That lasted for aobut three strides, before she took off bucking and tearing around the arena. This continued for about five solid minutes, with her never slowing down. I was so worried about her getting hurt, but she looked like she was having the time of her life! After I FINALLY caught her, she went back on the lunge till she was responding nicely, and not tearing around the arena.
Also rode Bailey. Cantered him for the first time in a while. It was fun to concentrate a little more on my position, and to ride in a dressage saddle! I really do enjoy dressage, and have missed the comfort of long stirrups ;)
Friday: Lesson. Cadence was good, much more even. Barb commented a while back that Cadence looked like she had a bit of power, and I got my first real taste of that. As she evened out, she's been putting on muscle, and she was anxious to show it off! Family arrived Friday, and I was up late. Bad idea, since I had a 9:00 lesson the next morning.
Saturday: Cadence was fantastic! She did her first gymnastic which was through two cross rails set up between a set of stools and two barrels. What a brave mare!
So after riding Cadence I went to ride Majik, the little Morgan mare. I was so impressed with her! She was clearly not too pleased about my asking her to work, but she really strutted her stuff for me! Aside from constantly going behind the bit (a habit I hate) she was phenomenal. She had a lot more training on her than I expected. I later found out she'd been trained to second level dressage, but her owner (probably not knowing what that meant) failed to mention that to me. Anyhow, long story short I had a riot on her. Tehehe, she had the oddest feeling caner though. It felt so odd after Cadence's large powerful canter!
Sunday: Went to ride Bailey. It was freezing, but I was still riding around with nothing more than a shirt and one measly little sweater on. That said, I tacked up in clothing suitable for antarctic travel.
Monday: Rode Cadence again today. She was ready to rumble in the canter, and down right pissed that I wouldn't let her. That mare's really got some power in her when she wants to. When she throws her head up, she goes all springy-and-bouncey-on-the-spotey. You can tell she's starting to power up. Now that she's much evener, I've been able to start bending her to the left a bit. She feels so fantastic when she gets going nicely, she really is a joy to ride.
Thursday: Went to the barn to free lunge Cadence. She was awesome, so at the end I unhooked her, and we walked back towards the arena gate together. I realized I'd forgotten the lunge whip, so I headed back over and picked it up. This happened to coincide with my dad arriving at the barn, so the resulting incident could have occurred for a number of reasons. Cadence perked her ears foreward, and started to trot. That lasted for aobut three strides, before she took off bucking and tearing around the arena. This continued for about five solid minutes, with her never slowing down. I was so worried about her getting hurt, but she looked like she was having the time of her life! After I FINALLY caught her, she went back on the lunge till she was responding nicely, and not tearing around the arena.
Also rode Bailey. Cantered him for the first time in a while. It was fun to concentrate a little more on my position, and to ride in a dressage saddle! I really do enjoy dressage, and have missed the comfort of long stirrups ;)
Friday: Lesson. Cadence was good, much more even. Barb commented a while back that Cadence looked like she had a bit of power, and I got my first real taste of that. As she evened out, she's been putting on muscle, and she was anxious to show it off! Family arrived Friday, and I was up late. Bad idea, since I had a 9:00 lesson the next morning.
Saturday: Cadence was fantastic! She did her first gymnastic which was through two cross rails set up between a set of stools and two barrels. What a brave mare!
Sunday: Went to ride Bailey. It was freezing, but I was still riding around with nothing more than a shirt and one measly little sweater on. That said, I tacked up in clothing suitable for antarctic travel.
Monday: Rode Cadence again today. She was ready to rumble in the canter, and down right pissed that I wouldn't let her. That mare's really got some power in her when she wants to. When she throws her head up, she goes all springy-and-bouncey-on-the-spotey. You can tell she's starting to power up. Now that she's much evener, I've been able to start bending her to the left a bit. She feels so fantastic when she gets going nicely, she really is a joy to ride.
Saturday, January 15, 2011
My Happy Place...
Is usually at the barn, but recently seems to have been in my bed. Anyhow, I stuck with my goal and had a fantastic ride on Cadence. We jumped for the first time in forever, and she was great. Didn't over jump like crazy, (she WAY over jumps things when you free lunge her) but she was also calm! I was really surprised, considering how badly she wanted to go when we were cantering. I think she really really enjoys it though, so she was probably happy just to be jumping again. I don't have any pictures or videos, and to be honest, I'm glad. It was the first time I'd jumped in ages, and I could feel my form sucking majorly. I think I would have died of embarrassment had I seen any videos. Since I'm busy trying not to finish a french paper, I'll write a little play by play of our jumping:
We started off with some trot poles, which she consistently hit, due to her desire to extend through them.
Then we progressed to an X made using two barrels set on their sides. The Barn she's at doesn't have any standards... but the barrels work.
We did the x twice, and she was great. There were ground poles on either side, and I think she was more concerned with those. She's got a thing with poles ;)
Next we set up a vertical. Trotted this once, then cantered it three times in a row! Go mare! On the third and fourth jump, we really hit our stride together. She's got a very scopey jump, and a huge jump in her hind end. It took me a minute to feel my way around it.
Next we set up an oxer, square wit the poles spread out as far as they'd go. The first time we did this, she got a bad distance, but made it nicely over the jump. Afterwards, we came back to a trot, and she stopped, trew her head down, snorted, and wouldn't move. I kicked her several times, and she totally ignored me! So then, I opened my left rein, and she turned and walked on, incident forgotten ;) I love how easy it is to trick a green horse.
Next time we went to the oxer, she jumped it beautifully but big! It surprised me a bit, but I stayed with her and that was my sole goal, I was satisfied. The best part of the ride came at the end though. We agreed to have Cadence stay for 10 more days, so I could take her for a test run. I hope to get some pics tomorrow, and maybe some better videos. We'll see how it goes.
We started off with some trot poles, which she consistently hit, due to her desire to extend through them.
Then we progressed to an X made using two barrels set on their sides. The Barn she's at doesn't have any standards... but the barrels work.
We did the x twice, and she was great. There were ground poles on either side, and I think she was more concerned with those. She's got a thing with poles ;)
Next we set up a vertical. Trotted this once, then cantered it three times in a row! Go mare! On the third and fourth jump, we really hit our stride together. She's got a very scopey jump, and a huge jump in her hind end. It took me a minute to feel my way around it.
Next we set up an oxer, square wit the poles spread out as far as they'd go. The first time we did this, she got a bad distance, but made it nicely over the jump. Afterwards, we came back to a trot, and she stopped, trew her head down, snorted, and wouldn't move. I kicked her several times, and she totally ignored me! So then, I opened my left rein, and she turned and walked on, incident forgotten ;) I love how easy it is to trick a green horse.
Next time we went to the oxer, she jumped it beautifully but big! It surprised me a bit, but I stayed with her and that was my sole goal, I was satisfied. The best part of the ride came at the end though. We agreed to have Cadence stay for 10 more days, so I could take her for a test run. I hope to get some pics tomorrow, and maybe some better videos. We'll see how it goes.
Friday, December 31, 2010
Lesson and update on Bailey
Well, I have good and bad news to report , so I think I'll start with the bad. Bailey's going to be off for another month. He's doing a lot better, but Bailey's Mom really wants him to make a full recovery, so we're going to err on the side of caution. I suppose that's not necessarily bad news, but more disappointing.
On the plus side, Bailey's Mom and her husband are going to be having a baby this spring! So Bailey's going to have a sibling to share his Momma with ;)
Also in the good news category, I had a lesson on my coaches horse today. It was more of a learn how to train young horses lesson, and for me a learn how to use draw reins properly lesson. I tend to shy away from draw reins, as I've seen them misused so many times. However, when riding a young green horse they can be really helpful. Z was fantastic! She's going to be a great dressage horse, and I was honoured to be able to ride her. Needless to say, I was also a little nervous. This wasn't helped when my coach informed me that I was one of the first people, aside from herself, to ride her. Z kept looking into the middle at my coach as if to say
"Why aren't you on my back? What's she doing up there?"
It was a ton of fun, and I guess I did alright, since I've been invited back to ride her once a week while Bales is off. I wish I'd gotten some pics, but no such luck. Anyhow, happy new year everyone!
On the plus side, Bailey's Mom and her husband are going to be having a baby this spring! So Bailey's going to have a sibling to share his Momma with ;)
Also in the good news category, I had a lesson on my coaches horse today. It was more of a learn how to train young horses lesson, and for me a learn how to use draw reins properly lesson. I tend to shy away from draw reins, as I've seen them misused so many times. However, when riding a young green horse they can be really helpful. Z was fantastic! She's going to be a great dressage horse, and I was honoured to be able to ride her. Needless to say, I was also a little nervous. This wasn't helped when my coach informed me that I was one of the first people, aside from herself, to ride her. Z kept looking into the middle at my coach as if to say
"Why aren't you on my back? What's she doing up there?"
It was a ton of fun, and I guess I did alright, since I've been invited back to ride her once a week while Bales is off. I wish I'd gotten some pics, but no such luck. Anyhow, happy new year everyone!
Sunday, December 5, 2010
Jumping Lesson
So Bailey and I had our first jumping lesson in a long time yesterday. It was a lot of fun, but we both need some work. After warming up, a 3' oxer was set up on one side, and a 2'6 (i don't know about that one...) vertical on the other. We started off to the left... and failed. Bailey's max height is about 3', so I think we had this unanimous unspoken agreement that if one of us did something wrong, the other would jump well and vice versa. Anyhow, we switched to the right withthe intention of just leaving the oxer, and ending on a good note, when he found some long lost energy store. Thankfully our best jump of the day (over the oxer) was caught on video! Yikes... my position needs some work. To my credit, it was the first time I'd jumped in well over a month and a half. Plus, I was concentrating mostly on actually getting Bales over. Ah well, it was fun!
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Good Morning
On a completely different train of thought, Bailey and I have our first jumping lesson in our whip Katie's position into shape series. I'm excited, as we have only jumped once or twice before, since Lynda has been spending the past few months perfecting my seat and how I use it, but I must admit I am not looking forward to how sore I'll be tomorrow!
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