Well Mr. Trouble continues to impress me....he has become a lot more settled and every ride seems better than the last. I have played around with bits and found that he goes well in a french link boucher for now. He still chomps it more than I'd like but he also listens and doesn't brace against it so we will keep it for the time being. I must say that he has been really good about retaining what I've been asking him for from ride to ride. He has become a lot more supple and accepting of the bit, and his transitions are getting smoother and less hurried. He does root the rein a little if I'm not paying attention and keeping the outside rein steady enough, so this has made me be really conscious of keeping my reins tidy!
I got to audit/volunteer at the Leslie Law clinic over the weekend and I was super impressed with him. He was very systematic with each pair and emphasized staying "with" the horse instead of against it. He also sat on just about every horse and was able to demonstrate what he was talking about. The man can certainly ride anything and make it fantastic! I loved how he sat around the horse yet kept the angle in his elbow to soft effective hands. He stressed that the quality of the canter is the most important thing and that the horses must take responsibility for the jump if you set up the correct canter. He also said that we should strive to keep the same speed that we plan to jump the fence at through the corner as well as the approach to the fence (i.e. don't change the canter after the turn). I loved the exercise that had 3 canter rails 9 feet apart to a vertical with a rolled out groundline. It made all the horses find the correct canter without the rider fussing at them before the fence. The repitition of this exercise helped most of the horses jump better.
So back to Trouble...I felt like the 32cm Prestige of Cathy's was a little too narrow for him as it was sliding a bit in our lesson last week, so I tried Nora's Kieffer again with a fleeceworks pad and it fit well. I rode him in it and he was a lot looser and happy to go forward. I really liked the feeling of riding him in dressage tack because I could get more of my leg on him and he listened a lot better to my half halts. Once he is supple and forward he just floats and is so easy to ride! Hopefully I am not jinxing us by writing this, but I think he's going to be pretty competitive on the flat if we keep progressing in this fashion. I had a lightbulb moment in the canter when I thought of "sitting on his back feet" to help him sit and lighten his front end - it worked wonders for his balance! He could only hold it for a few strides, but the understanding was definitely there!
We had our 2nd jumping lesson on Tuesday, and it was MUCH better than the first one. I rode him in Kari's Pessoa that she is loaning me, and it seemed to fit him well with the fleeceworks and I was comfortable riding in it. We started out with flatwork again, and Cathy commented that he looked a lot better and was smart about listening to my aids. We worked on a few spiral circles at the trot and he did them well. Then we came across the diagonal and I asked him to move his hind feet towards the wall. This helped him understand that he can move his hind feet independently from his front feet. His canter transitions were a lot better and we worked on collecting him for a few strides and then letting him lengthen and drop his neck a bit. Cathy emphasized that we don't want him to think that we will always make him collect, but that he is allowed to go forward in a balance when I say so. Next we worked through a little grid, starting with a placing pole to an X with a pole on the backside. I kept his trot balanced and slow on the approach and he jumped it really well. We would circle afterwards and he picked up the wrong lead the first 2 times, but the 3rd time through I was able to open my left rein and he landed correctly. Next we added a vertical one stride away, keeping the placing pole in the middle of the 2 fences. He looked a little but I softly closed my leg and he jumped quietly but with his knees to his eyeballs! We did this a few times, and the balance of his circles on the backside improved. Then Cathy made it an oxer and he jumped it well. I felt like I was in a good balance with him and kept my shoulder slow and my lower leg supportive. I need to remember to sit in the back of the saddle after we land to bring his canter back to a good balance, he sometimes pulls me forward and then gets on the forehand. Lastly we came off a right lead canter to an X with flowers on both sides, he jumped it big the first time but not stupidly, the next time around he jumped it right out of stride. He felt a little tired at this point so the canter balance was a little bit of a struggle, but I think once he is stronger it will be a piece of cake.
My ride the following day his canter already felt more balanced, like he remembered our lesson! I let him canter through some poles and he did it well. I am thinking that I'll alternate dressage days with jumping tack/pole exercises so he can continue to think about his balance in relation to poles even if we aren't jumping.
More soon!!
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
1st lesson
Last night Trouble and I had our first lesson with Cathy. I was excited and nervous at the same time since I have still been getting to know him and haven't really pushed him outside his comfort zone yet. Wellll, we did a little bit of pushing last night and I think he is going to be a *really* cool horse. He has been here for a week and I just feel like each ride gets better and better and he understands what I want from him. He is accepting the contact better and not being as rude about sticking his nose out "hunter style". He bends around my leg and is softer in the transitions than he was at first.
We started out walking for a few minutes and trying to shorten his steps a bit for a few strides and then softly pushing him out and making his neck longer. We did the same thing at the trot, really concentrating on keeping the outside rein steady and bending him with my inside leg, but also slowing the steps a bit and then pushing him out again. This will help create the "gears" in his gaits, which is the key to adjustability and rideability. I felt like he wanted to get a little quick since I have been letting him go pretty forward trying to stretch his neck down. I need to work on making him sit a little in the trot so he learns to come off his forehand and trot in a better balance. He was also trying to root a bit, so I need to be a little stronger on the outside rein when he does that. We did a little bit of spiraling in and out onto a 10 meter circle and his balance seemed to get better-he felt like he understood where his hind legs were and how to use them independently. Then we did a 4-5 loop serpentine through the whole arena. I felt like the quality of his trot was better and he was really through, but he actually bent better when we were going right than to the left, so that's something else to work on during our daily rides. Next, we cantered on a circle, working on keeping a steady rhythm and using a diamond shape with 4 points to focus on in the circle. I felt like I was losing him to the outside a little and he didn't want to bend and step under, so we spiraled in a little and he was better. He is less comfortable when I'm sitting than when I'm out of the tack, again probably a remnant of being a hunter. Cathy said that my leg is getting a little too far back at times (which is the opposite problem I was having with Roxy...ironic!), so I need to think about letting it hang by the girth and keeping my toe out a little more.
We moved on to jumping a little X with a placing pole, he was forward and happy to jump but landed a bit quick and didn't want to come back right away. We worked on approaching in a slower trot, keeping my shoulder slow at the base and letting him jump up to me. We incorporated a rail on a circle after the X, and he struggled with coming through the turn to the rail, he wanted to drift out off the circle. I think this had a lot to do with his balance and not wanting to sit in the canter and turn correctly. We did this several times, trying to change the turn a little and come off the rail to make a sharper turn and he got better eventually. This is definitely an exercise to practice on my own-he needs to be MUCH sharper off my outside aids so he turns better. Next we cantered to a little vertical, sitting in the tack to keep the canter short. He got quite bold and quick to this...I'm not sure if it was just the fact that he hadn't jumped in a few weeks or since I was sitting and not letting him be on the forehand at the canter. I felt like we were fighting each other a bit on the way to the fence, and then he didn't want to turn quickly afterward. Cathy pointed out that I need to be a lot stronger with my position so he doesn't pull me forward and canter on the forehand. I need to practice sitting the canter and making him wait and collect and turn politely off the outside aids. I was happy that he was forward and wanting to jump, but we also need to come to an understanding about how to approach the jump politely and go away from it quietly :) Cathy and I talked about different bits to try, she is going to find me a jointed happy mouth and I will look through Randi's bits today as well. She was happy with his progress on the flat and said she thinks he is really smart and will figure it all out quickly. I was proud of him for working so hard after having a light week of work!
We started out walking for a few minutes and trying to shorten his steps a bit for a few strides and then softly pushing him out and making his neck longer. We did the same thing at the trot, really concentrating on keeping the outside rein steady and bending him with my inside leg, but also slowing the steps a bit and then pushing him out again. This will help create the "gears" in his gaits, which is the key to adjustability and rideability. I felt like he wanted to get a little quick since I have been letting him go pretty forward trying to stretch his neck down. I need to work on making him sit a little in the trot so he learns to come off his forehand and trot in a better balance. He was also trying to root a bit, so I need to be a little stronger on the outside rein when he does that. We did a little bit of spiraling in and out onto a 10 meter circle and his balance seemed to get better-he felt like he understood where his hind legs were and how to use them independently. Then we did a 4-5 loop serpentine through the whole arena. I felt like the quality of his trot was better and he was really through, but he actually bent better when we were going right than to the left, so that's something else to work on during our daily rides. Next, we cantered on a circle, working on keeping a steady rhythm and using a diamond shape with 4 points to focus on in the circle. I felt like I was losing him to the outside a little and he didn't want to bend and step under, so we spiraled in a little and he was better. He is less comfortable when I'm sitting than when I'm out of the tack, again probably a remnant of being a hunter. Cathy said that my leg is getting a little too far back at times (which is the opposite problem I was having with Roxy...ironic!), so I need to think about letting it hang by the girth and keeping my toe out a little more.
We moved on to jumping a little X with a placing pole, he was forward and happy to jump but landed a bit quick and didn't want to come back right away. We worked on approaching in a slower trot, keeping my shoulder slow at the base and letting him jump up to me. We incorporated a rail on a circle after the X, and he struggled with coming through the turn to the rail, he wanted to drift out off the circle. I think this had a lot to do with his balance and not wanting to sit in the canter and turn correctly. We did this several times, trying to change the turn a little and come off the rail to make a sharper turn and he got better eventually. This is definitely an exercise to practice on my own-he needs to be MUCH sharper off my outside aids so he turns better. Next we cantered to a little vertical, sitting in the tack to keep the canter short. He got quite bold and quick to this...I'm not sure if it was just the fact that he hadn't jumped in a few weeks or since I was sitting and not letting him be on the forehand at the canter. I felt like we were fighting each other a bit on the way to the fence, and then he didn't want to turn quickly afterward. Cathy pointed out that I need to be a lot stronger with my position so he doesn't pull me forward and canter on the forehand. I need to practice sitting the canter and making him wait and collect and turn politely off the outside aids. I was happy that he was forward and wanting to jump, but we also need to come to an understanding about how to approach the jump politely and go away from it quietly :) Cathy and I talked about different bits to try, she is going to find me a jointed happy mouth and I will look through Randi's bits today as well. She was happy with his progress on the flat and said she thinks he is really smart and will figure it all out quickly. I was proud of him for working so hard after having a light week of work!
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Time for Trouble!
Well, he made it! After 2 long weeks of waiting, Trouble arrived this morning at 8:30. I am boarding him at Topline Equestrian Center, which is convenient because it's less than 15 minutes from work and Cathy is based there so I won't have to haul out for lessons!
When I got to the barn, Trouble was in his new stall happily munching hay and he looked no worse for the wear. His legs were tight and he seemed happy, so I am one relieved mom right now! I unloaded some of my stuff from my over-packed car and made sure his new blankies fit. I also fed him way more carrots than I should have, but he's gotta learn who his new mom is, and quickly since he is about to go into hardcore bootcamp! I will head back out there after work today to hand walk him a bit, and then hopefully be able to go for a hack tomorrow afternoon :)
When I got to the barn, Trouble was in his new stall happily munching hay and he looked no worse for the wear. His legs were tight and he seemed happy, so I am one relieved mom right now! I unloaded some of my stuff from my over-packed car and made sure his new blankies fit. I also fed him way more carrots than I should have, but he's gotta learn who his new mom is, and quickly since he is about to go into hardcore bootcamp! I will head back out there after work today to hand walk him a bit, and then hopefully be able to go for a hack tomorrow afternoon :)
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Trouble!
Well hello there, it's been a while! I have spent the winter keeping Roxy tuned up and teaching a few lessons here and there. I have been working every weekend at a new bar, Moe's Cantina, and came to the realization that I was saving up quite a bit more money that I thought would be possible. This led me to the decision to start horse shopping (finally!!). I went to Arizona to try a chestnut Old/TB mare, but she was a little more green and hot than what I wanted....I tried a horse of a local trainer's that I really liked, but he had some strength issues since he was a rescue and I wasn't sure if it would be a good long term investment. Then I got a phone call from Cathy that she was going to try a horse that could work for me and she would keep me posted. She called me the next day and said I better buy a plane ticket! I did, and I was in love with Trouble from the moment I sat on him.
Trouble is a 2005 grey TB gelding. He stands about 15.3-16hh, I will need to stick him to be sure. He is very responsive to the leg, is very balanced, and has a fantastic overtrack at the walk. He raced twice as a 3 year old and was not very fast, finishing 2nd to last and dead last in his starts and winning a whopping $300! He was then purchased by Betsy Johnpeter Anderson, who is a local hunter trainer in the area. Betsy is expecting her 2nd child this summer, so she sent Trouble to HITS with her trainer to be sold. Betsy called Cathy to let her know he was for sale and in Ocala, so I definitely got lucky when Cathy thought of him for me! When I rode him I noticed how comfortable he was to sit on, I never lost my balance and he keeps a lovely steady rhythm for a young horse. He was very game about everything we jumped, and we rode him in the top jumping field away from the barn without issue. Cathy was really impressed with how he uses himself and snaps his knees up without jumping hard-he just seemed to have a knack for it! We took him to Dr. Craig Roberts the next day for a pre purchase exam, and all went well so he is mine!! I came back to Illinois the following day and he stayed in Ocala with Cathy. She will be returning on March 7th with all the horses, and I am just so impatient for him to get here so we can get to work! Since he was used to going in a standing martingale, he needs to build up a topline and gain more strength over his back...dressage bootcamp, here we come!
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