horseback riding

We had a day off today, after getting right back to work this weekend. Belle is getting better and better with the saddle--only a matter of weeks now until she's reliable enough for me to sit on. And B has his homework for the next few months: Nailing the movements in second level test four and third level test three. He's been very cooperative for the past few days. We've been working on elasticity at all the gaits--having him jump through at the canter, rise over his back and into the bridle, and sit down on his haunches for push.

The show season has officially ended for me--no more recognized shows, although I do plan to go to some schooling shows around New Mexico only. I was hoping to end on a brighter note, instead of with such low scores--nowhere near qualifying for regionals, which was the hope for the weekend. Still a long way to go until B is truly a second level horse. I guess, too, that his tense-ness hurts us--he never truly relaxes and comes through his back in the show ring, and that costs us major points.

Okay, it wasn't the greatest show weekend in history, but that's what makes for good stories.
1) Katy's truck broke down friday morning... luckily no horses were being hauled. She even made her ride (barely).$400 and one new alternator later, all is well.
2) Penny had a real bad stomach ache and turned green during her warmup. She scratched. Good thing, too, because the lightening was so close we could feel it on our necks. And there's nothing like throwing up at X instead of halting, and then being struck by lightening.

Heels down. Leg back. Leg forward. More forward. Too forward. Be lighter with your aids! More leg. Left shoulder drooping. More connection! Not enough. Ask for more. Too much bend. Not enough bend. He's overbent...

So here's how it went: Mike put a toothpick on his index finger and than wrapped it in masking tape so it would stay on. Then he proceeded to do a lot of ground work with Belle-yielding to pressure, circles, walk and halt using just a little rope pressure. Every now and then he'd poke her neck (MAD!

Wendy, my star beginner student, cantered off the longe line for the first time tonight. She hasn't been riding much, being the single mother of three its hard for her to get here, but tonight she truly had a "click"--she suddenly was posting, turning, circling, trotting over poles, keeping her hands down, and just pretty much riding. I let her just ride around for awhile without saying much (sometimes the teacher just needs to shut up) and then I asked her if she wanted to canter, which she did.

I got up this morning at ODark:30 to take a 7:00 am lesson with Rick Klaassen, a german master trainer. Last time I rode with Rick he spent an hour yelling at me. This time, he seemed really pleased with how far we'd come. I got lots of compliments. Could we be making progress? It's a miracle. Mostly we worked on bend on the circle, and leg yield down the long wall, both of which he's gotten much better at over the past year or so. I think if I ride with Rick once a year for the next three years, we might actually get somewhere...

Oh boy is it hot. Everyone's talking about it. Not only is it hot, but it's very smoky, since half of the west is currently on fire and it seems to settle into the valley here around this time of the year. All three of the horses have eye infections from a combination of smoke and flies. Nothing serious, just drippy eyes and a little mucus forming in the corners. I'll head over to the vet's tomorrow and pick up a tube of the Gentak that we use in their eyes this time of year. I got out to ride this morning by 8:00 am, which was almost too late.

As I work to move up the levels in dressage, it occurs to me just how hard this sport is. I mean really, really, hard. I have such unbelievable break throughs and then such enormously long plateaus. After the last horse show in El Paso, I decided I needed to spend the summer building up B's back muscles. This is a matter of time and patience, plus a lot of cross training. I've been reading Jane Savoie's More Cross Training book, and it's giving lots of ideas for exercises.

Yesterday and today it took Belle three seconds to get in the trailer. I'm so proud of her... We even did the "in the trailer dance" as my friend Bernie calls it--that's when you ask the horse to take three steps forward and three steps back, just move around the trailer, get used to the sounds of her hoofs on the floor and so forth. She was an absolute star! Perhaps it was because she knew I had horse treats in my pocket, but I only rewarded her when she was in the trailer and standing next to me. Not only does she load, but she self-load. I just point to the trailer and she gets in!