Lesson Videos

Had another lesson with Ann today. Gracie and Nat came to have a lesson after mine too. While we were getting ready a horse galloped in his yard and spooked our mares - who then proceeded to pull back, break the twine they were tied to (Gracie has NEVER done that before!) then they pranced off to disturb the lesson before us and ran all over the property causing havoc. Allie even ducked under a temporary one strand fence! Brat

Allie was amazing there as per usual. We worked on proper flexion (she tends to tip her nose to the right to avoid that rein) and transitions within the trot.

It was pretty fun, the exercise we were doing - big trot, then little trot (almost walking) then immediately bog trot again, over and over. She did so well!

Then, out of the blue, Ann said "alright, now canter, don't even think about it" and suddenly she gave me the most beautiful right lead canter depart. I laughed out loud it was just perfect and easy and I can't wait to do that again.

Left canter was pretty funny - the video below shows how hard Allie tries to get it right but she just doesn't have the balance there to canter while being through anf forward into the bridle. IT's geting there though.

Seriously though - watch this video, it's pretty funny.

Photo spam of pretty well behaved ponies:

Pretty mareface!

Ann talked Nat through the whole 'lowering the neck' and 'reaching down' and 'taking control' thing. I think it is some sort of initiation into dressage? :P

Next lesson in a month's time. We certainly have some homework to do!

Bits and Pieces.

I have just spent my Sunday morning doing horse chores. I cleaned both my and Natalie's saddles and bridles, trimmed both the horses and cleaned the float out.

I was going to ride but I never get time to do any of that stuff so I decided to give Allie a day off. I wondered - when do you guys clean your tack? How often do you clean it?

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Yesterday Nat and I took the girls back up to Mulgoa for another trail ride. It was awesome. We had the girls charging up hills and having extended trotting sessions, with about 3 big gallops in there too. I finally was able to get Allie to understand what galloping actually is - I honestly think she just didn't realise she could make her legs go that quick!

Both the girls were super sound on the rocky, hilly, sandy terrain. When I say rocky, I mean quite rocky! No boots, just a bit of extra wall (they were both due for a trim). Love it when my barefoot ponies kick arse like that.

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On my lunch break Thursday I drove to the saddlery and bought this book:

I took Allie to the indoor that night and we played around with a few of the warm up exercises. She particularly enjoyed this one:

The book says to do this one for 10 solid minutes in sitting trot! I did it for 5 minutes half sitting half rising. I concentrated on precise shapes and flexion. It was super fun.

The book is pretty good - just a bunch of different exercises for different things (warming up, looseness, lateral work etc etc). I'm excited to incorporate our favorite exercises into our regular schooling routine. I really want to get my head around shoulder-in. Any tips?

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Funny story - Natalie took Gracie on a road ride around our home suburb with her friend on another pony. Apparently there was a little girl with her father watching the horses go past. Nat said "want to have a pat?" and the little girl said to her dad "I want to pat the dirty horse!" while pointing at Gracie. I loled when Nat told me - Gracie is quite a grub - she always rolls and ends up with mud chunks on her forehead.

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My trimming is picking up - I have picked up so many clients recently that I am trimming most of the day every Saturday and almost every Sunday too. I can't wait for daylight savings so I can trim after work to free up my weekends a bit. I am loving it though. I am getting quicker and quicker every trim. I can easily trim 5 horses one after the other without a break. I have my website up and running, have a new logo and am waiting for my cards to be printed. I am booked in to start my diploma of podiotherapy next year -I start my first block in February. This really is turning into a career for me. I can't wait until I can do it more then just part time. :)

A recent trim.

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Oh - best of all - it is spring next week. :)

Test - Pics and Video!

Wild beast-pony.

Like I said, Allie went really well today. I didn't want much of a warm up and I htink I sat on her for a total of about 7 minutes today!

To be honest I have schooled her properly only once in the last 3 weeks. She is a superstar! Quiet on the float, quiet while we were there, loaded and unloaded well. Great undersaddle! No complants from me.

During the test there were a few head tossing moments, a few moments were she was slightly behind my leg, but overall she did what I told her to do at the best of her ability. Seriously, can you ask for anything more than that?

The ground was really wet and the arena had a few bad muddy spots which stuffed up our canter-trot transition to the right between the centreline and B (at 3.33 in the video) where she almost walked to keep her balance. Also, walk-trot transition (at 2.33 in the video) is not great.

BUT check out the beautiful trot-canter transition at 3.13!! Could not have asked for more!

Very very happy. Have some warm up pics:

Oh Daylight Savings, NEVER LEAVE ME

I LOVE LOVE LOVE daylight savings. Ah sunlight, it has been such a long time!

We have done some time in the saddle this past week! Saturday we had an awesome schooling session, and then Monday my friend Casey came and took Allie and I up to Sun Valley reserve in Springwood for a ride.

Allie was a mole to get on the float. Honestly, she has been pretty good about floating but she had been in a mare mood the previous few days (just squirting urine while tied up and being a bit grumpy) but it took us an hour and a half to get her loaded up. She either would rush straight back out after walking in or she refused to walk in at all. She is so tall that she even started putting her head on the roof of the float instead of walking in!! She did end up hitting her head a few times but she didn't seem to care! I was so unimpressed with her. She did end up putting a small split in her poll but it's nothing to worry about. The poor delicate flower has been picky with her feed and not finishing it again since the whole float debacle. She even put up a fight going home, and took about 25 minutes to load. Casey said she was being a bit of a warmblood - not getting into a tizzy about the situation, but just being stubborn. >:(

The actual ride itself was awesome. It is mostly sandy or slightly rocky trail that winds through lovely bush with an awesome hill at the end that we had a big canter up! Allie did very well, was a little nappy but not too bad and she got along really well with Casey's horse Harry (a fit endurance arab who was very patient to be honest about babysitting Allie!). I did get off her to walk back down the hill after the big canter as it was pretty steep and she kept stopping because she was a bit worried about her balance. She was a little looky, mainly at holes or drops (I think she believes that I am going to bury her in any big hole in the ground we go near, she must have fallen in one as a foal!) but overall was very good under saddle. We were out for about 2 hours on the ride I think? She seemed a little pooped but as soon as she got her wind back she was happy to trot on again.


Then another schooling session on Tuesday where I mainly rode Gracie and Nat rode Allie because Gracie was in a mood. I was actually thinking twice about getting on her, she was so agitated from god-knows what, with a swishy tail, pawing the ground, snorting and twitching. She can be a bit of a little dragon to be honest, but once I was on she was happy to settle into the job. So I got to see Allie go over the trot poles and she looks so nice. She pauses almost like she is doing passage, most noticeably in her hocks. I must say, she is one nice horse to look at. Sorry to gush! Gracie did really well over the poles and is really starting to get it, she tries really hard and I love that about her. I'll have to move them soon to another spot, they will get bored with them there soon!

THEN today we did the Chain-o-Ponds loop around the block, walk trot and canter in about 50 minutes. Allie seemed to have gotten bit by the speedy-bug (probably caught from Harry!) and realised that cantering up hills is fun after all! She really enjoyed herself. Gracie was an absolute angel, was the absolute opposite of the mini-dragon that she had been the day before. Sweet, relaxed, happy to be tacked up. Stood still at the tie up, not once pawing the ground. I can't keep up with that horse's moods! I think she might be in season right now, we have noticed that she gets all sweet and easy when she is in season. Go figure.

Sorry, no pictures. My phone was too full and wouldn't let me take any but I promise now that I have deleted a bunch of songs I didn't want and have made room, I will take pictures next time.

That is us all up to date now I think.

*edited to add: Nat wanted me to add the below photo of Gracie after our ride. She was a bit pooped, she kept yawning. Cutie.

I need a Real Plan

So I bought this four year old mare to event in the future. This
month, on the 25th, she turns 5 and in November, I would have had her
for a whole year.

I need a Real Plan, not just this wishy washy vague idea of where I
want to end up. I know that this year has been all about confidence
building, getting them out and about a little, getting to know Allie
but now that winter is finally over I need a game plan.

We have tried our best to get them out on the float, and I think we
have done well considering we don't own a float or a tow vehicle.
Allie and I have had only one dressage lesson and are way overdue for
another. At home, it is very hard to school as we don't have an arena,
just a lumpy round spot of grassy area that is relatively clear of
trees.

This summer, I would ideally like to:

- have monthly dressage lessons with Ann. I need Allie solid in walk,
trot, canter, transitions from gait to gait and preferably starting to
transition within the gaits too.
- go out to at least 1 dressage day and do the easiest peasiest test out there.
- school at home at lease twice during the week, then one road ride per
week after work and one ride somewhere (lesson, visit friend, bigger
road ride) on a Saturday.
- I want her ready to send off to be introduced to jumping in winter.
I have no idea who I would send her to but I am not confident at all
teaching her how to jump when previously I have only been the
passenger with her eyes closed throwing the reins at the horses face
to avoid bopping them in the mouth over fences. Then, while she is
being trained, I will have some jump lessons on a schoolmaster.

What do you think? What else should a 5 year old future event horse be
doing over her 5yo summer to get her on track? What should I be doing
as a rider to develop myself further? Please, leave a comment an give
me some pointers, I need it!! :) I must add that I don't intend on eventing properly until she is 6 and my goals are to event at preliminary (in Australia, jumping to 0.95 or 3.11 feet). If we absolutely love eventing and Allie is a superstar, we might move up to pre novice (1.05 or 3.44 feet). But I doubt it.

Out and About!

We finally borrowed a float for a few days and got the girls out!

Yay!

They don't look too worried... yet.

Here Allie is putting 2 and 2 together. "The last time I was in a white box I moved house!"

"Is this our new house?"

We took them back to our old agistment for trail rides, and we took them to a local indoor for some schooling (which was more get-the-pony's-attention than schooling-for-correctness). They were so well behaved! Loaded well, traveled pretty well (except when some arse ran up our bum while we were going slowly around a corner and beep-beep-BEEEEEEEPPPed his horn at us. Gracie FREAKED!) and behaved under saddle. We are so proud of the girls!

See the lip-stick mark on her nose?

Does this horse look worried about her first ever visit to an indoor? Nope!

She has a bit of a trot on her, I can tell you!

Very happy trail-riding ponies!

We thought they would be scared of the crane and junk, but no, they were fine.

Allie was pretty funny - she kept giving the hairy eyeball to piles of rubbish, like she was disgusted  by them and couldn't stand the thought of rubbish touching her. We also tried to have a canter up our old galloping hill, but they didn't know what to do! We tried so hard to get them to go forward but in the end we were kicking them like they were fat naughty school ponies and all they would do was walk! They had no idea what to do with all that space in front of them! We were in hysterics, laughing and not believing it! We are so used to holding our horses back at that hill, then having a leaping start and holding on for dear life so it was weird for us as well. Next time we will go out with an older experienced horse who can teach them the joys of a flog up the hill!

Here is a little video of Allie not caring at all about being ridden in a strange new place with a bunch of strange horses looking at her:

Very very happy with the girls. :)