Eq Chicka and Lucky Me, both of your babies are very nice. Eq your mare looks like one we have in our barn. Came out of the paint horse world into the h/j one. He’s a really good jumper too. Doesn’t have the bald face, but high white on all 4’s… Lucky, what foundation sire is your filly by? Its my ole QH soul that pops up, even tho my heart belongs to a TB… 
Welcome to the group! This bunch of mostly mid-life masochists is always happy to have a new member. 
We would love to see some pictures.
<BLOCKQUOTE class=“ip-ubbcode-quote”><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by DMK:
Merry… Just wait until he figures out he can make more room for himself if he swaps at the base <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
Tess has recently discovered that very thing. The situation is not at all helped by the fact that I tend to lean left, which, since I’ve been pretty much her only rider means that I’ve “taught” her to drift left. Very frustrating, especially since I don’t even realize I’m doing it (until I hear the dulcet tones of my trainer, that is 
)
Also, my right leg is stronger than my left left, promoting more drift. 
She wants so badly to be good that’s exceedingly annoying to realize that I’m the one screwing things up. 
I think Merry is gonna try using the old, “I’ve been busy!” excuse. 
Duffy, your boy is indeed gorgeous. And in other topics, I’d second the idea that there is such a thing as an “I don’t do winters” horses. My cousin’s horse, bless his soul, becomes a fire-breathing, snorting, impossible ditz-brain in winter; doesn’t matter how much he’s lunged/turned-out/ridden, he’s a pain in the patootie. This is the same horse who will do long-stirrup/green rider classes all day long in the spring, summer and fall, but we’ve learned (the hard way) not to even bother in winter.
I see trees of green, red roses too. I watch 'em bloom for me and for you. And I think to myself … what a wonderful world. Yes, what a wonderful world." – Louie Armstrong.
Just another thought about those “overnight” behavior changes with greenies. When we switched from night turn-out to day turn-out last month, Tess went into a huge behavior spasm for a couple of weeks.
Everyone else in my barn who had problems said their horses were reacting to the cooler weather (which obviously can also be a factor) but I know my mare. Sometimes it’s the little things that really bug them and it can drive you crazy trying to figure out what it is this time.
Today Tess and I had a perfect lesson. Sigh. Really perfect. How often does that happen? (well to us, almost never. )
When the time came to jump the course, I swear all I did was pick up the reins and steer. Tess was light, responsive, listening to my slightest cue, and jumping with her knees up to her ears. I pulled up after the last fence wearing a grin as wide as Texas. My trainer looked at me and said, “Well she was perfect, I’m thrilled, and you made a couple of small mistakes. But I don’t see why she and I should have to do it again just so you can fix stuff you know how to do better.”
This means all the more to me because it was two years ago this week that I got Tess. And one year ago this week that I took her to a show where we made utter fools of ourselves, barely managing to trot in and canter out of the lines, only semi-under-control in the warm-up ring, racing like a Whippet in the flat class.
At the time, I had seriously begun to wonder if I’d taken on more than I was capable of handling. So for everyone else who reads this thread and wonders whether there ever will be light at the end of the tunnel, I’m here to tell you that there is. And it’s shining like a friggin’ beacon down in Atlanta today.
As you all know, I cannot ride, and don’t know when (or of) I will be able to. So the girls are going through a breeding stock sale on 12/10. Well, someone gave me the great good idea to take videos of them because there are people like me, looking for hunter/jumper prospects at these sales.
So for the last 2 -3 weeks Sophie Moose and Kimmie have been in intensive daily lunge/jump mode. Kimmie did this alot last year and this is a brush up for her, and she is coming along fabulously. In fact she loves it so much that, as I was raising the jump today, she got impatient and circled and jumped it with me standing right by the standard raising the pole!!! Scared me 1/2 to death. But that is a horse who really likes to jump! She will be able to be video’d jumping a 3’3 - 3’6" oxer and she is awesome.
On to Sophie Moose… She has a HUGE jump in her. But it doesn’t even show up until the jump gets over medium sized. Until then it is a variation on her bunny hop, or perhaps a swimming stroke that vaguely resembles the butterfly. I can’t really tell because I usually have to close my eyes before I want to vomit.
But, once the jump gets to 3’+ and the girl starts to J-U-M-P and she is LOOKIN’ GOOD! Now I know she is still only 3 (and 3/4) and has never been ridden… And we have only been doing this for 3 weeks… This is no kind of training method I would ever recommend or use on a horse I had time to go slowly with. But time is a pressin’ so we are forging ahead. And its working until she gets to a bad distance, puts in an awkward jump and scares herself. Then I put the jump back down to a cross rail that she can easily trot, we trot it twice and end for the day.
But today, I put a saddle on her for the first time (she has high withers and I wanted to see if she would look better in it for the flat portion of the video, and she does.) So then we go over to our little jump and she jumps the little warm up X once. Comes around again and absolutely refuses to go near the X again. Rears, spins, flies back… I am at a loss, because the one thing SM has always had going for her is that she loves to jump. I go to get her and put the rails down to a pile on the ground and we both walk over it 4 times. I ask her to go over it again and she does it once and then gets violent again. I am afraid that she will rear up and go over on my saddle, so I take it off… Voila! Problem solved. I guess the girth pinched her when she jumped. Once the saddle was off, the old SM returned and I had to pull her away from the jump to change the height. We ended up a tad lower than we usually do, because I was afraid that she might chip in or have a rail and set herself back today, but it was absolutely amazing how she would not trot a pile of rails on the ground with the saddle on, and yet she will jump a 3’ high by 3’6" wide oxer with it off.
Love these greenies. I think the Moose has a real future in the jumper ring (the saddle issue just might have to be addressed down the road , but as the jump gets higher she jumps higher and higher over it. At 3’6" she jumps 4’6" over it and still does not appear to be making an effort. At age 3 with a whole 3 weeks of “jumping” training behind her, I can’t tell you how impressed I am with my little bunny hopper.
Don’t even get me started on the subject of Tess and cows. 
She has yet to see a sheep or a goat. So much excitement still ahead of us.
I’ll get down on my knees and pray. Grovel. Anything. Please, please fairy godmother, let Justice understand flying changes.
I don’t know who gets more frustrated - him or me! 
Beezer, I think I am in love with Tigger On the other hand, the phrase “The Santa Ana winds gave up befor Merry” struck a VERY familiar and personal chord in me!! (you know, the “been there, done that, bought the T-shirt and wore it proudly” chord?)
RV went off to his first real horse show (meaning he was gone for 3 days not 18 hours) to learn about being a show horse. I have figured out that he is more than a little concerned about any horse coming up on him, not just ponies (but those are much scarier). We spent all three days doing our real work in the mostly abandoned jumper schooling ring (very small) with brief forays into the large, busy schooling area, where he had to hold himself together and walk around while everyone else schooled. It went a lot like this:
walk-walk-walk-horse coming up on me must get tense-walk-walk-walk-another horse coming am tense must explode-circle-circle-circle-damn will she let go of my face I’m tired of staring at her kneecap-walk-walk-walk…
Altogether, it was a good experience though. And on an interseting note, I met BB’ers Midge, Sandstone and Claiborne… and there were probably a few others present who were smart enough to run away when they saw a saddle pad monogrammed with “DMK”
Last but not least (small brag on RV), I had a chance to talk to a trainer who I more or less consider a living legend in the hunters, and I think he quite liked RV, so I floated all the way home instead of driving. Of course to be fair, he did not see RV’s impressive acrobatics when a leaf skittered across the ring (you know the kind that after the fact you wonder how exactly you stayed on?)
OK, yous guys jinxed me. And I blame every single one of you. All of sudden yesterday, I’m riding a new greenie at the stables and guess what?? I’m getting a white foam shower as Miss Ranni (Green Mare) starts the twisty head thangy. And she was really getting into it. back and forth up and down, tounge sticking out. I beleive its time for a drop nose band to stop the tounge thing, but how do you prohibit the twisting head???
Member of the Baby Greenie Support Group of North America
A resounding NO from this quarter. I’m pretty old too and you know what? I sure don’t bounce back like I used to when I was a kid.
Good for you that you’re not dealing with a fear factor. Wait until the pain goes away and enjoy the holidays. There’ll be plenty of time to get back on Elliot in January.
Or maybe spring.
I convinced a friend to get up early to play ring crew for me today, since I wanted to see how the Swift horse felt about xpoles now (we’ve false-started on his over fences training twice already due to my own scheduling issues… horrible, I know).
Swift warmed up well on the flat, despite his narrow-tree saddle still being a little wide and squooshing down on him. He’s developed a new trick of bearing down on my hands, which I think is his way of punishing me for bragging about my “uphill, naturally light in the bridle” horse.
We made our approach to a cross pole, at which Swift stopped. We came back around, and he did put in the effort to jump this time - but gave up halfway through and ended up on his knees in the middle of the fence. Poor guy. I got off, checked his legs, then walked him over and over the fence poles to assure him that they weren’t going to kill him. He started to get brave, so I got back on…
Only to have him pull down the same cross pole with his back foot. Argh! It’s not even a proper speedbump, it’s more of a 3" “jump.” He kept trucking back and forth over it, though, and went over it nicely.
Suggestions? Please? At least I caught everything on video, which I’ve been watching on a loop for the past 30 minutes.
Swift’s Injuries: 4 Major, 16 Minor, 9 XRays. Injuries to rider: 4. Rather embarassing accidents: 2.
VERY impressive LaurieB
But you don’t have to give up working off one side - that is actually how track people do it (mine hardly know how to pick up a foot when I stand on the off side!) - you just go behind the horse’s leg, not in front
Hopeful Hunter - I’m not sure I would use the batting for a leg wrap - methinks it wouldn’t breathe enough unless you REALLY wanted a sweat. It sure beats a baby diaper by a mile or two (in addition to being cheaper).
Bumpkin, glad to hear about your succesful lesson, and Duffy, I know you aren’t a wimp (unless one counts the “it’s too cold to ride” excuse ).
RV was mostly sound today - if I weren’t superstitious I might say me managed to avoid the abscess. But since I am highly superstitious, we won’t say a thing
With regards to falling off at a show… I’m so afraid of tempting fate here, but that hasn’t happened to me in a couple of years, and it was totally my own fault. I asked my mare to make this ridiculous inside turn in a medal work-off. Hey, if it had worked, I’d have been famous!
“Charter Member of the Baby Greenie Support Group of North America”
wtywmm - I used one of those once… Pad stayed right where I left it… me and the saddle slid back about 8 inches though!
Unfortunately for me I tried a friend’s just before a class, and we neither schooled long nor over anything particularly large. I reset the pads and saddle, went in for a class at 3’3 - had a great jumping horse, and by the third line I had a saddle pad IN FRONT of the saddle! Made for an interesting trip!!
Needless to say I removed it before the next class
I have found that the Professional Choice girth keeps my saddle and pad in place though…
C’mon BEEZER!!! Tell us about your ride!!!
An optimist thinks we are living in the best of all times…
A pessimist fears this is true.
Well, Bumpkin, my dtr would bring the average down somewhat since she is only 15 (barely). Is there a place for a “crazy hsm who got talked into not one, but two greenies”? I’d probably balance out the average with my dtr. LOL.
Greenie #1 has had a fantastic first year, giving my dtr her best year ever. She just had her first ever medals finals (hey, we’re talkin only 2’6" here) this past weekend, and finished 3rd! She had the top call back, but inexperience and nervousness prevailed and she forgot to plan her trip. Couple of very bad chips dropped her, but…her and Rio were the only ones to completely trot the trot fence. The other three either cantered before, after, or both. For the year, (if they would ever post the results and update) we think they have year end reserve champ equitation o/f in one division, and finished in the top 10 of a very tough hunter division where over 30 different horses earned points. Not bad for a green-bean and her teenage trainer/owner.
We won’t discuss the other one, yet. He’s turning out to be tougher than #1 greenie.
Here is a pic of my dtr and her greenie in the medal final. Note the turn of the ear is the same direction my dtr is looking! Does that mean he really listens to her?
Member - Baby Greenie Support Group, HorseShowMom Clique, and Midwest Clique
I am exhausted, but had a great time at the schooling show.
We went down Saturday, stayed the evening close to the show grounds and got home after 8 P.M. last night.
My Suburban is packed to the ceiling and I have a lesson this evening. Ack I am getting olde!! haha
Well Elliot schooled wonderfully both Saturday and Sunday.
My super trainer was very happy with how well he did, and has improved in the six months he has been with her
In his first class, a flat one with Mallory, he got a bit boxed in and blew up.
Mallory handled it very well, and had to stay in the ring for her Eq class. Trainer on the side told her to talk to him, so Mallory sang to him and both looked more relaxed and they won the class!!! 
His next class waaaayyyyy later in the day, was a schooling Regular Hunters, which was a max ht of 2’9"
Our trainer rode him beautifully and he won that class also!!!
His next and last class was the same class, and he tugged down to the last jump and placed third, his bad, haha
We were all so pleased with all our horses and ponies at this show.
It was a lot of fun
I don’t have any photos, but I did video tape just about everyone in our barn. I only missed a couple because I had to recharge my battery.
Silly me, I thought the video camera had plenty of power because it said I had like 20 min left. Duh thats the tape not the battery!!! What an airhead
THANK YOU for the jangles, I do believe they helped us!!!
V. .V
.( * )
Oh, I know all about picking. My biggest down fall. After being sufficiently beaten at my lesson yesterday, that was one of the things she picked up on right away. I was fine untill she started talking to my, then my years of riding went out the window. I couldn’t ride out of a paper bag yesterday, but the good thing was my boy was a star. Anytime something went wrong (all me by the way) he just kept trying. He recieved lots of treats last night.
I have let him get to my comfort zone and then started to pick, which is what I always do. I was definatly brought out of that area and plunked down in the middle of “holly cr#p” land and failed misserabley. Yes I am about to say it, I choked…Anybody a good sports phycologist?
