well, my days off may not be such. Granny got direct admitted to the local ER from her self-made doctor appointment. Mom is with her, in ER since 2:30 running tests and waiting on a room. Granny is acting awful- mean, snarky telling doctors she doesn’t like them and driving nurses nuts. Thanks to COVID, mom and I would take shifts If needed since only one visitor. It’s about an hour from here. If I haven’t used up the dump trucks of jingles, I could use any spare ones. For mom, too.
TC, Cupid is certainly a versatile pony! What a good boy. He’s a trier! And I can totally picture him wanting to race AFTER the cows. Too funny. Sounds like a fun ride.
Sorry, lucky, for your Granny’s trip to ER. Jingles. Question, was she always snarky, or is this just recent as she’s aged?
Well, the dozer guy is here this morning continuing work on our arena. Oh, I don’t think I mentioned it here. It was on IG. We are expanding our arena from 150’ to over 200’. I will finally be able to do a full line, AND a full-sized dressage arena. Yay! Yesterday we tore down the fence (to be re-used!) so the dozer guy could get in there. We had to take down a few trees, and it actually made me sad. I love my trees. I will plant a few new ones in their honor (haha) when the arena is completed. Yesterday after the dozer guy left, I brought Tay in there because I need to record my last tests before next Saturday. Perfect timing, huh? I was thinking he would be spooked out by the missing fence and the big hole where the fence used to be. I lunged him in there, starting at the far end of the arena and working toward where the fence used to be. We put up a few poles on the ground to make a visual barrier. He got right up to them and just sort of looked, but that was it. What a good boy! I hope to ride today or tomorrow. I have afternoon depositions today, so today may not work. Maybe tomorrow. I like to have rides in before recording my tests, but I don’t know if I’ll have a lot of time this go-around. Fingers crossed. My DH/cameraman will be in court next week, so I don’t think he’ll be able to record me during the week. I’m shooting for Saturday and Sunday. And this is for two different shows, so a lot of work to do! Good thing tests are short.
TC - The cattle sorting clinic sounds like so much fun! I so love the way you and Cupid try so many fun new things. It speaks volumes about his great personality and his trust in you that he is so happy to try all these new adventures. My daughter and I want to go for a weekend cattle herding adventure in the mountains, but adult life keeps getting in the way. Still on the bucket list for both of us, Kudos to you for making it happen.
Lucky - More jingles on your way for you, your mom and of course heaps for Granny. My Mom’s personality changes were always the first sign of an approaching UTI, sometimes the Dr. visits were interesting to say the least.
Suzie - Yay for the canter work and Stars forward progress.
PF - Congrats on enlarging your arena, I am sure you and your guys will love the extra space to work when it is finished. Loved that the construction becomes a training opp. Tay seems to be handling it all with aplomb so good rides for you this weekend. Hope your filming goes with out any technical difficulties.
PF/Trot- I wish Granny’s behaviors were her dementia or a UTI. It’s just her with less filters. No news yet, it went from keeping out of courtesy to having a surgical consult tomorrow. For what, I don’t know, as the first we heard of it was this morning when she was NPO.
I did get some much needed Pony therapy. Lots of cuddles and a decent ride. I told her I wanted to shorten my stirrups- a sure sign I haven’t ridden in a bit, and she emphatically shook her head. No one will convince me she can’t understand me 😀.
then afterwards she was making super ugly faces at the mare in the stall near the crossties. She literally stopped mid-strike when Fab had me give her a cookie. All perked ears and smiles.
Awwww a Norwegian Fjord. I used to ride one called Tristan as a Trail ride guide. He was an advanced ride. I rode him daily as he was very full of energy and fast.
I literally died in my boots when I took Pepper to a Hunter Trials (Steeplechase, Cross country and Showjumping)and work was supposed to be bringing my Work Horse, Aztec, a tb and another tb called Sam who was 16.2 hh.
Sam had thrown a shoe, so they turned up with Tris, who had never jumped anything in his life and I am too big to ride in proper public. Eeeppp.
In the steeple chase we had to go around a racetrack and in 3 places they had 3 x 44 gallon drums lying down as the jump.
As I said he was fast. I let him go and held him in at the inner fence and the drums. When he saw them he tried to stop but it was too late and he managed to scramble over them. That happened 6 times as we had to go around twice.
In the waiting box where you had to wait for so many minutes, I was so conscious that I was too big for him in public that I asked if it was okay to dismount. They said yes, so I dismounted and held him for the cross country to start. Off we went he stopped at the first log and I encouraged him over. Same at the second log. After that he started jumping and I took him the long way at all elements to make it easy for him.
I held him in for the whole course. He had been so good that going towards the finish flags I let him go as a reward. He flew down the hill through the finish flags and we went past the audience near the canteen.
We received a standing ovation from everyone. I still to this day have no idea why. Was it because of the breed? Had an announcement been made that he had never jumped before or what?
Into the showjumping and he stopped at number 3 and went over it. Stopped at number 4 and went over it. Going towards number 5 I decided that I was a good rider and I would get him in front of my leg and he would go over it. There was no way I was going to let him stop.
I sat back and PUSHED. He stopped. I ended up behind his ears. I nanaged to struggle back into the saddle, did a comical bow to the crowd and we left the arena.
I heard in later years that the staff started taking him to showjumping competitions and they really cleaned up on him.
Argh Lucky have you and your Mum pointed out to Granny, Granny’s lack of filter is against the very people who are trying to help her and they do not deserve to be treated like that or you and Mum will disown her and she can sit outside in the street with no help, or whatever consequence you think will work?
I have had the most lovely rides on Stars this week. I did not need to do the thigh thing in trot I was thinking about. Instead I just rode normally, asked with body and praised praised praised.
I am happier. He is happier. I was working him In canter this afternoon and he was round. His trot was great That after only 2 lessons!!!
I will get up and ride early and hubby can put him away. I want to get to the bread job early. One of the guys said he would help me. I want to start my second job as close to 10 am as I can. I actually have 2 jobs to do in the suburb half an hour away, then it is a hour to my next store and I have to be in the last store before 5 PM.
Next month I will not apply for the store in the half an hour away suburb so that the extra time at the bread job shouldn’t matter.
I will stay the night at Mum’s. I won’t get home early enough to ride on Sunday. Then my next lesson is on Monday.
lucky, glad you got pony time. Cures most ills, doesn’t it? Sorry about Granny.
Cindy, silly me. Love the video. You look like you’re riding a very cute Thelwell Pony.
Suzie, glad you and Stars have had some good rides.
Less rain than I thought, so the arena should be nice for filming tomorrow. Fingers crossed. The arena looks more different today, but it actually looks better, not so “holey”. I don’t think Tay will mind. I need to get the other boys in there, too.
LOL that is not so easy. I am at Mum’s now. She does not wear her aides if she is home alone. So I asked where they were when I got here last night and there was only one. She continually loses them.
So we have had heaps of problems as she cannot hear someone knocking or the phone ring. Or people knocking and trying to call to say they are here.
I have told the people who test her blood that the door is open, just open it and go in. We are not allowed to.
Do not try and call her, send her a letter. She collects the mail and will get it before we see her as we can only ring the same as you. No our policy is that we have to speak to her on the phone. %$$^&,€
My brother has come up with a solution. A phone that rings near her chair that is somehow connected to her phone… No she can not remember how to answer that phone, even though I showed her last week, however she can hear it ring and will get up and answer the main phone.
8 hours of blissful sleep last night. I have been a wee bit tired with starting the new job.
I am so happy on 2 fronts… I rode Stars in the morning. I told hubby he had to put him away. He wanted to know what time I was finishing. I don’t know. I will go up and get on him and I won’t have to get off because of it getting dark and you putting him away. I will give him a proper full ride.
What a lovely horse with 2 lessons from my instructor. He is happy. I am happy.
I brought him down and Hubby said I was not on him for long. I did everything we know. Walk, trot & canter. Walk halt, halt walk. Trot halt. Halt trot. Trot canter, canter trot. Walk canter good. Canter walk we are not strong enough for yet. I bet I will get stronger with lifting the crates of bread 6 days a week!
Serpentines, 10 meter circles. I swapped and in the first canter warm up when he slows to trot at the end I tricked him and asked him for a turn 2/3 of the way up and we cantered back to where we started.
We did counter canter loops both ways, turn on the forehands, leg yielding and shoulder in.
I had nothing more to ask and I think I might make it home in time to ride today. The days are getting longer. My necmxt lesson is tomorrow.
The other front that I am happy on is that I went in early. Saturday is the big day for Tip Top. I had arranged for the guy from GFB to help me with his load. For my Aldi Audits I swapped what I did on Saturdays as I get an extra hour. Then hoped I could do what I did on Saturday with the less hour on Sunday.
After riding Stars I made a fuss of him and told him what a good boy he was and handed him to hubby, had a shower and went to work. I took off all the returns and prepared what was on the shelves. I waited for trucks to arrive.
Tip Top arrived and I put them up and waited for the next truck to arrive. The Grocery Store Manager called him at 8.15 am.(He is usually there at 8am) and he said he was half an hour away. I waited until 9.15 am and I left.
I went to the second job. Did the third job not far away and I was so lucky that I had everything in my calendar. I had forgotten another job at the first place in that suburb so I drove back and did that.
Even though it was still morning. I was tired driving and I stopped at a cafe. I did not realise they made from scratch instead of warming the one in the display cabinet, so I waited patiently while I waited. I was then off again and in the end I got to the last store 1 HOUR before I had to be there, so that means I can apply for the same jobs next month and it won’t matter if I leave the bread job until about 10.45am.
If I get them. You have to apply each month for them. They come out at 3pm on a Monday. I now have my riding lesson at 4pm. So instead of applying at 3pm. I won’t be applying until 6 or 7 pm. Oh well we can only see what happens. I might send a test to the guy when they come out that I would like all the ones I applied for last month but it will be a few hours before I can do it.
Suzie, definitely sounds like a good ride. I like making my rides short if they are doing well.
Whew. All my dressage tests have been recorded and I’m done for the season! I’m actually ready for a break. Tay gets today off, and I have a busy work week, so he’ll have a mini-break. Over winter my goal is to work on the First Level moves that are different and familiarize myself with the tests. Continue working on my jumping, and get him off-farm for some lessons at my trainer’s other facilities where we could trailer in. So I do have winter goals to work on, but the dressage recording is done for now! It was a fun season, and I learned a lot even though we did virtual shows. I’m hoping these current tests are an improvement on my last. So far each set of tests has been a bit of an improvement, so I’m very happy about that.
PF Fingers crossed you continue your upwards trajectory, it sounds like no matter what, this sojourn has been really good for your riding. And I’m excited you have more room in your ring, I wonder if that’s not going to help you ride your jumps a bit more in the center of your horse and anticipate a little less.
Suzie So glad your rides have been productive after that time with your instructor. Sometimes that fresh set of eyes makes such a huge difference.
Cindyg Hi! Such a sweet looking horse, it’s really exiting to have a ride free from fear. It’s utterly life affirming!
Lucky I fired up a new dumptruck of jingles. I’m so sorry for all that you’re going through. I find that sometimes when I feel my stirrups are too long after not riding, even one lap walking without stirrups fixes that. Would you feel comfortable doing that?
Cupid I LOVE how game Cupid is for new adventures. Personally, I think that’s a reflection of the confidence he has gained in your patient work with him. He obviously trusts you no matter what. It’s really cool to see.
We had a good show last weekend. I think I can only ride one horse well at a time while the other is a complete mystery to me! The show had a big year end jumper championship at the 1.10m level. We decided to drop Duty down from 1.20 to 1.10 so we could enjoy the big class and our last show on the grass for the year. He was an absolute super star, jumping so super beautifully. I was just riding him too conservatively to be competitive, we had 57 in the class with some real speed demons. But I’m happy with how easy and fluid it felt.
Hudson, man, he was just a fire breathing dragon all week. I think that caught me a bit off guard, so I ended up pulling much more than I needed to and our rides just weren’t very smooth. I’m struggling to find and hold that 12 foot stride all the way around the course.
One thing i am proud of is they didnt have any open warm up classes for my trainer to take the horses in, so I was the one who did all my own prep for this show. That’s been a goal I’ve had for a very long time. I don’t think that helped with Hudson, but I do hope it means I can do more of that with Duty.
greys, thanks. I wonder if it will help my jumping to have more space. I’ve been crammed in the small arena for over ten years now, so maybe! I’ll be excited to test that theory. And I will also finally be able to put up a 20 x 60 dressage arena instead of my current 20 x 40, so I look forward to that as well. Love your pics!!! Congrats for you doing all your own prep work. Not every ride is going to be perfection, but you did it on your own and you and Hudson will have learned from it. It takes a while to perfect. But congrats on the great showing.
Well, arena update, we’ve been drilling rock since yesterday. Hope that’s done today! A few pics. I know those of you on Insta have seen one of Flynn.
[ATTACH=JSON]{“data-align”:“none”,“data-size”:“full”,“data-attachmentid”:10756423}[/ATTACH] Surge unconcerned with the rock driller arrival.
[ATTACH=JSON]{“data-align”:“none”,“data-size”:“full”,“data-attachmentid”:10756424}[/ATTACH][ATTACH=JSON]{“data-align”:“none”,“data-size”:“full”,“data-attachmentid”:10756425}[/ATTACH] And Flynnie…cat on a Cat. He is quite the supervisor.
I don’t want to make a separate post, but just wanted to quickly brag.
Had a very good ride on my young horse last night. She’s typically just a little bratty, a little rushy, unbalanced and pouting when asked to slow down and balance. Not last night! We had tons and tons of mistakes (wrong lead, super unbalanced transitions, etc), but all were handled without the sass. She’s 3.5, and we only ride for 15-20 minutes (not counting warmup) so the mistakes are A-ok. I just loved that she handled it all in a workmanlike manner - no swishing, no teeth grinding, no head flip, no attitude, much quieter about it all. What a good girl! So proud!
Hahaha at Cat on Cat. Our horses are also totally unconcerned about vehicles to the point that you have to get out of the car if you need them to move! Yelling also does nothing!
Greys with the fire breathing dragons you will learn that you actually push them to slow them down, so no pulling on the reins. Pulling on the reins means dropping the back legs and pulling rails. Pushing them around the corners and keeping them balanced means that you will be in the winners of the 57 with people wondering how you can go so fast and not knock down rails and have such a calm horse.
For the first time ever Stars went better at home than he did at the lesson. I am actually ecstatic about that. Personally I see a big difference in the amount of sand in their arena to when we were there last year. It seems less than half.
My homework is to sit up, especially in downward transitions so it is easy for him to step forward with the first step.
I am to choose a consequence if he does not go immediately. Either sudden legs to surprise him or the whip. Whichever I choose I must use every single time. Not change it.
Honestly he went so well in that ride before the lesson in our arena I did not need either. In their arena you can tell immediately he is not as forward as at home.
A day off for him yesterday. Probably today as well, So many jobs to do and a bit behind with the new bread job. My friend is also coming to clean today. I am just going to get her to do my car and maybe the laundry/ feed room to start with. I need to catch up with work and clean the house before she can start cleaning that!
Greys- loved seeing the videos on IG. Sounds like you had a productive show and with all your own prep, that is awesome.
Had a great ride on Pony. At first it was like slogging in molasses. Then we both perked up, well, the crop helped, and on we went. I was proud I only missed two diagonals and we did tons of walk/trot and collected/working trot. I must have been channeling Greys, because I did a lot of walking no stirrups. I got kinda brave, since it’s almost November and tried trot work too. I made it 5 strides before I turned into a fetal pig and stopped.
I’m so self-limiting with trot work without stirrups. I can’t get past the narrative of “I’m going to bust it and end up in the sand.” Any tips besides just practice? I know I should elongate and relax, but man is it hard to do.
I will officially be working towards the big show next September- it’s the one I worked this year and now Pony and I can do it together.
Granny is safely back at rehab- all the ruckus for ulcers. Treated like a horse- pre-meal meds and scope in 3 months. She’s going home Sunday so the jingles are needed from now til infinity 😛
ive been doing quite a bit of hip hinge work during my exercises and I feel it’s helped me feel diagonals better and relax more, at least with stirrups. The deadlift hip hinge and squats translate so much to riding, it helps bridge the gap of riding once/week.
Lucky the thought that nobody in the entire history of riding a horse has fallen off if their heels are down.
You are safer sitting back than folding forward, so when the fear bird lands, put heels down and stretch up tall with your butt in the saddle and sing. With that you breathe down into the diaphragm and you will be telling Pony you are not scared.
Can you ride one-handed? Sometimes grabbing behind or under the pommel can help you feel grounded while you learn to feel comfortable. Or, is Pony good on the lunge?
I’ve been rehabbing my ACL/MCL/meniscus. I have my second PT appointment today. I’ve been a bit depressed and haven’t gone out to the barn to see Bennie. It’s a long drive, and I feel kind of helpless. I just keep trying to have positive thoughts and think about what we will be able to accomplish once I’m better. The surgeon said it’s a six-month recovery- cough, cough. That said, he had me out of my brace on my first post-op visit (1 week out) when he initially said it would be months in a brace. I’m hoping this means the timeline is able to be accelerated.
I have a friend riding Bennie for me, but I’d really like to find a lessee (half or full) for Bennie, going down to a half lease once I’m ready to ride. My job (teaching) is such that I can’t/won’t be able to ride 5-6 days a week. I live in Tucson, AZ and the English riding community is fairly small. My trainer doesn’t have anyone in barn right now who would lease him. Obviously, I’d like him to stay in Tucson. I’ll have to poke around Facebook and see if there is a group where I can post him. He’s only jumping 2’ now, but he definitely has the potential to do 2’9", maybe even 3’ eventually. Dressage wise he’s solid training level and could easily be schooling first level. He’s such a talented guy.
Meanwhile, I’ve been grappling with my timidity issues due to past falls. I couldn’t find a specific sports therapist in Tucson, but I found a therapist here who does trauma work. I’m hoping she can help work through my fears. Does anyone know of a sport therapist who does remote therapy in case this one doesn’t work out? I’m as good a rider as I used to be, the risk hasn’t changed, but I guess my point of view has? I need to quiet the “nay-sayer” voices in my head that make me nervous. I know if I can get back to my old confidence, Bennie and I will be a great pair.
Hi, MFDF. Hey, check out Tonya Johnston. She’s specializes in horse mental skills for riding, and fear, etc. https://www.tonyajohnston.com/ I’ve seen some of her videos on Noelle Floyd’s Masterclasses, and I follow her on Instagram. Good luck! I hope you find a half lessee for Bennie. Happy healing.
Love the video. You look like you’re riding a very cute Thelwell Pony.
