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Post by Kirk Martin on Apr 5, 2014 13:38:57 GMT -5
Let's hear what you've all been doing. Hearing about other people's rides is second best to riding yourself!
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Post by cyndi on Apr 5, 2014 15:45:15 GMT -5
I agree Kirk, I started a new thread in the "general" section (I think I called it "Horse personalities and physical traits")...or something like that. lol I wrote down my "assessment" of Valeroso in it.
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Post by ghostrider on Apr 5, 2014 19:56:07 GMT -5
Sarah rode Boomer today while I was at work, she laughed and said "Boomer isn't very patient."
My friend came into sporting goods today and said she'll see if the girls want to come with her in the morn. We're going to take Sarah riding. Supposed to be nice till late tomorrow night.
What if your horse doesn't have a personality? LOL
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Post by ghostrider on Apr 6, 2014 12:12:04 GMT -5
We got up and were saddled by 8:45 (I'm not a morning person) checked the machine at 5 till 9 and E hadn't called so we rode down the driveway and were riding in the front yard waiting for her and the girls but by 9:20 they hadn't shown up so we went ahead and left thinking we'd see them by the end of the road. NOPE don't know what happened, she's never been a no show before but she hadn't called the house when we returned at 11 either. Rode to the indoor arena but didn't go inside they were having a horse doings, probably the H.S rodeo.
Sarah controlled Boomer pretty well. He's an energetic horse and he was happy to be going out so his walk is more like a very slow trot, feels like he's in a trot when you're on him but he's actually only walking if you watch his legs. He really should have been gaited because he can cover ground quick at his walk. Buddy meanders but I kept him on his butt this morning and wouldn't let him be so slow. He seemed happy to be going out as well.
I showed her how to circle him and not let him just pivot around so she can come back behind Buddy and by the time we'd gotten 1/4 the way back she had him slowing and stopping to wait for Buddy. She even backed him a couple times. He is impatient because Matt always led and Boomer hates to be behind us. Sarah's grown and she's more sure of herself this year which shows in how Boomer is reacting to her requests. Nice because I don't think he's been ridden since last July or August. It's nice to have horses you can just let sit till you need them. I did let her gallop him from the beginning of the drive to the corral after we got home and off the hard packed gravel road. There's a spot that Matt always galloped him and he loves to kick it up and race that last stretch.
I'm tired, will post about our night in the coop. UGH
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Post by cyndi on Apr 7, 2014 15:22:02 GMT -5
Had my riding lesson today. Worked with Fanny on the lunge line first, then got on, with the lunge line still on and M holding it. Did some basic stuff at a walk, no trotting at all today. Fanny spooked, and I stayed on, which is a positive, and M got to see what Fanny's spooks are like. It was a milder one, but it was what it was. I had the weirdest reaction, though. I started to cry! I can't remember ever crying in all the times I've fallen off her. I'm not sure if it was relief, or just because M was there, or because it happened out of the blue again. It was like when a baby suddenly startles and starts to cry. I didn't bawl or anything, but the tears quietly came. M is so amazing, she jumped into therapist mode (she's a psycho therapist) and talked me through it all. A couple deeps breaths and we continued with the lesson.
Fanny had decided that there was something scary out the window of the arena (after she'd been passing by it umpteen times), and I felt her stumble a bit and that was the start of the spook. She only took a few steps and that was it. At least this time my hands reached down instead of flying up, so I grabbed onto my saddle for stability.
M suggested that for my next lesson we use her horse Maddie, so that I can practice trotting and cantering and get a feel for what the proper response to cues is, so that I will know better what to look for when I ride Fanny. Fanny's not bad, just green. I wish I could afford to have M train Fanny right now, but that's just not in the budget right now. We've stumbled along this long, we can keep at it for longer until M can do some training with her. M is very positive that Fanny and I are a great match, and that the trust and partnership we have on the ground will eventually get there when I'm on her.
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Post by luvmymorgan on Apr 7, 2014 20:46:37 GMT -5
Cyndi, That is so encouraging that M thinks you & Fanny are a great match! I can remember when I almost gave up on Risty. So glad now that I didn't! It just took time & practice, practice, practice! He turns 20 on the 20th of this month. I can't imagine live without him! On a very sad note, one of the JL trainers I worked with (actually met John when I flew to Parachute for her graduation and rode back with her to help her drive the horses & trailer home) died last week. 3 years to the day (almost to the minute) that she was diagnosed with brain cancer. She was always so healthy! Ate right, didn't smoke, taught spinning, aerobics, etc. and was big into crossfit. Just proves "you never know". RIP Lauriel! When I had my colon surgery she worked & worked with Risty to get him to stand quietly at the mounting block. He still is a champ at that because of her. I miss you my friend!
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Post by Kirk Martin on Apr 7, 2014 21:06:42 GMT -5
Hi Cyndi, Sounds like you're keeping a positive attitude. Every time you're in the saddle, it makes you a better rider and makes Fanny a more willing mount! There were times with Relen that I was so frustrated, I couldn't see how I was going to learn to ride a 15 hand horse that kept walking off from the mounting block on me. At times she wouldn't listen to my cues and refused to move. What did I do... I rode a friend's gentle (though he did ride me through some brush) 16.3 hand Quarter horse. When I came back to Relen, I had renewed confidence and 15 hands looked quite small. She doesn't walk off now; I think it works now because I respect her but refuse to be intimidated any more so now she's done testing me. It's probably a good idea to ride Maddie and improve your balance. I forgot to mention but Relen is trained to stop when the rider is off balance. So initially it was really frustrating with stop...start...stop... etc. Could Fanny have received any training like that in the past? Maybe she's not starting but questioning whether you might be falling off? In my case she would stop suddenly and I would lurch forward. Wishing you success!
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Post by ghostrider on Apr 7, 2014 23:26:29 GMT -5
Wow sorry now I posted a boring ride! Glad you stayed on and were okay. Yeah Chip was 15, Buddy 16 and Frisco was 17.2, after riding Frisco even Buddy was short.
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Post by Kirk Martin on Apr 8, 2014 11:04:57 GMT -5
Hopefully going on Valeroso for my second training ride tonight and maybe Thursday too. Greener than green but he was really good to me last time and my friend has been doing regular ground work with him. Gonna be fun!
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Post by cyndi on Apr 8, 2014 15:54:23 GMT -5
LMM, so sorry for your loss. She sounds like she was a lovely person. My husband's cousin died of a brain tumor two years ago. He lived with it for nine+ years, so he did very well...but his quality of life was pretty bad at the end. RIP. Have fun at your lesson, Kirk Fanny might sense when I am off balance (M says my balance is actually not bad at all), but the biggest thing is that she is just green. She's had some training, but not enough to be trained to that. She just needs time with someone riding her...someone who knows what to look for in her responses. M says that Fanny needs her riding lessons to be broken down into tiny pieces...so rather than getting her to walk a perfect circle, it's better to break it down to applying (for example) rein pressure, and if she turns a tight circle praise her for responding to the cue, rather than over-correcting her and keeping her on the big circle. I plan to ride Maddie, and keep up with groundwork with Fanny, including long lines or just in-hand stuff with her bridle on.
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Post by ghostrider on Apr 9, 2014 0:49:34 GMT -5
Green on Green = black and blue! Just be careful Kirk those black and blue colors are painful.
cyndi, your lessons sound like fun and you have the idea already in your mind of what you're going to do and you stick to it. I have such a hard time following a lesson for long. I get on the horse and ride down the road and that's it. Nothing thought out or planned, nothing new worked on or anything we SHOULD be working on done...I am awful about "working" without having a riding ring, arena or round pen. My rides are boring. I saddled up and rode today. Period, end of story. LOL Maybe once I get the ring set up I'll be more apt to work on side passing, or getting a softer yield? SOMETHING new. It was different when it was too wintery to ride outdoors and I was confined to the indoor. Maybe I'll marry rich next time and get my indoor? HMMM
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Post by Kirk Martin on Apr 9, 2014 14:52:14 GMT -5
The good....I rode Valeroso in a round pen for 45 minutes and he did beautifully. He stretched out and lowered his neck because he was comfortable. He gaited a bit. Having a good time minding my cues. The not so nearly good is my toe ( size 13 boots) got caught in a round pen panel and whipped my leg back striking Valeroso kinda hard on the flank. He started a bit so I did the most stupid thing in the world. I reached out for the pen railing and he kept going. Had my first real spill and could feel the jar in my lower back as it did a little "v" almost when I hit. As Valeroso came around again, I was down and he somehow got a leg in an opposing panel. He yanked loose and came over the top of me but he had the sense to miss me all except my hand which got a 1000 lb horse on it. Some road rash on my hip but that's not serious. I'm sore today and ibuprofen is helping. My hand really swelled up so getting it checked by the doctor tomorrow. Poor Valeroso took about 10-15 minutes to calm down but we finished it out well and he round penned with me a bit after falling and joined-up well. Don't know how those bull riders do it, that hurts! I was supposed to ride Thursday too but may wait a bit. Still looking forward to going though!
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Post by cyndi on Apr 9, 2014 19:07:08 GMT -5
GR, your "boring" rides are what I long for!!! LOL!! I dream of the day when I can just get on and point Fanny in the direction I want to go.
I was always warned about the green + green = black and blue, and it's always been in the back of my mind...yet I still ended up with a green horse. I was blessed with Fanny, though, in that she is such a kind horse. I would never in a million years gotten a green horse for myself that was high-spirited. It kind of makes me laugh just thinking about it. Can you imagine me with a horse like that??!! LOL!!
Kirk, so sorry to hear about your spill off Valeroso!!! I'm glad you didn't get hurt worse, and I hope your hand is okay! One of the times I fell off Fanny was when she tried to squeeze between a barrel and a fence rail. My foot got squished, so it pressed against her flank and that's what made her take off, too! She is already super sensitive to pressure on her sides when I'm on the ground, and it's amplified when I'm on her. M says we will work on that with Fanny.
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Post by horsespoiler on Apr 9, 2014 21:11:10 GMT -5
GR, I agree with Cyndi. I would like to be able to ride Whitey when I want to, where I want to. She is very buddy sour right now so I always need DH to go too. He has ridden Winnie for a couple of short rides lately and even she has been very fresh. She just wants to trot or run the whole time and I have to say that she is not always the smoothest ride (think paint mixer in hardware). Kirk I hope you haven't injured yourself too badly. I always worry about getting caught up on fencing, walls or trees. Oh, heck, I always just worry So far it has only been my feet that have been stepped on but I have been knocked down a few times. Isn't it amazing how quickly that ground comes up and how much harder it has gotten over the years?
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Post by ghostrider on Apr 9, 2014 22:45:07 GMT -5
DISCIPLINE...THAT'S THE WORD I WAS TRYING TO SAY YESTERDAY. I am finding it impossible to be disciplined. Maybe it's because I work 40 hours now? or maybe it's because I don't have the arena and RP I used to but I know I need to work on some things and want to when I sit here at the desk then I go out and everything changes.
cyndi I love that I can just go out and saddle up and ride wherever and whenever but I really miss those RP and arena lessons I used to do with the boys. Maybe I need to get a new baby? start one more horse? WHAT THE HECK AM I SAYING! shesh
HS having a sour horse must be hard. I've never had one that did more than balk a bit before they learned home isn't always a good place to hurry home to. Buddy hated riding back and forth past the house and other horses. He hates being tied to the trailer or a panel for hours. It's much better to be out there riding after all! LOL Have I ever told you all that I am a very STUBBORN girl? mom says that's not a trait to be prideful about but my stubbornness out weighs Buddy's all day long.
Kirk I hope your feeling better? maybe you need to buy some of those tapadero's or cages? You were really lucky that horse didn't end up on more than your hand...THANK GOD for his mercies! hope nothing is broke.
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