Class of 2013?

[kande50]

I've also gone full-stock horse and just impulse-bought a dressage saddle with tooling

Had to google that.

[chantal]

Zinnia, I'm loving reading the details of your story in addition to more pics of your guy. So cool! You are doing right by him.

[Ponichiwa]

Well. Signed Queso up for a local schooling show. Fewer than 50 rides under our belt-- time to go show!

[ZinniaZ]

how do you all structure your work weeks for your five year olds? I try to stick to a decent organized plan but sometimes I waffle around.

[heddylamar]

Structure? I have no structure

Our rides consist of arena + jaunt down the road (it's short and gravel). The horses are out in the big, semi-flat field right now, or it would be arena/field + road. We're in the thick of hunting season, and with the seeming inability to hit what they're aiming at (4-5 rounds at a time?!) I'm not going out on trail even with bells and high-visibility gear.

In the arena, we're working on shoulder in, canter (round, on the bit, counter bend, shallow arc counter canter), and we cool out with a long rein walk down the road checking out the neighbors (horses, cows, pigs, large equipment, etc). Even when Maia's hot, I stick with the long rein on the road. I'm trying to get her more confident in herself ... it seems to be working.

Next week I plan to introduce cross rails.

[ZinniaZ]

That's a structure! Just maybe a loose structure, which sounds good for your horse.

[heddylamar]

Yeah. She gets seriously impatient and cranky if I do the same things each ride. Some days, just getting on and walking in an initial circle will set her off Patience is not one of her virtues.

I need to start riding her out and about in the other large fields — one is out of sight, out of mind, back behind the barn owner's house, the other field is around the arena and has steep hills and borders the alpacas and the pig ... both of which can send her bolting.

[ZinniaZ]

yesterday, we had ridus interruptus so we ended up outside on the cold icy ground. went down the drive a bit and he was fine with the giant tarp covering the hay and the trailer that is covered in a new trailer cover. he was scared of a snow boulder on the driveway and when we turned to head home, he was all snorty about walking on his own shadow. ha!

[heddylamar]

I'm snorting Silly horses and shadows! Maia gets really tall and steps really high when we're riding at dusk. The shadow monster's going to get them!!

Last night we did trot-canter-trot transitions. Well, I should say, *I* tried. After the third downward transition, she was bucking into and out of the canter, and trotting was an anxious mess of "didyousaycanterNOW?!" "No, trot" She was a hot mess. Now that she's cantering better, I plan to keep at it until she gets the idea, and hopefully is strongerabout stepping into the canter.

[Ponichiwa]

We're back home from the show, and guess who won his first class? This little cutie:

[ZinniaZ]

awww, great photo! congratulations!

as for trot buck canter trot transitions-- right there with ya. Winter is harrrrd.

[StraightForward]

Wow, Queso is making such great progress!

[heddylamar]

Awwwww. Queso is all cuteness

[Ryeissa]

my duuuude! looks great. I love the brown tack- any more photos?

[heddylamar]

Our canter-trot-canter transitions have gotten FAR better. And, as I suspected, the canter improved vastly too. She's round, 80% balanced, and responsive to lengthening/collection within the canter. Woohoo! (That part had me riding turns like )

A few rides after the last post, I gave up on the figure 8 with simple change. We're in a bit longer than small dressage arena, and there just wasn't enought time/space to get Ms. "didyousaycanterNOW?!" to relax into the trot, ask for the canter, misfire, get the correct lead, and canter more than two strides before we needed to do it all over again. And a 15-20 meter trot circle within the figure 8 loop was a source of angst for her, shortening her stride and making her crabby and tight.

Instead, I've been cantering a full loop of the arena, coming across the centerline at X, trotting roughly X-E-H-C~M until she's relaxed, then cantering fully around the arena, asking for a canter lengthening K-E-H, and turning at B to X, trotting, and switching directions. She's far more relaxed, probably because I'm asking far less of her quickly

[Anne]

Heddy - that sounds like super progress with your canter work, and I hope trailering is also improving.

We had a hiccup in early December when Fergal came back into work after a 2 month break : he had got all tight and reactive again, and had a few bucking sessions, one with me on board, from which I bailed very quickly! No damage and got straight back on, and proceeded to have a fairly productive session just re-installing basics of walk/trot in a circle. Spent the next week doing groundwork for his confidence and mine, then hopped back on xmas day, and had a super ride out around our place.

Last weekend we did some canter work in the arena for only about the 4th time, though we've cantered quite a bit out on the hills. Very pleased that he felt quite balanced, and very biddable. The upwards transition is not super prompt, esp. to the left, but once in canter I can keep him bowling along for a couple of circles. I'm keeping off his back in canter for now, but think I need to sit a bit more soon.

Photos! : [I've got some video too, which I may edit and see if I'm brave enough to post...]

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[heddylamar]

Fergus has a great canter! When I started sitting with Maia at the canter, I wore knee patch britches so my backside could slide a bit easier if she got off balance.

We're advancing with the horse trailer! Maia's pretty stubborn and not one to be pushed into anything that's not her idea ... so we're doing the easy thing — feeding her in the trailer. If she wants her gruel, she has to walk in on her own. No photos from the past few times, but I took these last week:


Second time(?) loading on her own for supper.


Three days later.

[heddylamar]

Plus a few cute photos after our ride in the snow on Monday:


Trying to look innocent after I yelled at her for gnawing on the fence. She's turning into a terrible beaver when bored.

[Ponichiwa]

Lovely pictures, all. Heddy-- congrats on the trailer loading progress! Already starting to look like a non-event.

Anne-- you and your guy look great. I'm impressed with his balance; looks like a big horse now!

Short update on Queso: We've got leg yields. I repeat, we've got leg yields. I think his new saddle has really helped the both of us. Or so I tell myself to justify the spend...

[piedmontfields]

Wow, so many great updates (and photos!).

Glad Queso is justifying the saddle (btw, did we ever get photos of that pretty thing? the saddle, not your golden boy, although we always want to see him)
Fergal looks wonderful---freely flowing forward!
Glad Maia is incorporating the trailer into her life...she looks like such a character. And what a tiny mouth she looks to have in that photo over the fence!

[Ponichiwa]

It's maybe a bit more glitz/glam/flash than your run-of-the-mill dressage saddle, but here is Queso's new (to us) togs in a photo from ~Christmastime:



Yesterday we attempted our first walk, trot, and canter over ground poles, and Queso took it like an old pro. No drama, no fuss, and no excitement: just flawless and adorable execution. But I may be biased.

[Anne]

Wow, that is a bit out of the ordinary. I'm sure it looks even more spiffing on top of Queso. Glad to hear his poles outing was a non-event, he sounds like such a solid citizen.

And thanks P, P and H for positive comments on young Fergal - it has been a somewhat challenging journey so far, and I am kind of relieved and amazed that we can canter so nicely!!

[heddylamar]

That's a sedately blingy saddle! It reminds me of some of the fancy western saddles I used to see back in the day. Mine is smooth leather, with just a thin tool line arong the edge -- not blingy enough for a 13yo girl The color must look fabulous on Queso!

After all our struggles, I've created a cantering monster!! The lengthenings, counter canter, transitions, etc have built quite the motor -- Ms. Maia has JUMP. I was getting a bit concerned what that would mean when she finally spooked while cantering She did today. I think we levitated 15 meters sideways ... and continued cantering, no sweat

She's gotten so accurate with canter transitions, I've been cantering 20 meter loop serpentines, with a simple change along the center line.

Since it's still bang-bang-bang season here (aka hunting ....), I can't trail ride on public lands or transverse the private lands to get there. So, to add some variety in addition to walking the long driveway, I've added crossrails to our flat work in the dressage saddle. I need to see the saddle fitter before we can tackle real jumps, I think my jumping saddle is too narrow for Maia.

[Linden]

well Since I am still recovering I sent Harbour up to be ridden with people whom I know he is in excellent hands with. He is still settling into all the snow but apparently hes having a lot of fun so far.

[Linden]

forgot one

[StraightForward]

Such a handsome guy! It's great to know that he's in good hands while he waits for you.

[Anne]

Wow Linden, look at that snow! Your big guy looks gorgeous.

My little fella is officially an over-reactive diva.... I put a different saddle on him today (just placed on his back, no girth, to see how it fit) and he stood for a few seconds, then humped up and bucked it off. I guess it felt different enough from his regular saddle that it was just not right! Needless to say I dusted off the saddle and put it back on, and waited 'till he settled, then he got saddled with his regular saddle and we had a good ridden session. Transitions are improving, leg-yield improving, riding out is super - he's balanced and confident, have started doing a few steps of trot downhill.

No recent ridden photos, but here's a fun pic showing his resourcefulness when it comes to food.... there's hay in the box, but it has a lid on until later in the afternoon, so he has worked out how to get a few bits from underneath....

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[Ponichiwa]

Linden, that's quite the dramatic backdrop! Hope you're feeling well and up to riding soon.

Anne-- my guy is also a food-hound. I threatened him with a grazing muzzle until the clover bloom is over, but couldn't follow through. As a result, he's now approximately spherical.

Queso did his first Training Level test at a Ride-a-Test clinic last weekend, and looked adorable:




He's really trying his little yellow-roanish heart out.

[piedmontfields]

I am just catching up up on this thread.

Wow, Queso's saddle is W O W but luckily his absolute adorableness goes perfectly with it. Nice riding shots!

Fergal is hysterical. Sometimes I'm glad I don't have such a clever horse....

Linden, your big guy looks to be doing well in his digs!

[StraightForward]

Wow, I can’t believe Queso is doing training level tests already. It seems like he was an unbroken stud-boy just yesterday!

Annabelle was off all winter with a coffin bone fracture. When I get home this weekend, we get to start out building up trotting in 5 minute increments.

I was pretty in the dumps about all the time we’ve lost, but yesterday I saw a 1-year-ago FB memory and realized how far she came from March to October last year, so I’m heartened that we’ll start making headway again soon, and I’m going to shoot for for showing at 1st by the end of the summer. For now though, she is also rather spherical, and we both need to get on a diet and back in shape.

Looking forward to progressing along with all the 6 year olds this year!

[Anne]

An update : Fergal had 2 months off due to me travelling for work. I did a week of ground work / lunging before I got on about 2 weeks ago, and had a good first quiet ride, walk/trot in our arena. Then a few more days off due to weather (it's winter here), and next ride I made the mistake (in hindsight) to ask for a bit of canter. Think he got slightly unbalanced and whoops, his go-to thing is bucking. Not huge bucks and I did manage to stick for a bit, and only rolled off his shoulder when he stopped to avoid the arena fence..... for fun (we've got to laugh at the mishaps along the way, huh?!), here's a couple of fuzzy screenshots (thanks Mum for taking video!!) :

Starting out nicely!

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Then, oops!

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Since then, we've had some super rides, mostly 'out and about' walk/trot/canter up our long driveway, and one day 'just' walking, marching along with a long rein and really nice forwards/down nose and neck. Still working on truck-loading (he's mostly getting all 4 feet inside now, but backing out quickly), and doing quite a bit of leading past/up to/ away from scary objects and places. So that is progress of sorts.....just have to keep at it!

[StraightForward]

Wow, at least that mishap was captured for posterity! Glad you managed to keep it to a fairly minor unplanned dismount! Isn't this the year they're supposed to grow up?

[demi]

Anne, you look like a Texas cowboy saddle bronc rider !!!!

[heddylamar]

Very nicely done unplanned dismount, Anne!! I hope Fergus has kept it together since then.

[heddylamar]

I finally have evidence that I ride!!

Mom was visiting this past week and went out to the barn with me multiple times and captured some bad video (two Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Days), decent video (I need to edit), and hit-or-miss photos from a fairly decent moody-mare ride.

So, without further ado, a few stills from that last ride:


Moody mare!


Discussing whether or not moody mare would continue under saddle.

[heddylamar]

And, look, we can CANTER!!!

[Sue B]

Great job, Heddy. Nothing like a spicy red mare.

Anne Your Fergal is an awful lot like my Tio! He too used to buck (quite spectacularly on the lunge, btw) when he'd feel unbalanced in the canter. Of course, it was one very huge buck that caused my very painful unplanned dismount last September, but I still contend that one was unintentional on his part. Anyway, just know that they do eventually sort it all out and give up the boncing. Now 8years old, Tio is a much better behaved boy.

[Anne]

Heddy - go the canter!! Since then, Fergal's been a wee star (though I have not yet asked for canter in the arena again....) - lots of riding out, and he's just generally more biddable and accepting of everything (saddling up, mounting, getting on the truck).

SF - yeah, rising 6, I hope he's going to settle this year!

Demi - hah hah, wish I'd thought of that in the moment.... hoping I don't have to do it again!

SueB - I've followed your journey with Tio, you give me hope! Though Fergal has never bucked on the lunge oddly enough. He has launched a few times when taking the first step after (minimallly) tightening the girth, and a few times when semi-spooks have got bigger- maybe loss of balance?

[musical comedy]

And, look, we can CANTER!!!

Yes, and on a loose rein. That's impressive.

[heddylamar]

And, look, we can CANTER!!!

Yes, and on a loose rein. That's impressive.

That's our good lead. The other direction is more like Lee Marvin in Cat Ballou — where's the wall to prop us up?

Thanks to Mom's videos — plus a rather terrible ride where we couldn't canter at all — I figured out, then fixed, the contortions I was throwing my body into on the right lead Now I just need to make *my* change habit ... and fix Maia's bad tendencies on the right lead.

Some days it seems that riding is like playing whack-a-mole — fix one problem, and another pops up.

[Sue B]

great photos and progress heddy. It is so much fun to watch these youngsters come along

So when Tio launched me last September, it was the result of a loss of balance in the canter. He had just turned 7 btw, and much of his obnoxiousness was fading. This year, as a now 8yr old (birthday this week), he is a much easier ride. Cantering is still hit and miss because he keeps removing his front shoes out in pasture, but when I CAN canter him he is much more balanced and confident. Riding out is now truly fun and has done wonders for his forwardness and enthusiasm. I took him to another arena the other day and he was extremely well-behaved even though he was clearly pumped. So, Anne, Fergal is almost there. Some guys just mature slower than others.

[Anne]

SueB - thank you for the encouraging words it is really helpful! And happy birthday big Tio. My wee man is having a break at the moment while I'm away for work, but I'm looking forward to getting back riding when I'm home (though winter time doesn't always make for the best of conditions). We had a major breakthrough on loading onto our truck just before I had to leave for work. I think I had been 'pussyfooting' a bit and letting him convince me it was all too scarey for him. So I decided that any time he backed off the ramp without me asking, he would get to trot some brisk circles in front of the ramp, then I'd ask again to go up. It took a few more days, but soon he was walking confidently up the ramp and right inside, each time willing to stand a bit longer in the confined space. Still much to work on, but I feel it is solid progress.

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[Linden]

Coal Harbour (3013 Conteur v Wolkentanz II x Alabaster/Bolero(

[Sue B]

Beautiful, Linden. I bet you can't wait to ride!

[Linden]

Beautiful, Linden. I bet you can't wait to ride!

Do fish live in water? <3

[heddylamar]

Maia is a nut.
Yesterday: DON'T TOUCH ME!!! OMG KILLER HORSES!!!! LOOSE HORSE!!!!
Today: You're not scratching hard enough! MUST. LEAP. OVER. GROUND. POLES.

I'm just glad I'm unflappable

She was really good both yesterday, and today ... once she settled into work. It took quite a bit of settling yesterday Then, today, I unsettled her by doing our normal walk/trot then canter, expecting functional trot work then canter again

It was great. She's definitely a better mover post-canter. But we went from UP (pre-canter) to UUUPPP post-canter I'm working more toward harnessing all of her energy for the greater good (keep her butt under me?) then cooperation and/or quality of movement.

[Anne]

Well, most people have graduated from this thread, but here I am, back to square 1 with Fergal.... He's had about a year off while we decided what to do with him. I bought another horse to get some confidence back and have fun riding again (yay Connor!!, will post obs lounge and/or training forum at some stage). And now we have started some round pen work with Fergal (after first building him a round pen.... ), following a cowboy guy Pat Puckett to get some ideas of general rope work. He's such a smart cookie, but suspicious too. The aim is to get him used to ropes everywhere, including around his girth and flank, and see if we can get him over the buck reaction that is his go-to evasion.... Will see how we go!!

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