Banking The Hours

Nothing too exciting to report on the riding front around here. I've been putting in as many hours in the saddle as I can since my days of nearly unlimited barn time are coming to an end. I've found a super cute place for me to rent and live in during the week while I'm away working...it's not waterfront, but it's super close and in a vacation-y kind of area. I think I'll enjoy the vibe there - maybe make me feel like I'm on vacation when I'm not working!

Left lead canter a lot more presentable

Right still pretty lean-y

But at least it's uphill on the long side? 

Love this leg yield one as she's actually reaching under and over with that hind leg rather than just shuffling over slowly.

Her standard trot

I've been putting in a lot of hours at the ring. I've set these goals of showing and getting out there this summer, so I feel like I need to put in the time now while I have it. I'm stubborn, so obviously moving to a new town isn't going to interfere with those plans if I can help it lol. I still haven't firmed up any boarding arrangements in the 'new' town, so I'm planning for worst case in which she stays here and I ride when I'm home on the weekends. Less than ideal, but better than nothing! Bridget is doing great, and fingers crossed I'll find good boarding so she can come with me. Looking forward to my lesson on Friday, them I'm moving on the weekend. Ugghhh.

Asking for better transitions halt to trot.  Need to get them a bit sharper

Lean On Me

Another weekend, another lesson. I'm a bit sad I'm missing out on the weekend shows so far, but honestly, there hasn't been anything worthy of the expense (about $4-500 for ferry fares alone - trailers are expensive when they charge by the foot!) Since I know our move closer to the shows and events is imminent, I'm finding it a little easier to save the $ and stay home for now. Besides, I can live vicariously through the blogging community and all the great outings everyone seems to be having this spring :)

Waiting for the fun to begin

 I'm still hoping to have a proper show season this year and be there for their schooling event day and the dressage % days at a minimum. I have my eye on some little jumper days too and obviously the 'big' fall events, but of course it's all dependent on how quickly I find adequate boarding. Fingers crossed, I have a great coach lined up there and of course, S is here and I plan on continuing getting her help with Ginger.

As you can probably guess by my enthusiasm for a show season this year, my lesson went well! Midge brought pretty much the same attitude to the lesson as she did to the previous days schooling ride. Soft, responsive, and fairly forward. I like this new pony! Leg yields, shoulder in, haunches in were all great - fingers crossed, we've had no issues with gradually increasing the difficulty and we're doing 'proper' grown up pony lateral work more often than not. She impressed S by cantering multiple 20m circles to the left with a respectable amount of softness and balance. We're not anywhere near perfect, but generally we're in a positive trend and I'm hopeful we'll be dressage worthy at some point in this lifetime :) The right was harder for her, so my homework lies there. All our current issues revolve around us both being left handed. I let Bridget hang on my right rein too much and that being her weaker side, she quite happily takes advantage of that and leans on me and does the whole motorbike thing.  I just generally feel more uncoordinated that way, as does she, so we both need to step it up a little. S had us work in the trot and focus on having a correct bend and make Midge responsible for holding it, and me responsible for immediately correcting her! I mentioned I felt like I was nagging, and her response was that that's her point entirely - I am way too passive about correcting Bridget. Make it quick, make it effective, and then leave her alone, rather than my default of asking nicely...repeatedly. Easier said than done!

We finished up with a fun little cross rail 'course'. Bridget of course loved it, but her gas tank was running a little low and we called it good after 10 minutes or so of that. Unsurprisingly, tired ponies are good ponies, and my hack home was much less eventful than yesterdays athletic show of pony naughtiness (who says pony can't collect the canter? In place, even? LOL, Bridget, you're so busted :)

Hot Streak

Midge's little hot streak continues. She was very up and very spooky yet again last night, which under normal circumstances I'd be worried and unhappy about. With Bridget though, you just get the feeling it's all in good fun and nothing's going to go beyond anything I can't handle. When we make it to the ring, her extra energy actually seems to be working in my favor. She's more than happy to funnel it into work!

No G to take photos again so you're stuck with my pre ride shots of the shiny pony

You're probably sick of hearing how well she's doing, but last night's ride was another stand out one. I'm still a bit surprised by the athleticism and work ethic hiding inside my 'lazy' and 'plain' pony. I took away all our poles and jumps with the plan of really focusing on my riding and our flat work. She was soft and responsive and just genuinely there to work. The canter to the left was the best yet, and felt somewhat adjustable and 'easy' for the first time. The right is still her tougher side and it's much more of a rider workout keeping her somewhat balanced. A+ for effort on her part though, so I went back to trot and played with getting 'big' and 'little' trots, focusing on making the 'little' trot ever so slightly collected and the 'big' one larger up and down than simply faster. We did a bunch of transitions, working on keeping her round and soft throughout - she's really getting the idea.

I'm feeling like pony is as far along as I could bring her on my own. Yes, I can play with the canter some more, but we're at the point where I definitely need regular lessons and a plan in place if I'm going to school her on my own and expect to advance further. S had better be ready for a bunch of questions and some post lesson homework this weekend!

Unsettled

This upcoming move has me all mentally torn in a million different directions.  I'm excited. The job is perfect, the people are awesome, it's not that far away. I like the area. I know it's a smart move for our future, but darn, I was seriously DONE with living away from G, even part of the time. That this is a short term arrangement until he can join me makes me feel better, but I just want him there with me already! I like things organized, and I like our existing status quo. So, you can imagine the ridiculous amount of time I'm spending getting our current place just perfect, researching the new area, looking at real estate, finances, building plans,the horsey community etc etc.  I want to recreate my existing situation there, and no, I'm not wanting to make compromises! I just need to chill out :) With that in mind, I set up some appointments for the coming weekend, and popped out for a ride yesterday afternoon.

Perfectly timed ride between the rain clouds

Midge is in crazy heat, which is a new thing for me - I've not owned her long enough to know how that affects her. I know with Ginger it's dramatic, and she gets over the top herd bound, so it was noted and on my mind. Luckily, Bridget deals with it like she deals with everything -  easily. She was a bit more up, a tiny bit not wanting to leave her friends, but other than that, she was all business and ready to go to work. I opted to hack up to the ring, wanting to give us both a job to focus on. Midge had been feeling way too good and  was quite hot and spooky on my previous trail ride and my current levels of distraction are noted above :) Circles, spirals, and transitions are friends to both of us.

Neither one of us should be drinking coffee!

We started out pretty tense and disorganized. Something felt off with my stirrups or leathers and I just couldn't get them comfortable on my ankle. I also need to buy some pony sized reins. My current ones can hang too long and get pinched under the saddle flap. It's super annoying. I ended up knotting my reins and crossing my stirrups. The no stirrups thing was a blessing in disguise because it forced me to think a little more about keeping my leg under me. I'm pretty short and very strong, so I can still post and two point (and unfortunately, perch!) just fine without stirrups. So removing them won't solve my bad habits, but it does get me thinking about sitting deeper and stretching my legs down and my shoulders up. I'm going to continue with it, I think.

Midge was a star. We had a quick discussion about moving off my leg and moving her left shoulder immediately when I ask, and after that she was tuned in and ready to go. She felt soft and lovely in the trot, although crooked at times. We're starting to rely less on the inside rein for turns and more on the outside like a grownup pony, so she needs a little extra help and gets a bit crooked thinking I want her shoulder out if I overdo it. We have a lesson on Saturday, so hopefully S can help me there. We moved up to canter and I was so pleased to see Midge can now canter multiple 20m circles in each direction without falling apart. She's finding it a little easier to adjust herself, and although it's mot pretty yet. she's working hard and I think it will come. We still have our canter poles set up, one on each side, and I think I'll leave them there - they're definitely helping her get a better idea of where her feet are at.

So green and beautiful out there!

It was a super warm and muggy day so we were both pretty worn out and enjoyed a nice relaxed hack home. Another afternoon well spent :)

Pardon The Interruption

Sorry for the somewhat infrequent posts. My current job has picked up and I'm getting called in every day, and of course my new job starts shortly and there is much preparation and research to do in order to get myself organized to move.

Sadly, I had to nix my plans to show this past weekend. I just can't justify the time and expense when I'll have so many more extra costs coming up at the end of the month. Also, for this new job I'll be moving to the area where that show series is held.  I'll have the rest of the summer and fall to attend them without the giant expense of taking a horse trailer on the ferry.

I have been riding, but it's been a little more infrequent than my normal 6 days a week schedule. Poor Midge was full of beans last night and very silly and spooky. I didn't think an arena ride would be productive, so we went out on the trails for an hour or so. It's been a number of years since I've spent a spring or summer on the coast, so all the flowers and greenery make me feel happy and slightly nostalgic for all those fun rides on these same trails when I was a little kid.

Dapples!

Enjoying the summer weather

I haven't made any firm decisions yet regarding boarding or living arrangements for next month. The horses are going to stay where they are for now and I'll see them on weekends, but I'm going to make arrangements for Bridget to come with me as soon as I find something.  I have a lead on a good sounding place with an excellent eventing coach that comes there, but it will be a bit of a drive and I'm concerned in the winter I won't get there before dark (there is no indoor or lights on the outdoor). The only place with an indoor (besides excellent coach who is full) is self board and doesn't have much turnout so I'm not thinking that's a viable option. Ideally, I'd like to find full board with access to that great coach! We've been checking out real estate, but for now I'm just going to rent and get a better idea of where or what we'd like to buy.

Ginger is going to stay where she is. I'll be able to see her on the weekends and she's just so happy and relaxed at this barn I'd feel horrible moving her.

Ginger and her boyfriend

I have a fun mini clinic weekend scheduled this Sat/Sun with S. We're going to trailer in to our local exhibition grounds and see if we can find the tools to get Midge a little more relaxed and willing outside our home arena. Until then, pardon the small interrruptions while I get my life rearranged :)

So Many Changes

This is what Bridget normally thinks of dressage

Big change #1: Bridget! I had my lesson last night and was pretty tired from work. I rode for a bit and warmed her up and she was a star - totally on my aids, there waiting when I asked for something, and she just generally felt supple and loose. S took pity on me and rode the remaining half of our lesson time and I just sat there watching with a big silly grin on my face. For the first time, I can really see what a nice ride Bridget is becoming/could be. S makes everything she rides look good, but still...pony was really wanting to work and giving 110% effort. She was soft, her little trot was swinging through from behind, she was steady in the contact  and she just generally looked relaxed and happy in her work. S had a big silly grin on her face too - she hasn't ridden B for a couple of months now and couldn't get over the difference. She commented "You're going to have a really nice horse! Look at her! This is all your hard work showing." Which of course totally made my day and earned her my eternal loyalty :) Seriously though, I have no idea what changed, but in the past month or so all that tension she used to carry through her neck and back is melting away. I never need to nag for forward (or anything) in fact. The vast majority of the time she shows up ready to work. It's a night and day difference from the pony I was riding this past fall and winter, who just felt inverted and stuck behind the leg and resentful of arena work the majority of the time. Not to mention the serious problem she had with any sort of contact! Since I was planning on only trail riding her, I thought worse case scenario I'd just ride her in a rope halter. Of course, me being me, I got ambitious about actually training her and changed her bit and had her teeth done. Really though, I think it must have been residual from some bad experience or training - it's almost like she just had to build some trust and learn I'm not going to pull on her because she's just got gradually better and better to where I was watching her yesterday in a bit of shock at how the evasions have disappeared!

Random. Because I was so excited and in the moment watching S ride, I didn't even think to take some pics

Big change #2: I took that job that's a ferry ride/ 2hr commute away from me. It's the perfect job for me, in my actual techie field and with a local municipality. With work anywhere in our area being so hard to find, I'm pretty excited to have found something so close to home that also lets me advance my career. For now, I am going to live there during the week and commute home on the weekends. We'll give that plan a month or two and if I like it there enough, we'll start making some long term plans to relocate there entirely. We will still be close enough to G's elderly parents that he'll be able to make the move eventually too. So it's all very exciting! As far as the horses go, for now they stay put and I'll be home on the weekends to ride. I will be looking for good boarding and coaching options and bring Bridget with me if the right situation comes up. I'm hopeful it will because there are some excellent eventing coaches in the area and a really good local show series. The plan at the moment is to buy something there once I'm sure the job is a good fit - so we are back to the buy a small farm or buy a better house and board the horses debate...just when we thought we had it all settled! :)

Random of Ginger looking very pretty. Probably the last time I rode her which was almost a month ago! I'm a bad owner :)

(Nearly) WW: Clinic Redux

A very nice person sent me some cute shots from our clinic a couple of weekends ago. They are actually all of my warm up and not the session itself, but beggars can't be choosers :)

You can see she was a little strong, but I love this picture! 

I love this one too...it's so " her" !

That's better!

She's so cute

I look super worried lol - the dressage lady clinic was still  haunting me I think :)

 There are a few more but they're variations of the above. The girl that took these is only 14 or so and wants to be a photographer, so she often comes out to events and takes pictures for practice. I'm impressed by her dedication! I've hired her to come out and take some pics at the farm later this month, should be fun :)

Canter Poles and Spirals

Last week, S left me with a bit of homework and some canter poles strategically placed around the ring. The goal is to get Midget thinking a bit more about where her feet are and starting to teach her that her canter can be adjustable, rather than the all or nothing we currently have. G came out with me today and got a few 'interesting' shots as well as the standard ones. You are welcome to laugh at our failures :)

Reach for it!

So cute!

Does this count as getting her off her forehand? lol Also +1 for completely ineffective riding! I was like "whoa she's going to jump...let me just drop my reins and go fetal/do nothing"

I am a bouncy motorbike, whee!! Riding a baby pony is hard...I have the utmost respect for all of you out there making it look easy.

Neat to see even with all the outtakes, there are moments where she's starting to sit back and balance when I get my self together and ride. 

Trotting like a grown up pony

Spirals and circles

I often lose her shoulder in the spirals. I can see here I've used too much inside rein. These pics are like a riding lesson for me :)

These pics are pretty representative of my ride today. I think many more canter poles are in our future. Even if Bridget masters them, I'm not liking how I've reverted back to tipping forward more often than not and am not super great at being proactive about our pace until the last couple of strides. Honestly, I'm depressed by my riding...so tomorrow's lesson I am going to make S focus on me and nitpick all my bad habits. (She is a great coach, but we've been very oriented towards training the pony rather than correcting all my faults. Also I am entrenched in my terrible ways - just so no one looks at my riding and thinks she's a terrible coach lol)

Eight

Ginger turned eight a couple of weeks ago, which means A: I wrote this and forgot to post it, and B: I've owned her for 4 years now. Time flies!

Almost got her summer coat!

As always, for a moment I was slightly disappointed that we haven't achieved very many of my original goals with her. That feeling lasted for just a moment though, because I'm really pretty happy with where we are.  The journey has proven to be much more fun than all those big dreams I had. I don't think there are enough words for all that I've learned from owning her. Some good, some bad, but the journey has proven to be much more fun than I ever expected. The big mare is all about being your best friend and  keeping life fun and interesting, and who doesn't need a friend like that?

Her other bestie, Bridget

Happy Belated Birthday, Ginger!

(Bridget's B-day isn't until the end of July so I have lots of time to forget it as well - wouldn't want to be the bad 'mom' and forget one but not the other!. Plan on celebrating some time in the fall ;)

One More Time/Lesson Recap

I know a lot of us out there struggle with getting down on ourselves and our riding. Horses can be tough, and the industry surrounding them even tougher.

Shout out to Grain Before Groceries for her wonderful post on dealing with fear and confidence issues. She linked to another post which really hit home for me. If you're dealing with, or have ever dealt with anxiety and self doubt in your riding, I'd totally recommend reading it. I think "Always one more time" might be my new mantra when the going gets tough.

Feel free to get lost in the above linked sites, the rest of my post today is just a nerdy in depth lesson recap. Nothing to see here, move along. :)

Shiny ponies!

Bridget showed up with her 'not playing this game' face on. So we had an inverted, pushy, quick, and uncooperative pony. The good part? I got to see how S handles that! I'll recap the two recent clinicians quickly as well so we can compare:

Dressage lady: To sum it up: MORE. Take that energy and make her work. More contact, more forward, more off the leg, more balanced. Result: Brilliance in the moment, but eventually pony shut down and refused to play anymore. I will save her ideas for show situations where addressing the issue directly isn't an option.

Cowboy: Take away her power. No outside rein, minimal contact on inside. Circles, lots of them, smaller/larger to regulate speed as needed, focusing on pony tuning into my legs and seat and relaxing into self carriage. Result: It worked, and I liked how non confrontational it was. but pony is fit and it took almost an hour of trot to get there with any sort of regularity. Sidenote: since it was the first time using that exercise there is a good chance she might 'give up' sooner if I made it a regular part of our warm up. Or learn to evade me by popping out through my leg ;)

Ginger wonders why Bridget must always be the rebel

S: A happy medium. Keep your outside rein, ride inside leg to outside rein, but use circles to your advantage. Leg on, make her work, but supple her left and right. Reward good behaviour and focus by letting her trot out and forward down the long side. Lots and lots of transitions to halt, and back  up when she gets heavy in my hand or on my leg. Results: The winner, although I may alternate with cowboy program to prevent a backslide from too much nagging and too many downward transitions getting her thinking backwards again.

Lesson set up like so to start and then we raised the poles before and after the cross rail on the center line, canter poles on the long side...scroll down for a drawing of layout and pattern we rode

The rest of our lesson involved a simple gymnastic on the center line, and two canter poles set a stride apart on each long side. Bridget got super excited by that, so we spent a bit of time trotting the center line gymnastic, then halting and backing at the fence, then doing a 180 degree  turn on the haunches and trotting back out over the centerline gymnastic again. I liked this exercise because it got her nicely balanced and thinking. Once she settled in and stopped attempting to rush, we added a leg yield to the wall after the center, then circle at a trot and up the center again. Finally we ended by going over the centerline gymnastic, leg yielding to the wall, then cantering large around the ring utilizing our canter poles on the long sides. S kept it real by setting them slightly long for Bridget, then shortening them up. This is all in an effort to teach her she can have an adjustable canter. It totally messed her up at first,but she is smart and I felt like she was getting the idea by the end of the ride. It will be many hours of building the strength before we have a respectable canter, but the pieces are slowly falling into place.

May Goals

I don't think I set any April goals, so consider them met! Yay me! Go horses!

After all that hard work, I'm going to remain super disciplined and set goals for May.

-Weekly lessons. I've been good about this, but lately we're all working and busy so it's a bit more of a challenge.

-Bring a goal to each of my lessons. I've been terrible about showing up and only having a vague idea of what I'd like to work on.

-Pole work/gymnastics. Again, lazy me is great for setting up single poles or jumps and not really making the pony work. Also good practice for me to set a pattern and remember/ride it effectively.

-More discipline. Not of the whips and spurs variety, but of the 'looking to be better' mindset. Baby pony is not super green anymore and it's time to start expecting immediate, balanced transitions from halt/walk/trot every time. Also moving off my leg immediately in lateral work, and practicing self carriage and 'honesty' rather than me babysitting every stride. Canter remains a work in progress...

-Pony needs to work harder at the canter. We have one at last, yay! But smart babies think that means it time to run around really fast and inverted on the forehand, objecting greatly to any contact. Work on balanced transitions up and down and try to carry that balance into a few strides before and after the transitions. Build from there!

-Prep for a show. At this point, I'm not sure the mid May show is a go - some people in line ahead of me for the trailer ride/coach help have opted in at the last minute. Still, we'll prep as if we're going because of course things change and there are more shows and other people we can go with.

-Don't stress over Ginger I am awesome at beating myself up for 'giving up' by not riding or focusing on her. She's happy, she gets plenty of attention, and she's healthy. I need to let go of the guilt - pretty sure her feelings aren't hurt by my riding Bridget so much  :) She'll be there when or if I'm ready, but I'm going to try not to pressure myself to make any decisions. Time, we've got lots of it!

Finally...that job I mentioned may just interfere slightly in my current plans. If I end up going there to work, I will need to find a house and a barn (and a coach) preferably before June 1st. I'm happy here, but $ are useful.  I'll add making a decision this week and planning appropriately to my list of immediate goals.