It's all about consistency

May 21 and 22.                                                                   Horse training is a lot about repetition, and May is reaching the point where she has a lot of the basics needed for her trail riding career, but we need to polish them up some.  So, we are going to be doing a lot of the same things each day, and hoping to see improvement (mostly incremental) in some of the areas. Since May will be out in the mountains and not in a ring in front of a judge, she does not need a particular show ring frame and she can hold her head and neck in a position that is comfortable for her.  She has a nice natural head carriage, so there is nothing that needs to be corrected with that.  HOWEVER:  She must stay light, so that's where the repetition comes in.  Here are more specific areas for improvement She transitions from a walk to a trot nicely, but she tends to speed up rather than remain steady. She moves off my leg well, but she is stiffer when moving right. She is loping and picking up both leads on a circle, but she gets stiff necked at the lope and stiff bodied too.  This makes her lope feel choppy. She halts on "ho", but not quite as directly as she should She backs but is not always light. She rides on the trail but is still tense and I would like to see her be more relaxed more of the time. That is where we are headed!             Ride 25. May is to the point where once I put the halter on, she is pretty much with me. At first she was easily distracted and upset by....you name it and it got her attention.  She didn't trust me, she didn't know any one and the whole program was new!  She is over all that now (well, ok, most days)! So, because I don't need to do anything special to get her to focus on me, most days, I don't spend much time doing ground work any more. Brushed, gooped up her feet with pine tar and neats foot oil, saddled, got out the bridle and realized I needed to change the reins.  I was using clip on roping reins for convenience, but they were too short for Linda, so I switched to a pair of 7 foot 5/8 in. split reins made by a friend.  They tie on to the bit, which makes them harder to change but easier to fix if they break! Hi ho Silver! Mounted up and rode out (at a walk despite my tantalizing subtitle!) Up the steep rocky hill we went..  She is still working on her footing up that and still hasn't quite got the idea that foot placement need not be random.  The difficulty of this stretch still is making her nervous and she remained tense the whole ride and even spooked once and she is not particularly spooky.  The tricky ditch was tricky again and she backed and thought about it and approached and backed until I got on her verbally and with my legs and she finally gave it a try and hopped it.  I did not have to dismount!! She was not as light as yesterday as a result of her uptight mein.  She had really fantastic lightness in the round pen where she is so comfortable.  She also wanted to trot some but was ok when I asked her to come back to the walk. She didn't argue or jig. Back in the arena we did slow trotting and lots of turning, lookng for light and smooth plus cadenced  and consistent rather than increasing speed.  Bending her down to a slower speed helps lightness, flexibility, and the smaller the circle the slower they usually go.... Loped both directions and finshed with a  good gate! (15 rides ago she melted down on the gate--forget about how I helped her acheive that lofty melt down goal....) now she is working the gate pretty consistently. Tabooli ride 12.  He is a much quieter personality than May, so he hasn't needed as much time to work around his emotions and begin to learn.  But she is a lot lighter naturally than he is, so the challenges are a little different.  I am able to just get on and ride, and we went up the road to the neighbor's arena.  All they way up there he was fine.  The garbage cans, dogs, tractor, cars...all fine.  But at the arena, he spotted the other horses (Dartagnon and his buddies).  Tabooli never met Dart.  When Dart left and T. arrived.  This unfenced arena is above the road and below Dart's pen and there is an arroyo on one side.  All three of these sides may be hazardous at one time another, according to my 4 legged informants.  Tabooli's bugaboo today was mainly the other horses, so we made a few turns around the interior area and headed out.  We didn't ride the road back. Instead we went down the arroyo.   I was very impressed because he did not hesitate at any obstacle--and there were steep banks into a wash, shale stair steps, logs, and a steep step up to get up to the barn.  Love a horse that will bushwhack! We rode in arena at walk and trot to finish and he had a few awkward steps that I attribited to a sore foot....but it was his right leg and the left is the one that lost the shoe..hmmm.  We did a little loping but that needs a lot more work on departing, steering and continuing! .  Good gate!  All in one try. Will do more finesse stuff work (turning, sideways, move hip, and shouder) but want to keep taking him out since that's what he's going to be doing.  5/22/2010. I went on a flower walk at Elena Gallegos park http://www.cabq.gov/openspace/elenagallegos.html this morning and here are ae the cool things I learned: Chocolate flowers (I have some in my yard and I didn't know this) SMELL LIKE CHOCOLATE! There are three species of evening primrose in the area and the one in the picture on this blog is prarie evening primrose (Oenothera albicaulis).  Salsify is also known as the oyster plant and you can eat it's root.  I thought it was poisonous to horses....but a quick search of the internet only talks about its edibleness to humans.  Guess I will not spend so much time trying to eliminate it from my property anymore!!!

May ride 26.  Ride 26?!  Time flies when you are having fun!  Got on and rode to the arena.  She was stiff necked and not as light as I would like so we did circles, sideways (better to right, but improving to the left) and stopping with two reins, a little backing and although she went where and did all I asked, she still was not that supple. 

Linda arrived to drop off some hay, so she got to see a lot of the arena work


Slow trotting:  Not got that yet but it seemed like there were more controlled steps today. She picked up both leads well and loped better than ever. It felt longer and with better drive.  Not as choppy!  Hopefully this means she is learning to balance better with me on top and the sideways stuff is helping her over all body control.

We did a little showing off at the gate--REALLY nice gate--last time I tried to show off to Linda vis a vis the gate, it was NOT pretty.  Redemption! We also did the bridge--with 2.5 feet and then with all 4.  Not bad.

I left for the same old trail and May did the herky jerky up the drive way, but once she hit the rocks, she has a few more good strong, I AM lookng where I am going and I CAN push up this hill, steps.  (not enough, just more!).  At the top of the first climb (remember this is short (50? ft)), she suddenely got very light and remained light for most of the ride.  The evil ditch caused her to pause and....cross (with tension, but little arguing) and the second ditch that we have been taking a detour through the tree/ in the tree, caused her to barely pause and pick her way over--no alternate route needed!  Apparently, today's progess was increased relaxation on the trail...hopefully that was not just due to arena work first. 

Tabooli ride 14. This boy is relaxed.  He put his chin on my shoulder and sighed as I scratched his neck.  Got his saddle out and tossed it up.  No flinching or shying anymore! Got on.  Saddle felt loose.  Got off.  Tightened it. Got on other side.  Ho hum.  Walked around the arena and he felt off.  Then he felt fine.  We trotted.  He felt fine.  He felt off.  I got off and went for a hoof pick.  There was some dirt in there but nothing else, and he walked fine over the gravel.  Hmmm.

Back in the arena.  Felt good.  Did a little sideways left and that was really nice.  Sideways right and he was really off.  Ok, for sure somthing hurts.  It is the right leg.  He pulled the left shoe last week, apparently by catching it and apparent fell on his right (skinned) knee.   The shoe has been replaced and besides teh sore leg is not the leg that lost the shoe...instead it's the one he skinned.   I cannot feel it at the walk very much, but can at the trot...sometimes.  As I watched him in his pen later, I could not see it when he walked up hill in his pen, but I could see it when he walked down.  Oh serious bummer.

Called his owner.....I hate having to do that.  Gave Tabooli bute (but he didn't eat it--will try with molasses next).  Might send him home for a few weeks to recover if that's what he needs, but rats.  We were just at the point where we can start having some real fun!

Risa and Penny 5/21 (didn't get to them 5/22....but the garden is ready to be planted!)
Rode Penny in a Mylar Level 2 snaffle.  It was fine, nothing earth shaking.  Used a romel rein...because I got one when a client cleaned out and because it had clips on.  It is a nice (and heavy) set of reins and I need to get it back in the house and clean it up.  Just worked on working on a loose rein and some neck reining (really riding with my leg and the rein just supports) Need to be working on that along with her WP lope and english trot.

Risa--rode her in a german martingale--it allows her head up but I can ask for some down.  It has a really naroow copper bit (severe, yes, if you yank on it), but for whatever reason she seemed to carry it well, and was very light.  Bushwhacked big time on her down an old over grown trail--through dead pinon, over scrub oak, across rock.  Really nice.  Also loped circles in a slanted meadow, avoiding prickly pear and gopher holes...took her a few rounds to understand how to lope with me up there while moving down hill.