The Red Pony
so i went out to beej early in the day yesterday for a ride. i don't normally go in the morning (well, 10.30) because... well, if i go in the evening i feed dinner etc. morning is awkward cos then i either have to drive out again (50km round trip) or get someone to feed. but we had a party in suburb close to where beej is last night, so it was easy to drop in and feed him dinner en route. AND jed saw him for the first time in a year. bonus.
ANYWAY.
so it was a bit warm out, but starting to get cooler. daylight savings finishes soon too. thank god. Kelli arrived as i was grooming & we had a chat. Beejay was SO adorable - he was behind me and nuzzling/grooming my neck/back and head. i know some ppl might not agree with doing that, but i really felt all warm & fuzzy about him doing it. he's also started mutually grooming me if i give him a scritch out in the paddock.
saddled up - he didn't blink at the saddle at all! good news. i feel the need to fiddle with it for some time tho to make sure it IS in the right spot though. i did put a neckstrap on because i thought it would help me not jab his face over jumps...
then led him over to the arena and he helped me set up one grid (canter poles really- 4 poles and one tiny jump about 1foot high) and one jump (about 1'9") & striding pole. by "help" i mean, used his hindquarters to push one end of the pole out of the way OR just stood right behind me so i wouldn't fall backwards. i led him around the arena to check out the big piles of brush that were everywhere & he had a moment near one of the blue barrels, but i just made him circle & stop, circle & stop right near them. that helped.
then i got on and we warmed up by walking around the WHOLE ARENA incl the OMFGSCARYLALA section. he DID get antsy and i had to use A LOT of inside leg & half halt about every 2nd stride to keep him focused on me, but eventually he was walking around happily.
then trot, canter & over the poles.
we're not focusing on anything at the moment except consistently going forward (and not stopping & starting and making boggly eyes at things). we worked a LITTLE on flexion (especially in the OMFGSCARY corners cos i want him to work thru these & not become strung out... it's alright to feel it, but not become like the red giraffe). oh, another thing we're focusing on is HAVING FUN and i think this is working a LOT. so far *touchwood* i am not nervous nancy during his 'moments' and i'm focusing on laughing at him if he's silly etc, as well as PLENTY of talk - he seems to really appreciate this, which is interesting because i barely 'talked' to blitzen. i think i used to with my old pony Belle, especially when we schooled/competed x-country & i needed her to be brave. i guess cos blitz did mostly hacking & flatwork over his life - no 'talking' allowed????
i've read a bit about ppl who 'talk' to their horses - some instructors/horsebook writers think that you should absolutely not talk. i think parelli says that because horses have predominantly non-verbal communication, we really should not be using our voices. maybe because it comforts me??? idk. i'm not training him to respond by voice or anything, it's just this continuous stream of consciousness chatter coming from me about things we see or stuff he's doing ("okay, so now i'm going to turn you and in a few strides i'll ask for canter... like that... good boy! woo hoo").
the jumping was interesting & much fun. the grid was fine but i had the placer pole in the wrong spot on the single jump. it was just a touch too long so he was making a long stride over it and clipping the jump. i was also being a true passenger & holding onto the neckstrap. i've decided that's useless - aim in using it was to jump without jabbing his mouth whilst i get my jump legs back. once i stopped using that fucker it was so much easier! and i made a determined effort NOT to jab his mouth, so it was all good. i rode a bit more aggressively over the single jump tho (and was lazy & didn't get off to shift the pole) and he cleared it fine.
then cool down. we rode for about... 20-25mins & both of us were buggered at the end. he was quite sweaty - and we discovered that paul had turned the water off so i couldn't hose him down. had to make do with splashing him from the dog's water bucket instead.
...
came back later in the day with jed & we just hung out in the paddock giving him carrots. i showed jed all of beejay's stretches & his *kissing* trick. such a cool horse. he was a bit distracted by something tho - the weather yesterday arvo was WEIRD. gorgeous light, but there was definitely something in the air.
anyway, can't wait to see my pony tonight. yay!
ANYWAY.
so it was a bit warm out, but starting to get cooler. daylight savings finishes soon too. thank god. Kelli arrived as i was grooming & we had a chat. Beejay was SO adorable - he was behind me and nuzzling/grooming my neck/back and head. i know some ppl might not agree with doing that, but i really felt all warm & fuzzy about him doing it. he's also started mutually grooming me if i give him a scritch out in the paddock.
saddled up - he didn't blink at the saddle at all! good news. i feel the need to fiddle with it for some time tho to make sure it IS in the right spot though. i did put a neckstrap on because i thought it would help me not jab his face over jumps...
then led him over to the arena and he helped me set up one grid (canter poles really- 4 poles and one tiny jump about 1foot high) and one jump (about 1'9") & striding pole. by "help" i mean, used his hindquarters to push one end of the pole out of the way OR just stood right behind me so i wouldn't fall backwards. i led him around the arena to check out the big piles of brush that were everywhere & he had a moment near one of the blue barrels, but i just made him circle & stop, circle & stop right near them. that helped.
then i got on and we warmed up by walking around the WHOLE ARENA incl the OMFGSCARYLALA section. he DID get antsy and i had to use A LOT of inside leg & half halt about every 2nd stride to keep him focused on me, but eventually he was walking around happily.
then trot, canter & over the poles.
we're not focusing on anything at the moment except consistently going forward (and not stopping & starting and making boggly eyes at things). we worked a LITTLE on flexion (especially in the OMFGSCARY corners cos i want him to work thru these & not become strung out... it's alright to feel it, but not become like the red giraffe). oh, another thing we're focusing on is HAVING FUN and i think this is working a LOT. so far *touchwood* i am not nervous nancy during his 'moments' and i'm focusing on laughing at him if he's silly etc, as well as PLENTY of talk - he seems to really appreciate this, which is interesting because i barely 'talked' to blitzen. i think i used to with my old pony Belle, especially when we schooled/competed x-country & i needed her to be brave. i guess cos blitz did mostly hacking & flatwork over his life - no 'talking' allowed????
i've read a bit about ppl who 'talk' to their horses - some instructors/horsebook writers think that you should absolutely not talk. i think parelli says that because horses have predominantly non-verbal communication, we really should not be using our voices. maybe because it comforts me??? idk. i'm not training him to respond by voice or anything, it's just this continuous stream of consciousness chatter coming from me about things we see or stuff he's doing ("okay, so now i'm going to turn you and in a few strides i'll ask for canter... like that... good boy! woo hoo").
the jumping was interesting & much fun. the grid was fine but i had the placer pole in the wrong spot on the single jump. it was just a touch too long so he was making a long stride over it and clipping the jump. i was also being a true passenger & holding onto the neckstrap. i've decided that's useless - aim in using it was to jump without jabbing his mouth whilst i get my jump legs back. once i stopped using that fucker it was so much easier! and i made a determined effort NOT to jab his mouth, so it was all good. i rode a bit more aggressively over the single jump tho (and was lazy & didn't get off to shift the pole) and he cleared it fine.
then cool down. we rode for about... 20-25mins & both of us were buggered at the end. he was quite sweaty - and we discovered that paul had turned the water off so i couldn't hose him down. had to make do with splashing him from the dog's water bucket instead.
...
came back later in the day with jed & we just hung out in the paddock giving him carrots. i showed jed all of beejay's stretches & his *kissing* trick. such a cool horse. he was a bit distracted by something tho - the weather yesterday arvo was WEIRD. gorgeous light, but there was definitely something in the air.
anyway, can't wait to see my pony tonight. yay!