GM November 29th 2011

The GM clinic was awesome .. wish I could have audited both days! But I learned so much and Lyssette rode AMAZING!

Here are a few pictures to enjoy :)

Me, George and Erica

Me, Lyssette, Irene, Erica

November 22nd

Better late then never ..

Last night is normally our lesson night but it was switched to Monday because of the holiday and other schedules conflicting which was a-ok-with me :)

There was NO ONE at the barn so good thing Sean was with me. Bayley slept almost the whole time so that was sweet. I got Henry, tacked up like normal and took him over to the really big round pen, turned the lights (well light cause only one works) on and went to work. I didn't really do anything special- it was more of a "fun" ride and he was actually really good. One side of the round pen is a little darker and so he was a bit leery there but got over that quickly. I am learning that pushing him through things is how he works. Anywho just a night of hacking and then back to his stall he went.

Today (November 23rd) I got out and turned him out while Bayley took her morning nap and I read GM in prep for the clinic (yes I know I am waiting till the last minute BUT I really don't have free time or time to read).

We are leaving to go out of town tonight and will be back Friday night some time. I am hoping that I won't be to tired and maybe get a ride in Friday night but we shall see how I feel after the rush of a trip to my mom for Thanksgiving. My dad will be taking care of the house and Zoe and a couple friends are going to keep an eye on Henry :)

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

November 21st

As usual my life didn't go as planned :)

Bayley is teething/sick. Sean got home a few min before 6 and we tag teamed and I hopped in the car and headed to the barn. Bayley took a total of 45 min to an hour of naps today and so she was exhausted. She fell asleep on me for like 20 min while we waited for daddy to get home... needless to say that isn't enough sleep for her at all.

Anywho I got up to Henry and had a feeling Sean was going to call and need me home but I wanted to do what I could to get Henry out and hopefully ridden. I was able to get him, groom, tack him up, lunge and then 1/2 way through my lunge got the call. I finished lunging Henry so that my time was semi worth it... untacked, groomed and put him away.

Baby girl just wanted mommy and I was able to cuddle her and put her to bed which was a nice treat to end a crazy day.

Here's to riding tomorrow :)

November 19th

Yesterday Henry got turned out and a quick lunge.

This morning I loaded my sick/funky feeling self up in the car with hubby and baby in tow and heading out to ride. I was a bit late getting on but did it. I felt so weak and just funky so I got to work and  hacked around. I was on for about 45 minutes and couldn't do any more so I got off and headed up. Henry was really good- today he decided the half rounds were scary but other then that he didn't do anything bad- "looked" at other things but nothing to speak of :) He was responding to backing up in a frame much better, listening to my legs and doing nicer circles, not worrying about other horses coming at us or going by us as much and halting better.

Our Tuesday night lesson is moved to Monday this week so I am going to try and get out to work him tomorrow (Sunday), lesson Monday, ride Tuesday, turn our Wednesday, off Thursday and hopefully ride Friday. We will be gone Wednesday-Friday so we shall see how I feel after the 8 hour drive home Friday. Sean doesn't work Saturday because of the holiday so MAYBE I will get to ride Saturday :) Or maybe I will let him pick what we want to do that day since he is a really really good sport about all the horse stuff!

After riding we headed to Carousel Saddlery in Potter Valley. They are having their yearly sale and I have been saving my pennies to get a few things that I deemed worthy of my money- HA!

Here are picture of my loot...

These are for Bayley, they were orig $60 and on sale for $10! Yes a bit big right now but eventually they will fit her :)

Pretty Socks!

Jacket for hacking :)

Bits

Show Gloves

November 17th

Rode tonight BUT not the normal schedule.

When I got home Sean was there because Zoe (our dog) had broken a fence board and was going back and forth from our yard to the neighbors... he fixed the fence while I changed and we were on our way to the barn. Normally he isn't home till 5:40 ish so it was really nice to get an early start!

I tacked up, lunged and hopped on. There were 5 other people riding in the indoor and two of them were jumping- it was a bit crowded but was really good for both of us. Like I have said before, I'd rather ride with people then alone :)

So I continued to work on what I did in my lesson Tuesday. He felt better and much more responsive when I asked him to S L O W down to do the sitting trot.

I also worked on getting a working trot from him which really isn't hard for him but to go forward with out rushing was my purpose.

Lastly I worked on steering ... cutting across the diagonal, big circles, small circles, reverses, going around the jumps ... you get the point. I want to make sure that he is responsive when I ask him to turn AND that I am supporting with my leg to help guide him.

I felt like he was doing a great job of working hard for me and listening. There was a lot going on around us so the first 10 or so minutes of my ride was just going around the arena on the rail and getting in our groove. After that he was such a good good boy. We also did a lot of walking under saddle (with super long reins) to try and get him as cool as possible and then un-tacked and walked/cooled him out all the way. I am going to talk to my trainer about doing a trace clip because it takes so much time to cool him out before I can re blanket and put him away.

Maybe something like this...



Or something like this ..


Oh and I brought my tack home so hopefully I can clean it all tomorrow- exciting Friday night I know :)

Pictures from Tuesday's Lesson

S

Super cute picture of Bayley at my lesson (and Pepper lurking)

Man my hands need help :)

Shinny horse! Oh and sit up Karley! :)

He's finally relaxed a bit :)

Chatting with Juliana

*Thanks Kat and Andy for the pics!

November 15th

I had a meeting at a customer site and got done early so I was able to pick Bayley up, feed her and head out to the barn to meet a friend who so kindly watched Bayley till Sean got there so I could get on a little early. She fell asleep on the way up there so I parked the car, got my tack and grooming stuff ready by the cross ties and fetched Henry. Still sleeping so I groomed and tacked him up. Once Kat and Andy got there I headed down to lunge (since they were now on baby duty).

On a side note ...  my trainer acquired one of those lights that construction workers use to light up our arena so that we can ride outside when it's not raining (when it rains we will go down to the covered arena). It was weird riding in semi light and then by the time I got off it was dark dark dark.

Henry was pretty good in the dark.. no really big spooks.

Irene had me working a lot on asking him to slow WAY down in the sitting trot and me really holding him together which takes a lot out of me but I feel like I was progressing through the lesson. Also she had me doing lots of changes of direction weaving through the jumps and even changing his bend (the best that I can with a green horse) which was fun to see we are progressing! Lastly she had me work on small circles with him around jumps and making them even sized. Since I am still doing a lot of direct reining on him it was a good leg work out for me to really incorporate and support him with my leg. I know circles may sound like a basic concept (well they did to me haha) but a tight circle on a green horse w/o any bulging and getting it equally round on both sides take some work! HA

I felt like we had a good ride and now I have more stuff to work on Thursday :)

November 14th

My ride went a little something like this...

WTC reverse WTC ... literally.

Sean had his softball finals which started at 6. I got off work a little early and JAMMED up to the barn so I could get him worked even if it was short as all heck.

Lyssette taught me a new saying and it's something I need to get as much of as possible .. TITS- Time In The Saddle :)

November 11th

First off I would like to say thank you to our vets! I am so thankful for my freedom which isn't actually free.

Being that it is veterans day, I didn't have work. I took Bayley to daycare for a few hours this morning so that I could go ride. Sean has to work tomorrow so I won't be able to ride- getting in a ride today was critical (ok not really but it was a much needed treat). There were 4 other people riding and so it was nice to have company. Being that it is getting dark so early I haven't ridden outside in a while, I wasn't sure how Henry was going to be but after some lunging and me telling myself that I had my big girl pants on today- we went on our way. He was pretty good... I have learned that calling his bluff is my best plan of action. He likes to look at EVERYTHING so if I just push him forward and we march right on past it, it seems to work. Now granite he hasn't given me too much trouble on things and I hope it stays that way! :) (please Jesus please!)

I rode for roughly 45 min. It was lightly sprinkling through our ride and I now know that Henry doesn't like the water in his ears haha! Oh well- we have to learn to deal with things we don't like right? RIGHT! :)

Ok so again today I realized that yes we do need to get the twisted snaffle back out cause my breaks suck and my trainer confirmed that. Hes not trying to run off with me but when I ask him to stop it isn't quick enough- a quarter of the way down the long side won't cut it.

Cooled him out, untacked, groomed, let him hangout in the cooler while eating his grain (he took WAY to long to eat so this was continued in his stall), hurried down the hill as it was raining on us, put on his blankie once we got to his stall and gave him kisses (which he painstakingly let me do while he was trying to eat his grain).

As a side note... I also took the leathers off of my Collegiate and put them on my Pessoa- I figured out they are Crosby's so I need to order another set as I HATE the Pessoa leathers I have.

I also took a trip to Western Saddlery after I picked up Bayley- I love that place! Anywho I picked up Henry's Baker sheet that was being fixed from the nice air holes the horse next to him installed, a new fly mask, some treats, a new stud chain, a short stud chain for my lunge line, a new body brush because the stiff one I had/have was used as a chew toy and Irene (my trainers) clipper blades.

Sean works tomorrow so no riding but my plan is to ride Sunday :)

November 10th

What a crazy day...

There was a bit of a horse emergency at my best friends house- but thanks to Jesus that everything was ironed out and the mare is doing well.

SOOOO after dealing with the above I continued on up to the barn with hubby and baby in tow. Tacked up, lunged and got going. He was really well behaved, only spooking a few times which makes me happy! I rode in my Pessoa and the stirrups were REALLY LONG but so is life. Lots of hacking and going all the way around the arena- even in the spookie areas. I worked more on our sitting trot and after that and cantering I think we need to switch back to the twisted snaffle bit. He was a bit heavy and not really listening to my half halts.

Anywho had a good ride and cooled him out- did our normal drill of untacking, walking, grooming, blanketing and eating.

Here are some rough pics that the hubby took while i was cooling out with my iphone... better then nothing right?!? haha

Shinny pony!

Walking and chatting with Lyssette and Carlos :)

Why? ... November 8th

Lesson tonight... kick me in the butt.

I'd like to start off my asking myself a question- Karley, why are you so nervous when riding?!

I am going to do some thinking and prayer into this question. If I answer it right now I am sure some of it will be truth but other a defense so we will come back to this.

So there were 5 of us riding in the indoor tonight. I like riding with others so it was good. Someone was clipping their horse and the horse kept kicking the wall which made for spooking horses at the plain wall that was making LOUD noises.

Anywho that aside we must better with the scarrrry end- I think he only gave one little scoot down there so that was really good.

Irene made me canter which freaked me out- I don't know why, he was very well behaved but I sike myself out. We went both ways and he did a good job... tripped at one point- he forgot he had 4 feet ha!

Man was he sweaty at the end of our lesson and he was POOPED. I walked him a bit under-saddle and then un-tacked him and put on a cooler and walked him for a while, traded off with Sean and he took a turn walking him as well. Back to his stall for a brush down and blanketing... then back up to the barn for grain and to put all my tack away. I love coming down with his grain and having him there waiting for me or talk to him with joy :)

To bad we have plans tomorrow because I would really like to ride and keep moving forward with the progress we made tonight but so is life, Thursday will have to do.

Yes pictures are needed... i know. I asked hubby to take some tonight but his phone wasn't working right. Maybe Thursday haha!

Count Down...

21 Days till George Morris!

I am excited and can't wait :)

Tonight didn't go as well as planned

BUT I did make it up to the barn! So that is a plus right?

Even if I don't have time to ride Henry I make a point to go up there and turn him out, groom and grain him 6 days a week (normally 7).

Anywho back to tonight.. It was a bit sad when it was dark at 5:30 tonight- stinken day light savings!

Like I said Sean had softball tonight so my plan was to ride before that... well since he was the only one at work today he didn't get off till 5:30/5:45 which means I met him up at the barn and he didn't get there till 6:15. His game was at 7:30 meaning he needed to be there at 7. Quickly we took of Henry's blanket *yes he is clothed and has a better wardrobe then me!* and booted him up (of course picking out his hooves too). Since time was limited and there were 2 or 3 people in the indoor riding I took him to the really big round pen cause it has lights! I let him blow off some steam and then did an efficient lunge followed by a nice long walk/cool out with his cooler on.

Finished off the night with a quick brush down, blanket back on and grain for the spoiled boy! :)

Tomorrow I am going to take my camera and see if Sean will take some pics even though we will be inside (lighting sucks and pictures are hard to get)...

Hopefully Henry is nice and warm in his stall in his blankie... soon I will be whipping out the blanket with the neck piece or the med weight one to make sure he is really warm and cozy! Worry much? I think so! :)

Life is a little out of control

Sorry I haven't blogged lately. It has been a bit over whelming around here lately. I am hoping that this next week will be better and that I will be able to carve out time to ride and write.

If all goes well my plan is as follows- Monday night ride (if Sean's softball game is later, still have to figure that out), Tuesday night lesson, Thursday night hack, Friday night lunge and my mom is coming this weekend and she is going to watch Bayley in the morning so that I can ride while Sean is at work. We shall see if this schedule comes to fruition but hey it's a good schedule to wish for after this last week.

Anywho I hope to get some sleep tonight as miss Bayley was up WAY TO EARLY this morning.

Here's to another week at work! Haha

Nov 1st

HOLY WIND!!!!

It was so stinken windy at the barn tonight. Our Tuesday night lesson aka Ladies Night was postponed to Thursday but I knew that I still needed to ride. I met Sean up at the barn to get as much time as I could because Sean had softball at 8- I had to be efficient and use my time wisely.

Henry was feeling good even after his crazy workout yesterday. I guess the wind inspired him haha! So after lunging I hopped on and knew that it was game time and I had to wear my big girl pants because he was still feeling good but I had to get down to business. We did lots of circles, figure 8's, serpentines, change of direction as well as extended trot, sitting trot and of course regular trot. After a decent amount of spooks he actually started working really well- I relaxed and he relaxed. We both were busy with the above exercises and tuned out all other distractions. It was nice to have Erica down there with me- Pogo is a steady eddie and makes Henry comfortable and we only followed him once around and it wasn't even at the beginning of the ride haha! They just happened to be in front of us and funny thing it that the time we followed them he did the biggest spook with his head in the air and jigged all the way down the long side- it was just wonderful. I need to punch new holes in my martingale attachment because it is WAY to long!

So I haven't had some recent pics in a while- sad I know, I miss them too! But here is a comparison for you of how much weight Henry has gained.. I need to get some UTD pics cause BOY he is fat haha, ok so maybe not fat but he looks amazing!

July 6, 2011

October 18, 2011

Oct 29th, 30th and 31st

29th- Turn out and grooming

30th- Turn out and grooming

31st- Since we had the festivities of the holiday, I only had time to lunge in the BIG OL round pen down by the covered arena. It's not the biggest we have at the barn but the biggest one is really a round arena, I wouldn't classify it as a round pen.
Anywho I stood in the center for 13 min (yes I calculated) texting and on facebook while Henry ran around, called and bucked. I decided that he needed to get his wiggles out before he was going to listen to me so I waited patiently haha.
After he was done I worked him in each direction working on our voice commands. I didn't have to do much since he kicked his own butt with his 13 min workout! He was more then happy to do the downward transitions which are normally what we have to work on. He is a rock star going up in speed.
After our lunge sesh I took him for a walk and he was really good. At times he was distracted and forgot I was there but quickly came back to me and I was very proud. Then I was even able to hose him off alone at one of the free standing hoses so he wasn't tied to anything and he was a total gentleman and didn't dance (well except when I did his face but even for that he was good).

Anywho here is a picture of Bayley all cuted up in her doggie costume! All night she was giving me this look- she was so confused by my Wheres Waldo glasses :)