Welcome Winter

Lesson last night... went well. There were only 3 or 4 of us in the arena so that was nice, a good ratio for the size of the indoor.

Henry was LOOOOOONEY in the round pen... a little high once I got on but nothing compared to the lunging.

I know I sound like a broken record but we worked on his frame and holding it. Oh and LOTS of bending through the corners with his whole body- including moving his hip over. I got some new spurs and man they are nice and get a good reaction when I ask he responds instead of ignoring me or taking a longgggg time to respond.

His canter is still fast so that is frustrating BUT I can't expect it to all come together right away. In the circle he is more balanced and together in the canter but the second we go down the long side he speeds up. I never feel like he is going to run away with me but I know it's not together and pretty haha!

At the end I worked on halting in the frame and standing square.

Today I am going to take a lesson Louie, hack tomorrow, trainer ride Friday and off Saturday.

Henry loves Mondays .. NOT

Henry is always grouchy on Monday... well grouchy for him which isn't that bad. Sunday is his day off and come Monday he doesn't get why he can't have Monday off too- well busy we have to keep plugging forward with training, sorry.

My trainer went and looked at a horse for another lady at the barn and so they didn't do the trainer ride till like 5 pm last night. I picked up Bayley and headed out to the barn - we watched Henry being ridden (and Sean came and got Bayley). They hacked around and then did a little jumping over an X and then a vertical (we were inside so not much to chose from in the way of jumps). He is getting softer in the mouth which is awesome!

Tonight (Tuesday) I have a lesson. Wednesday is a trainer ride. Thursday hack. Friday off. Saturday I am hoping he can be ridden as Sean works so I can't ride him.

I am pooped- as is Henry I am sure

Friday ended up being a day off for Henry... Juliana nicely turned him out for me since I was at work.

Saturday had a lesson on Henry on the flat and then jumped Louie. I was nervous a little today- not to jump but because there were so many people watching haha! Today Henry was much softer but he was also felt like a Giraffe at times. Anywho it was an ok ride both on the flat and jumping.. nothing like some of my rides this last week but thats ok- I can't expect awesome every time :)

I saw this over at Poor Woman Showing (Carly's blog). It's really cool and I checked out what Henry is...

Dog-Horses are straightforward, faithful and courageous. They are often dexterous and will be stubbornly loyal to the right person or horse. Some Dog-Horse weaknesses include being  irritable or plagued by unwarranted anxiety. Ulcer meds will be a Dog-Horse’s best friend!
Lucky colours: green, red and purple. Avoid: blue, white and gold.

Interesting to read as he totally is like a dog! I am not sure he is all courageous yet but maybe that will come with time? Other then that I can see it all... not sure about the Ulcer meds though.

Also it says that Henry and I "will have our ups and downs"... hopefully all our downs are used up and we just have ups now haha!!!

Day off tomorrow and then back to the grind Monday :)

Fourth day in a row baby!!!

Wednesday (last night) my motivation was not there. My two normal riding buddies weren't riding (one just didn't ride and the others pony is off) so I was less then driven to say the least. ha! Last week it was grand central station on Thursday night and this week I tag teamed with another lady from my barn and was riding solo. Lyssette was hand walking Carlos which was nice to have some company :)

I tacked up and ran Henry around for a min and then hopped on. I didn't have a big game plan- mostly practicing our transitions from a halt, walk and trot and staying in a frame. Master the foundation and get that good. It took some work but eventually we got it. He was being such a good boy and so much fun to ride! I hope that what I did shows in his trainer ride on Friday (today).

Love this pony!

Trainer ride Friday(today) and lesson Saturday.

Pictures WOOT!

Thank you Kat and Andy for the pictures! :)

Third day in a row...

Yes you read that right, this was my 3rd day in a row of riding, tomorrow will be the fourth :) Then a break Friday (for me- Henry will still have his normal scheduled trainer ride) and back in the saddle Saturday for a lesson.

So last night (Tuesday) we had a flat lesson. They were changing the lights with the tractor in the arena- so that was an awesome way to start the lesson- not! But I did it, rode through it and didn't die :) We worked a lot on frame frame frame. I rode for a long time last night and it felt good- you know that feeling of working hard and satisfaction. Ahhhhh! Anywho good hard flat ride- we were both pooped at the end of it. Kat and Andy came and took pictures so hopefully I will have some pictures in the near future :)

Today I took a private flat lesson on Henry- worked HARD again and it was 76 deg here today so I was burning up but loving the warmth. We worked on frame again and really keeping him there through every transition. Again it was hard work but all worth it. Then Juliana and I switched horses and I got to jump Louie again and she jumped Henry. Louie is just an awesome horse to ride and jump. He gives me great confidence and enables me to ride well which is awesome. My trainer said some great things to me today about my riding and jumping which really felt good. She suggested that I maybe show Louie some which would be great experience for me.

After our ride I gave Henry a much needed bath.. he smelt SO NICE after I was done. Then we went for a walk and he ate some grass...

Hack tomorrow, trainer ride Friday and lesson Saturday. :)

Lesson + Jumping

Today= no work!

So we all gathered at the barn and had a group lesson at 10 am. It was nice :)

Henry was um interesting. He was strong and didn't feel like he wanted to work. Mondays are always hard days for him- it's like he thinks the weekend should be one day longer (Sundays are his day off). I feel that same way but being human I guess I know I have to push forward- he doesn't agree. Anywho I hacked him around on the flat. He was strong, spookie and just not to much fun! Haha! I don't expect perfection every ride so it's all good- ill take the good with the bad. It is good for me to work through it.

Then Juliana and I traded horses :) I got to ride/jump Louie and she jumped Henry. At first I was nervous to jump but after a fence or two I got my groove back and figured out how Louie feels/works. He is a really really nice horse and I look forward to jumping him more and getting myself back in the jumping grove- I am spoiled to get to ride such a nice horse!

Lastly Henry got a "hair cut" from Auntie Lyssette (my Christmas present woot).. aka his mane pulled. Look how cute he looks!

Lesson for me tomorrow.. trainer ride Wednesday.. hack Thursday.. trainer ride Friday.. lesson Saturday.

It's a hard life...

to be Henry. See...

Hahaha yes he is a spoiled I mean well taken care of horse!

Friday he was super good. I got to go watch him being ridden and he jumped everything really well. He is getting better about his canter and being lighter in the bridle... really all around he is doing awesome.

Saturday he got turned out.

Today I lunged, groomed and turned him out. The above pictures is from today. Also here is some video to the left.

Lesson tomorrow- also no work!!! Woot!

Come one come all

I am just loving my horse tonight! There were roughly 8 people in the arena tonight at once- this was including a lesson and Henry took it all in stride! What a good boy! The eventers were the lessoners and Henry was NOT sure what their jumps were- made me laugh. We worked through that aka I rode him past, around and through them all telling him to get over it they are just jumps.

My goal tonight was to work on transitions. He was so soft in the mouth and listened so well despite everything that was going on. He was halting when i asked and staying in his frame, staying in his frame at the trot most of the time, staying together when we cantered and not just going around strung out, staying together going from a canter to a trot and all around just fun to ride. No spooking which I always love!

I was hoping to ride for a longer ride tonight cause Sean stayed home with Bayley so I could take my time but with all that was going on, how well he was being (which I was thankful for) and he did all that I asked I quit while I was ahead and cooled him out. This getting ridden 5-6 days a week has made for a wonderful brained and fun horse to ride haha!

Trainer ride tomorrow :)

Feb 14th and 15th

Tuesday I thought about riding but that is about as far as I got... well not really, I did tack him up and take him out to the round pen and lunged him. It was so cold and I was hungry so my motivation went down hill FAST! Being that it was Valentines day I took the excuse (plus being cold and hungry)- took off Henry's tack and just let him play in the round pen.

Helping my lunge himself ha!

Look how nice and filled out he is :)

Wednesday was a trainer ride. I made it up in time to see him being ridden. My trainer got on him and did a bunch of bending, softening and messing around on him- love seeing the master at work! Then the working student (who is a great rider) got on and jumped him. He was a good boy and I even remembered to take video of the last jump- oops, next time ill try to take more. But here is a little glimpse of him jumping and no this isn't me riding- oh how I wish it was tho! haha!

Henry over the little oxer

Tomorrow a lesson for me, Friday trainer ride and Saturday turn out and relaxing for Henry.

This is great!

What a weekend

I wasn't able to go watch Henry being ridden Friday cause miss Bayley was sick :( but I got another good report that he was good and jumped everything in the arena :)

Saturday I got up and despite feeling like crap rode for the flat part of the lesson. My grandma, aunt and mom were in town and I knew that they would all love to see my ride- so I put on my big girl panties and saddled up. Henry was really well behaved. We just hacked around and my trainer didn't correct me once during the whole ride- it was weird!

I got off Henry, groomed and put him away as we had TONS of things to do for Bayley's party.

Her party went off great BUT I got sick. I was sick Sat from about 4:30 pm and all day Sun. It was horrible.

I am about to go watch Henry's trainer ride and won't be riding tonight in hopes that I feel better so that I can ride tomorrow in my lesson.

Something about a great ...

hack that makes all the stress of the week melt away!

Tacked up and headed to the round pen... this is day 4 of 6 in a row that Henry is going to get ridden so I didn't expect much out of him in the round pen...

To the left

To the right

This is how he was nicely going around and then BAM a horse came around the corner in the dark and he went a running and bucking. I waited for him to finish and then got him and got on.

He was really good. My goal tonight was to trot trot trot, work on soft hands (which leads to a long low head and stretching out in the trot for Henry) and bending in the corners/straight on the long side (around my inside leg and especially to the left). I felt like I had an awesome ride and the things I wanted to work on went well. I really think that this full training thing is REALLY helping.

I am SO excited to see where we will be in 6 months to a year!

Here are some pictures to enjoy :)

Hi Mom, can I eat that?!

He's tired ...

You lookin at me?!

Trainer ride tomorrow and then lesson for me Saturday :)

Tuesday Feb 7th + Wednesday Feb 8th

First off I need to wish my baby girl a happy 1st birthday! I love her so much and we are so thankful for her- she really is the best kid ever!

Ok back on track- last nights lesson... It rained earlier in the day/night before so I was expecting to have a muddy horse BUT he was actually pretty clean. Took off his blanket and groomed/tacked up. I didn't think he was going to be to full of it when lunging but was I wrong... he had a good amount of steam to blow off ha!

Time to get on! He was good for our ride- there were only 4 of us in the arena/lesson so it was a good- not to much commotion or peeps doing their thing :)

Henry felt good, relaxed for most of the time (minus a few spooks here and there) and like he was listening to me. He tends to get heavy and so we have been working on half halts. Also still working on getting that canter together and constant speeds- again half halts.

I know my posture isn't good and last night I was looking in the mirrors and my shouldn't were as rounded as they have been BUT I am tilted forward with my upper body- I've got to figure out how to fix this cause I want my posture to be good... perfect would be nice too but right now im just looking for good haha!

Wednesday was a trainer ride. I wasn't able to make it out since they rode at 9 am but I got a good report- he was good and they did some gymnastics- jumped him 2'6-2'9... he only stopped once which is good too. Gotta break that habit asap! My trainer said she hopes he sees the light soon cause this stopping things isn't ok.

Tomorrow I'll hack, another trainer ride Friday and lesson Saturday :)

Catch up

Sorry I have been MIA... like my last post said- I've been sick.

Quick recap... Friday Henry got turned out- he was supposed to get his second trainer ride but things came up and he didn't fit in the schedule. Saturday hubby worked so Henry got a few hours out in turn out. Sunday was a busy day for us and is Henry's "day off" so he wasn't fussed over, no work but did get his blanket off to enjoy some sun :) Monday was another trainer ride- I went and watched on my lunch and learned. I like watching because it teaches me things, validates that what I am doing is right and gives me things to work on and try in my none lesson rides. After work hubby, Bayley and I went up to Henry groomed him, grained and blanketed him.

Bayleys birthday is this weekend so we are super busy with that- so grateful for trainer rides this week especially!

A few weeks ago the vet came out and did the spring vacs and I had him clean Henry's boy party. I wanted to see how he would react and start with a clean slate going forward- he was really good so now it's my turn to keep up on this.. man I miss having a mare when it comes to leaning those parts!

Here is a glimps into my lessons Tuesday- Yes I am wearing my "shoulders back" to help with my posture :)

Guess the shoulder back isn't working haha!

Lessons tonight, trainer ride Wed, Thur ride, Friday trainer ride and Sat lesson- AND my family will be in town so hoping some of them will come watch. I know my grandma will come cause she really is my #1 fan when it comes to riding- she always has been and it means SO much to me :)

Sick sick and sicker ...

I have been fighting something since Monday but it has finally won. Wednesday Henry had a trainer ride- I went and watched. I think I can learn from watching and I will take all the learning experiences I can get!

Today I went home from work early as I couldn't function. I opted out of riding cause I am weak and my head/face/ sinus' are throbbing. Hopefully I can get some sleep tonight and then be ready to ride tomorrow. Last night I didn't get more then about 5 hours of sleep and that wasn't good.

Don't worry- Henry wasn't forgotten. Even tho I feel like I am going to die, I still went up and took off his blanket at lunch, free lunged him and groomed him tonight. Of course he got his blanket put back on and then some grain :)
 

Award!

Thanks Shelley for my award! It's my first woo hoo!

Liebster means “dearest” in German, and the award is intended to help up-and-coming blogs get the attention they deserve. Here are the rules:

1. Copy and paste the award on your blog.


2. Link back to the blogger who gave you the award


3. Pick your five favorite blogs with less than 200 followers, and leave a comment on their blog to let them know they have received the award.


4. Hope that the five blogs chosen will keep spreading the love and pass it on to five more blogs!

Lyssette and Carlos- Love reading this and seeing what awesome things shes reading about and learning so I can learn too!  She is also a great barn buddy of mine :)

Kat- This is a friend of mine who takes some awesome pictures (an her hubby too).  We miss her riding with us!


Sprinkler Bandit- This blog is always entertaining and I like reading all of the adventures! I am enjoying the giant gelding adventure right now!

TBA- Love reading about Jetta!

Poor Woman Showing- Enjoying seeing Bobby and his progression :)

Fillys Best Friend- Awesome pictures and love seeing her videos!

On the Up and Up

Last nights ride went much better. We went through the paces, there wasn't a million people riding in the arena and Henry was responsive.

After tacking him up I went to lunge and he was a bit wild so I took him to the big round pen and let him at it- I literally stood still in the middle and he ran around like a wild man- bucking, farting and getting the wiggles out. I find it funny that on Monday when I lunged him he wanted nothing to do with work and then tonight he was wild!

Anywho I got on and go to work.. like I said he was good. The thing that I feel I am really struggling with is SLOWING THE CANTER DOWN. He doesn't want to be held together and look pretty- just wants to run around and get his canter on haha!

I really was working on keeping him straight tonight and it was hard work. He is so soft to the right and NOT to the left. I am also thinking I may need to get new gloves or something cause I can't seem to get a good grip on my reins and they creep out of my fingers - and i promise my fingers are closed tight tight tight.

We did a little turn on the forehand too and he was ok- about 2/3 of the time he did it decent and the other 1/3 was backing or walking forward so something to work on :) But being that it was the first time I've asked him for this, I was proud of him.

In other big news .. Henry and I will be entering boot camp AKA full training. Bring on some hard rides and some big progress!