Oops...

So i missed a few days, sorry!

Friday my trainer was at a show, or on her way so I rode Henry. He was a good boy... we just hacked, worked on transitions- even added a few halt canter ones :)

Grubbing on some grass after our ride

Saturday he just got turned out.

Sunday I lunged :)
Henry to the Right 4-29-12

This week isn't quite set yet on the rides but i think it will be... Monday hack, Tuesday Hack, Wednesday trainer ride, Thursday lesson, Friday trainer ride, Saturday show :)

Rodeo Practice

Henry was practicing for the rodeo on the way walking to the barn (it was super windy so all the horses out in pastures were a bit wild), I tacked him up and then headed out to the round pen to let him blow off the "rodeo" steam :) He was super lazy and then BAM all the horses around outside started going crazy running around and Henry joined! It was awesome- I did lots of roll backs with him to get his focus back on me and tire him out haha.

On to riding... Worked on keeping Henry straight- riding about 3 or 4 feet off the rail so that he really had to listen to me and not use the rail/wall for our guide. We also had a nice composed canter which I appreciated... to the right he was a little more of a pain but from where we have come I can't complain.

Then we moved on to jumping... back and forth back and forth- then we added in asking for lead changed after the X as well. Woo hoo for moving forward! Henry jumps really round and I need to work on keeping my shoulders back, with his reach/round jumps it feels like he pulls me down so I HAVE to get this fixed asap.

Here is a picture for of Henry after our ride as I was putting him away :)

Hack tomorrow, turned out Saturday.

Oh and I paid my trainer for hauling and training/schooling tonight (for the show) and I am sending my entry (fees+ schooling cost) tomorrow so it's on for May 5th :) Cinco De Mayo means we will need to drink lots o beer!!! (Right Lyssette?!)

Two word...

No Stopping!!!

Trainer ride went well- it was raining so they rode inside. Jumped him and no stopping happened! :)

Sending my entry (schooling fee + other fees) in for the show next weekend. Decided on just taking him for exposure and not going to do any classes :)

Lesson tonight, hack tomorrow.

GOOD boy Henry!

Such a good boy tonight!

I attempted to lunge BUT he was soooo lazy so I hopped on and got to work. There was a beginner ish rider getting a lesson so we worked on lots of steering and staying out of the way of her. I rode for about 45 min and that was with only one walk break- so needless to say it was a long process to cool him out and for him to dry.

After trotting around for a while, changing direction and working on being soft and supple I moved onto canter, halt, walk canter transitions. I wanted him to really be listening to me and not just going through the paces. He was pretty good and I was proud of him.

Then we walked for a little bit and then got back to more of the above ... then ended with some more trotting and changing of direction with changing the bend.

Henry was a tired boy after our ride... note the pictures below :)

That was hard, I am tired!

Umm mom the water is rising!

Tomorrow trainer ride, Thursday lesson and hopefully a hack Friday.

**on the dl... i MIGHT be going to a show on May 5th to just school Henry and get him exposed to the world outside the barn.

4-23-12

Monday are Henry's favorite, not! So my goal was to just hack and have it go well.

Tacked Henry up, lunged and hopped on. He was a bit lookie and jumpy cause there was one rider using her dressage whip quite a lot- I kept telling Henry it wasn't for him- he settled in and we were good.

Walk, trot, sitting trot, canter, change direction, change the bed, move the haunches over, active walk, halts, sharp transitions...

It was a good night :)

Hack tomorrow, trainer ride Wednesday, lesson Thursday, no trainer ride Friday cause my trainer and two riders are going to a show so I am going to try and ride him after work.

Relax

Henry Hanging Out

Sunday is Henry's day off (for now, might change to Mondays). He got turned out and groomed :)

April 21st

Lesson day... It was a super nice day, maybe a little too hot as I got a nice burn. There were 7 of us riding which was a nice group... almost felt like a flat class :)

We went through the motions of hacking, even some no stirrup work.. I had practiced this as well on Friday when I rode Louie since he is nice and smooooooth haha. Today I was on Henry so it wasn't as easy/smooth but it's all good.

My trainer commented on how good Henry was looking today- I have some nice blisters on my pinky fingers to show my hard work to help make him look good! It should be interesting how I am able to ride Monday.

I warmed Henry up over the X that the group was jumping, back and forth a few times. Then Juliana got on him and jumped him over some bigger stuff. He jumped well and even cantered a whole course- woot! Lead changes are still a work in progress but he is doing really well - I think.

Day off tomorrow, hack Monday, hack Tuesday, trainer ride Wednesday, lesson Thursday, trainer ride Friday.

Better :)

Henry looked better today... they just hacked him, no jumping.

I rode Louie- hacked him. It was nice to ride another horse but I love Henry too.

Lesson tomorrow, off Sunday!

Not Quite Right

Henry wasn't quite right tonight... he wasn't lame but he was definitely stepping short in the hind end. He just got his feet done today so I am hoping he was just a little tender. I lunged him a little and then hopped on to see how he felt... and it wasn't quite right. I trotted him around for about 10 min to see if he would trot out of it but he didn't do I cooled him out and hopped off.

He got a nice hosing, about a 15 min grass eating session, groomed again b/c he rolled and grained/loved on.

Tomorrow is a trainer right and I am going to ride as well- feeling a bit under the weather and might need to take the afternoon off :) Lesson Saturday and Sunday off.

April 18th 2012

Henry had a trainer ride today. He was good... it looked like he was a bit strong on the flat. He jumped well- no stopping and my trainer moved one of the jumps around so that it wasn't in the "normal" place... the other 5 jumps were but he jumped all of them well. So proud :)

Lesson (or hack) tomorrow, trainer ride Friday and Lesson Saturday.

Super good pony!!!

The title says it all...

My goal for tonight was to work on our walk/canter transitions.

Got Henry, tacked him up, lunged and climbed on. There were a few other people riding so we joined the party. I trotted around the arena two laps to get a lay of the land and then went to work on my walk/canter transition goal. The first transition wasn't as crisp as I would like it (it really wasn't bad BUT not what I wanted) so we cantered a bit (since he got the right lead and did pick it up I didn't want to stop him and punish him) then walked and worked on more transitions both directions.

He was really on point with his responsiveness and I was SO proud!

We had a little cat issue- apparently it was going to eat us alive- but being that he had to focus on our transitions that luckily is wasn't what it could have been.

Since Henry was so good for what I was asking and our goal was reached (and someone came in with a wild horse to lunge) I decided to end there. It wasn't a long ride but it was totally a super productive one. I walked a bunch and cooled him out- he was a bit sweaty so I wanted it to all dry.

Un-tacked, groomed, grained and put him away (also cleaned his stall and filled his water).

And everyone's fav part.. pictures :)

enjoying grass while his water filled

"May I please have grain?!"

Sunday... 70 degrees and BEAUTIFUL!

I planned to ride today and headed up at to the barn and everyone was done by the time I got there.. boo. Oh well I took Henry down to the big round pen to blow off the steam...

Right in the round pen
Left in the round pen

Then I bathed him and took him for a walk till he dried... now for the pictures!!! :)

After his bath

another one post bath

In the round pen

In the round pen

He poses! LOL- In the round pen

drying off :)

Pictures from 4/12/12

Thanks for the pictures Kat and Andy! :)

Video What What

X Oxer- Henry Left

Oxer - Henry Left

X Oxer- Henry Left (2)

There are a few videos of the end of his trainer ride jumping the oxer. One stop today- it was a bit dirty (unlike the one last night with me- I should have ridden more aggressive)... ugh he shouldn't be stopping at an X. Praying this goes away!

Lots going on in the arena today during the ride and Henry took it all in stride- didn't get hot and bothered about anything :)

Off tomorrow, ride Sunday(?), off Monday(hubby has a softball game), hack Tuesday, trainer ride Wednesday, lesson Thursday, trainer ride Friday, lesson Saturday.

Quiet Night at the Barn

Just Lyssette and I rode in the lesson. The barn was oddly quiet- normally Thursday nights can be busy busy but it wasn't. One of the eventer riders rode with us too which was nice.

Lots of consistent flat work last night and moving Henry's hind end over going to the right through the turns. I seriously suck at remembering to do this and it's always what I am getting yelled at for haha. Also to the right is the way that he likes to just bend his neck and drop his shoulder through the corner so that means I HAVE to RIDE him ever step of the way cause he isn't going to help me out at all.

After canting for quite some time both directions we jumped the X. It wasn't anything big but thats good for me to do the small stuff over and over to make my brain know that it isn't scary! He stopped the first time but I did exactly what my trainer said- spur/kick him and make him jump it from there... I did and we lived. I need to remember to ride him super aggressive to the first few fences. I felt like I was riding him aggressive but not super aggressive so I've got to add that super in there :) The rest of the jumping went well.

While I was riding I guess Bayley was practicing at home with daddy cause I got this picture on my cell phone via text when I got off :)

For your viewing pleasure, a tired Henry after our lesson...

Kat and Andy came out last night too which means GOOD PICTURES!!! :) Now the waiting game.

Saw this on ...

Facebook this morning and loved it. I so need a trailer so I can have this on it!

Rain x A Million

Trainer ride went well today. It POORED like crazy- the rain was soooooo loud it was out of control! Henry was a bit wild today on the line but finally settled into working. No Stopping woot!

They worked on some more counter canter into lead changes.

Also some jumping.. here are two videos (sorry they suck) and a picture :)

Jumping
Jumping 2

The horse eating jump of the day haha!

Slacking .. oops!

Sorry I have been slacking on my posts! Quick re-cap..

Sunday- Turn out day off :)

Monday- Supposed to ride BUT hubby had a softball game that I wasn't warned about till Monday morning soooooo Henry got turned out and then I got him out and we went for a walk before the softball game. When hubby has the early game (6:30 pm) in the future I will be riding either Sunday or I'll have to figure something- ride on my lunch or something.

Tuesday- typically I hack BUT tonight I got my hair done. We have a wedding Saturday so I wanted to make my hair purdy! :) So he got lunged and groomed tonight. I was worried I was going to be in the way lunging since it was raining and everyone had to ride inside but it was just Lyssette and myself so lots of room for us both :)

Trainer ride tomorrow, lesson Thursday, trainer ride Friday... maybe a ride Sunday if I can :)

Hanging out in the super nice weather Monday :)

Happy Easter!

Thursday, Friday and Saturday...

I am a little behind .. sorry!

Thursday I rode in a lesson. We went up to our arena and it was SO windy. I was not happy about that to say the least but I cowboyed up and got on. Henry was actually really really really good. I was shocked to say the least ... He listened well and we even jumped a little. His canter was better, be wasn't spookie at all, he was in his frame and super fun to ride! Yay Henry! :)

Friday Henry and I had a private lesson with my trainer. She rode her horse and I rode Henry and it was a good ride. Not as good as Thursday night but wasn't bad. We even took a walk around the property... Here are a few pictures from after our ride while he was turned out.

Yay for a fun Iphone app :)

Saturday I went out for a lesson, there were only 4 of us. Small group which is all good. We rode in our arena as the weather was super nice. I decided to ride in my western saddle- worst idea I have had in a while. My western saddle is for well western- keeping your leg on a young horse and guiding him every step of the way isn't what that western saddle is designed for. It was SO MUCH WORK and my legs are sooooo sore. Never again- ever hahaha! Our ride was good, nothing great but good.

Tomorrow hes off, Monday hack, Tuesday lunge (I am getting my hair done so I won't be to the barn till 7 pm), Wednesday trainer ride, Thursday lesson, Friday trainer ride ... Bring on the week!

April 4, 2010

He was still lookie at the boxes, not as bad as last night. Woo hoo my over doing it on exposing him to them worked a bit haha!

They jumped him- he stopped the first time and then after that he was good. Still working on holding him up to the jump and not letting him take off three strides before the jump and do his own thing.

They also worked on lead changes a bit- he did quite a few really well and cross cantered a bit for some others.

Lesson tomorrow night, ride Friday and possible lesson Saturday.

Really Henry?!?!?!

So I lunged him and he was acting like a saint... went both ways and then hopped on.

He was going around nicely and then BAM he saw the brick painted boxes and his world came unglued. The focus of the night when from working on transitions to dealing with the spooking at hand haha! So I decided to got by the boxes and around the jumps till he decided to not worry about any of them. It was surprising how despite his brain being gone his canter was not super fast and stung out- I was proud- even thought I was a bit frustrated that he was being spookie at these things that we have been riding around for weeks.. yes the jumps have moved but please they are all the same!!!

So once I was able to get him to go by all the things without having a melt down a few times I called it quits and walked around to cool out. Gotta love how your plans can go out the window so fast haha!

Trainer ride tomorrow, lesson Thursday, lesson Friday and I am not sure about Saturday.

Sorry for the blurry pic- gotta love a moving horse and cell phone pics :)

it's a hard life being Henry :)

Things I want...

Custom Chaps *

Back on Track Saddle Pad*

Pink Show Shirt*

Antares Open Front Boots (hope you don't mine Lyssette!)***

Antares Ankle Boots (again hope you don't mind Lysstte)***

Eskadron FlexiSoft Sheepskin Front Boots**

Eskadron Sheepskin Ankle Boots**

Baker Sheet- 78 Please :)**

The following I would like in Maroon and Tan (our Barn colors) or Hunter and Navy
Bridle Bag***
Tall Boot Bag***
Saddle Bag***
Garment Bag**
All In One Bag***
Hat Bag**

Ok so I could keep going on and on and on ... the things with a * are the things I am looking to get in the near future, ** is next and *** is last :)

A+ what what!!

Henry got a good grade on his ride today- woo hoo! Maybe the trick to making Monday's not so bad for him is to let him be a wild man on Sunday and get the craziness out... I shall try it again next Sunday and see if it works :)

No stopping, well behaved and even cantered fences without losing his mind! So proud of him!!!

After work I went up and groomed, loved on and grained Henry... oh yeah I cleaned his stall and put a sheet on him too.

Lesson tomorrow, trainer ride Wednesday, hack Thursday, lessons Friday... not sure about Saturday.

Race day?!

Yesterday I went up to the barn (with hubby and baby is tow) and we took Henry down to the big big round arena. My trainer said it would probably be a good idea to let him get some crazies out since he hasn't really had a chance to blow off some steam in a really big wide open space. He gets worked 5-6 days a week, turned out to graze/run aorund and hand walked around to graze but none of that is a big safe place to run around it... so I let him go. He was ok at the beginning and then became a NUT! Haha. He ran around like a wild man- good thing I had booted him up!!! Anywho race horse came out, tail in the air, calling like crazy and snorting. It was one of his finer moments lol!

Anywho after he was done he got walked, legs hosed off and then turned out to graze a little. He also rolled and got a few cuts from the stupid bark crap that they put in the turn outs- I checked them out and they looked ok- nothing I could put any meds on but I asked me trainer to peak at them today when they ride him and ill peak at them again tonight when I go to feed him.

I've got a meeting today at a customer site so I won't be able to go watch his ride... this is the last week of 3 trainer rides.. next week goes to the schedule I talked about last time. It's all good we will still get lots of workouts and keep progressing!

In other news - Lauren Hough and Quick Study got third place in $500,000 FTI Consulting Finale Grand Prix.

Lesson tomorrow, trainer ride Wednesday, hack Thursday, trainer ride Friday and lesson Saturday.