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Apr. 9th, 2008 08:15 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
diaryofariderI think I can gymnasticize my horse, now if I can only learn to gymnasticize me...
Got to ride with another horse in the ring yesterday afternoon, which was nice since he was pretty quiet and well behaved. Trudi warily eyeballed the motorhome parked nearby, but didn't act nutty.
It took forever to get her supple, through, and relaxed at the walk, but once I did her trot was spectacular. Unfortunately it was also so big I was again getting bounced around just posting (part of this is because I'm also struggling to teach my body to go into a prettier position, it's SO HARD). It was interesting to see how good it could be right off the bat (well, if 25 minutes of walking prior to that could be considered right off the bat) and I think that's the trot I need to go for all the time. Canter was sucky at first- I think I must have had a lot of tension and I was trying too hard to school a couple of movements instead of just warming up. She scampered and popped in some changes and was all OMG EEK UP RUN SHOULD I GO SIDEWAYS HOW BOUT A CHANGE NO OK I'LL CHANGE BACK WHOOPS THAT WAS ONLY THE FRONT.... It's like she suddenly discovered she could do a change last week and now she wants to play with them some more- even though I've didn't ask for any.
*sigh*.
When we both settled down things were eventually fine- did some sitting trot which I was sucking at- had to grab ye old bucking strap to push my butt down into the saddle again after I was hovering a good six inches above it- but once I was more or less able to sit a few strides and she was more relaxed we got some nice transitions and things were softer and quieter. It was pretty cool because about that time somebody started operating a noisy table saw-- but because she was thinking about the work she didn't really pay attention to it. Had some lengthenings that were really nice, more because she went "Oh please oh please oh please" and I was like "Ok" and she went sailing down the longside in this big lovely trot, which made me giggle hysterically- I mean, it's kinda really fun, and kinda insane and scary because I start out sitting it, but eventually it's like a roller coaster and I'm hovering in the air above the horse and I'm totally losing it, and she's all WHEEEE!!!. So I don't want her to go till she loses her balance, and that means I have to keep my balance to help her. I guess it just never gets easier...
I can feel when we get it- trot gets all this impulsion, I straighten her a bit, I ask her to come down in the neck and boom she gets through- then she gets crooked again and/or I bounce off to one side, the neck comes up, and viola, we have hell in a handbasket.
Must...concentrate...on...positive...
Got to ride with another horse in the ring yesterday afternoon, which was nice since he was pretty quiet and well behaved. Trudi warily eyeballed the motorhome parked nearby, but didn't act nutty.
It took forever to get her supple, through, and relaxed at the walk, but once I did her trot was spectacular. Unfortunately it was also so big I was again getting bounced around just posting (part of this is because I'm also struggling to teach my body to go into a prettier position, it's SO HARD). It was interesting to see how good it could be right off the bat (well, if 25 minutes of walking prior to that could be considered right off the bat) and I think that's the trot I need to go for all the time. Canter was sucky at first- I think I must have had a lot of tension and I was trying too hard to school a couple of movements instead of just warming up. She scampered and popped in some changes and was all OMG EEK UP RUN SHOULD I GO SIDEWAYS HOW BOUT A CHANGE NO OK I'LL CHANGE BACK WHOOPS THAT WAS ONLY THE FRONT.... It's like she suddenly discovered she could do a change last week and now she wants to play with them some more- even though I've didn't ask for any.
*sigh*.
When we both settled down things were eventually fine- did some sitting trot which I was sucking at- had to grab ye old bucking strap to push my butt down into the saddle again after I was hovering a good six inches above it- but once I was more or less able to sit a few strides and she was more relaxed we got some nice transitions and things were softer and quieter. It was pretty cool because about that time somebody started operating a noisy table saw-- but because she was thinking about the work she didn't really pay attention to it. Had some lengthenings that were really nice, more because she went "Oh please oh please oh please" and I was like "Ok" and she went sailing down the longside in this big lovely trot, which made me giggle hysterically- I mean, it's kinda really fun, and kinda insane and scary because I start out sitting it, but eventually it's like a roller coaster and I'm hovering in the air above the horse and I'm totally losing it, and she's all WHEEEE!!!. So I don't want her to go till she loses her balance, and that means I have to keep my balance to help her. I guess it just never gets easier...
I can feel when we get it- trot gets all this impulsion, I straighten her a bit, I ask her to come down in the neck and boom she gets through- then she gets crooked again and/or I bounce off to one side, the neck comes up, and viola, we have hell in a handbasket.
Must...concentrate...on...positive...
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Date: 2008-04-09 03:41 pm (UTC)And just think: if you can get all the ducks in a row for 5 seconds at a time, in a month or two it'll be 5 minutes, and in another few months it'll be longer. Baby steps!
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Date: 2008-04-09 05:20 pm (UTC)It's so WEIRD. These damn birds sit on the fence and make loud noises, and fly so close to her head that they almost touch her, and she doesn't care at all. But somebody standing by the dumpster? A coat laid on the fence or a chair? OMGWHATSTHAT. Table saw while she's working- mostly doesn't notice. Sometimes it just seems very random... but I was pretty proud of how little she reacted to the tablesaw, and the crane the other day- she ignored that.
Did I also mention yesterday there was a plane flying around with a banner behind it yesterday?
*hugs pony*
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Date: 2008-04-09 05:30 pm (UTC)Wally generally only spooks at sounds, especially ones he can't associate with something visually. The first time I EVER rode him outdoors, there were 3 tractors discing the field, which would come within 20 feet of the arena. He didn't even flinch. On National Guard weekends, the F-16s fly back and forth overhead, creating those stupid sonic booms and other related LOUD NOISES, but he's used to that and doesn't flinch. But he hears another horse roll in the stall next to him, and he FREAKS! Or a horse comes cantering up behind us in the arena (like, we're the ONLY TWO in the arena) and he does his scooting-bolt thing. WTF, horse?
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Date: 2008-04-09 05:37 pm (UTC)