Today's lesson

Before I rode, I convinced my friend Lisa (known around the barn as Lisa1) to hop on Daniel. She has a Friesian filly who hasn't been saddle started, and takes lessons on Daniel. Well, she's been so into training with horse that she hasn't ridden in ages, despite me telling her she can ride Daniel whenever she wants...

After Lisa1 warmed him up, I got on for my lesson... In shoulders-in. That should be re-titled "Lisa2 can't walk and chew gum at the same time again!". Between the inside rein up, inside leg on and the half-halt on the outside, I was a flipping mess!!!!

Leeandra was helping me along with verbal cues, but I felt like I was learning to walk, and doing a shit job at it! I'll get it eventually. I don't have lessons the next two weeks, so I'll be going down on Saturday instead... And I plan to practice! Maybe if I'm going through the script in my head, and not being reactive to outside cues, I'll do better. My horse knows all of this; I just have to learn it! (and I didn't realize that Leeandra's husband Joe was taking pictures - he's an awesome photographer! He took the one of me on Daniel.)

After my lesson, I groomed Daniel, put his sheet back on him, and put him back out with the boys. He's learning that he's back with those guys, and he's so much happier!

I helped out with a young horse Leeandra was training. I got to do some holding while Leeandra worked on desensitizing her to things like jackets flapping and being put on her back and neck, and beginning to mount her. It was interesting working with a horse that has lots of buttons! I'm so used to my bombproof boy. I'm told time and time again that, "There is the Daniel way, and the every other horse way"... It was really good for me to be exposed to some of those other horse ways!!!

Next weekend, due to SuperBowl, my Sunday horse will be my Saturday horse.
:-)

He was better today!

Daniel was SO MUCH better today! Leeandra and Joe said that he's probably afraid he won't go back out with his buddies after he gets brought in. I'm hoping that bringing him in yesterday, then putting him back out with his boys after grooming him, made him a little more confident that he'll be out with the boys! Amy was getting Lyric out of the field, so Daniel was a little more willing to go (that, and Robin helping us!) than yesterday. I even remembered his "dress up" halter with his name in bling :-)

Amy suggested doing our lessons together, and maybe we'd ride around the property. Neither her horse, Lyric, nor Daniel, had been in the fields other than the one they're turned out in. Amy was a few steps ahead of me in grooming and tacking up Lyric, so they headed out to the indoor. I finished picking his hooves and grooming him, then I tacked him up (even remembered the bit warmer!) and walked him to the indoor.

I still need the 4-step mounting block to get on him. I told Leeandra that I'm hoping to be able to do it from a 3 step this spring/summer.... yeah, I'd like to fit into an 18" saddle wearing size freaking 12 jeans, too!

Anyway, Leeandra had Daniel and me play "Follow the Leader" with Amy and Lyric... first at a walk, then trotting. It was tough work, especially since my right knee is still swollen and bruised from a fall I had, but it was fun! Since Lyric is a lot younger and faster than Daniel, I had to work to keep him from falling too far behind!

After the follow the leader game we took them out to the 2nd outdoor arena. We just went around it at a walk... Daniel and I had to trot a little to catch up to Lyr here and there, but we mostly walked. We also went to a big field at the back of the property. This field sloped d-o-w-n, which neither Lyric nor Daniel were too thrilled with! Amy amazed me - Lyric slipped a few times, and she neither freaked out nor fell off! I probably would have done both!!

We went back to the barn and Daniel did work up a sweat, so I tossed his cooler on him for a while, then swapped it for his regular turn-out sheet, and put him back out with his boys.... I loved the last pic of them walking up and over the hill in their field. :-)

Back to the boys

Thanks to the long weekend, I had a rare Saturday with Daniel. He was a BRAT when I tried to bring him in. It was way too cold to ride (about 15 degrees), but I wanted to groom him and make sure he was good and clean, so he could fluff up that long coat of his, and not be cold.

Tomorrow I have a lesson, and I think I'll suggest we work on manners :-) My background is in dogs... I know what a mild, moderate and severe corrections are, and what is abusive, with dogs. I DON'T know what those are in the horse world. All I know is that when I whacked his butt with the end of his lead rope, and he picked his hoof up on the near side, I gave him an open-hand smack on the mouth. I don't know if I was right or not, but to me, that is the same as a growl with a dog... and my long-time obedience instructor always said, "A growl is a bite that didn't connect... correct it the same way you'd correct a bite." So, Daniel picking up, and holding up his LH hoof, got treated like a kick that didn't connect. When I told Leeandra what happened, and that I'd popped him, she didn't see alarmed, so I guess it wasn't too harsh of a correction.

I drive 2 1/2 hours to where Daniel lives because HE'S happy there... I am too, but I wish I didn't have a damned long drive!! I told Daniel if he doesn't knock his crap off, I'll move him closer to MY home. :-)

New way to groom....

Today was my second trip to Daniel's new home... He really fills the barn aisle, huh? :-) He has a lot to get used to at the new farm. There are crossties outside his stall (in a shed-row barn with oversize stalls) but he's not too happy in them with his one side exposed. So, I groomed him and tacked him up in the main barn's crossties.

We had our first ride since the trailride in November! Between his abscess and the move, I've been down to groom him, but haven't ridden since November. Today, I tacked him up, and some of the boarders under the previous owners (yeah, we're blending 'families' at the new barn) took the 4-step mounting block down to the indoor. There was a good bit of ice, so they suggested not mounting until we got to the indoor.

I mounted and we followed one of the other boarders (whose horse was used to the indoor) around the indoor so Daniel would see that there were no horse-eating monsters in the corners. He was really a champ about it all! We had a lesson, and I asked Leeandra to go easy on me, since I hadn't ridden in a while and I had a really badly bruised and swollen knee from one of the dogs pulling me down...

We did an obstacle course, with cavalettis, some crossrails, and worked on transitions; mainly walk to trot; trot to halt, etc. Since I hadn't ridden in a while, I was pretty discombobulated and it took me a bit to get my shit together. Daniel's a good boy in spite of me :-)

Considering it was his first time in the indoor, he did great! When my lesson was winding down, my instructor told me that she'd been so busy, she hasn't even had a chance to touch any of her horses... so I suggested that she hop on Daniel (I bought him from her) and ride him while I scooped up the pile he left, as usual, in the FAR end of the arena...

It was amazing to watch her ride him! They were doing canter to halt, halt to canter, half-passes and piaffe.... maybe some day I will (snort - in my freaking dreams!) I'll have to ride more often than once a week!!! :-)

Daniel's new home!!!

Daniel moved! My instructor and her husband bought a new farm in Hampstead MD and we moved with them! The drive sucks for me, but Daniel seems happy there, and that's what's important, right?
:-)

My friend Kathy went with me to "navigate" since I'd never been to the new farm. I didn't ride, but Kathy hopped up on him. Since she hadn't ridden in ages, and it was all new to Daniel, I slipped a lunge line on him so Kath would get more of a "pony ride" than have to do any steering on her own.