Do You Ride Horses?

[Hoofbeats]

Ugh, I feel like crap right now.
There's this girl at my stable, (I'm going to call her K) so anyways, K, owns this really beautiful, tall, grey Hanoverian.
Who's just a sweetheart, his gaits are very smooth and pleasant and he is AMAZING at Hunters and Dressage.
Anyways, today I was lunging Tina in the ring and she was riding in there so she rode up to me and asked," Im am going to jump so move like, now!" so I did since Tina needed a break anyways.
SO she started off it was painful to watch! She made him go faster then needed over the jumps, and she yanked on his mouth like five times! Then she asked me for crit and I said,"You made him go a little too fast over the jumps and you yanked on his moth a little too much." then she gave me this nasty glare and was all like,"Ugh, at least I'm not stuck riding school ponies." she said and then dismounted.
I felt like going up to K and punching her in her face! So now I'm really frustrated and angry.
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@Fate
You look really nice in the photo's, Mystic looks so nice <3

[opal.]

@Milo
That's ridiculous! You weren't doing anything wrong! In fact, I would've been doing the same thing if I were you! It's called de-sensitization, and it's a wonderful training suppliment that helps the horse become familiar with the whip and not react violently to it on a lunge line. My mother and myself both do it with young horses before and after lunging. That way if you lay the whip on the ground and then go to pick it up, the horse isn't startled or tries to take off which can create a dangerous situation! And to just tell you "Nope, can't work with Mikey ever again" without at least just saying "Hey, we would actually prefer if you didn't work with Mikey like that" which is much less rude, if not still disappointing. I totally agree that you should find a new barn. If they're going to act ridiculous, then they don't deserve having an extra hand around the barn to help clean and work with horses so that they might be more appealing to a new forever home :C Let me know if you ever want help looking for a new barn. I'd be more than happy to help you look online C:

@PonyRider
Ugg, I HATE people like that! They're just the rich snobs who don't ride horses because they love them, but because they're rich and think that they're good at it. I hate people who are all self-entitled and think that just because they have a fancy horse (No offense to the horse, obviously, he sounds really cute and sweet <3) that they are amazing riders and have to right to smart-a** you after they asked you for advice. Don't think twice about it!

[Bluebird22]

Wow, you all move so fast!

Smokey: I love hotos! Do you show in 4-h or other shows? The bareback with money sounds hard, but so much fun!

Colors: Daly's saddle pad and halter are a sky blue-so is my coat that I wear, but that's just a coincidence xD I'm not sure what Robert's colors are yet, but has has done cross country and eventing, so I know he has them.

Wineke: Thais fact has escaped my mind, do you own Major? Or just ride him?

Fortunea: 10! Wow, that is a lot of riders! The most the I have ridden with is five. And even that is crowded.

Kaia: first off I this two pointing will be very different with out the horn. As my trainer often tells the people who ride English in my class, me included, "really stick your but and chest out more!" Toppy really explained the heels down really well, so I won't saw the same thing as her. Even though you have been riding for three years, you may feel a little sore the day after your English lesson because you are using different muscles. Something that is a bit harder to do in the English saddle is keep your lower leg where is is suppose to be and also keep it still. English stirrups move more then western, and because of that, you leg can tend you swing or get infornt or behind you. What will help that the most is having you stirrups the right langth. I used to have the problem with my leg going ahead or behind me, and once I shortened my stirrups, the problem went away! Last thing I can think of at the moment is your hands. They should be 3-5 inches above the pummel. And relaxed and inwards. Here is a good picture.http://www.google.com/search?um=1&hl=en ... TFIzhA4bmM: hope your lesson goes well!

Fate: Those pictures are lovely

Milo: if you don't mind me asking, why don't that want you working with him any more? Who knows, maybe is you do switch barns, you could do a half lease! Or at least regular lesson!!

Pony: what a brat! I hate people like that. They think just because their host cost more it means they are the new George Morris! when she asked for crits she was probable assuming that would would gush on how "amazing" of a ride she is -_- yeah, not going to happen.

_________
Okay, now for my ride. I got to the barn kinda early, but Daly was shedding pretty bad for some reason, so I took a long time grooming. After I got him tack and everything, my trainer said I could lunge for for a few minutes, only Daly has never been taught to lunge to it was kinda hard. Anyways, he was being really great with the warm up. I ended up picking up a crop and just holding it. I think I had to use it once! Trotting was good. I did pretty good with sitting the trot. He is just so prancy, it's hard to stay loose. After we trotted for a bit, I got a pretty nice canter out of him. Very forward and calm <3 then my trainer set up a group pattern. Meaning everyone had to do it at the same time. We first leg yielded through 5 or 6 cones, made a left tern and went though a set of trot polls. But with the trot polls we had to Martian a consistent pace, and not have the horses hooves clip the polls. Daly has a bit of trouble with that, but my trainer was super impressed with how I handled him with the polls. She said we looked great, and Daly was really doing good! It felt really nice to here her say that to me. My leg also was doing good. No swinging or getting infornt or behind my body. After we dismounted, Daly was still breathing pretty heavy so my trainer told be to take him for a little wal along this path near the barn to make sure he was really cooled out. Having a great lesson was just what I needed for my last ride with him. It was bitter sweet. At least I know I can visit him when ever I want to because I will still be volunteering at my barn. <3

I ended up staying the rest of the day working. There were two new volunteers and the one girl new /nothing/ about horses or riding. So my friend and I were told my my trainer who is one of the full time staff to make sure she isn't doing something she's not. Basically, put her to work under our supervision. I think she has ADD or ADHD because if she wasn't doing something to help, she would ask to groom the horses, and she was trying to put the bridle on one of the horses. It was just a very tiring rest if the day. But ful too :3

[Hooligan.]

@Bluebird:
I show her in 4H shows, as there aren't any open shows around here. Here is mostly ag, like market animals. There are open shows for swine, steers, lambs etc. But not rabbits. But at my 4H show which is during the fair there are 3 classes; Breed, Fur and Showmanship. I showed Maybelline in all 3 last year but she has marbled eyes (at the time I didn't know it was a DQ), and the judge gave me a red ribbon in Breed and dismissed me. So this year I am just showing her in Showmanship and Fur. She does really great in fur. Showmanship last year the judge was terrible, she didn't have us show our rabbits, instead, she told us all to demonstrate how we would do something like, check the feet, and she would watch us, we weren't even allowed to speak to her to tell her what we were doing. So ridiculous. This year should be better though because I am now counted as a Senior in 4H and we go to the table with the judge one at a time and do a full presentation. Hopefully the judge will be different. Also, last year in Showmanship, she judged me poorly because (it was Maybelline's first show), Maybelline kept jumping around and trying to eat the carpet. Of course at our meetings during the year, she didn't do any of that and we practiced exactly like a show -.- Anyway, I've seen the judge's card and it says at the top of the card: Try not to judge the showman on how the rabbit acts. So what does she do? Judge me on how my rabbit acted. Ugh. Rabbit showing isn't something I am 100% into though, it is more of a sideline deal. Horses come first, then Photography then Rabbits. I used to do market swine and didn't do terribly, but the judge was a butthead. I'm not going to spam this post up with that story, but if you want to hear it PM me (: Yeah Bareback Buck is pretty fun. A lady who is a leader in our 4H club has a draft horse that we trick ride on, and two of my friends were riding her in bareback buck lol. She is a pretty good horse. Although, I was trickriding on her one time and I had to stand on my knees on her back while she was walking around, and my boots ( I wear square toes), were back behind the pad, and poked her and she bucked. I was laughing my head off though. I stayed on my knees with my arms straight out on either side the entire time, she is a pretty smooth bucker hehehehehehe.

@Hime:
Well, pretty much all of the genetics stuff...

[Mr.Milo]

@Opal: They said that they are going a different "route" but i haven't done anything extreme with him. All i have done is: Taught him to back up with little pressure on the nose and by wiggling the rope, desentized him using the lunge line, taught him personal space, and i have just been scratching it with him with the whip. Though at one point i put a bag on the end of the whip(just rubbing him and kind making a small bit of noise and movement) and he was a bit tense for that so i just decided to stay with the scratching and desensitizing with the whip. Well they didn't say never again but they wanted me to understand that all i can do is groom him really. They also didn't want me to do it because they said he is too green and could be dangerous. I undestand that and im not stupid i stand at a 45 degree angle from his solider and look for all signs that he is clam and listening( like licking the lip and untense muscles), and i work in a large area and if he does panick i stop immediatley and calm him down then go back to doing something he is used to. They also said that he may be mellow on the ground but you have to be careful when working with him...whatever i know that and he is the most mellow horse even with groundwork. Thanks so much Opal you've cheered me up, they will probably talk about me anyway because i heard the barn owner talking to the secretary when i was literally right there. She wasn't saying anything mean but you just don't do that. They made me feel stupid and embarassed. Also thanks for the offer i will definetly ask you since im down to a few places that give a reasonable price for lesson, i found a place that offers lesson and its much closer than the other barn so my mom won't complain about going so far. Though it says that its an adult boarding facility...im not sure if that goes for lessons as well?

@Blue: They said he was too green and want me to have more experience but i wasn't do anything that actually required you to be a proffessional but just to have basic knowledge of horses. I guess they thought i may go and take it farther but not letting me do anything stinks. They said i could watch the girl who will be training him but im not going to watch someone do the same thing i have been dong this whole time. But ya maybe i could!! that sounds great actually i still want to lease this summer and maybe now the lessons will be a bit more benficial in what i wan't to learn (Dressage).

[katy;]

Hey you guys! I'm new to this thread, haha (:
Anyway, I have had a bit of a riding experience, lately ;p I have had a break from riding for five months, as I just haven't had the time, at all. d; So, Thursday, I went on a hack, riding my favorite horse c; ( He is a Shire x IH, Retired hunter who is so overweight. d; ) so because of how tall and wide he was, I had the most aching muscles ever after that. Then Yesterday, I had a normal lesson, on my old horse, Minky ( TB X ID )! :) Because I haven't been riding for so long, I just kept to flat work, and we did fantastic! We did some amazing cantering, as well as figuring out why he kept changing his lead leg in canter without me instructing him to do so! Plus, an old habit of mine was again, revealed. d; I fold my ankles in, and my riding instructor noted that it was because my muscles weren't really flexible where they should be and me bending my ankles in, is a replacement for my heels not being down completely. So, I have something fairly big to improve on :p
Plus, do many people know a lot about dressage? I am a person who lives for show jumping and cross country. I've done the courses and everything, but my instructor thinks I should attempt dressage with Minky, and I really am not sure about it. Does anyone with experience have any tips? She says it's great that I can get an outline with him, and our transitions are great. But the last ( and first ) time I actually did dressage was about, three years ago on a Connemara pony. d;
Thanks! c:

[Bluebird22]

Milo: yeah it sounds like you should change barns. And its not like you are going to hop on him bareback and start doing dumb stuff. All you are doing is /helping/ him, not hurting. Grooming is great and everything, but it is really not the same. At all. Yeas you get to spend time with Mikey, but it does not creat the same bond you two would have. What would the point to just watching someone else do what you have been doing? Learning how to do it? It sounds to me like you are working with him just fine. I think "adult bording facility" just means that the people there are adults only. I'm not sure how it would work with lessons or half leasing. I mean, I'm half leasing from an adult. Most people do. You could give them a quick call to see what they mean. So that way if you talk to your mom about going there you will already have an answer for that question .

[TheEpicLlama]

I have a horse named Trev. Usually I ride him up our road.

[Mr.Milo]

@Blue: I would never do anything to hurt him and i honestly was not planing on placing a saddle on him or anything. What i hate is that when the girl who will be trinaing him came in she took the whip from me but did it in such a way that it made me just feel like i have never held a whip before and that i was going to hit her with it or something. I know im not as experienced as some of the people in that barn but i think anyone could have done what i was doing, they don't Know Mikey like i do. No one pays attention to him, ya he was a stallion a few months ago but even then he was a great horse. Its not like im doing it with some wild horse...i spent alot of time with him even before i began working with him. And i will call them probably today, im going to ask my mom to see what she thinks....if not i found this other pace just a bit farther that offers ohe hour lessons for $35 and it has gotten some good reviews.

[opal.]

@Milo
I ride at a barn where there is absolutely no other people under 21 other than me. It's really not that bad as long as all the adults are nice ^^ There's no drama with snobby girls and fancy horses, and a lot of times I get free lessons and tips from other people in the arena who are riding or watching me ride. Often times it's a lot quieter too. If that's the one you end up going to, just give them all a really good impression. Simple things like letting someone whose older than you use the cross ties first, or letting them work their horse in the better end of the arena really makes a difference over time. It took a while, but now I have people asking me left and right to work their horses for them, and now my trainer is asking me to work with the youngsters and break horses now too ^_^ If you just stick your chest out a little bit and prove yourself, you'd be suprised at how many opportunities open up for you :3

@Smokey
Getting back to our topic a while back, I finally remembered to ask my mom what kind of saddle our working saddle is! Turn out it's Broken Horn! I couldn't find the exact model, but this looked almost exact: http://www.brokenhornsaddlery.com/html/ ... ction.html

I think you missed this Smokey ^_^

@Height
I'm 5'5" but I don't really think horses are "too big" or "too small" for me. I find it perfectly acceptable to prefer a certain height range in horses, but to completely rule out a horse just because it's "too small" or "too large" seems ridiculous to me XD My mom is 5'9" and she rides and shows JJ who is 14.3hh all the time. She doesn't look awkward at all! Having said that though, I will say that I look like as awkward as a western saddle on a Clydesdale on any horse over 16.3hh XD

@Hardest Discipline
I am running a little late on this topic, but I think that hardest discipline is team driving (4+ Horses) the driving trials...oh my god I have no clue how they do it. That is a LOT of trust between horse and driver.

@Anyone who wants to know what JJ and I have been up to
Gah, I can't believe I did it again! I feel horrible because people like you keep kindly saying that they'd like to hear about my ride and that I forget! It's been a while since I've posted a full-out reply and there's a lot to say, so I'll just summarize what's been going on in some bulletpoints XD

-I finally got JJ cantering normally again! Thank god! I think all the work we were doing with cross cantering and teaching him flying lead changes just got him really worked up, so after letting him "cool down" for a while, we did some circle work and I had my mom give me a lesson, and now it's all sorted out again XD Phew!

-JJ and I will be taking 2 days off of school to go and do demonstrations at my trainer's western dressage clinic he's doing at the National Western Stock Show this year! There's going to be a ton of people and I am super nervous since JJ isn't the best horse to ride outside home (Okay, I admit it, he can be a total pain in tha a** ANYWHERE other than my barn) but I get to take off school for it so I'm happy XD

-Right! I forgot to say, but my trainer is doing Western Dressage with his stallion in "Dancing with Horses" this year! We got tickets to the show, and I'll probably help bath Tuffy (his stallion) and groom before the show. I'm so excited to see my trainer do his thing! I've watches him do pirouettes at the canter and piaffe in the arena, but I don't know what else he's planning XD So exciting!

-Sizzle is coming along great! He got moved to the big barn for the winter, so now he's only two stalls down from JJ. He's really learning collection and half-halts now, which will really help improve his canter. I've been lunging him over ground poles too which he really likes and gives him a break from just regular lunging which I'd think was pretty boring if I was a horse XD

-I've been riding JJ english mostly as of late, but I'll be going back to western for a while until the clinic. I'll be taking some lessons every week from now until then, so there should be lots to tell you guys about. Anyway, thanks for reading if you did! I really appreciate it :3