Do You Ride Horses? V.4

[Nocte Luna]

@Banishment.
Welcome to the thread! Hope to see more about you and Harley soon!

@Soul of Winter
Congrats on completing your first show! How did you end up doing?

@Hime
Yay, more foal pictures! Hopefully you can find a solution to the bucket issue- spending tons of time and money on bucket problems doesn't sound fun. If there are safe ponds/rivers nearby, she might enjoy that, but I'm not familiar with your area and obviously that's up to your discretion.

@copper_the_horse
Wow, he looks very nice! Are/were you competing on him today?

@eventingg.
Good luck! Hopefully your trainer can avoid any teasing or issues between the two of you and remain professional. c:

@Anaphea
Wow, that's exciting! Anything you've done in particular lately that's interesting? What discipline do you ride? And wow, I've never heard of leather so rough that it scratches hands, that must be extremely tough.

@xXFalloutXx
Nice! Getting riding clothes is always exciting! Just be sure that when you're picking out riding boots, that you're picking ones with few buckles that could scratch leather and fit fairly tight like tall boots/half chaps. Buying less expensive boots like that is a great idea for schooling, though!

@My riding
I definitely remember posting about the show, so I won't talk about that again, ahaha. I've been riding Pete a lot lately (surprise, surprise) and we've gone up a little bit in jump height. He's a little awkward over bigger stuff (I'll probably post a video of a line we did, with a bonus bad distance!)[video link] but that might also be me. I haven't been doing as much exercising lately, our park district classes are pretty constant now and with my student right after my lesson, it's hard to find time and squeeze in extra rides. A lot of boarders are starting to ride more now as well, which means less riding time for me.

Finally, I get to go to horse camp! That's now actually at my level! My barn is having an advanced camp this summer that I really want to participate in, and I'll actually get to learn things and jump a little more. I've never lunged, clipped, or braided, so I'm excited to learn some new (important) horsey skills.

I'm also definitely getting a lot more responsibility. I might be teaching one more student on Thursdays. I've taught her once before, she's pretty independent, which means less running for me. I just need to see how well she does on some more difficult horses, and if she still needs more to do, come up with fun exercises at the trot. She's pretty young, so I doubt she'll be cantering for a little while. I also was told yesterday that I'm going to be trained in this park district session so I can teach park district the next time around, because we'll be loosing an instructor that previously taught park district, and the other trainer can't teach for 4.5 hours straight with no lunch. So I'll be training to do that in the next few weeks, and then I think I teach the next park district. I'm nervous, but excited. For me, this is a big responsibility. I'm planning on taking notes and trying to follow them as best I can, but we'll see.

One final question:

What are some essentials you keep in your tack box at home?

(And by tack box, I don't mean grooming bag/box)

[copper_the_horse]

@Nocte Luna I don't ride him myself, but I partly own him. He was at the Dressage Masters' League semi-finals yesterday

[Albino_]

@Nocte Luna

I did good.

1 first place ribbon, 1 second place ribbon, 2 third place ribbons, and 1 sixth place ribbon.

[vash ♡]

Gracie's tailhead is protruding.. pray she lasts til Friday and gives me time to get back to the ranch!

[Anaphea]

@Nocte Luna
I ride English. I guess I ride dressage (I haven't learnt to jump yet, haha). And yes, since it's a riding school, the tack is used a lot and gets really stiff and painful sometimes. I was trying to undo the chinstrap and my hands kept slipping and scratching. Speaking of, I really need to find myself some more gloves!

[Mr.Milo]

Hey everyone! I used to post more often in this chat but once I got back into school I didn't have a chance to be with horses much. Recently, I got incredibly lucky and found a horse for lease on craigslist that was very affordable and he is located on my way to school . The horse I ride is a paint Bashkir Curly Horse named Cracker and he is just about to turn 8. I am not used to younger horses but he is much calmer than any younger horse I've met and he responds well to stop cues. I have only been with him for about 3 weeks now so we are still learning and its hard to get any feedback since no one else rides. In addition, the barn is private so there are only about 4 other boarded horses that are all older and the others are owned by the owner and are all thoroughbred stallions.

We've started on jumps and slowly I'm trying to build his confidence. Every time we do cross rails he turns away last minute. I've had him trotting over poles and will probably try laying out multiple poles. However, he has jumped over the cross rails a few times but i had to be a few feet from them and then tell him to trot. I've been letting him walk over the cross rails so he sees its not that bad but I'm not sure exactly what to do with him, any tips?
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@Hime: I've been looking at your posts every to often and I can't believe Heta had ANOTHER foal! I am so happy for you and it seems like you have your hands full . I am glad things are going well with the new foal, I wish I could see one up close! I've only ever seen one from a distance at this old barn I used to ride at. Do you still have the first foal she had?

@Soul of Winter: Such a cute pony!! I love those markings!! I'm glad the show went well, if I ever tried putting Cracker in something where I just have him stand still we would come in last place.

@Banishment: I'm in your situation as well; however, I ride at two barns now. The one with my lease horse and the other is with my trainer but it's been awhile since I've had the time to see her because of my lease horse. However, it's nice to meet you and hopefully we can see some pictures of Harley sometime.

@Nocte Lune: I don't exactly have a tack box but I plan on getting one in the future. But I would probably put my riding boots, chaps, western saddle pads (I don't use them too often), I would probably place my grooming stuff in there, and i'm not sure what else. As for your riding, I hope soon things work out for you time wise and you'll be able to ride! That is great that your teaching, its weird but one thing I would love to do is be able to teach someone how to ride. I am not the best but i could teach the basics. I think you will be fine once you do it a few times, but good luck!!

@eventingg: I hope everything goes your way!!

[Mercury.Muses]

Going through hardcore horse withdrawal guys! Was taking my nephew to the arcade and went, "Now come on!! -clicks tongue.-"

... Woops <_<.

[copper_the_horse]

Hey everyone! I used to post more often in this chat but once I got back into school I didn't have a chance to be with horses much. Recently, I got incredibly lucky and found a horse for lease on craigslist that was very affordable and he is located on my way to school . The horse I ride is a paint Bashkir Curly Horse named Cracker and he is just about to turn 8. I am not used to younger horses but he is much calmer than any younger horse I've met and he responds well to stop cues. I have only been with him for about 3 weeks now so we are still learning and its hard to get any feedback since no one else rides. In addition, the barn is private so there are only about 4 other boarded horses that are all older and the others are owned by the owner and are all thoroughbred stallions.

We've started on jumps and slowly I'm trying to build his confidence. Every time we do cross rails he turns away last minute. I've had him trotting over poles and will probably try laying out multiple poles. However, he has jumped over the cross rails a few times but i had to be a few feet from them and then tell him to trot. I've been letting him walk over the cross rails so he sees its not that bad but I'm not sure exactly what to do with him, any tips?

Try putting raised poles either side of the jump so he can't swerve out of it. Also make sure your confident jumping it too, as horses will be able to sense that and it will give him confidence to jump it, and push him into the fence and ride him forward, try tapping him with a schooling whip a couple of feet before the jump if needed too to show you want him to get over it. - You could also try experimenting with things like ground poles, practising strides ect just so it makes the horse more confident with other times of jumps.

[Nocte Luna]

@Mr. Milo
copper_the_horse has some excellent ideas, but there are other things you could do, too. Getting trainer or even getting someone to watch you can be effective, as they can help you out and make sure you're doing everything correctly. A trainer will make sure you have a good approach and can help you if your horse tries to run out. They also can act as a human barrier, which is sometimes highly effective.

If you can't get a trainer for whatever reason, try placing a jump right on the rail. Don't have any poles between the standards until you start working on the jumps. Like copper_the_horse said, try trot and canter poles (after you've warmed up, but before starting to jump) then put it up to an X. Get your horse really engaged in what you're doing- lengthen or shorten his trot on the corners and long sides before the jump, so he's more focused on his pace and what you're asking of him rather than the jump. About 2-4 strides out, sit your trot and try and steer him towards the wall of the arena using your leg and a little bit of your hand. The jump on the wall only lets him run out on one side, and if you're keeping him focused on you, he should have a more difficult time trying to catch you off guard. Note when he starts to run out- is it the second you turn towards the jump? Is it right before? Be sure to keep the jump low and inviting at first, with a ground pole in front if necessary to help get a stride or to keep him distracted.

If you have any solid fillers (small walls, brushtops, larger flower boxes) try putting those off to the side as a last resort. They should be big enough that the jump is smaller than the fillers and therefore the better option.

Once you've gone over the jump once or twice, give him a pat, let him know he's been a good boy, take a short break, repeat the jump one to three more times, then call it a day. This lets him know that his reward is you saying that you're done by completing the jump, and hopefully it doesn't wear him out. Remember, just try and end on a positive note. The next time you ride, warm up, do polework at a trot and canter, and however you had the jump set up last time, set it up the exact same way. Complete the jump a few times with success, then try and remove some of the help- whether it's moving the fillers, moving the jump off the rail a little bit, or trying to get him over it at a posting trot.

Ideally, you'll be able to work him pretty constantly, and repeat the same sort of exercises. You'll probably have to work with him, and depending on how sassy he is, it might take a lot of repetition, or a little. Whatever happens, just try and break it down into workable steps, starting with small tasks you know he can complete. Hope this helps, and sorry for the massive text dump.

Also, thanks for the imput! My friend and I share a tack box (and it's packed) but I'm trying to figure out the really essential things to keep in there, especially little stuff.

@Anaphea
Hopefully you'll be able to find a pair of gloves that work for you that don't break the bank! c: And I wouldn't necessarily say you're doing dressage unless you're actually pursuing dressage, I'd say you're more of a jumper in training if that's what you want to do.

@Soul of Winter
Nice! That's very exciting, especially for your first show, congratulations!

@copper_the_horse
Wow, how did he do? Do you do any riding/training yourself?

[cashew jackman]

For those of you who board, but actually do the work to care for your horse, how many times a week/a day do you go to the barn, and for how long? I'm hoping to get a horse next year, but with college and work I'm not sure I'll have time.