LOCK ME PLEASE C:

[wibeke]

I'm not sure if yesterday's ride was awesome or terrible. Sort of both, I guess. The whole thing was frustrating but I learned a lot about Major and got a really big compliment.
Major hates rainy days. A lot. And so do I, since it means we have to stay indoors and he's always a bit funny in the indoor ring. He used to be a fox hunter, so being cramped into the smaller inside ring is kind of weird for him, especially since he loves taking long strides and is bad with sharp turns.
So things went really, really slowly. He had a lesson before, too. He wasn't worked very hard, but he was already bored of going in circles and wasn't too thrilled to have another lesson. I had his trot going okay, but he broke a lot and it took a long time to get our corners right. We also tried jumping a small cross rail, but he was having none of it. Part of that was me. We tried to canter and he made a good effort, but he was taking really long strides and raced forward so I kept slowing him and he'd trot instead of slow down. It's hard for him to canter in the indoor, as he needs to run a bit before he collects and slows down, which is actually really fun outside but we didn't have enough room.
Overall, not so great.
But one of the instructors was watching me and said that I do a really good job with him and that he's not an easy horse to ride. Apparently he's starting to build back some muscle, too! Every week I've felt like I've gotten a little farther with him and he listens a little more. It was annoying to take such a big step backwards, but it was really nice to hear that I'm doing well.
And you could tell that he was really trying to listen and be good for me. I couldn't get mad at him, he was the biggest sweetheart in the world after the ride. I put him back in his stall and spent a good fifteen minutes hugging him and giving him treats. He's so cute. <3

And and and my instructor said that I might be able to half lease him at some point. I just need a job as it costs 200 a month.
Which would totally be worth it. I wish he was mine.
Oh, and the woman who rides Chance said I might be able to ride him in my lesson on Friday. Which is awesome. Chance is this really beautiful horse at my barn. He lost an eye recently to cancer, but you'd never know it until you get a good look at his face. She must've seen me watching her ride, I love watching him go. He looks so comfortable.

I wonder if anyone ever reads these posts. xD [reply if you do, I'm curious]
Doesn't matter either way, I need to tell someone about my riding. My friends aren't horsey people. xD

[. silent]

I let Harley out this morning, and I love when he comes when I call him in. <3 So cute. He just pricks his ears, raises his head and either trots or canters to me. D'aaaww, love him. Sadly I have to get rid of him. He's a black Hackney.

[Plan on it Oliver]

Hi, I have a big problem when riding...well I had 2 but the one misterously stopped *Honest unknown reason maybe its because my teacher hounds me about it but who knows(Oh and by the way this was that I could not sit straight I would lean forward)* Anyways... My hands they move around WAY to much they, according to my teacher, instead of being held up they twist inward and all over the place. I don't notice it all the time, I do look down sometimes and they barely wiggle but I think when I look I relize it then stop for a tiny bit but pick it back up when I go back to focasing on doing what ever we are doing.

[Dolphinlover~]

@Dolphin:
Wow, it sounds like you had a FANTASTIC show! I'm so proud of youuuu! ;D That's awesome that there were INTERNATIONAL people there and that you got some awesome ribbons! Haha, I think it's funny that it rained at a HITS show. HorseShows In The Sun. xD
And I'm sorry that they're canceling the hunter shows. >< Do you know why? Maybe you could do the jumpers? It's more fun, lol.
Once again, congrats!


@Raine:
You did great too! I'm glad that Winnie is being better for you. Champion is awesome, and you guys look lovely in your pictures.


@Horsegirl: I'll watch those right away. ;D

@Who ever gave me suggestions:
Thanks!


Had an awesome lesson today. I was on Willow! She's feeling a lot better - since she got her hock injections, she's been TONS looser and not stiff at all. However, since she had all that time off, a lot of her strength is gone... so she's better in some ways, worse in others.
We warmed up with some collections and extensions, which Willis handled like a pro. She isn't a fan of the collected, sitting trot because she doesn't like to have to carry herself, but I got her to keep a nice contact, get off the forehand, use her hind legs and hips, and carry her back properly. It felt pretty nice. xD Then we worked on some no stirrup trot, which is surprisingly easy for me. o.o I can post pretty much normally without my stirrups. xD
And we cantered. Willow likes to try to chase the other horses, it's hilarious.
So... cantering to the right, Willow spooked at the corner, bolted off the rail, and literally LEAPT straight up in the air - my trainer said that all four feet were off the ground at once. xD Classic. Willow. But I know how to deal with it and discipline her correctly, so she didn't spook again.
Then we did grids! We started with a baby one that Willow just wanted to plow through, but then we worked up to this: 2' to 2'3 bounce, 1 stride to 2'6. It was really fun, even though Willow isn't really jumping well due to her lack of strength atm. She likes to get really pushy, but it was OK for her current condition.
But then after landing from the one stride going into the corner, she tried to do a lead change but only got the hind... so then she got really mad, bucked, causing dirt to hit the wall, causing her to bolt and try and buck again. >< Warmblood bucks are something else. I stayed on easily, though, and got her back. My trainer said there wasn't anything I could've done differently though which felt pretty nice to hear. ;D
I got some really nice lines out of her, though.

And the best news? The people from WWU were there because they had dropped off the new horse, Sylvester. Willow is from WWU, and they were watching me ride. They told my trainer that they thought I ride and handle her really well! I was so happy to hear that, especially since Willow is from the college. <3

And Sylvester is super cute! He's a 16hhish bay TB gelding with a little star. <3 Seems sweet, and I'll be trying him out sometime by the end of the month. ;D

[center]It really was, thank you soo much <33 I am still grinning from ear to ear just thinking about it :3 Yeah, when my dad told me that I was like o.0 I couldn't believe how well I placed, but my trainer said that especially during that rainstorm she saw how determined I was ;D Haha, funny you mention that because that's why I was just thinking xDD I will try to get some pictures from the show :3
It really is too bad that they are canceling so many hunter shows, and I was also wondering why. Last night my dad told me it was because the owner of the stable was having surgery and couldn't do all the hunter/jumper shows and the jumper ones made more money so they canceled most of the hunter ones >.< I am hoping to try a jumper show...I am just wondering who I would ride? Woody doesn't do jumpers...Maybe by one of the later jumper shows I will be jumping 2' on Meg and can do the Puddle Jumpers with him ;D I would love to try jumpers, even my dad said he would like to see me try it xD Thanks so much <33

I am so glad you had such a great lesson on Willow! It's awesome that she is getting better ;D No stirrups work is so good...somehow, I can also do no stirrups posting trot fine xDD Good for you for staying on while Willow bucked and pulled all of that crazy stuff:) That's so nice what those college girls said 8D That must have made you feel awesome. I love getting compliments like that from older rides <3

D'aww Sylvester does sound really cute <33 Hopefully you can ride him soon, and good luck with him too ;D[/center]

[Hanoverian]

@Horsegirl:
Ooo, she's a 3 footer? I'm jealous! Seriously. xD Willow can do 3 foot, but in moderation. She's an old lady. <3


@Dolphin:
You really did do amazing, and I can't wait to see the pictures!
Puddlejumpers with Megs would be adorable! You should do it!

And thanks. (: I've really taken a step back with her, though, since she has lost nearly ALL of her strength. She used to have 'easy' days, but now she has her 'I think I'm a silly 4 year old again wheee! ;D' Yeah. I'm going to have to LUNGE her before I ride her again. o.O If you knew the old Willow, this would surprise the heck out of you. xD New Willow is sassy.
My friend showed me this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zuf9FhPi ... re=related. Apparently from .34 to .38 is exactly what Willow did to me after the failure lead changes.

Yeah, it felt great, especially since only one was an actual student. The other was the barn manager/main trainer!! They have an awesome show team and amazing riders come out of there, so it felt great!


Thanks. <3 I think I'm riding him Wednesday(?) but we'll see. ;D Hopefully, he's a cutie.

[OneRowdyNight]

Ugh. I can't stand it!! I haven't legitamitely ridden Rowdy in a couple of weeks, since he's been lame!! I can't take it! D: Any good on-the-ground dressage excersises? It's killling meeeeeeeee.

[Hime]

I'm not sure if yesterday's ride was awesome or terrible. Sort of both, I guess. The whole thing was frustrating but I learned a lot about Major and got a really big compliment.
Major hates rainy days. A lot. And so do I, since it means we have to stay indoors and he's always a bit funny in the indoor ring. He used to be a fox hunter, so being cramped into the smaller inside ring is kind of weird for him, especially since he loves taking long strides and is bad with sharp turns.
So things went really, really slowly. He had a lesson before, too. He wasn't worked very hard, but he was already bored of going in circles and wasn't too thrilled to have another lesson. I had his trot going okay, but he broke a lot and it took a long time to get our corners right. We also tried jumping a small cross rail, but he was having none of it. Part of that was me. We tried to canter and he made a good effort, but he was taking really long strides and raced forward so I kept slowing him and he'd trot instead of slow down. It's hard for him to canter in the indoor, as he needs to run a bit before he collects and slows down, which is actually really fun outside but we didn't have enough room.
Overall, not so great.
But one of the instructors was watching me and said that I do a really good job with him and that he's not an easy horse to ride. Apparently he's starting to build back some muscle, too! Every week I've felt like I've gotten a little farther with him and he listens a little more. It was annoying to take such a big step backwards, but it was really nice to hear that I'm doing well.
And you could tell that he was really trying to listen and be good for me. I couldn't get mad at him, he was the biggest sweetheart in the world after the ride. I put him back in his stall and spent a good fifteen minutes hugging him and giving him treats. He's so cute. <3

And and and my instructor said that I might be able to half lease him at some point. I just need a job as it costs 200 a month.
Which would totally be worth it. I wish he was mine.
Oh, and the woman who rides Chance said I might be able to ride him in my lesson on Friday. Which is awesome. Chance is this really beautiful horse at my barn. He lost an eye recently to cancer, but you'd never know it until you get a good look at his face. She must've seen me watching her ride, I love watching him go. He looks so comfortable.

I wonder if anyone ever reads these posts. xD [reply if you do, I'm curious]
Doesn't matter either way, I need to tell someone about my riding. My friends aren't horsey people. xD

Heta has issues with riding indoors as well. Or atleast she used to, as last time I rode in one was a year ago. Ibelieve majority of the horses have bad days when even easy things are hard to do. I know Heta has those, but she is a mare after all and mares can be moody during heat and stuff. Though Heta isn't that crazy at that time. I heard from one person that their mare just goes completely nuts when she's in heat; spooking at anything, chasing and bossing other mares, generally being really hot to ride etc.

I also don't have horsey frieds either... Which is why if I get a chance to start talking about horses, I won't stop. XD I once babled a good hour and half car ride only about horses to my mom....

Ugh. I can't stand it!! I haven't legitamitely ridden Rowdy in a couple of weeks, since he's been lame!! I can't take it! D: Any good on-the-ground dressage excersises? It's killling meeeeeeeee.

Why is he lame? You can do yields from the ground quite easily, and possibly long reining if he knows how. But really, if he's lame and you can't ride him, then maybe it's not a good idea to do anything complicated. Atleast when I've had to deal with lame horses, it's stall rest and short walks on hand for them, nothing else.

[Livid-Silver]

I know how you feel Rowdy. It's been raining really hard and non-stop for the past two days D: We have areas at school that are flooded and thunder storms and hail too. It's pretty much impossible to do anything with Donny at the moment which is sad since he was going so well last week and chances of me riding this week are slim. His paddock is flooded around the gate and other areas and both arenas were flooded. I haven't ridden at all this week (and probably wont) seeing as my monday night lesson was cancelled due to the weather, and my elective equestrian class was moved indoors We watched the Horseman from the Snowy River though which was good XD Donny's not liking all the rain though, but at least he has his warm heavy winter rug
And I wouldn't be trying to work him to hard if he's lame. It depends on how lame he is though :3

Lol Hime and Wibeke I go on about horses all the time XD I have lots of horsey friends so they normally join in and we talk about horses and riding and stuff XD Mum doesn't really want to listen though XD I was telling her what I wanted to do with Donny soon and try to get him over raised poles or a tiny cross rail and do some more canterwork on the lunge, and she told me to talk about something else or go away XD lol

[Hime]

^ After that car ride my mom was also like 'I had to listen stuff about horses all the way here, will you shut up for now.' It's funny how much I actually talk to my mom in the car, or atleast when she's driving...

Just checked the forecast for this week... Not nice, it's raining most of the week minus Saturday, which is nice as I might be going to see one competiton then, my instructor and one girl are entering the fun class there. Today is cloudy and it's raining on and off, so I'm trying to go ride when it's not raining. Which would be around now. I don't mind little rain, but the arena was nearly dry already and Heta dislikes puddless. Like when I trot with loose reins and Heta has her head and neck nicely streched down, then when we go across puddle she lifts them up and goes all high with her legs. *sigh* The just when she does back down there's another puddle. It's annoying... She also tries to avoid puddles, another annoying habbit.

[Hekomi]

Hime, we had snow yesterday. I was sooooo not impressed. Thankfully someone brought Shotty in from the rain so when I tacked him up he wasn't soaking wet and cold. But it's supposed to be cold and rainy here all week, and I trailer him back on Friday, then leave for some leadership camp thing on Sunday. e____e super fun.