Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Finally...


Crazy boy, he chews on EVERYTHING!


Since my husband is on leave for 10 days, I have been able to ride a bit more. I have been going out in the mornings since it has been hot and in turn that allows me to be home for dinner. It is the best of both worlds, as Hannah Montana would say.
Today I headed out at 0915. Bright and early. I think even Olly was surprised to see me. It was already warm out, but we had a good wind. I set up 4 ground poles 5 feet apart. It gives a more "extended" trot and I set 4 ground poles that were raised 6 inches at 4 feet apart, more of a "collected" trot. Since we jumped a whole line yesterday, today we took it easy.
As we enter the arena I think to myself, "is what I do today going to actually teach him anything?" Lately I have been feeling I have been going in circles. Like I haven't seen enough progress. I know it will be a long road, but there has to be something to show for, right? Today was the day. We started out walking circles and using the techniques I learned at the Mark Conley Clinic in March. "Supple A" I keep hearing in my mind. Use the inside rein to move the horse off your hands and back into balance on the bit. It seems like a funny technique since everything I have ever learned is outside rein, but it actually does work. And with Olly, it works great! As we move on to a trot, we move into transitions and the ground poles I set up earlier. We only went over the poles a few times, he tends to get bored easily. As we continue on with the transitions, I try something I have never tried. I was watching Julie Goodnight on tv the other day and she was working with this horse that was hot in the canter. JUST LIKE OLLY! Good thing I watched....she proceeded to instruct the boy that was riding at the trot to slowly push his hips to move like he was cantering (at the trot) and the horse would pick up a nice gentle CONTROLLED canter. Son-of-a-monkey it worked. So, today it was mine and Olly's day. I tried it and it totally didnot work...lol. So back to the trot we go. I find that if I really get the transitions going and make sure he is actually listening to me things move better. We work at the walk and I start posting, confusing at first, but then, HEY he gets it....pick up a trot! Now he was listening, after 4 or 5 tries. Since I had him in tune to me, I tried a nice 10m circle to the right. We are on a ROLL! Perfect! I think this was the one and only perfect (or perfect for us) circle we have ever done, and at a trot at that. Feeling pretty darn confident, we try the canter thing again. Check and check. he picked up the canter in only 2 strides, the day is great. After practicing the trot/canter transition 4 or 5 times we called it a day and ended with a free walk.
It is days like today that I have confidence in my own knowledge and confidence in my wonderful big red horse that he will one day be the eventer (lower level, of course) I thought he might be.
Still on my high at the barn I brush and love on my Olly, telling him how great he was today and every other day. I am not sure if he totally understands the the whole, somedays are good, somedays are bad saying but today he seemed to get the somedays are good. As I end the grooming process, I get a buzzkill....a crack in his right front hoof? I get the ferrier on the horn and she tells me to document and email. She will handle the rest. I set off to the tack store to get hoof moisturizer. Something I shouldn't have put off for this long. I probably could have prevented it, damn it!
Can you see the paint? Good eye Stacy.


Later on in the day I happend to be online with my friend Stacy, Klein's mama, and I emailed her the pics. Isn't it great, the internet. Some one to talk horsey stuff too, no matter where they are. She is all the way in Korea and can see what took place. She said "hey is that paint on his hoof, did he hit a rail?" OMG!! That was it he hit a ground rail and what a possibility, it could have caused the crack. A stress facture maybe? Sounded just about right, seeing that it wasn't there yesterday....and I didn't see it before the ride when I picked his hooves. Stacy what would I do with out you??!!
I finished up the day going out to feed this evening and slathering his hooves with RainMaker moisturizer, which smells kinda funky. I love my good boy!

Look at those shiney feet-sies!
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