Oh Reggie and the Full Effect, I do love you so!
Some quick news on the Dee front:
She jumped twice last week (just little cross-rails). Apparently, there was much over jumping and celebratory bucking and charging after the fences the first day, but she was better the second time. Steph is thinking that she will try to pop her over something small just about every time she gets on so that jumps aren't something to get all hyped up about. Also, I was told "She feels like she has a ton of jump in there." That's my girl!
She went out for a hack on the road BY HERSELF. She was fabulous.
I was also told "She is a very cranky mare". I know... it's part of her charm, I guess!
I'll be visiting on Thursday and plan on getting MUCH video!
Showing posts with label Hacking. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hacking. Show all posts
Monday, March 28, 2011
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Heat
Poor Miss Dee has had a rough week. She is in an absolutely crazy heat right now and just seems a little miserable. Yesterday was our weekly lesson, and for starters, I'm pretty sure that she just sat hard on the butt bar the entire ride over, because her tail was a matted mess and I could feel her being a little all over the place while I was driving, which is not usually like her. Then, as soon as we got into the ring, she peed (and had squatted about 7 times while I was grooming her at home). When I got on, she was feeling very stiff behind and just tense in general. Normally, she's a tad bit lazy, but once you tell her 'forward', she's good to go and pretty good about maintaining the engine by herself. Yesterday, she just kept stalling. She was determined to be behind the leg most of the time. We spent about 15 minutes just trying to get her to relax and go forward, and it helped a little, but she just wasn't in the game. After that, we had her hop over a little cross rail a few times. Even doing that, she was tense tense tense - stiff as a board in the turns and just lit up about the whole thing. At one point, I'm pretty certain that we did about 6 flying changes in a row down the center of the ring after the jump... impressive, but not at all what I wanted, since she was basically just running away with me a little. I finally convinced her to quiet down a little bit and then Nancy saddled up one of her horses and took us out on our FIRST TRAIL RIDE! It seemed like the perfect thing to do, because Dee was obviously not feeling so hot physically and we've been talking about taking her out. She was, of course, absolutely brilliant. First, she had to leave the indoor through a narrow doorway with a little drop down to the outdoor ring. She didn't even bat an eye at that, and then she dealt with turned out horses running the fence line, a wooden bridge and a big mucky puddle like she'd seen it all a million times. What a good girl! To celebrate, she peed in the aisle when we got back.
Today was nothing short of a disaster. She was SO stiff behind and SO reluctant to go forward. I didn't end up doing much, because she was just totally out of sorts (she even squealed at my leg once, which she's NEVER done). I can't really blame her - I know she's having a bit of a tough time with her hormones this week. So tonight I put lots of shavings in her stall and gave her a giant pile of hay so that she could just chill out and unwind. She usually goes out at night (and often during the day) unless it's bad weather, but I know that she enjoys being in her stall for some alone time. I'm hoping she'll benefit from just having a good rest. We'll see how she does tomorrow.
Still a bit skinnier than I'd like, but look at that face! It was pretty overcast when I took the pictures... I wish the sun was out, because her coat is looking absolutely gorgeous lately and these pictures don't show it at all.
Today was nothing short of a disaster. She was SO stiff behind and SO reluctant to go forward. I didn't end up doing much, because she was just totally out of sorts (she even squealed at my leg once, which she's NEVER done). I can't really blame her - I know she's having a bit of a tough time with her hormones this week. So tonight I put lots of shavings in her stall and gave her a giant pile of hay so that she could just chill out and unwind. She usually goes out at night (and often during the day) unless it's bad weather, but I know that she enjoys being in her stall for some alone time. I'm hoping she'll benefit from just having a good rest. We'll see how she does tomorrow.
Still a bit skinnier than I'd like, but look at that face! It was pretty overcast when I took the pictures... I wish the sun was out, because her coat is looking absolutely gorgeous lately and these pictures don't show it at all.
Sunday, June 14, 2009
piglet, deer encounters and motorist manners.
Well now, I promised more pictures of the baby, so first thing's first. Jen's begun calling him "Piglet" because, like his mummy, he likes to make a mess in the stall (we call her "Pig"). So now, here is Pig with her little Piglet...
And from the 23rd to the 28th, I'm going to be horsesitting for Dusty and Piglet, so expect lots more pictures and, if I can figure it out, maybe even a little video of him!
Moving on... I officially sent in my Riga Meadow entry! Yikes!
Tango's been excellent lately, and I think he's finally beginning to get into shape. Yesterday we went out to topsmeade and did two 10 minute trots (I gave him about a minute between them... mostly for me, because my back was getting tired) and a little bit of canter work. He handled it like a champ and was barely even sweating when I got him back to the barn. A few weeks ago he probably would have just fallen down and put up the white flag if I tried to do that much trotting in a row. We also tackled a little natural water obstacle, which he handled very well. The entire beginning of the trail is flooded from all the rain, so unless you go through the water, you can't get into topsmeade... He had a little think about it, but he went in pretty willingly and then was more than happy to slop around in the huge puddles that blocked the path once we got out to the dirt road... progress? I hope so!
I've been taking him out on lots of hacks lately, if just to let him have a nice long cool down after a work, and I must say... the deer are out in FULL FORCE. On each of our last three hacks, we've spotted a deer. Today, as we walked down the trail in topsmeade, I suddenly noticed a deer peering at us. By the time Tango and I noticed it, we were only about ten feet from it. Tango and the deer each stared at one another for awhile and then... pretty much simultaneously... each one turned tail and made to get away from the other as wuickly as possible. Now... it's a VERY good thing that, for the most part, Tango has got a good head on his shoulders, because after his initial spook and spin, he sort of stopped and went, "Ok, well, I've got us facing AWAY from the monster... do I run? will it eat us?" I gave him a little pat and turned him back around, after which he just kind of said "Right, well that's done" and we both continued on as if nothing had happened.
So, the last part of this post is called "Motorist manners" because I was reminded today that lots of motorists don't know or care how to behave when passing by a person on a horse. As we walked down the road on our way to Topsmeade, two cars full of teenagers went speeding by, and as the second one passed, it began honking at us. Luckily, Tango doesn't care about things like that and didn't even bat an eyelash but it was still annoying. If I had been riding, say... Kestral, for instance, we would have been galloping off into the sunset because of that.
I just don't understand what people are thinking... you pass by someone who's riding a LIVING THING, which can sometimes be unpredictable and you BEEP? HOW IS THIS SMART? Then there are the people who pass by as about fifty miles an hour, don't slow down and barely even move over... if tango ever decided to shy or freak out about something, WE WOULD BE KILLED or at least seriously injured. It just really pisses me off when motorists are assholes and I felt the need to bitch about it.
I leave you with a photo from Tango's jump school last week... it was the only decent photo:
And from the 23rd to the 28th, I'm going to be horsesitting for Dusty and Piglet, so expect lots more pictures and, if I can figure it out, maybe even a little video of him!
Moving on... I officially sent in my Riga Meadow entry! Yikes!
Tango's been excellent lately, and I think he's finally beginning to get into shape. Yesterday we went out to topsmeade and did two 10 minute trots (I gave him about a minute between them... mostly for me, because my back was getting tired) and a little bit of canter work. He handled it like a champ and was barely even sweating when I got him back to the barn. A few weeks ago he probably would have just fallen down and put up the white flag if I tried to do that much trotting in a row. We also tackled a little natural water obstacle, which he handled very well. The entire beginning of the trail is flooded from all the rain, so unless you go through the water, you can't get into topsmeade... He had a little think about it, but he went in pretty willingly and then was more than happy to slop around in the huge puddles that blocked the path once we got out to the dirt road... progress? I hope so!
I've been taking him out on lots of hacks lately, if just to let him have a nice long cool down after a work, and I must say... the deer are out in FULL FORCE. On each of our last three hacks, we've spotted a deer. Today, as we walked down the trail in topsmeade, I suddenly noticed a deer peering at us. By the time Tango and I noticed it, we were only about ten feet from it. Tango and the deer each stared at one another for awhile and then... pretty much simultaneously... each one turned tail and made to get away from the other as wuickly as possible. Now... it's a VERY good thing that, for the most part, Tango has got a good head on his shoulders, because after his initial spook and spin, he sort of stopped and went, "Ok, well, I've got us facing AWAY from the monster... do I run? will it eat us?" I gave him a little pat and turned him back around, after which he just kind of said "Right, well that's done" and we both continued on as if nothing had happened.
So, the last part of this post is called "Motorist manners" because I was reminded today that lots of motorists don't know or care how to behave when passing by a person on a horse. As we walked down the road on our way to Topsmeade, two cars full of teenagers went speeding by, and as the second one passed, it began honking at us. Luckily, Tango doesn't care about things like that and didn't even bat an eyelash but it was still annoying. If I had been riding, say... Kestral, for instance, we would have been galloping off into the sunset because of that.
I just don't understand what people are thinking... you pass by someone who's riding a LIVING THING, which can sometimes be unpredictable and you BEEP? HOW IS THIS SMART? Then there are the people who pass by as about fifty miles an hour, don't slow down and barely even move over... if tango ever decided to shy or freak out about something, WE WOULD BE KILLED or at least seriously injured. It just really pisses me off when motorists are assholes and I felt the need to bitch about it.
I leave you with a photo from Tango's jump school last week... it was the only decent photo:
Friday, June 5, 2009
Goals!
I've been a bit lazy about posting, but I finally have some goals. On July 19, I'm aiming to take Tango to our first event of the season at Riga Meadow, which is none to far away in Salisbury, CT. From the virtual walk, it looks like it will be a good place to start the year off. After that, I'm hoping to take him out to Millbrook... of course, we'll have to make sure water is no longer an issue there!
I hopped on him for the first time on Tueday, and to my surprise, my back felt pretty good. I didn't do too much... just a little flat work followed by a half hour on the trail. Yesterday I got on again. We did about 20 minutes of flat work, working on loops at the canter and stretching in the trot. He did some nice leg yeilding and shoulder-ins... over all, I was pleased with what I got out of him, and not wanting to do to much myself, I took him out for a nice long hack. We went out for about 40 minutes, did some trotting up the hills and through the woods. I do love hacking that horse... he's definately got a good head on his shoulders, thank goodness. Julie hopped on him on Monday, and I was very pleased with him. We did some trot poles, working on adjusting the stride a little bit, and he was absolutely wonderful about it. Here's some photos from that:
Next week will be week four of work for him, and we're going to pop over his first little fences. I figure I'll let Julie do that, since it's probably not a GREAT idea for me to be jumping just yet... especially since he jumps so hard. Pretty soon, though!
I'm also going to get ahold of Jen to see if we can do a lesson next weekend, and the week after, I'd like to try to haul him up to Stephie's for some jump work.
Here is my tentative event schedule for him for the next few months:
July 19: Riga Meadow H.T. - Salisbury, CT
August 6 - 9: Millbrook H.T. - Millbrook, NY
August 16 - Kent H.T. - Kent, CT
August 23 - Great Vista HT - Fort Plain, NY
September 5-6 - Town Hill HT - Lakeville, CT
September 10-12 - King Oak HT - EastHampton, MA
October 4 - Kent HT - Kent, CT
we'll see how that goes! I'm going to pick and choose among those.
In conclusion, here are pictures of the ladies in the barn, Casper, Roxy and Summer:
I hopped on him for the first time on Tueday, and to my surprise, my back felt pretty good. I didn't do too much... just a little flat work followed by a half hour on the trail. Yesterday I got on again. We did about 20 minutes of flat work, working on loops at the canter and stretching in the trot. He did some nice leg yeilding and shoulder-ins... over all, I was pleased with what I got out of him, and not wanting to do to much myself, I took him out for a nice long hack. We went out for about 40 minutes, did some trotting up the hills and through the woods. I do love hacking that horse... he's definately got a good head on his shoulders, thank goodness. Julie hopped on him on Monday, and I was very pleased with him. We did some trot poles, working on adjusting the stride a little bit, and he was absolutely wonderful about it. Here's some photos from that:
Next week will be week four of work for him, and we're going to pop over his first little fences. I figure I'll let Julie do that, since it's probably not a GREAT idea for me to be jumping just yet... especially since he jumps so hard. Pretty soon, though!
I'm also going to get ahold of Jen to see if we can do a lesson next weekend, and the week after, I'd like to try to haul him up to Stephie's for some jump work.
Here is my tentative event schedule for him for the next few months:
July 19: Riga Meadow H.T. - Salisbury, CT
August 6 - 9: Millbrook H.T. - Millbrook, NY
August 16 - Kent H.T. - Kent, CT
August 23 - Great Vista HT - Fort Plain, NY
September 5-6 - Town Hill HT - Lakeville, CT
September 10-12 - King Oak HT - EastHampton, MA
October 4 - Kent HT - Kent, CT
we'll see how that goes! I'm going to pick and choose among those.
In conclusion, here are pictures of the ladies in the barn, Casper, Roxy and Summer:
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