I'm in charge!

When I started taking lessons with Pat a year ago the mantra I said to myself (and the direction that was often called out to me) was, "Breathe, Vanessa!"

The mantra officially changed during my lesson on Sunday.  I now say, "I'm in charge!"  (while humming Mary Had a Little Lamb, of course).  Every few minutes, Pat would catch Zoe and I doing whatever Zoe wanted and she would call out, "Who's in charge?" or "You set the pace and direction, not Zoe!"

I consider these new directions to be a sign of growth and improvement in my riding...I mean, I'm remembering to breathe now at least!  :)

Mary had a little lamb.....

Had a lesson with one of my favorite instructors, Pat, on Sunday.  She was with me when I first started riding Zoe, coaching me through all my nervous hyperventilation.  :) I haven't ridden with her in quite a while so I was looking forward to showing her that I'm doing so much better and can handle my horse now.  Which I was sort-of able to do....

We were up at Black Walnut again, but riding with only three other riders this time.  Zoe was better about the mirrors and wasn't too energetic but she wasn't the most cooperative of animals either.  Pat kept calling out that Zoe was being rude (which she was) with her non-compliance to my requests to stand still.  Gradually, as the hour wore on, Zoe settled in and did her job....sort-of.

My big challenge of the day was to be the one in charge. (Ha! Isn't that always my challenge with Zoe??)  When trotting, Zoe wanted to go fast-fast-fast.  My job was to bring her back to the pace I wanted. Oh, and to remember to breathe!  Finally, Pat had me recite "Mary had a little lamb..." while posting.  This helped me accomplish two things:  1) I could keep a steady pace while posting and begin to control Zoe's speed, and 2) I had to breathe in order to say the dang poem!  And it totally worked.  When I told E about this, she said that she's been reciting Row, Row, Row Your Boat for the same reason for years.  :)

So if you ever see me riding in the future don't be surprised if you glance over and catch me mouthing the words to Mary Had A Little Lamb...

Pony Club Games

We had a play day rather than a formal lesson at Pony Club this past Sunday.  One of the parents organized some games for all us riders - things like pole bending, backing through obstacles and relay races.

It's always fun to do something that is not so focused mentally.  Playing games like this forces me to just ride rather than try to do every little thing perfect....which in the end makes me a stronger, more confident rider and helps my fussy little mount get over herself and just do the job.  :)

Having said all that, the ride didn't start out all that well for me.  I was nervous riding with a big group since I had decided that the whole group thing is what made the trail ride so awful.  Plus, Zoe and I were experiencing a new arena together (Black Walnut, up on Cottonwood), which is okay except that this particular arena has mirrors along two of the walls.  Zoe freaked when she came up on her reflection - just who the heck was that other horse that appeared out of no where!!!  So with my nerves and her hyper energy, we weren't a good pair.  I had trouble bringing her back to me and just plain making her stand still. 

Cathy M. saw all of this and kindly offered me the use of her horse, Traveler, while she got Zoe under hand.  I quickly agreed to the switch.  Traveler is notorious for his complete lack of enthusiasm for anything taking place in an arena.  Getting him to just. move. forward. at. a. walk. is a challenge. 

So imagine my surprise when after going around some poles Traveler decides that the bag on the barrel ISGOINGTOEATHIMOHMYGOD!  He quickly backed up a step, flipped a 180 and started to move off in the opposite direction of that horse-eating-bag!  I was already starting to lean down to get an envelope out of the bag when all of this started, which really was a good thing because I had a good hold of him with my legs....so I managed to sit his whole freak-out.  I'm quite proud of that, actually.  :)

After that I never was able to get him to approach the barrel (although we tried several times) and he was very, very skittish when any envelopes were brought towards him.

I jokingly commented to Cathy that if I'd wanted excitement, I could have just stayed on Zoe!

So, lessons learned from my ride on Traveler:

1.  Don't assume that just because a horse is normally quiet it'll stay that way!
2.  A solid seat is based from the waist down - my hands weren't all that necessary to stay with him as he moved off that barrel.
3.  My connection with Zoe is stronger than I thought. I discovered while riding Traveler that I take some of the things I easily do with Zoe totally for granted.  Like just turning - I don't even have to think about it with her.  I look in the direction I want to go and we just go.  It's amazing, really, when I think about it.

This is fun?

Pony Club and Horsemasters took advantage of the recently clear weather and went on a trail ride at Bennington Lake.  E and I were both very excited to join in; I love a chance to ride somewhere other than the arena at our barn and I'm sure the horses like the change as well.

 Group shot, with Molly's ears in the foreground (Isn't she a great photographer?)  ;)

I wasn't worried about taking Zoe (or Monte, for that matter) up to the reservoir since they have both been before, and we actually had a decent ride then.  So my nerves were not jingling as we loaded up.  (I'm basically trying to say that my energy was calm, so my horse shouldn't have gotten anything spooky from me....)

The moment we unloaded, Zoe started to jig and dance around.  Just getting her tacked up was a bit of a challenge, but I thought that once I got on her and we started moving she would begin to calm.  Boy was I wrong!  And by the way, Monte really wasn't much better...

There were about 10 other riders going along with us.  Most were calm;  only Zoe, Monte, a Tennessee Walker and a very green Morgan were having any visible issues.  Right away my girl decided she needed to be near the lead, but not actually in the lead.  The baby Morgan got that position.  But I had to work to keep Zoe off his tail; I felt like I was yanking on her mouth almost the entire ride!  I tried keeping her busy, side passing back and forth, but she was still frequently jigging and spooking.

Monte decided that he needed to be right behind Zoe.  But she decided she hated him and actually kicked out at him a few times when he got too near!  (That's not a fun feeling, by the way, having your horse kick out while you're on them.) It's safe to say I had one of the worst behaved horses on the trail.

Luckily, there were no run-away moments for Zoe and I.  E did have to dismount once when Monte just plain refused to go down a somewhat icy/slick hill.  Zoe stumbled and fell to her knees at one point (she was too busy watching imaginary monsters and didn't pay attention to the trail!), which scared me a bit, but we quickly recovered.

On the final stretch of trail (about the last 100') a dog jumped up in the brush.  That was pretty much the last straw for Zoe; I could feel her bunching up under me, so I dismounted and chose to walk her down to the parking lot.  I had to remind her of her ground manners, but once we did a little re-schooling (only about 20 seconds), she was her wonderful self again.

If only I had had that wonderful pony for the rest of the ride!

A friend taking pictures commented that even though I claimed this was a far from stellar ride, I am smiling in every single picture she got of me.  What can I say?  Any moment spent on my horse makes me deliriously, irrationally happy!  This is true in lessons as well.  All the other students will be so serious and stone-faced and there I am, laughing and talking to my horse the whole time.

I'm crazy, I know.  ;)

...And to answer the first question: Yes! This is fun!

Mother's Day lessons

Another Sunday, another lesson. I'm loving the regularity that Horsemasters is providing. I actually let myself take time to ride...and that's the only way I will ever get any better at this activity that does not come naturally to me. :)

Learning to post has become my big challenge. Zoe and I just aren't in sync yet, which frustrates the heck out of her and makes it even harder for me to find that magical balance point that will make it all click into place. I am beginning to actually feel when I should be lifting out of the saddle - a huge breakthrough! - but then we quickly loose our rhythm and the transition back to the walk is just a train wreck.

I discovered that even though I have been using very light pressure to ask for the trot, I really can ask with much, much less force. Like I just need to think "trot" and she'll pretty much get my mental image. Such a sensitive animal!

At the end of our lesson Marla and I talked about the fact that Zoe is just not a beginner horse and that is making it more difficult for me to get the hang of it all. We finished the conversation agreeing that I really should borrow a steady-eddy horse for a little while and then move back to Zoe. Both she and I will be happier for it after all is said and done. :) Cathy has offered the use of her quarter horse, Traveller. Unlike Zoe, he is not so sensitive (I'll probably have to kick him to get a trot) and he'll be less bothered by my unbalanced seat.

As a Mother's Day present, E took a few pics of me riding - and a video even though I specifically requested that she NOT do that! But in the end I'm glad of the video because it showed me that I'm not really as awful as I thought.....

Coloring in the corner

I have to start out by saying that riding my horse on Sunday made me deliriously happy. It wasn't a perfect ride, but any time spent with Zoe brings me great joy.

There were four of us in the lesson and I was by far the weakest rider. And this became even more apparent as Marla worked with us. She would ask the other riders to attempt some skill...and follow up her instructions with, "And Vanessa, you just walk Zoe around the middle." I wasn't bothered by this in the least and actually found it a little amusing towards the end.

A friend at school likened my lesson to the times when she teaches her class something but asks the slow kid (me!) to just go color at the back corner. :)

So I colored for most of the hour....smiling the whole time!

Two-point torture and other stuff

Whew! What a crazy life! We've all been go, go, go for what feels like weeks. (My other mode this past month has been sick, sick, sick. Uhg! Worst case of the flu ever and I'm still sniffling - probably allergies now.)

So this will need to be a short, short, short post.

Spring is only beginning to arrive; the days are still relatively cool and definitely wet. Consequently, not too much time has been spent out at the barns. I did have a lesson with Marla last Sunday. I was plenty nervous about it (first time riding with her) and my high-strung, spring-fevered pony didn't calm me any. But let me back up a little.....

E had a lesson the hour before mine. Monte was feeling a bit energetic (she hadn't ridden in almost two weeks) but didn't appear unmanageable.....until they got into the arena. As soon as they got past the gate, he became a pretty good imitation of a rodeo bucking bronc. He bucked about half-way 'round the arena before she got a chance to attempt an emergency dismount, and just as she started to dismount, he bucked again, making her fall to the ground. (She was okay, just shaken, although she did end up with a nice bruise on her shoulder.)

He then proceeded to run like a crazed animal around the whole arena several times, going so fast that he actually fell on a corner. It took a few minutes before E could catch him. We thought something must be wrong, but the instructor (also a vet) checked him over and declared that he was fine....and that E needed to work him so that he didn't learn he could get away with such awful behavior.

So E decided to go on with her lesson and Monte behaved beautifully for the remainder of the afternoon. Go figure.

After seeing all this, and then having my pony start out all high-headed in the round pen, I was plenty nervous. But once she was tacked up and I was in the saddle, Zoe settled nicely. My first challenge of the day was to ride her from the dressage arena (where I was warming up) past the various wood piles (where all the trolls and gremlins live, according to Zoe) to the big arena for my lesson. And we did it! I know, sounds minor, but really it gave me a bit of a confidence boost.

And then the two-point torture began. :) Marla asked us to get into a two-point position and ride...and ride and ride and ride. This is the first time I've ever done this, so I was plenty off-balance. Zoe was not appreciative of my beginner ways and about half-way through the lesson began to lose patience with me. I was able to stay in two-point for most of the hour, though, and even managed to trot while perched on my stirrups. This was a lesson where a steady-eddy schooling horse would have been nice. Zoe is so reactive that any shift in my balance caused her to change her pace....which then made it even harder for me to maintain my balance!

By the end of the lesson I was noodle-legged and could barely walk upright. :)

And I will no longer give E a hard time when she has a lesson like this and then complains. I have a new appreciation for the skills she makes seem so easy.....

Off the couch

I've been down with a nasty flu virus for over a week now. After E got sick during the clinic, I was doing okay until Monday morning, then it hit me like a truck full of bricks. I literally stayed on the couch for 5 days, feeling like I was going to die.

But Horsemasters started last Sunday and nothing was keeping me from my horse! I got dressed (first time out of pj's in a week!), groomed my horse (hope no one looked too closely at her!) and climbed into the saddle for a lesson. I only lasted 30 minutes before exhaustion got the best of me, but I was so happy it didn't matter. Riding my horse definitely has a restorative effect on me.