Recognizing the problem...

....is the first step, right? Okay, so it's not really a "problem" but I am finally beginning to understand what I'm doing wrong as I attempt to post while trotting. Like using my feet and stirrups to propel me up rather than my thighs and knees. And not keeping my leg on her the whole time (which goes back to using the stirrups too much). I also can't keep the rhythm of the up-down motion going for very long - I usually end up bouncing along within a few strides.

But I'm determined to get it eventually! This has become my goal for the summer - learn to post a trot. On my horse. (As opposed to someone else's - Zoe has such a smooth stride that I don't always feel when I should be up and when I should be down! The motion is much more prominent on other horses I've ridden recently.)

I had a lesson with Pat this past Sunday; she hasn't seen me ride in a couple of months and was surprised at how "brave" I had become - she was with me during my first few rides, remember? I no longer begin to hyperventilate when asking for a trot and am actually beginning to look like a real rider. It's nice to look back and see some growth.

E and I have had to cancel our Deary horse camp plans. She had her "big running test" to determine if she was healed enough to ride - and didn't pass. After running a mere .5 miles, she had a headache....that promptly disappeared once her heart rate was back to normal. It's pretty clear that her brain is still recovering. She was sad to miss out - this is one of the big highlights of the Pony Club year for her, but the risk of serious brain trauma is just not worth it.

Monte is dealing with a sunburn on his neck right now. We have begun going out to the barn each morning to put a fly sheet and some sun block on him, and then back out each evening to take it off. Poor guy! It's supposed to get up to 90 today and I'm sure that sheet is making him hot, hot, hot. I think it's kind of ironic that we don't blanket for the majority of the winter but will end up sheeting him the whole summer!

Really??? Another head injury???

E participated in a clinic with Victoria Cliff on Sunday, riding a flat lesson on Zoe and then a jumping lesson on Monte.

The first lesson, the flat one, was beautiful. E and Zoe looked wonderful together and made all the movements seem easy. E was able to get Zoe to round up into her trot and to carry her head in a nice position for most of the lesson - and Zoe appeared to be enjoying the work for the most part.

The second lesson, on Monte, started out okay but quickly went south. As usual, Monte was rushing a little and while they were cantering around the arena in a warm-up exercise his hooves struck a patch of loose dirt over hard-pack. Monte's feet slid out from under him and he fell completely on his side, taking a bit of skin off his left shoulder in the process.

E fell with him, of course, and ended up with a mouth full of dirt and a banged up shoulder, jaw and head. My first concern was another concussion, but her eyes looked fine and she was coherent and as stable as a person can be after having a 900 lb. animal fall on them. And she actually wanted to get back up on Monte - such a brave child! (Monte, by the way, stood quietly by us the whole time we were examining E - very unusual for him to not bolt after a scare! But maybe that's because this wasn't really a fright/flight situation.)

So she spit out some dirt (literally!), took a drink of water, wiped the worst of the dirt off her face and got back on her horse. After about 10 minutes of riding, however, E came over to the side of the arena and told me that she was feeling unbalanced - not dizzy or nauseous, but definitely "off". I told her to immediately get off the horse! (She also added that Monte was stiff as well, so she figured he was not feeling so great himself.)

After last week's concussion, we are a little freaked out about another head injury. E does have a headache again (plus she just plain aches all over!) so I am watching her carefully. We may have another trip to the doctor today - at the very least, she is scheduled for a sports physical tomorrow morning and I'll ask the doctor to check her thoroughly then.

Zoe side note: We gave Zoe a quick wash before E's lesson and she did beautifully. No nervous jigging or bad behavior at all. What a good little horse!

So much going on.....

Another school year done! I'm hoping that summer allows for a lot more riding (of course it will!) and that I finally begin to gain some skill riding my Zoe. I'm ready to get past the early beginner stage. :)

E hasn't had too much time with Monte recently. She took a tumble out of a hammock and got a mild concussion, so there was no riding for her for a bit. I find it ironic that she rides this wild, bucking pony but gets hurt while lying down! A week later and she still has a bit of a headache - poor kid. I let her ride yesterday in the round pen - where Monte spooked and promptly dumped her! Luckily she didn't hit her head again, but she does have a nasty bruise on her arm.

We introduced another friend to Zoe yesterday as well - a foreign exchange student from Portugal. She's going home soon and really wanted to ride a horse before she left. Surprisingly, Zoe was very calm and careful with her novice rider. But after their ride together I decided that we had probably exhausted Zoe's patience so I didn't ride her.

As we were putting her away another barn friend, Angelia, offered to lunge her horse Tantrum for me so that I could get a better feel for posting while trotting. I was plenty nervous (I mean, there has to be a reason the horse was named Tantrum!) but it turned out to be a wonderful ride. I could totally feel the lift telling me when to post out of the saddle - something I've had trouble feeling while riding Zoe because she's so smooth. We'll practice with Tantrum again - and I'll practice on Zoe too, of course.

My mom took us to see the Lipizzaner Stallions last Sunday - what a treat! A sale booth was set up at the entrance of the arena - and I immediately saw and commented on the little Breyer Lipizzaner horse. While talking to the sales guy I told him that my horse is from the Favory line, to which he replied, "They are known for their intelligence." Being the proud mama, I got all smiley and agreed that yes, my Zoe is definitely that. So silly!

It was wonderful to watch the horses and riders working together so beautifully. These horses truly are amazing. I was surprised to learn that two of the riders are local. At one point E did say that she would never attempt to ride such powerful animals, though. Their energy was a bit intimidating!

The show jumping and dressage rallies scheduled for this weekend were cancelled (darn EHV-1 outbreak!) but E will have the opportunity to ride in a clinic at our barn tomorrow. She plans to do a flat lesson on Zoe and a jumping lesson on Monte. Should be fun!

No steering required

I'm still having trouble figuring out this whole posting thing. I'll be in sync for a few strides and then I completely fall apart and begin to just bounce along. Not very pretty and not very comfortable!

Trying to find a solution to my issues, I rode Cathy's horse Traveler on Saturday. Traveler is a very calm quarter horse who has packed many children around. He's about as opposite of Zoe as you can get in quite a few (important) ways, the most important of which for me is that he's not super responsive and hot. I had to actually kick to just get him moving at a walk, and finally resorted to using a crop to get him to pick up a trot. My legs were so tired after my short ride on him because I had to apply constant pressure to get him to go where I wanted - so much work! I found that I much prefer Zoe's reactive, seemingly psychic ways! I also discovered that I prefer to ride a horse who is "uphill" rather than downhill like Traveler; I felt like I was going to just slide down his neck whenever he put his head down!

After my ride on Traveler (in which I didn't practice posting much because it was so hard to get him to trot!), I pulled Zoe out. By this time my thigh muscles were worn out. And guess what - my ride on Zoe was one of the best I had had so far! My hunch is that the usual tension in my legs was missing, so she was happier. We trotted around a bit, but I was finding it difficult to steer and post at the same time (she still wasn't keeping a steady pace). At one point Zoe did take off into a canter for a few strides, freaking me out, but I managed to slow her back down and continue on.

On Sunday, I decided to try longing her in the arena (the round pen was occupied) and discovered that she definitely has that skill. I was able to control her speed and direction fairly easily. When another barn resident, Angelia, heard this she offered to longe Zoe while I was riding so that I could practice posting without worrying about steering. I was nervous, but soon found that this was a perfect solution. Zoe kept a better pace and stayed on a nice circle and I had time to figure out just what the heck I was supposed to do (not that I did ever get it totally right for more than a few seconds!)

I will definitely be using this method again soon!

Small town

On Friday, I chaperoned a middle school trip to Spokane. I had the privilege of riding a school bus 2.5 hours (each way!) to go see the musical "Wicked." Totally worth it!

While chatting with other parents on the bus, it came out that we have horses. One woman, Kim, asked what kind and when I replied Arabs, she said that she had leased an Arab/Lippizaner cross. Amazed, I told her that that was what I owned, to which she asked, "Do you have Zoe?!"

Come to find out, Kim had leased Zoe for a year, learning to ride Western. It was nice to hear more about my horse (she had many of the same impressions I have had - super responsive, almost psychic in fact; hot and spooky; generally kind; very smart) She added that Zoe was pretty awful at trail riding with her and that Zoe also had a very good work ethic. Kim also said that occasionally she would unintentially do something that would elicit fancy dressage movements in Zoe. I would love to see a rider proficient in dressage ride my horse; I so want to know the extent of her talent!

"Should I stay or should I go....."

The song is running through my head as E and I try to decide what to do about traveling to upcoming rallies and Deary while there's a risk of EVH1 exposure to our horses.

I got a call from Cathy last night informing me that our barn is currently closed to any in or out traffic. Two of the horses there have had indirect exposure to some horses that attended the cutting event in Utah - our friend's horses were at the fairgrounds this weekend, as were animals that had been to the Utah event a couple of weeks previously. Chances are everything will be okay, but there have been a couple of suspicious cases that are being closely watched right here in Walla Walla. So everyone is being cautious. Our vet's office isn't allowing horses onto their property and Pony Club lessons have been canceled for the time being as well.

The rallies are in mid-June, and by that time any infected horses should have already shown signs of the virus....but I'm still unsure about traveling.

So I continue to ask, "Should I stay or should I go...."

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.....