Mmmmm....wormer paste

Yesterday I finally got around to worming both horses. And true to their natures, they were both highly suspicious of those little tubes of worming paste near their faces. :)

In the end, Monte was fairly easy. By now, he's probably pretty certain that we aren't going to do anything that will purposefully hurt him. Zoe, on the other hand, was a two person job. E kept her from backing away while I squished the tube o' paste as far into her mouth as I could.

I'm still sick, so no riding (waaaaay too tired), but E took each horse into the round pen for a bit of exercise. Zoe was quite the pill, kicking out at E several times. I'm thinking that she feels much better and friskier after the chiro visit on Tuesday...not that that makes it okay to kick at anyone. I had to work on her desire to rush into her stall (and to her food!) as well. It took several tries before I let Zoe go to her dinner.

Aching backs

Yesterday included a visit from the chiropractor for both horses. And it appears that this may have been Zoe's first manipulation ever - or at least she acted like that! My little girl was very tense and unsure of what this person was trying to do with her and was not the most cooperative pony. Stephanie commented several times on the horse's tenseness and on how she was holding her breath for long stretches of time. At any rate, Zoe had a hip out and was extremely stiff in the shoulders - there may have been a rib or two out as well, I don't remember.

Monte had a session with Stephanie as well. His problems were less severe (2 ribs out and some other minor adjustments) and totally in line with his current job as jumping pony.

After a chiro visit, we usually give the horses a day or two off, which made the timing of this particular visit unfortunate. Last night was our annual Halloween ride with E's 4-H group. Since E couldn't ride, she ended up leading all of the games for the other club members. The riders discovered that jousting with swim noodles, spoon & ball relay races, and flag races are much harder than they first appear! I think they all had fun, though.

Rainy days

Poor E! She had to muck stalls yesterday in a sideways-rainstorm. It was so miserable that the barn owner even came out to help her. I, on the other hand, stayed dry inside the barn, sniffling and coughing with my cold.

And then it was time for Pony Club. The rain clouds parted, the sun came out and the footing in the arena, while wet, was deemed safe enough. E, however, was cold and grumpy. And mean mom forced her to saddle up. She was not happy (to say the least!) to be going out. I soon learned that part of this feeling was being driven by memories of falling in a wet arena and having Curly land on her ankle.

But this was a different day and a different horse. Ultimately, she and Monte did just fine and even got in a few low jumps. I won't say she was a happy, smiley rider but she was at least no longer teary.

I just wish my cold would go away so I could ride my pony.....I'm tired of being tired.

Squeezing it all in

What a day! I had one of those schedules today where every thing had to happen right on time or the whole thing would fall apart - no wiggle room for any variance at all! And surprisingly, it all came off without a hitch.

I knew as the day began that if I would just cancel my riding lesson this afternoon, tons of stress would be alleviated from the hectic pace of the day....but I just couldn't do it. I so wanted to ride - and now I am so glad I did!

Zoe and I spent our lesson working on getting her to lower her head and to quickly respond to me asking for a trot, then walk. I had to work on relaxing my arms (bend those elbows!) and shoulders, sitting back and tall and looking where I wanted to turn. I kept holding my head to the side, looking down at Zoe's head, trying to see where her nose was. Not a good riding position, to say the least. I just don't have much feel for when she's doing the right thing yet, so I keep looking.

I was able to trot a full 20 meter circle without stopping and we are getting better at picking up the trot and slowing to a walk.

I still feel like I'm pulling awfully hard on her mouth, but my instructor says I'm actually being soft and to not worry. If Zoe wants to feel less pressure, she just needs to lower that pretty Arab nose of hers!

Lesson #1

I actually consider today my true first lesson. This was the first time I've ever paid someone to instruct me in horseback riding, anyway. And my family now thinks I'm nuts. Okay, they already thought that...but this evening I just reinforced that perception. ;) I've been a smiling fool ever since I got back from the barn. I just loved riding my horse and learning how to work with her. I can't wait until my next lesson!

This afternoon, we spent much of the time going in small circles, working on achieving an even pace at the walk. And then she introduced the trot - and I wasn't scared! My goal was to get Zoe to trot for a few steps (her slow, smooth trot) and then to have her transition immediately to a nice walk. If she rushed, I either circled her and asked her to do the whole exercise again or made her stop and start up again. And if she took a step after asking for the halt - well, we just kept doing all of this again and again and again......you get the picture. :)

We also worked on asking Zoe to give her head rather than keeping it high in the air like she wants (like most Arabians want, actually!). I know this is something she can do - I'll just have to remind her of her long lost skills.

So I learned that I have a tendency to lean forward and to hold tension in my shoulders. To be sitting up straight in the saddle I have to lean back so far I feel like I'm actually leaning back. Strange feeling, actually. I also forget to keep my thumbs up while turning and move them too far out from the horse. My foot position was never critiqued, but I could tell that I spent the majority of the lesson with my toes pointed down. I'm sure this is something I'll eventually have to work on but my instructor thankfully didn't choose to focus on feet as well as hands....I don't think I could have done it all! There's just so much to remember!

By the end of the lesson, my legs were noticeably tired and I could barely swing my leg over the cantle to dismount. I look forward to the day when I can ride for an hour and still look graceful coming out of the saddle.

First Lesson

I just love my pony! :)

We went out to the barn for a short visit this afternoon and while I was brushing Zoe another barn resident (A) offered to ride with me. When I got into the arena, she helped me with some mounting tricks (mainly getting Zoe to stand still where I wanted her) and then showed me the correct way to steer Zoe. I was amazed at how much more responsive my horse was once I started doing things a little more correctly - her turns were almost immediate and so smooth. A also helped me with the position of my feet and legs (I had my toes down and legs/ankles too far forward).

She then taught me how to cue for a forehand turn and a haunch turn. Those will take a bit of work for sure. Zoe definitely knows how to do these skills, but she is not one to give anything to me unless I ask correctly. Which I'm not able to do yet.

At one point Zoe picked up a nice trot - and I wasn't scared. I didn't let her keep it up, because that wasn't the point of today's ride, but it was nice to realize I could handle the increased speed. In fact, I felt in control and not nervous for the whole ride. What a nice change!

As I was riding around I remembered that E's first real ride on a horse and "lesson" came from A over 4 years ago! How fitting that she should be the person to help me with Zoe and give me my first lesson too.

Jumping with Briggs

So today's lesson for E was a jumping one. And boy does her pony love to jump! As soon as they get into the arena his ears prick forward and off they go, rushing to the first obstacle. E is very proud of the fact that she and her pony were the only ones not called back to redo any part of the pattern. All of the participants did well - some even doing more than they ever thought possible. This instructor has a gift for successfully pushing the students out of their comfort zones a bit.

Click on people's faces in the photo to tag them.

She also loved the fact that Jim Briggs really - and I mean really! - liked Monte. He asked if he could pack him into his suitcase and take him home. :)

While chatting on the sidelines, one of the parents suggested we start a parent Pony Club group (I think they are called "Riding Masters" or something like that). Wouldn't that be a hoot? I'm hoping I can be a part of that should it actually come about.