Monday 3/23
Flatwork school. Good ride. Worked on bend and figures, overall just a solid work.
Tuesday 3/24
Fantastic lesson. Really, really awesome - one of the best rides I've had on her. Hung out at around 2'3 for the fences, maybe closer to 2'6. Pandora was 'on' the whole time. Practiced lengthening and shortening at the canter, and actually got noticeable responses. Jumped the scary boxes and the big brush fence, neither of which she's seen/jumped before, and she didn't even hesitate. I made some big improvements on: 1. avoiding jumping ahead with my upper body, while 2. still releasing, while 3. not dropping her at the base of the fence by taking away leg and hand. Once I figured that one out, she was great.
Asked her to really move out down one long side because our 'jump-off' course had a looong track around the outside. Boy, was she excited about that! She really dug in and gave me a gallop. Surprised me and took me longer to bring her back than I expected, but she wasn't trying to run away, and she came back to a nice soft canter after one circle. Oops.
On the other hand, big accident when we got home. In the arena, Mom was taking her blanket off - got all the straps undone and then Pandora took off. Blanket slipped obviously, she freaked herself out, galloped all around, tore the blanket to absolute shreds. It was terrifying. Once she ripped the blanket all the way off, she stopped, hot and sweaty and shaking. Walked her out, hosed her chest and neck a little and she calmed down a lot. Wasn't lame but got a big ol' swelling on her right gaskin. Very liquidy and soft, not hot. Under a small abrasion. Gave 2.5 grams of bute, cold-hosed, walked to make sure she wasn't sore. Normal vitals. Came back at 8pm to ice and walk again, swelling down a little but more stiff.
Wednesday 3/25
Made an AM visit. Swelling down a lot (yay!) but area is hot, no sign of stiffness, w/t/c happily loose in the arena. Iced for 10 minutes, gave 2 grams of bute.
Evening visit, free longed for maybe 15 minutes, worked up a good sweat. Fine at all gaits in both directions. Swelling WAY down, hardly noticeable, still warm but not hot. Cold-hosed for 10 minutes, put a little Furazone on the scrape. I think at this point we're more traumatized than she is.
Thursday 3/26
She was feeling great. Free longed nicely in both directions, worked up a decent sweat with no noticeable stiffness. The farrier came out, told me I was being a tad bit paranoid and they didn't need to be trimmed for another few weeks (oops :).
Then came the test. I haven't ridden her since Tuesday before she injured herself, and I needed to see if she was going to stay sound with me in the saddle. So we set up 3 canter cavaletti at bounce distance (around 11' for Pandora) and a 2'6 vertical, tacked up, and went for it. I was really worried that she was going to favor the injured leg with me on board, but w/t/c both directions was just fine. We cantered the cavaletti several times in both directions and she was fantastic, nailed it every time and went through with enthusiasm. We jumped the vertical with no issues, made it a square oxer (a rather wide square oxer) and though we kept missing the distance for takeoff, she felt totally normal beneath me and showed no signs of soreness after jumping it several times.
That's way bigger than she'll have to do at rally, so I'm very very happy and feeling optimistic for this weekend. She'll have 3 rounds with 20 minutes of warmup each, so that's only a little more than an hour of riding total. I think we'll be just fine.
We cold-hosed again for about 5 - 10 minutes, which she stood very politely for, and dosed with 2.5 grams of bute. Now that I know she's sound with no bute in her system (hadn't been dosed since yesterday morning), I think we will continue with the bute through tomorrow just to help make sure all inflammation is going away.
Whew. Crisis averted.
Friday 3/27
Bathing day! We spent four hours out at the barn washing buckets and horses, and in general just making sure all our rally stuff was loaded up and ready to go. Pandora is now very very clean and shiny - not that she wasn't shiny before - and all ready for showing! I'll make sure to do some serious de-hairing in a good grooming session before we leave tomorrow.
Saturday 3/28
Rally day! Free longed the girls in the morning. She's totally sound and you can only tell she injured that hind leg if you touch the area, because then she'll move away. Loaded everything up, stuffed their hay bags with hay, booted up, and headed out! Settled in nicely, with some screaming for McKinna, and jogged out perfectly sound. Excited for tomorrow.
Sunday 3/29
Woohoo! We had an AWESOME day at the rally. Full report here. No refusals, no rails. She was nervous but got better every round and she has mountains of try. I love it. I'm very proud of her.
Monday 3/30
A well-deserved day off. They got to be outside all day for the first time in a long time.
Tuesday 3/31
An easy ride, but very promising. I hopped on and went for a short hack down the road, by ourselves for the first time. I planned on making it very short, taking her just past her comfort zone and allowing a little grazing before heading home.
Well, she impressed me. She marched right off down the road with nary a spook or scoot - only got a little bug-eyed when a horse in a field galloped up to us. So we picked up a merry little trot for a minute or so, went up a little hill, then walked back. She wanted to jig on the way back, probably because it was a cool windy day and she had yesterday off, but she walked when I asked her to.
Such a pleasant ride, and I'm pleased that she's sensible about going out by herself. This will make conditioning hacks very easy.
I'm looking forward to it. Plus, I like to sing to give us a rhythm and calm her down, so I get to work my way through my repertoire of old camp songs ;)
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
March Week 3 Review and Week 4 Outline
Monday 3/16
I had a history final from 6-8. No riding for me!
Tuesday 3/17
Had a great ride. Schooled flatwork and really worked on moving off the leg, and bending. We did some bow-tie figures which went pretty well. I practiced a little bit of spiraling circles with her - I can tell those will be fantastic schooling figures, because they were super hard for her! It's hard for her to hold a smaller circle, but she spirals nicely out when I ask her to.
We got some pretty good canter work, although she was a little sticky in her transitions.
I am working on asking her to carry herself up, then stretch down to follow the bit. This is a hole in our dressage. She will lower her head to stretch out if you give her a loose rein at the walk, but that's not following the contact down, and at the trot she either won't do it at all or she speeds up a lot. I practiced a little at the trot, and seemed to make some progress, so I will make sure to work on this more in the future.
Still not flexing to the left. I believe she is locked up somewhere in her upper neck/poll/jaw - she won't turn her face, she just tilts her head and shoulder, whereas to the right she rotates that face easily. Chiro coming out on Thursday should fix that!
Mom hopped on to cool her out. This is part of our plan to get her used to other riders, since she tends to get anxious. I will probably also have Christy (lady who gives the Friday lessons) school her once or twice, since she is a very very good and soft rider who I bet will help Pandora's confidence in strangers.
Wednesday 3/18
Jumping lesson at Robin's. Pandora did great, was way calmer than last time we were over there! It definitely helped that we rode in a lesson with McKinna and her rider too. She was just lovely, alert and sometimes looking at stuff outside the arena but very responsive and mellow. We got some very nice jumping in, and I am working on all the things I need to remember over the fence - sit up, stretch up tall, wait for the fence, but release! I got it together a few times.
We jumped over a few spooky fences - even got a refusal, but it was downhill to a scary box fence off a tight diagonal turn, so I don't blame her at all. She jumped it fine the second time, and we schooled it about four times until I could get her to relax enough to take off from a reasonable distance instead of super far away. Not that I don't appreciate the athleticism inherent in taking the long spot!
Anyway - a very successful lesson!
Thursday 3/19
Kind-of day off - longed her, then she got worked on by the chiro. I was definitely right about the left flexion. On the left side, she needed adjustments high in the neck, low in the neck, a little in the shoulder, and a lot in the elbow. Some slightly lesser stuff down the right side. Quite a bit of pelvic rotation, and quite a bit of stickiness in the stifles. He also worked her tail a little bit because I mentioned that it's still asymetrically muscled underneath the dock, and afterwards she was so relaxed back there! I've never been able to touch the point of her butt without her tensing up, but now it's nice and soft. I was glad he came out.
Friday 3/20
Lesson at Poseidon. A bit of a frustrating one! For the flatwork, Pandora was extremely inconsistent. Perfectly understandable - she was trying to figure out how to move after being adjusted yesterday - but still very frustrating, when I'm used to such a steady horse. I didn't discipline her for it, since I knew what was going on. The canter was a little better. Also, hallelujah, we have developed a tiny bit of a half-halt at the canter! If I close my outside hand and add a little lower leg, I can actually feel a response. Not very much of one, and not too consistent, and sometimes I don't use enough leg so she breaks to the trot, but it's THERE and we've never had it before. It's very exciting. A huge step in the right direction.
Jumping was also a bit frustrating. Once again we did nothing but tiny fences for the majority of the ride. I only got to do some set at around 2'3 on my very last few rounds. I understand the necessity to do well over smaller fences, I really do. But when my horse is getting lazy and sloppy and isn't really learning anything over the small fences, I think it's time to move on.
THEN, she started charging down this one six-stride line. Really taking off. Don't get me wrong, I love that she builds energy when she locks onto a fence. But this was totally ignoring my half-halts. So, after checking with the instructor, I got the go-ahead to do a little teeth-flossing with the bit down the line to get my message across. I hate doing it, but it worked. I got hard in her face, she was totally surprised and backed off for the last few strides, then halted reasonably nicely. The next time we went through, she started to launch, but backed off at a strong half-halt. Since she clearly understood the point, we called it good.
An educational but frustrating ride, I suppose. I understand why it went the way it did, though, and it wasn't Pandora's fault. I am looking forward to doing some schooling on my own for awhile with the tools I have picked up recently.
Saturday 3/21
Day off. Free-longed the girls.
Sunday 3/22
Day off again.
Week 4 Outline
Monday 3/23
Solid dressage workout. Get some good forward canter work, practice adjustability at all three gaits. Practice canter cavaletti.
Tuesday 3/24
Rally prep lesson at Poseidon. I am sure we will school lots of fences, practice jog-outs (which I've already practiced!), and the like.
Wednesday 3/25
Get in another good flatwork school, this time in the jumping saddle. Practice lots of canter cavaletti.
Thursday 3/26
The tack-cleaning day...oi. But, I should still ride. Maybe a light jumping school, easy and relaxed.
Friday 3/27
Day off and free-longe. Today is the day we'll wash McKinna to prepare for Rally, and trust me, you don't want to plan anything else on the same day! It's an exhausting enterprise.
Saturday 3/28
Longe the girls, load everything up into the trailer, and head off to Ridgefield, WA for the rally!
Sunday 3/29
Compete in the rally. 3 rounds, with 20 minutes of warmup each - not bad. Hopefully we will come home feeling happy and successful!
I had a history final from 6-8. No riding for me!
Tuesday 3/17
Had a great ride. Schooled flatwork and really worked on moving off the leg, and bending. We did some bow-tie figures which went pretty well. I practiced a little bit of spiraling circles with her - I can tell those will be fantastic schooling figures, because they were super hard for her! It's hard for her to hold a smaller circle, but she spirals nicely out when I ask her to.
We got some pretty good canter work, although she was a little sticky in her transitions.
I am working on asking her to carry herself up, then stretch down to follow the bit. This is a hole in our dressage. She will lower her head to stretch out if you give her a loose rein at the walk, but that's not following the contact down, and at the trot she either won't do it at all or she speeds up a lot. I practiced a little at the trot, and seemed to make some progress, so I will make sure to work on this more in the future.
Still not flexing to the left. I believe she is locked up somewhere in her upper neck/poll/jaw - she won't turn her face, she just tilts her head and shoulder, whereas to the right she rotates that face easily. Chiro coming out on Thursday should fix that!
Mom hopped on to cool her out. This is part of our plan to get her used to other riders, since she tends to get anxious. I will probably also have Christy (lady who gives the Friday lessons) school her once or twice, since she is a very very good and soft rider who I bet will help Pandora's confidence in strangers.
Wednesday 3/18
Jumping lesson at Robin's. Pandora did great, was way calmer than last time we were over there! It definitely helped that we rode in a lesson with McKinna and her rider too. She was just lovely, alert and sometimes looking at stuff outside the arena but very responsive and mellow. We got some very nice jumping in, and I am working on all the things I need to remember over the fence - sit up, stretch up tall, wait for the fence, but release! I got it together a few times.
We jumped over a few spooky fences - even got a refusal, but it was downhill to a scary box fence off a tight diagonal turn, so I don't blame her at all. She jumped it fine the second time, and we schooled it about four times until I could get her to relax enough to take off from a reasonable distance instead of super far away. Not that I don't appreciate the athleticism inherent in taking the long spot!
Anyway - a very successful lesson!
Thursday 3/19
Kind-of day off - longed her, then she got worked on by the chiro. I was definitely right about the left flexion. On the left side, she needed adjustments high in the neck, low in the neck, a little in the shoulder, and a lot in the elbow. Some slightly lesser stuff down the right side. Quite a bit of pelvic rotation, and quite a bit of stickiness in the stifles. He also worked her tail a little bit because I mentioned that it's still asymetrically muscled underneath the dock, and afterwards she was so relaxed back there! I've never been able to touch the point of her butt without her tensing up, but now it's nice and soft. I was glad he came out.
Friday 3/20
Lesson at Poseidon. A bit of a frustrating one! For the flatwork, Pandora was extremely inconsistent. Perfectly understandable - she was trying to figure out how to move after being adjusted yesterday - but still very frustrating, when I'm used to such a steady horse. I didn't discipline her for it, since I knew what was going on. The canter was a little better. Also, hallelujah, we have developed a tiny bit of a half-halt at the canter! If I close my outside hand and add a little lower leg, I can actually feel a response. Not very much of one, and not too consistent, and sometimes I don't use enough leg so she breaks to the trot, but it's THERE and we've never had it before. It's very exciting. A huge step in the right direction.
Jumping was also a bit frustrating. Once again we did nothing but tiny fences for the majority of the ride. I only got to do some set at around 2'3 on my very last few rounds. I understand the necessity to do well over smaller fences, I really do. But when my horse is getting lazy and sloppy and isn't really learning anything over the small fences, I think it's time to move on.
THEN, she started charging down this one six-stride line. Really taking off. Don't get me wrong, I love that she builds energy when she locks onto a fence. But this was totally ignoring my half-halts. So, after checking with the instructor, I got the go-ahead to do a little teeth-flossing with the bit down the line to get my message across. I hate doing it, but it worked. I got hard in her face, she was totally surprised and backed off for the last few strides, then halted reasonably nicely. The next time we went through, she started to launch, but backed off at a strong half-halt. Since she clearly understood the point, we called it good.
An educational but frustrating ride, I suppose. I understand why it went the way it did, though, and it wasn't Pandora's fault. I am looking forward to doing some schooling on my own for awhile with the tools I have picked up recently.
Saturday 3/21
Day off. Free-longed the girls.
Sunday 3/22
Day off again.
Week 4 Outline
Monday 3/23
Solid dressage workout. Get some good forward canter work, practice adjustability at all three gaits. Practice canter cavaletti.
Tuesday 3/24
Rally prep lesson at Poseidon. I am sure we will school lots of fences, practice jog-outs (which I've already practiced!), and the like.
Wednesday 3/25
Get in another good flatwork school, this time in the jumping saddle. Practice lots of canter cavaletti.
Thursday 3/26
The tack-cleaning day...oi. But, I should still ride. Maybe a light jumping school, easy and relaxed.
Friday 3/27
Day off and free-longe. Today is the day we'll wash McKinna to prepare for Rally, and trust me, you don't want to plan anything else on the same day! It's an exhausting enterprise.
Saturday 3/28
Longe the girls, load everything up into the trailer, and head off to Ridgefield, WA for the rally!
Sunday 3/29
Compete in the rally. 3 rounds, with 20 minutes of warmup each - not bad. Hopefully we will come home feeling happy and successful!
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
March Week 2 Review and Week 3 Outline
Monday 3/9
Ended up talking myself out of riding. I will end up riding a lot more next week - this is dead week so lots of studying to do. Free longed the girls, they had a good time running.
Tuesday 3/10
Day off. Free longed.
Wednesday 3/11
Flatwork schooling in the dressage saddle. The ride started off really nicely, nice and forward, just took her through everything at the walk (serpentines, circles, leg-yields, shoulders-in and out) then the same at trot. But somewhere along the way she got anxious and I got frustrated, and she was racing a lot. We managed to end on a good note. I think my stirrups were too long, and I wasn't using the ThinLine like normal under the saddle - wonder if that makes a difference?
Ended up talking myself out of riding. I will end up riding a lot more next week - this is dead week so lots of studying to do. Free longed the girls, they had a good time running.
Tuesday 3/10
Day off. Free longed.
Wednesday 3/11
Flatwork schooling in the dressage saddle. The ride started off really nicely, nice and forward, just took her through everything at the walk (serpentines, circles, leg-yields, shoulders-in and out) then the same at trot. But somewhere along the way she got anxious and I got frustrated, and she was racing a lot. We managed to end on a good note. I think my stirrups were too long, and I wasn't using the ThinLine like normal under the saddle - wonder if that makes a difference?
Still resisting bend to the left, always. Very frustrating. I can get her to move off my leg, but she just will not take up the bend through her whole body with one smooth curve from head to tail. Chiro is coming out in a week so hopefully that will help fix things.
Thursday 3/12
Jumped with two of the girls at the barn. Pandora did very nicely over the low stuff, finding good distances, even volunteered the left lead on a pretty regular basis when going to the left. She did want to rush around when on the left lead sometimes, but I think that had more to do with cantering over a two-stride cavaletti line (all she has to do is yank her feet up, so she gets quick and careless).
Thursday 3/12
Jumped with two of the girls at the barn. Pandora did very nicely over the low stuff, finding good distances, even volunteered the left lead on a pretty regular basis when going to the left. She did want to rush around when on the left lead sometimes, but I think that had more to do with cantering over a two-stride cavaletti line (all she has to do is yank her feet up, so she gets quick and careless).
Still, was resisting the left bend hardcore. Grrrr. I am patient with it -- Rome wasn't built in a day -- but it gets very frustrating when nothing I do can stop her from leaning over the left shoulder. At least she will take her left lead and canter nicely.
When we raised the jumps, she was just lovely. We had a vertical set on the diagonal and a single oxer. By the end, the oxer was just a hair shy of 2'9, with two barrels beneath, and the vertical was 2'6. Pandora did very nicely, considering I don't school her over these heights often. She tends to want to ignore my half-halts coming up to the fence, so perhaps I should set up some grids that encourage her to settle back. She's comfortable taking the short distance, and manages to suck herself up enough when she takes off super close, which is nice to know. I'd like to get some video of me jumping her over these - it feels like she is just tucking her legs up instead of rounding her back, but she may just not do that until the fences get a little bigger.
All in all, despite a few issues, I was very pleased.
Friday 3/13
Lesson at Poseidon. It ended up as a two-person lesson, as the third girl ended up sick. This actually turned out to be for the better, because our horses are very similarly-strided, so we got to do some gridwork!
We ended up schooling over a three-fence grid set up almost straight down the centerline, on a one-stride distance. She set the grid up a little bit short, because both horses need to practice rocking back and waiting instead of getting long and strung-out.
Eventually we had the grid set with a takeoff pole, then poles between each of the fences. So essentially it was five bounces, just that every other one was a pole. This was very helpful for Pandora, who needs to practice not getting all strung-out or diving down on her nose.
She did very nicely. I managed to push the height issue a little bit, and she raised the fences a little more than she normally does for me. I think I will have to either be very insistent about it, or just accept that I'll school higher fences at home! Or both, of course.
In any case, I felt like the grid work was very beneficial. I plan to set up some canter cavaletti at bounce distance for practice.
Saturday 3/14
Day off.
Sunday 3/15
Another day off. Finals studying!
Week 3 Outline
For all [riding] days this week, if the weather is nice, we'll make a short pilgrimage out the front gate. I plan to work extensively on Pandora's ability to go out on the roads alone (she will follow another horse, but freaks out by herself). Not only will road work help conditioning-wise, the confidence she gets from learning to go out by herself should make XC a piece of cake.
Monday 3/16
No ride - I have a final from 6 - 8PM, ugh. But then it's spring break, woohoo!
Tuesday 3/17
Solid flatwork schooling. Working on flexibility all through the body, lengthening/shortening the pace at the trot, and plenty of cantering.
Wednesday 3/18
Lesson across the street at Robin's, jumping.
Thursday 3/19
Chiro appointment, finally! She will get free-longed beforehand.
Friday 3/20
Jumping lesson at Poseidon.
Saturday 3/21
Light flatwork schooling. Practice ring figures, perhaps over poles: figure-8s, half-turns back to the rail, spiraling circles.
Sunday 3/22
Jumping school. Set up canter-bounce cavaletti on an 11' stride, practice steady cantering. Start with three and maybe go up to five. Practice trotting a low, wide oxer with a placing and landing pole.
Friday 3/13
Lesson at Poseidon. It ended up as a two-person lesson, as the third girl ended up sick. This actually turned out to be for the better, because our horses are very similarly-strided, so we got to do some gridwork!
We ended up schooling over a three-fence grid set up almost straight down the centerline, on a one-stride distance. She set the grid up a little bit short, because both horses need to practice rocking back and waiting instead of getting long and strung-out.
Eventually we had the grid set with a takeoff pole, then poles between each of the fences. So essentially it was five bounces, just that every other one was a pole. This was very helpful for Pandora, who needs to practice not getting all strung-out or diving down on her nose.
She did very nicely. I managed to push the height issue a little bit, and she raised the fences a little more than she normally does for me. I think I will have to either be very insistent about it, or just accept that I'll school higher fences at home! Or both, of course.
In any case, I felt like the grid work was very beneficial. I plan to set up some canter cavaletti at bounce distance for practice.
Saturday 3/14
Day off.
Sunday 3/15
Another day off. Finals studying!
Week 3 Outline
For all [riding] days this week, if the weather is nice, we'll make a short pilgrimage out the front gate. I plan to work extensively on Pandora's ability to go out on the roads alone (she will follow another horse, but freaks out by herself). Not only will road work help conditioning-wise, the confidence she gets from learning to go out by herself should make XC a piece of cake.
Monday 3/16
No ride - I have a final from 6 - 8PM, ugh. But then it's spring break, woohoo!
Tuesday 3/17
Solid flatwork schooling. Working on flexibility all through the body, lengthening/shortening the pace at the trot, and plenty of cantering.
Wednesday 3/18
Lesson across the street at Robin's, jumping.
Thursday 3/19
Chiro appointment, finally! She will get free-longed beforehand.
Friday 3/20
Jumping lesson at Poseidon.
Saturday 3/21
Light flatwork schooling. Practice ring figures, perhaps over poles: figure-8s, half-turns back to the rail, spiraling circles.
Sunday 3/22
Jumping school. Set up canter-bounce cavaletti on an 11' stride, practice steady cantering. Start with three and maybe go up to five. Practice trotting a low, wide oxer with a placing and landing pole.
Monday, March 9, 2009
March Week 1 Review and Week 2 Outline
Monday 3/2
Did not ride. Lots of homework to do!
Tuesday 3/3
Another homework night. She got free longed both nights, though, so she got to work off some energy.
Wednesday 3/4
Sigh, another free-longeing night....because I rode McKinna! A girl in our Pony Club may use McKinna for the SJ rally, because her horse is working through some training issues and they don't want any setbacks. She is trying her out tomorrow night, so I hopped on to make sure she hasn't forgotten how to work ;) She did great. We did w/t/c both directions, and I set up a zigzag pole rollback exercise. We walked and trotted over it (our arena's too tight to expect her to canter it), but then as we were cantering, I'd change directions across one pole and ask for a flying change. The first time I didn't set her up right, but then we got two in a row! Impressive considering we never worked on flying changes...
Thursday 3/5
Finally rode tonight. I had a very good ride! We did a lot of cantering over a low cavaletto, a 2' ish vertical, and then a 2'3 ish narrow fence with bright yellow and red planks. Pandora was just lovely. I am REALLY getting somewhere now that I sit up and carry my hands all the way to the base of the fence - she holds a steady pace, I can half halt, her shoulders are higher, everything's good.
She still will not land on the left lead. I got her to do it once, by really asking hard. I have a call in to the chiropractor, but in the mean time I will just keep doing lots of bending and stretching as I ride. She picks up the lead fine and canters well (not as well as to the right), so it's not drastic, but still.
Friday 3/6
Christy lesson. Pandora did pretty well. I spent most of the lesson focusing on McKinna - the girl rode her tonight and they looked fantastic together! I'm excited.
Anyway - my ride was okay. She is doing very nicely at the canter. I have to work hard still to hold it together, but it's a huge amount better than when we first started. Her transitions to the right are turning into a thing of beauty! Light, fluffy, balanced, everything a canter transition should be.
The jumping just wasn't my favorite. She goes better when I ride better, of course. She had a very brief meltdown about a car driving past outside [in the dark], and I was pleased that she came back to me and began focusing after only a few minutes of acting silly. Still, the jumping just wasn't as good as I'd like it to be. I guess we just weren't 'on' tonight. We got some nice fences and some not-as-nice fences. I feel like she would do better if the jumps were just a little higher, but I'm also uncomfortable suggesting that because there's a pretty big ideal that 'if you aren't doing well over lower things, don't move them up.' I believe in this - I do, I do. It's just, she really DOES tend to do better over bigger things!
Still, before I say something, I need to do more homework over high and low fences. We will see how next week goes.
Saturday 3/7
Free-longed. I was very tired from last night. I will set up a short grid tomorrow to ride through.
Sunday 3/8
Set up a simple grid - just 4 trot poles 4'6" apart, then 9' to a low X. I figure I will slowly build up the complexity of our grids, since she seems to get anxious when she encounters them. She was lovely through it. Just a short ride, but it was productive, and we both enjoy rides like that sometimes where we don't spend a long time working on our issues but correct a few things and call it good.
Still doesn't want to land on the left lead unless I exaggerate the cue ridiculously. We will keep playing with this, but hopefully it goes away when the chiro visits!
Week 2 Outline
Monday 3/9
Flatwork schooling. Toss the dressage saddle on, grab the dressage whip, and work hard! We will practice leg-yield, correct shoulder-in (need to make sure Mom can be eyes-on-the-ground and maybe do some filming), and we will reeeeeeeeally practice our transitions.
I also need to regain a bit of the sharpness of my half-halts.
Tuesday 3/10
Jump some single fences. I will set up a low, wide oxer and a single, taller vertical. I'll do regular w/t/c schooling, focusing on getting that left bend without leaning over the left shoulder, and sprinkle jumps in here and there.
Wednesday 3/11
Night off - free longe and lots of love!
Thursday 3/12
Set up a simple grid. 3 trot poles 4'6 apart, 9 feet to a biggish Swedish oxer.
Friday 3/13
Jumping lesson.
Saturday 3/14
Day off.
Sunday 3/15
Light flatwork school.
Did not ride. Lots of homework to do!
Tuesday 3/3
Another homework night. She got free longed both nights, though, so she got to work off some energy.
Wednesday 3/4
Sigh, another free-longeing night....because I rode McKinna! A girl in our Pony Club may use McKinna for the SJ rally, because her horse is working through some training issues and they don't want any setbacks. She is trying her out tomorrow night, so I hopped on to make sure she hasn't forgotten how to work ;) She did great. We did w/t/c both directions, and I set up a zigzag pole rollback exercise. We walked and trotted over it (our arena's too tight to expect her to canter it), but then as we were cantering, I'd change directions across one pole and ask for a flying change. The first time I didn't set her up right, but then we got two in a row! Impressive considering we never worked on flying changes...
Thursday 3/5
Finally rode tonight. I had a very good ride! We did a lot of cantering over a low cavaletto, a 2' ish vertical, and then a 2'3 ish narrow fence with bright yellow and red planks. Pandora was just lovely. I am REALLY getting somewhere now that I sit up and carry my hands all the way to the base of the fence - she holds a steady pace, I can half halt, her shoulders are higher, everything's good.
She still will not land on the left lead. I got her to do it once, by really asking hard. I have a call in to the chiropractor, but in the mean time I will just keep doing lots of bending and stretching as I ride. She picks up the lead fine and canters well (not as well as to the right), so it's not drastic, but still.
Friday 3/6
Christy lesson. Pandora did pretty well. I spent most of the lesson focusing on McKinna - the girl rode her tonight and they looked fantastic together! I'm excited.
Anyway - my ride was okay. She is doing very nicely at the canter. I have to work hard still to hold it together, but it's a huge amount better than when we first started. Her transitions to the right are turning into a thing of beauty! Light, fluffy, balanced, everything a canter transition should be.
The jumping just wasn't my favorite. She goes better when I ride better, of course. She had a very brief meltdown about a car driving past outside [in the dark], and I was pleased that she came back to me and began focusing after only a few minutes of acting silly. Still, the jumping just wasn't as good as I'd like it to be. I guess we just weren't 'on' tonight. We got some nice fences and some not-as-nice fences. I feel like she would do better if the jumps were just a little higher, but I'm also uncomfortable suggesting that because there's a pretty big ideal that 'if you aren't doing well over lower things, don't move them up.' I believe in this - I do, I do. It's just, she really DOES tend to do better over bigger things!
Still, before I say something, I need to do more homework over high and low fences. We will see how next week goes.
Saturday 3/7
Free-longed. I was very tired from last night. I will set up a short grid tomorrow to ride through.
Sunday 3/8
Set up a simple grid - just 4 trot poles 4'6" apart, then 9' to a low X. I figure I will slowly build up the complexity of our grids, since she seems to get anxious when she encounters them. She was lovely through it. Just a short ride, but it was productive, and we both enjoy rides like that sometimes where we don't spend a long time working on our issues but correct a few things and call it good.
Still doesn't want to land on the left lead unless I exaggerate the cue ridiculously. We will keep playing with this, but hopefully it goes away when the chiro visits!
Week 2 Outline
Monday 3/9
Flatwork schooling. Toss the dressage saddle on, grab the dressage whip, and work hard! We will practice leg-yield, correct shoulder-in (need to make sure Mom can be eyes-on-the-ground and maybe do some filming), and we will reeeeeeeeally practice our transitions.
I also need to regain a bit of the sharpness of my half-halts.
Tuesday 3/10
Jump some single fences. I will set up a low, wide oxer and a single, taller vertical. I'll do regular w/t/c schooling, focusing on getting that left bend without leaning over the left shoulder, and sprinkle jumps in here and there.
Wednesday 3/11
Night off - free longe and lots of love!
Thursday 3/12
Set up a simple grid. 3 trot poles 4'6 apart, 9 feet to a biggish Swedish oxer.
Friday 3/13
Jumping lesson.
Saturday 3/14
Day off.
Sunday 3/15
Light flatwork school.
Thursday, March 5, 2009
February Week 4 and Review
I haven't kept up with this at all lately - but if I don't jump straight back in, I'll never get back on track!
Clinic Overview 2/21
I had a great clinic. She really focused on my position and FINALLY fixed my biggest position flaw: my lower legs were always too far forward. She helped me figure out how to fix that without messing up the rest of my position. It's really painful to maintain right now, but I'm sure that will get easier as I build up the right muscles!
Pandora did really well. She certainly moves out a lot more when I ride like that - I need to make sure not to stifle her "free forward movement," as I tend to want to half-halt more than is necessary and the clinician told me to watch that I don't slow her down too much. Her jumping was nice. Clinician reinforced that I should let Pandora make her own mistakes so she learns from them, especially turning after fences if she is unbalanced to force her to get herself organized. Also watch out for diving on the takeoff side of tight fences - only did it on one fence but still a big flaw.
Monday 2/23
Had a good ride. A really solid workout - for me, more than her! Maintaining the new (correct) leg position is hard. But we'll get there. Now that I know what the Correct Place For My Leg is, I can do stirrupless riding that is actually constructive.
We keep running again and again into issues with left flexion. I am pretty sure that it's not all in my head, or at least I hope not! It seems like she's unwilling to soften her jaw to the inside and relax her neck, so perhaps it's time to have some body work done again. This is a consistent problem I have been running into, and I need to be careful not to get into fights with Pandora about it. I can't just keep insisting that she bend, because she just stiffens more and gets upset.
It seems to help when I bring her back to a halt and ask her to flex a little, then do flexions at the walk (big circle, ask her to really bend on a small circle, then back out to the big circle) but I just can't get her to do it at the trot.
I have also noticed that she tends to favor her right lead over her left, so I'm definitely thinking we've got a body issue here. I will continue to work on asking her to soften so that we hopefully get it worked out through schooling, but I'd still like to have her worked on before the show jumping rally in late March.
Tuesday 2/24
Had a pretty good ride tonight. We kept it short, because another girl was going to have a lesson this evening. I carried the dressage whip because we've been having quite a bit of flexion issues lately, as I mentioned. It definitely improved things, but not all the way.
In any case, we got some very nice relaxed canter work on a large circle. I need to sharpen those transitions though - and make sure I'm asking right, because sometimes I forget to really keep her bent around that inside leg, and she hollows out and bends to the outside and rushes the transition.
I am still working on that damned leg position change. It hurts!
Wednesday 2/25
Don't remember...I think I took the night off.
Thursday 2/26
Free jumping. I set up a chute - a simple crossrail, one stride to a vertical. She was NOT a big fan of it at first, very nervous, but settled down after quite awhile. I think it would help to have my mom there to help me line her up and set up/rearrange the chute, as well.
Our final height on the vertical was 3'3". She looked pretty good :-) Next time I think I will set up a two-stride to an oxer. Maybe I will make it two X's set at bounce distance, then 2 strides to the oxer, but I'm not sure if the bounce will rob her of the momentum she'll need to get to a big fat oxer. We'll see - I'll probably just do the one X to start with. Simple is better!
Friday 2/27
Went to a lesson at Poseidon. Pandora was great! Christy said she could really notice a difference in terms of Pandora's muscling and ability to carry herself. We worked on asking her to really move forward without falling down on her nose, and got some super nice trot work. The canter is coming along splendidly. We did some nice jumping around a course - and once, after cantering to a panel jump around a short corner, Pandora got a wee bit excited and really powered over it. I wanted her to remember that I get to call the shots, so I directed her into a pretty sharp circle right after the fence to remind her that she can't just build up steam and roar forward - she did a lovely flying change into the circle :-) Nice and balanced and clean. Woohoo!
I REALLY learned that I need to wait for the fences. I tend to see (or not see) a distance, get a little nervous, and lean forward or drop the reins too soon. When Christy pointed that out, I made it a point to just sit and let the fence come to me. It worked nicely, and my distances turned out a lot better.
Saturday 2/28
Quiz rally!
Sunday 3/1
Dressage lesson at Poseidon. Pandora did fantastically here, too. She was nice and mellow, and when we did a little quadrille, the 'everyone canter on a circle' movement was great! I love that her canter is balanced enough now that we can ride on a circle without running everyone over.
So, here was the February goal: Be going smoothly through grids, jumping single fences easily at 2'9", and developing a steady canter.
Wellll....not so much. February was a pretty hectic month, as I'm sure you could tell by my lack of progress reports. Part of the problem is that we're working so hard on putting together smooth, steady fences that my instructors don't usually bump up the height. It's a bit of a paradox. I understand she should be going well over small fences before we bump it up, but she really does better over fences that are 2' to 2'3" in height at the absolute minimum. She's totally fine with crossrails, but they don't make her think at all, and she gets lazy and bored I think.
Anyway.
We have not practiced any grid jumping. Shock, horror. I am going to make this a priority next month, as grids will really help her figure things out for herself. As well as push the height.
We have not jumped single fences at 2'9" (exception: schooling show at the VERY beginning of the month). This I'm not too concerned about, because I know she can jump them - but, jumping single fences is very good practice, especially trotting them. It's not hard to set up a single fence that I jump occasionally while schooling flatwork (as long as I'm flatting in my jumping saddle!), so this will be easy to do next month.
We have been developing a steady canter. The more I carry my hands, the less she leans down on me while jumping, and the easier it is for me to keep her from revving up her engine too much as we approach a fence. So, we can consider one goal successful!
March goal: Continue working on our jumping skills, but don't neglect the flatwork. I will go to three jumping lessons at Poseidon, a rally prep lesson which will involve jumping, and finally the Show Jumping rally the last weekend in March (what a perfect way to check my progress!).
I will be focusing on some flatwork aspects as they apply to jumping: smooth balanced turns, rating and adjustability at all three gaits, obedience to the leg.
Since I did not complete my gridwork and single fence goals last month, I will make it a priority to set up a grid at least once a week, and jump single fences at least once a week as well.
By the end of March, I want to be coursing smoothly over 2'6 with a calm, smooth, and balanced w/t/c. We should be able to significantly control our rating at all 3 gaits. I want to set up a 5-stride line and be able to alternate between getting 4, 5, and 6 strides nicely.
I am very interested to see how Pandora does at the Show Jumping rally, which is in Washington. We are entered in the 2' to 2'3 division, which means that I won't have to worry about height at all - just about remembering my course! I am curious to see how she responds to a totally new environment. From my limited travel with her, she's given every indication that she can be nervous in new environments but she doesn't lose her head. Most importantly, she has never offered to stop or even look at a new, scary fence. If she again does not offer to stop or peek at the SJ rally, then I will be very happy!
Clinic Overview 2/21
I had a great clinic. She really focused on my position and FINALLY fixed my biggest position flaw: my lower legs were always too far forward. She helped me figure out how to fix that without messing up the rest of my position. It's really painful to maintain right now, but I'm sure that will get easier as I build up the right muscles!
Pandora did really well. She certainly moves out a lot more when I ride like that - I need to make sure not to stifle her "free forward movement," as I tend to want to half-halt more than is necessary and the clinician told me to watch that I don't slow her down too much. Her jumping was nice. Clinician reinforced that I should let Pandora make her own mistakes so she learns from them, especially turning after fences if she is unbalanced to force her to get herself organized. Also watch out for diving on the takeoff side of tight fences - only did it on one fence but still a big flaw.
Monday 2/23
Had a good ride. A really solid workout - for me, more than her! Maintaining the new (correct) leg position is hard. But we'll get there. Now that I know what the Correct Place For My Leg is, I can do stirrupless riding that is actually constructive.
We keep running again and again into issues with left flexion. I am pretty sure that it's not all in my head, or at least I hope not! It seems like she's unwilling to soften her jaw to the inside and relax her neck, so perhaps it's time to have some body work done again. This is a consistent problem I have been running into, and I need to be careful not to get into fights with Pandora about it. I can't just keep insisting that she bend, because she just stiffens more and gets upset.
It seems to help when I bring her back to a halt and ask her to flex a little, then do flexions at the walk (big circle, ask her to really bend on a small circle, then back out to the big circle) but I just can't get her to do it at the trot.
I have also noticed that she tends to favor her right lead over her left, so I'm definitely thinking we've got a body issue here. I will continue to work on asking her to soften so that we hopefully get it worked out through schooling, but I'd still like to have her worked on before the show jumping rally in late March.
Tuesday 2/24
Had a pretty good ride tonight. We kept it short, because another girl was going to have a lesson this evening. I carried the dressage whip because we've been having quite a bit of flexion issues lately, as I mentioned. It definitely improved things, but not all the way.
In any case, we got some very nice relaxed canter work on a large circle. I need to sharpen those transitions though - and make sure I'm asking right, because sometimes I forget to really keep her bent around that inside leg, and she hollows out and bends to the outside and rushes the transition.
I am still working on that damned leg position change. It hurts!
Wednesday 2/25
Don't remember...I think I took the night off.
Thursday 2/26
Free jumping. I set up a chute - a simple crossrail, one stride to a vertical. She was NOT a big fan of it at first, very nervous, but settled down after quite awhile. I think it would help to have my mom there to help me line her up and set up/rearrange the chute, as well.
Our final height on the vertical was 3'3". She looked pretty good :-) Next time I think I will set up a two-stride to an oxer. Maybe I will make it two X's set at bounce distance, then 2 strides to the oxer, but I'm not sure if the bounce will rob her of the momentum she'll need to get to a big fat oxer. We'll see - I'll probably just do the one X to start with. Simple is better!
Friday 2/27
Went to a lesson at Poseidon. Pandora was great! Christy said she could really notice a difference in terms of Pandora's muscling and ability to carry herself. We worked on asking her to really move forward without falling down on her nose, and got some super nice trot work. The canter is coming along splendidly. We did some nice jumping around a course - and once, after cantering to a panel jump around a short corner, Pandora got a wee bit excited and really powered over it. I wanted her to remember that I get to call the shots, so I directed her into a pretty sharp circle right after the fence to remind her that she can't just build up steam and roar forward - she did a lovely flying change into the circle :-) Nice and balanced and clean. Woohoo!
I REALLY learned that I need to wait for the fences. I tend to see (or not see) a distance, get a little nervous, and lean forward or drop the reins too soon. When Christy pointed that out, I made it a point to just sit and let the fence come to me. It worked nicely, and my distances turned out a lot better.
Saturday 2/28
Quiz rally!
Sunday 3/1
Dressage lesson at Poseidon. Pandora did fantastically here, too. She was nice and mellow, and when we did a little quadrille, the 'everyone canter on a circle' movement was great! I love that her canter is balanced enough now that we can ride on a circle without running everyone over.
So, here was the February goal: Be going smoothly through grids, jumping single fences easily at 2'9", and developing a steady canter.
Wellll....not so much. February was a pretty hectic month, as I'm sure you could tell by my lack of progress reports. Part of the problem is that we're working so hard on putting together smooth, steady fences that my instructors don't usually bump up the height. It's a bit of a paradox. I understand she should be going well over small fences before we bump it up, but she really does better over fences that are 2' to 2'3" in height at the absolute minimum. She's totally fine with crossrails, but they don't make her think at all, and she gets lazy and bored I think.
Anyway.
We have not practiced any grid jumping. Shock, horror. I am going to make this a priority next month, as grids will really help her figure things out for herself. As well as push the height.
We have not jumped single fences at 2'9" (exception: schooling show at the VERY beginning of the month). This I'm not too concerned about, because I know she can jump them - but, jumping single fences is very good practice, especially trotting them. It's not hard to set up a single fence that I jump occasionally while schooling flatwork (as long as I'm flatting in my jumping saddle!), so this will be easy to do next month.
We have been developing a steady canter. The more I carry my hands, the less she leans down on me while jumping, and the easier it is for me to keep her from revving up her engine too much as we approach a fence. So, we can consider one goal successful!
March goal: Continue working on our jumping skills, but don't neglect the flatwork. I will go to three jumping lessons at Poseidon, a rally prep lesson which will involve jumping, and finally the Show Jumping rally the last weekend in March (what a perfect way to check my progress!).
I will be focusing on some flatwork aspects as they apply to jumping: smooth balanced turns, rating and adjustability at all three gaits, obedience to the leg.
Since I did not complete my gridwork and single fence goals last month, I will make it a priority to set up a grid at least once a week, and jump single fences at least once a week as well.
By the end of March, I want to be coursing smoothly over 2'6 with a calm, smooth, and balanced w/t/c. We should be able to significantly control our rating at all 3 gaits. I want to set up a 5-stride line and be able to alternate between getting 4, 5, and 6 strides nicely.
I am very interested to see how Pandora does at the Show Jumping rally, which is in Washington. We are entered in the 2' to 2'3 division, which means that I won't have to worry about height at all - just about remembering my course! I am curious to see how she responds to a totally new environment. From my limited travel with her, she's given every indication that she can be nervous in new environments but she doesn't lose her head. Most importantly, she has never offered to stop or even look at a new, scary fence. If she again does not offer to stop or peek at the SJ rally, then I will be very happy!
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
January Review
Haven't been keeping up with this - I'll try to go sort out the backlog and remember when I rode.
Here was the January goal: Develop a steady and relaxed w/t/c with some degree of push from behind. Also establish and maintain smooth bend, shoulder-in, and correct leg yields.
First part: success! We have a steady and relaxed w/t/c. We occasionally get glimpses of that coveted hind-end push, but most importantly we are coming up off the forehand.
I haven't spent much time on lateral work, but she does maintain smooth bend. I need a pair of eyes on the ground to check my leg-yield and shoulder-in, so maybe I should check that this month.
February: Jumping month - we're really working on getting ready for the Show Jumping Rally at the end of March. We're halfway through the month and she's doing very well! Schooling at home, she finds her distances very nicely and canters fences easily. She seems to know her leads - but I need to spend more time making sure I prepare her correctly and ask her for them over the fence. We went to a jumping schooling show, and she was fantastic in the 2'3" jumper courses. Cantered the whole thing, did not even think about looking at the fences. Awesome.
Need to set up some grids to work on at home this month.
We are going to a clinic and rating assessment this Saturday which will help with analyzing our jumping strengths and weaknesses.
I can't find where I set exactly where I want to be at the end of February, so I'll update this post with that specific goal when I find it. I think I wanted to be coursing 2'9 smoothly.
This is all for now. Will do my best to get back on track with a regular riding log.
Here was the January goal: Develop a steady and relaxed w/t/c with some degree of push from behind. Also establish and maintain smooth bend, shoulder-in, and correct leg yields.
First part: success! We have a steady and relaxed w/t/c. We occasionally get glimpses of that coveted hind-end push, but most importantly we are coming up off the forehand.
I haven't spent much time on lateral work, but she does maintain smooth bend. I need a pair of eyes on the ground to check my leg-yield and shoulder-in, so maybe I should check that this month.
February: Jumping month - we're really working on getting ready for the Show Jumping Rally at the end of March. We're halfway through the month and she's doing very well! Schooling at home, she finds her distances very nicely and canters fences easily. She seems to know her leads - but I need to spend more time making sure I prepare her correctly and ask her for them over the fence. We went to a jumping schooling show, and she was fantastic in the 2'3" jumper courses. Cantered the whole thing, did not even think about looking at the fences. Awesome.
Need to set up some grids to work on at home this month.
We are going to a clinic and rating assessment this Saturday which will help with analyzing our jumping strengths and weaknesses.
I can't find where I set exactly where I want to be at the end of February, so I'll update this post with that specific goal when I find it. I think I wanted to be coursing 2'9 smoothly.
This is all for now. Will do my best to get back on track with a regular riding log.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
January Week 4 Review and February Plans
1/19/09
I meant to school today, but it was so nice outside that I wanted to ride out around the roads -- so, we compromised. After convincing Pandora to at least do a little arena work,we hit the trails, if by trails you mean roads (and I do). The arena work was okay. Nothing spectacular, she was feeling really forward and didn't want to slow down much, but we got some nice shoulder-fore done.
She did not want to do shoulder-fore to the right. Need to make sure she's bending okay that direction since it is her stiffer way.
Riding outside was lovely, though it got super cold before long and my hands were totally numb by the end of the hour-long ride. It's a nice big loop, the roads are well-paved but pretty quiet (without many blind curves, which is nice!), and it's a fantastic mental exercise for the horses. Walking past unfamiliar houses, dogs, people, flapping flags, etc was certainly a mental workout for Pandora. She behaved herself well - several in-place spooks (you know, where all of a sudden the saddle drops two inches but nothing else changes). We spent a lot of time riding next to the road where there's nice grassy areas, and got a lot of practice going over ditches that way. She tends to want to leap, I'm sure she'll be great on XC!
1/20/09
Our arena schooling session tonight definitely made up for our lack of one last night. I rode for almost an hour. We practiced lots of shoulder-fore (less stiff to the right tonight, but still a little more resistant to bend this way), and I got some really nice work for her. I'd like to have my mom take some video from directly in front and behind so I can get a visual on what we're doing.
Canter work was a little rough. For whatever reason, I have a super hard time finding a good seat in that dressage saddle - I really need to try a little riser pad in the back, I think it's just a little bit off.
But still, we got some very nice work done. Lots of nice walk/trot transitions. She is really getting good at those.
1/21/09
I almost rode tonight, despite it being a day off...but then I didn't. ;-) They were outside today, so I don't feel too guilty.
I meant to school today, but it was so nice outside that I wanted to ride out around the roads -- so, we compromised. After convincing Pandora to at least do a little arena work,we hit the trails, if by trails you mean roads (and I do). The arena work was okay. Nothing spectacular, she was feeling really forward and didn't want to slow down much, but we got some nice shoulder-fore done.
She did not want to do shoulder-fore to the right. Need to make sure she's bending okay that direction since it is her stiffer way.
Riding outside was lovely, though it got super cold before long and my hands were totally numb by the end of the hour-long ride. It's a nice big loop, the roads are well-paved but pretty quiet (without many blind curves, which is nice!), and it's a fantastic mental exercise for the horses. Walking past unfamiliar houses, dogs, people, flapping flags, etc was certainly a mental workout for Pandora. She behaved herself well - several in-place spooks (you know, where all of a sudden the saddle drops two inches but nothing else changes). We spent a lot of time riding next to the road where there's nice grassy areas, and got a lot of practice going over ditches that way. She tends to want to leap, I'm sure she'll be great on XC!
1/20/09
Our arena schooling session tonight definitely made up for our lack of one last night. I rode for almost an hour. We practiced lots of shoulder-fore (less stiff to the right tonight, but still a little more resistant to bend this way), and I got some really nice work for her. I'd like to have my mom take some video from directly in front and behind so I can get a visual on what we're doing.
Canter work was a little rough. For whatever reason, I have a super hard time finding a good seat in that dressage saddle - I really need to try a little riser pad in the back, I think it's just a little bit off.
But still, we got some very nice work done. Lots of nice walk/trot transitions. She is really getting good at those.
1/21/09
I almost rode tonight, despite it being a day off...but then I didn't. ;-) They were outside today, so I don't feel too guilty.
Sunday, January 18, 2009
January Week 3 Review and Week 4 Outline
1/12/09
Day off!
1/13/09
I had an okay ride. I've been working hard on getting her to transition down off of my seat and legs more than my hands, since she tends to get anxious and tuck when I get in her face. Still, it wasn't the most productive overall. Towards the end, she wanted to rush and was just getting anxious, and I was a bit distracted. A solid workout but nothing spectacular.
1/14/09
Tonight was fun! There were seven people in the arena. It seems crowded sometimes when there's four! So we had a nice and relaxed ride, just walking, trotting, and cantering around with the other horses. Pandora was nice and mellow, and we got some good canter work in.
1/15/09
Tonight was a really, really good ride. I decided to try switching her back to the metal eggbutt lozenge bit I'd had her in at first. She was definitely quieter in it - going to keep it for awhile. She still slobbers some (which is nice!) and gets a nice "lipstick" foam going on, but she's not drooling all over the place from so much mouthing on the bit.
I just worked on a lot of transitions. She's REALLY understanding downward transitions off my seat and legs now - I just sit up, close my thighs and calves, stop my back, and close my fingers, and she transitions nicely. We're still working on remaining off the forehand when we do this, but it's definitely coming along.
She's also settled quite a bit about her canter transitions. In the lesson on the 7th, she got very anxious about all the canter departs. This time, I made sure to sit up (NOT duck forward), and just quietly ask. She was slow to transition the first several times, wanting to move into a rushing trot before picking it up, but before long she was prompt and compliant with the transitions. She remained calm the whole time.
We definitely have some work to do on our canter-trot transitions! I have to be so careful to keep her going at the canter (if I relax too much she instantly breaks) that when I ask her to transition down, she just THROWS herself forward into the trot and onto the forehand. This will improve with time, but it's definitely a weak spot.
16 - 18, I was at a PC retreat and I learned so much. I got some great ideas for exercises to do with her, too. I'll write a post about it over on my other blog soon.
Okay! The week didn't start off that spectacularly, but I got a really good ride in on Thursday and was very pleased with the progress we've made. The mares have been able to go out several times this week, which makes me utterly pleased and less stressed that she just got three days off. My mom did longe her for me, though.
In any case, this week should be a good one. I'm going to be working hard over the next couple months to prepare for the PC Show Jumping Rally in March. After jumping 2'9 in the clinic last week (!!!), I'm excited to see what the future brings!
Monday 1/19/09
Ride. I'm going to try an exercise we learned at the ABC retreat this weekend to help straighten your horse. You ride (assuming tracking right) shoulder-fore right for 1/4 the arena, shoulder-fore left for 1/4, then repeat. Shoulder-fore is like a pintsize shoulder-in (which is traveling on three tracks, shoulders set to the inside - the three tracks are inside fore, then outside fore/inside hind line up, then outside hind). You just shift the shoulders ever so slightly to the inside, and then the outside, and so on. This helps get control of the shoulders laterally so you can straighten, since most horses travel naturally with their haunches to the inside.
Tuesday 1/20/09
Ride again! Work on my position this time, using another exercise we learned (it is apparently from Sally Swift's Centered Riding, which I plan to get soon). At the trot you sit for 8, post for 8, 2-point for 8, post for 8, sit for 8, etc. When done properly, the horse should not change at all when you change your position. Once you master 8, you go to 4, then 2, then 1! This goes for all 3 gaits; you simply use a half-seat instead of posting for walk and canter.
Wednesday 1/21/09
Day off. Free longe the horses around the arena.
Thursday 1/22/09
Longe and ride. I will set up some cavaletti to longe over, probably just trot poles, and then leave them up while I ride. Spend lots of time switching between 2-point and sitting today, work on transitions.
Friday 1/23/09
Ride. I think I will go to a PC lesson this week. The Pony Club show is next week, so it might be a good idea to get some instruction. Since this will be the first Christy lesson since I discovered at the clinic that the mare can actually jump (and oh goodness she tucked her knees up and rounded her back!), I'm curious to see what she'll have us do. It will be nice to find out how well Pandora goes around a course, you know? She seems to know her leads well - I have not been asking her for them over fences, but then again I've only just started going over things that aren't X-rails. I don't feel she's balanced enough for flying changes, but simple changes should be fine.
Saturday 1/24/09
Light ride. Chew over what I learned at the lesson, stretch out the muscles we worked yesterday, switch ourselves from H/J to a dressage frame of mind (which means transitions, transitions, transitions, and probably more shoulder-fore work).
Sunday 1/25/09
Dressage lesson with Melinda. The lesson with her was I think the first lesson I took Pandora to. It was before we'd made some good progress, so I'm eager to find out what she thinks of the changes we've made. I am sure she will have plenty more for us to work on! I feel that I'm a lot more focused now - I've really established my goals and am consciously finding exercises to help me get to them. I've got a much clearer picture in my head of what I want and what I'm doing to get there.
Day off!
1/13/09
I had an okay ride. I've been working hard on getting her to transition down off of my seat and legs more than my hands, since she tends to get anxious and tuck when I get in her face. Still, it wasn't the most productive overall. Towards the end, she wanted to rush and was just getting anxious, and I was a bit distracted. A solid workout but nothing spectacular.
1/14/09
Tonight was fun! There were seven people in the arena. It seems crowded sometimes when there's four! So we had a nice and relaxed ride, just walking, trotting, and cantering around with the other horses. Pandora was nice and mellow, and we got some good canter work in.
1/15/09
Tonight was a really, really good ride. I decided to try switching her back to the metal eggbutt lozenge bit I'd had her in at first. She was definitely quieter in it - going to keep it for awhile. She still slobbers some (which is nice!) and gets a nice "lipstick" foam going on, but she's not drooling all over the place from so much mouthing on the bit.
I just worked on a lot of transitions. She's REALLY understanding downward transitions off my seat and legs now - I just sit up, close my thighs and calves, stop my back, and close my fingers, and she transitions nicely. We're still working on remaining off the forehand when we do this, but it's definitely coming along.
She's also settled quite a bit about her canter transitions. In the lesson on the 7th, she got very anxious about all the canter departs. This time, I made sure to sit up (NOT duck forward), and just quietly ask. She was slow to transition the first several times, wanting to move into a rushing trot before picking it up, but before long she was prompt and compliant with the transitions. She remained calm the whole time.
We definitely have some work to do on our canter-trot transitions! I have to be so careful to keep her going at the canter (if I relax too much she instantly breaks) that when I ask her to transition down, she just THROWS herself forward into the trot and onto the forehand. This will improve with time, but it's definitely a weak spot.
16 - 18, I was at a PC retreat and I learned so much. I got some great ideas for exercises to do with her, too. I'll write a post about it over on my other blog soon.
Okay! The week didn't start off that spectacularly, but I got a really good ride in on Thursday and was very pleased with the progress we've made. The mares have been able to go out several times this week, which makes me utterly pleased and less stressed that she just got three days off. My mom did longe her for me, though.
In any case, this week should be a good one. I'm going to be working hard over the next couple months to prepare for the PC Show Jumping Rally in March. After jumping 2'9 in the clinic last week (!!!), I'm excited to see what the future brings!
Monday 1/19/09
Ride. I'm going to try an exercise we learned at the ABC retreat this weekend to help straighten your horse. You ride (assuming tracking right) shoulder-fore right for 1/4 the arena, shoulder-fore left for 1/4, then repeat. Shoulder-fore is like a pintsize shoulder-in (which is traveling on three tracks, shoulders set to the inside - the three tracks are inside fore, then outside fore/inside hind line up, then outside hind). You just shift the shoulders ever so slightly to the inside, and then the outside, and so on. This helps get control of the shoulders laterally so you can straighten, since most horses travel naturally with their haunches to the inside.
Tuesday 1/20/09
Ride again! Work on my position this time, using another exercise we learned (it is apparently from Sally Swift's Centered Riding, which I plan to get soon). At the trot you sit for 8, post for 8, 2-point for 8, post for 8, sit for 8, etc. When done properly, the horse should not change at all when you change your position. Once you master 8, you go to 4, then 2, then 1! This goes for all 3 gaits; you simply use a half-seat instead of posting for walk and canter.
Wednesday 1/21/09
Day off. Free longe the horses around the arena.
Thursday 1/22/09
Longe and ride. I will set up some cavaletti to longe over, probably just trot poles, and then leave them up while I ride. Spend lots of time switching between 2-point and sitting today, work on transitions.
Friday 1/23/09
Ride. I think I will go to a PC lesson this week. The Pony Club show is next week, so it might be a good idea to get some instruction. Since this will be the first Christy lesson since I discovered at the clinic that the mare can actually jump (and oh goodness she tucked her knees up and rounded her back!), I'm curious to see what she'll have us do. It will be nice to find out how well Pandora goes around a course, you know? She seems to know her leads well - I have not been asking her for them over fences, but then again I've only just started going over things that aren't X-rails. I don't feel she's balanced enough for flying changes, but simple changes should be fine.
Saturday 1/24/09
Light ride. Chew over what I learned at the lesson, stretch out the muscles we worked yesterday, switch ourselves from H/J to a dressage frame of mind (which means transitions, transitions, transitions, and probably more shoulder-fore work).
Sunday 1/25/09
Dressage lesson with Melinda. The lesson with her was I think the first lesson I took Pandora to. It was before we'd made some good progress, so I'm eager to find out what she thinks of the changes we've made. I am sure she will have plenty more for us to work on! I feel that I'm a lot more focused now - I've really established my goals and am consciously finding exercises to help me get to them. I've got a much clearer picture in my head of what I want and what I'm doing to get there.
Monday, January 5, 2009
January Week 2 Review and Week 3 Outline
1/5/09
The arena was in use so I longed her on the line instead of letting her run loose. She was good - the dragon peeked its head out a few times when she wanted to dig in and run, but she certainly didn't go bonkers. Had her hop over some cavaletti a few times. Smooth and easy, though I did have to convince her that yes, she really did have to go over them (they weren't exactly set up for longeing so it took some careful aiming).
I want winter to be over so my ponies can get some turnout!!
1/6/09
Had a decent ride tonight. One of those sessions where I can tell we're still doing constructive work, and we're slowly but surely working towards our goal...there were just no 'lightbulb' moments. Still, it was a solid ride, and we're making progress.
1/7/09
Lesson night. Pandora did pretty well. Lots of transitions to help keep her up off the forehand. When she had us do a lot of trot-canter transitions in a row, Pandora got really anxious - it was too much for her to handle at that time, and was making her more upset than it was worth. After I called a stop to that and we did some quiet work, she came back to me mentally. However, I really see the value of transition work in keeping her moving forward from her hind end, so I'll experiment with this.
We then spent awhile over trot poles, low X-rails, and a cavaletto. Pandora was fine, wanted to rush through the trot poles a little. Picks up her leads beautifully over the cavaletto, no matter which way we come in or turn out. When I wait for her and keep my shoulders up and back, she's great.
1/8/09
Chiro visit. Last time she was lots of 3s and 4s all over - most of that was gone this time, yay! A 3 in her right pelvis - there'd been some rotation but it released pretty quickly. 2's everywhere else - a little shift in the jaw, a little compensation in her neck, hip, and poll. Her only major issue (and it was pretty major - a 4 on his scale) was in her right shoulder. Something was locked up really deep in there, and it took him ages to get her to work it out. He speculated that since it was so deep and hard to release, it was probably a long-term issue that was present at the first visit, just masked by all the other issues.
In any case, she'd held her adjustment very well. The pelvis, shoulder, and slight shift in the jaw were the only returning issues - everything else was minor compensation for those. He was impressed with her condition and noted that her topline looks way better than last time he saw her.
1/9/09
Night off. I'd planned to ride, but I knew I'd ride hard in the clinic on Saturday, so I just let them run in the arena.
1/10/09
AWESOME CLINIC. Full report here.
1/11/09
Day off again - let them run in the arena. Getting tired of no turnout, but you get what you get in the Willamette Valley. Sigh.
This next week it's time for me to apply what I've learned. I've taken so many lessons in the past couple weeks that I'm looking forward to doing some work on my own.
Monday 1/12/09
Day off - I switched to feeding Monday nights.
Tuesday 1/13/09
Ride. Flatwork - work on my position and walk/trot transitions.
Wednesday 1/14/09
Ride. Same as Tuesday - position, transitions, spend some time cantering.
Thursday 1/15/09
Ride. Do some Thursday Torture - spend time in two point, stirrupless riding, and so on.
Friday through Sunday I will be at a Pony Club retreat in Corvallis. They're going over advanced horse management topics for upper-level PCers plus older members. I'm really looking forward to it, but there will be no riding over this time.
The arena was in use so I longed her on the line instead of letting her run loose. She was good - the dragon peeked its head out a few times when she wanted to dig in and run, but she certainly didn't go bonkers. Had her hop over some cavaletti a few times. Smooth and easy, though I did have to convince her that yes, she really did have to go over them (they weren't exactly set up for longeing so it took some careful aiming).
I want winter to be over so my ponies can get some turnout!!
1/6/09
Had a decent ride tonight. One of those sessions where I can tell we're still doing constructive work, and we're slowly but surely working towards our goal...there were just no 'lightbulb' moments. Still, it was a solid ride, and we're making progress.
1/7/09
Lesson night. Pandora did pretty well. Lots of transitions to help keep her up off the forehand. When she had us do a lot of trot-canter transitions in a row, Pandora got really anxious - it was too much for her to handle at that time, and was making her more upset than it was worth. After I called a stop to that and we did some quiet work, she came back to me mentally. However, I really see the value of transition work in keeping her moving forward from her hind end, so I'll experiment with this.
We then spent awhile over trot poles, low X-rails, and a cavaletto. Pandora was fine, wanted to rush through the trot poles a little. Picks up her leads beautifully over the cavaletto, no matter which way we come in or turn out. When I wait for her and keep my shoulders up and back, she's great.
1/8/09
Chiro visit. Last time she was lots of 3s and 4s all over - most of that was gone this time, yay! A 3 in her right pelvis - there'd been some rotation but it released pretty quickly. 2's everywhere else - a little shift in the jaw, a little compensation in her neck, hip, and poll. Her only major issue (and it was pretty major - a 4 on his scale) was in her right shoulder. Something was locked up really deep in there, and it took him ages to get her to work it out. He speculated that since it was so deep and hard to release, it was probably a long-term issue that was present at the first visit, just masked by all the other issues.
In any case, she'd held her adjustment very well. The pelvis, shoulder, and slight shift in the jaw were the only returning issues - everything else was minor compensation for those. He was impressed with her condition and noted that her topline looks way better than last time he saw her.
1/9/09
Night off. I'd planned to ride, but I knew I'd ride hard in the clinic on Saturday, so I just let them run in the arena.
1/10/09
AWESOME CLINIC. Full report here.
1/11/09
Day off again - let them run in the arena. Getting tired of no turnout, but you get what you get in the Willamette Valley. Sigh.
This next week it's time for me to apply what I've learned. I've taken so many lessons in the past couple weeks that I'm looking forward to doing some work on my own.
Monday 1/12/09
Day off - I switched to feeding Monday nights.
Tuesday 1/13/09
Ride. Flatwork - work on my position and walk/trot transitions.
Wednesday 1/14/09
Ride. Same as Tuesday - position, transitions, spend some time cantering.
Thursday 1/15/09
Ride. Do some Thursday Torture - spend time in two point, stirrupless riding, and so on.
Friday through Sunday I will be at a Pony Club retreat in Corvallis. They're going over advanced horse management topics for upper-level PCers plus older members. I'm really looking forward to it, but there will be no riding over this time.
Thursday, January 1, 2009
January Week 1 Review and Week 2 Outline
12/31/08(!)
Rode for 30 minutes. Focused on what I learned in the dressage lesson - keep the outside rein firm, sit up, keep the forward but lose the on-the-forehand. In all it went very well, got some really nice trot work and the canter is getting better. Some clumsy steps behind, but she's due for a farrier appointment tomorrow so that may be part of it. 30 minutes riding time total, each of us broke a nice sweat. Good ride.
1/1/09(!!!)
If everything in 2009 goes the way this ride did, things will be swell! We clicked really well tonight. I think she knows more than I've assumed (the whole time I've treated her as a mostly green horse), and now that I'm asking her for it, she's delivering. Much less leaning-on-the-forehand tonight, and here and there we got some steps where she was really pushing from behind. She gave me one beautiful canter depart, which is a Pretty Big Deal since previously her canter departs have been pretty rough. A much smoother canter today too, easier to ride, probably cause she's not pounding around on her forehand as badly. Again 30 minutes, nice light sweat, just a good solid ride. She felt really "together" tonight - we were just in sync. Moved off my legs nicely too. I'm excited for the lesson tomorrow!
1/2/09
Good lesson! We had an unmounted session beforehand focusing on conformation and how it affects movement. Quite enlightening, especially since we did some switch riding to find out how other horses moved and if our conformational predictions were correct. Interesting note - horses with training or condition issues didn't always move true to their conformation, i.e., Pandora tends to travel very heavily on her forehand even though her conformation doesn't necessarily predispose her to it, because she wants to snatch at the bit. The horses who have been consistently trained under the same rider and are in good condition tend to move exactly like their conformation suggests - interesting.
Pandora did quite well. A little anxious during the switch ride, but she still behaved, and gave her some nice lateral work. Take-home message: since she knows leg-yield and shoulder-in very well, use them to help her stay off the forehand. Need to half-halt with the seat more and the hands less to help her balance and stay. off. the. forehand.
Hopped around a small course of X's twice. She's calm and steady, locks on to the fences and doesn't hesitate. She'll be very fun to jump. I'm trying to get used to the feel of her still, and it was hard to keep her off her forehand, so there was some diving involved on the back side of the jump. Prescription: canter cavaletti/bounces and fences with landing poles.
Overall a great lesson, I was pleased with her and came home with some new ideas.
1/3/09
Lesson again, flat. I'll give you one guess as to what we worked on....staying off the forehand! We really got into it and I have a much better understanding of what to do now. She had me slow down Pandora's trot - get Pandora balanced and carrying herself first, then add some leg. A few times I was able to get some strides of light, springy trot after adding leg to a balanced trot, so I know we're getting there.
Stop worrying about contact/on the bit - don't let her tuck behind the vertical or dive down, but other than that, focus on self-carriage. LOTS of half-halts with the seat to ask her to not lean on the bit, then relax and allow her to push forward once we're there. Sort of like riding a teeter totter: slow with the half-halt till we're balanced, then move forward, then rebalance, then add leg...
She wanted to ignore my half halts and hands toward the end of the lesson, but it was an hour-long lesson and she'd been ridden four days in a row, so I think she was ready for a mental break! We made some good progress though, and I know what to work on. Ellen says that if we work on those half-halts and balance for a week or so, we should get to where we can add some leg and keep the balance in a bigger trot.
1/4/09
Finally, a break for the ponies. They got to go out in the round pen for about an hour while we mucked. Sadly, this is the extent of turnout lately - don't get me started. I hate winter. I love that she can behave while cooped up in a stall all the time, yes...but now that she's proven it, can we have turnout? Just a little?
Unfortunately the fields would be utter chaos if that were to happen while it's this wet. We just have to survive a couple more months, then they'll get to start going out again.
She'll get tomorrow off too, just some light longeing - Mondays are a long school day for me, and classes start again tomorrow. Woe.
This week will be much of the same: work on staying off the forehand, get a couple lessons, keep on truckin'.
Monday 1/5/09
Day off again. Free longe the ponies, let them spend as much time loose in the arena as possible.
Tuesday 1/6/09
Ride. Work on half-halts with the seat, staying in balance, neither tucking nor diving. Figure-8s are helpful!
Wednesday 1/7/09
Robin comes to give a group lesson at the barn. Not sure what she'll have us work on - probably lots of flatwork with a little jumping. I'll let her know what we're working on and hopefully we can just get some guided insight to more of the same.
Thursday 1/8/09
Longe and ride. I'll probably do some longeing over canter ground poles to help her with rocking back and forth, as was suggested to me in the Friday lesson. Then I'll ride doing much of the same: off the forehand, relax, off the forehand, balance, add leg, don't dive, don't tuck behind the vertical, balance....
Friday 1/9/09
Light flat ride, since I have a clinic the next day. Same thing.
Saturday 1/10/09
Clinic. It's an all-day affair: flatwork, a long lunch break, and then over fences work. I'm a little concerned about over-facing her, since she's not *super* fit, but I think if I let the clinician know what we're working on, she won't push harder than is fair.
Sunday 1/11/09
Day off. Free longe/turnout as much as possible, maybe some clicker work if I'm feeling creative.
This week will be a true test of my riding schedule. Can I keep up with this and school at the same time? We'll see!
Rode for 30 minutes. Focused on what I learned in the dressage lesson - keep the outside rein firm, sit up, keep the forward but lose the on-the-forehand. In all it went very well, got some really nice trot work and the canter is getting better. Some clumsy steps behind, but she's due for a farrier appointment tomorrow so that may be part of it. 30 minutes riding time total, each of us broke a nice sweat. Good ride.
1/1/09(!!!)
If everything in 2009 goes the way this ride did, things will be swell! We clicked really well tonight. I think she knows more than I've assumed (the whole time I've treated her as a mostly green horse), and now that I'm asking her for it, she's delivering. Much less leaning-on-the-forehand tonight, and here and there we got some steps where she was really pushing from behind. She gave me one beautiful canter depart, which is a Pretty Big Deal since previously her canter departs have been pretty rough. A much smoother canter today too, easier to ride, probably cause she's not pounding around on her forehand as badly. Again 30 minutes, nice light sweat, just a good solid ride. She felt really "together" tonight - we were just in sync. Moved off my legs nicely too. I'm excited for the lesson tomorrow!
1/2/09
Good lesson! We had an unmounted session beforehand focusing on conformation and how it affects movement. Quite enlightening, especially since we did some switch riding to find out how other horses moved and if our conformational predictions were correct. Interesting note - horses with training or condition issues didn't always move true to their conformation, i.e., Pandora tends to travel very heavily on her forehand even though her conformation doesn't necessarily predispose her to it, because she wants to snatch at the bit. The horses who have been consistently trained under the same rider and are in good condition tend to move exactly like their conformation suggests - interesting.
Pandora did quite well. A little anxious during the switch ride, but she still behaved, and gave her some nice lateral work. Take-home message: since she knows leg-yield and shoulder-in very well, use them to help her stay off the forehand. Need to half-halt with the seat more and the hands less to help her balance and stay. off. the. forehand.
Hopped around a small course of X's twice. She's calm and steady, locks on to the fences and doesn't hesitate. She'll be very fun to jump. I'm trying to get used to the feel of her still, and it was hard to keep her off her forehand, so there was some diving involved on the back side of the jump. Prescription: canter cavaletti/bounces and fences with landing poles.
Overall a great lesson, I was pleased with her and came home with some new ideas.
1/3/09
Lesson again, flat. I'll give you one guess as to what we worked on....staying off the forehand! We really got into it and I have a much better understanding of what to do now. She had me slow down Pandora's trot - get Pandora balanced and carrying herself first, then add some leg. A few times I was able to get some strides of light, springy trot after adding leg to a balanced trot, so I know we're getting there.
Stop worrying about contact/on the bit - don't let her tuck behind the vertical or dive down, but other than that, focus on self-carriage. LOTS of half-halts with the seat to ask her to not lean on the bit, then relax and allow her to push forward once we're there. Sort of like riding a teeter totter: slow with the half-halt till we're balanced, then move forward, then rebalance, then add leg...
She wanted to ignore my half halts and hands toward the end of the lesson, but it was an hour-long lesson and she'd been ridden four days in a row, so I think she was ready for a mental break! We made some good progress though, and I know what to work on. Ellen says that if we work on those half-halts and balance for a week or so, we should get to where we can add some leg and keep the balance in a bigger trot.
1/4/09
Finally, a break for the ponies. They got to go out in the round pen for about an hour while we mucked. Sadly, this is the extent of turnout lately - don't get me started. I hate winter. I love that she can behave while cooped up in a stall all the time, yes...but now that she's proven it, can we have turnout? Just a little?
Unfortunately the fields would be utter chaos if that were to happen while it's this wet. We just have to survive a couple more months, then they'll get to start going out again.
She'll get tomorrow off too, just some light longeing - Mondays are a long school day for me, and classes start again tomorrow. Woe.
This week will be much of the same: work on staying off the forehand, get a couple lessons, keep on truckin'.
Monday 1/5/09
Day off again. Free longe the ponies, let them spend as much time loose in the arena as possible.
Tuesday 1/6/09
Ride. Work on half-halts with the seat, staying in balance, neither tucking nor diving. Figure-8s are helpful!
Wednesday 1/7/09
Robin comes to give a group lesson at the barn. Not sure what she'll have us work on - probably lots of flatwork with a little jumping. I'll let her know what we're working on and hopefully we can just get some guided insight to more of the same.
Thursday 1/8/09
Longe and ride. I'll probably do some longeing over canter ground poles to help her with rocking back and forth, as was suggested to me in the Friday lesson. Then I'll ride doing much of the same: off the forehand, relax, off the forehand, balance, add leg, don't dive, don't tuck behind the vertical, balance....
Friday 1/9/09
Light flat ride, since I have a clinic the next day. Same thing.
Saturday 1/10/09
Clinic. It's an all-day affair: flatwork, a long lunch break, and then over fences work. I'm a little concerned about over-facing her, since she's not *super* fit, but I think if I let the clinician know what we're working on, she won't push harder than is fair.
Sunday 1/11/09
Day off. Free longe/turnout as much as possible, maybe some clicker work if I'm feeling creative.
This week will be a true test of my riding schedule. Can I keep up with this and school at the same time? We'll see!
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