Hard work – Tuesdays ride and some other news

Tuesdays ride was a bit more work for Sarah this week. Tio really had a mind of his own and Sarah had her hands full getting him to listen. In fact, Tio kept running up (and in one case into) on other horses during the class. Sarah handled it well though and got through his attitude (although she was quite sore afterwards).

I worked with Vegas and will be keeping him at the trot for a while. I am working on collection and position and will continue to work him at trot until we can get him consistently staying in frame and working off his back-end. We had moments where everything seemed to fall into place – my position, his position, and his collection / frame. I think I’m going to look at some different bits and see how far I can get him.

Other news… I am working behind the scenes here at NickerTown and will be bringing some Photo Gallery functionality to the site. I’ve even got my eyes on creating a photo contest so that others can join in.  Keep an eye out for more details on that in the coming weeks.

Until next time,

2 days in a row

Having received a day off on Monday (not a typical day that I get off for a vacation day), we wanted to see if we might be able to sneak in some time for a ride. Our son still had school, but Sarah and I wanted to take advantage of the time we had to get out in the nice weather and out to the barn. I made a quick call, and it didn’t look like anyone would be out early enough for us to make it out and ride before we had to pick up Gabe from school. Fortunately though, we received a call from Capricorn that indeed someone had made it out to the barn and we could come out and ride.

When we arrived at the barn, none of the horses were in and we had to go out and pick up the boys (Vegas and Tio – who are actually brothers) out in the field.  All of the horses were at the round bales, so we didn’t have to go very far to get them. Of course, one of the other horses who loves to come in met us half way and then stuck to me like glue. We haltered Vegas and Tio and headed in. I had to keep Colonel at bay to keep him from walking with me through the gate, but all of the horses would be coming in soon enough to be fed anyways – so I didn’t feel too bad about leaving Colonel out there.

We’ve had a bit of rain lately and the path through the gate is quite muddy. The horses all have mud up their legs (I call it clay boots) and it really irritates their skin. Our soil around here is clay and it doesn’t take much rain to make a big clay mess. That being said, Sarah and I took the horses over to wash them up a bit and knock off the clay around their feet. Vegas was a real trooper and stood fine with me holding him while Sarah washed his feet. Tio was another story…. Tio does not like to have his feet washed and was a bit jumpy. We stuck with it though and got him cleaned up.

After grooming and tacking up, we only had about 40 minutes of ride time. Sarah had forgotten to put her spurs on and she really had to work with Tio to get him moving. It was good for her to see how far she’s progressed in using her seat and leg pressure to ride. In fact, she’s going to be riding without spurs more often to keep her riding development going (without having to rely on the spurs). She did great, but did end up going to get her spurs for about the last 15 minutes of our ride. Vegas and I had an ok ride, but he was reluctant to backing for some reason. I worked on my seat during the ride, but really just wanted to enjoy the time I had.

Last night, we got to go out to Capricorn again. Of course, the horses were a mess again, but not nearly as bad as the previous day. Barbara was there before us and had cleaned up Harry. However, Harry had a bit of a limp going on, so Barbara let him be and selected a different horse to ride (Booger). Sarah and I were with Vegas and Tio – as usual. The kids class that ends just before we ride on Tuesday had used both Vegas and Tio, but neither of the horses had really worked and had just a bit of attitude. Apparently, Alex had mentioned to Sarah that she wanted Sarah to really work Tio and to canter him for the rest of the night…, and did she ever. Sarah had Tio going from the first minute on. It was really neat to see Sarah getting Tio going as I remember that when we first started riding, it was difficult to get any of the horses moving at a canter (our lack of experience – not the horses).

I guess Sarah really found Tio’s “go button” because after some time cantering, Tio through down the gauntlet and said… ok, you want to go, let’s go and he took off at a gallop. Sarah handled him well and fell into her experience and rode it out. Chad had everyone else stop while Sarah brought Tio down to a trot and then a stop. Chad had Sarah back Tio up a bit and then had her go back to trotting. Sarah stayed with the trot the rest of the night.

I worked with Vegas on frame and collection. I am developing my thigh muscles and using them to drive Vegas forward while maintaining the collection. I have to get to the point where I am not managing the horse, but maintaining myself. I had some brief moments where everything was correct, me with my riding position and Vegas managing his own collection based on my position. I know I need to practice my body position and cueing more, but I will get there.

So, it’s been a nice couple of days.  Sarah can hardly stop talking about her ride and is excited about riding more. I look forward to riding more as well and furthering my experience.

Thanks for stopping by – talk to you later,

A little warmer – a nice night for a ride

Last night we went out to the barn for our weekly riding class. The weather had turned slightly warmer so we didn’t need to bundle up as much.  We tacked up our usual horses, Sarah with Tio and myself with Vegas. I think the horses were enjoying the warmer temps as well because they didn’t seem as stiff. I watched Sarah working on Tio for a bit and she is doing wonderfully. Sarah is working on riding with collection at walk, trot, and canter and I must say that she is making huge progress. Sarah is riding with more confidence and looks more relaxed (less stiff) while riding.

I was thinking about my ride afterwards… I felt like I had a good ride last night, and was also working on collection with Vegas. I could tell that I am progressing, but sometimes – it doesn’t necessarily feel like progress. One thing for sure from my ride last night – I am sure I worked harder than Vegas did. I think I need more time in the saddle in the coming weeks where I can stop and focus on what I am doing, before doing it.

All-in-all, it’s just good to get out with the horses and into the saddle.

Talk to you later,

Saturday’s ride

We finally got a chance to get out to the barn on Saturday. It was colder than expected – the weather forecast earlier in the week said it would warm up – but it was still reasonable. Gabe was able to make up one of his 2 makeup rides (he started class behind the others) and Sarah and I took practice rides. Gabe was on Colonel (who can be a little feisty in the stall), Sarah on Tio, and I rode Vegas. Gabe needed a little help with Colonel but he managed ok in the stall. However, when Gabe went to put his foot in the stirrup Colonel would kick out at him. I rode up on Vegas and basically watched, but told Gabe to put his foot in the stirrup and start to put some weight up there. I told him that if Colonel didn’t pay attention, he might lose his balance and to watch for it. Once Gabe got his foot in place and got some weight in the stirrup, Colonel settled down.

Sarah managed ok with Tio, however Tio really didn’t want to work. Sarah had her hands full for a short time, but Tio got with the program and she ended up with a good ride. Vegas and I had a very good ride, although he did spook when a chair was moved and bumped against the rail. I kept riding him to the area where the chair was (now occupied with Sara – the other Sara) and stopped him there a couple of times.

Here is a photo of Vegas and I:

 

It felt good to get back in the saddle and hopefully we’ll get up there again this coming weekend.

Thanks for stopping by…

Nervous?

Over the Thanksgiving holiday we took some time to go out and ride a couple of times. Friday, the girls and I went up to the barn and helped out with the classes that were going on. I worked with Sara (seen below) as she taught a group of about 12 kids. I helped check the saddles and then loaded the kids up on the horses. Sara had the kids walking, trotting, and turning the horses (half circles and full circles). There was one little girl (she told me she was 7) that was quite nervous about trotting. I reassured her and when it came her time to trot around the arena, Sara stayed beside her all the way around. By the time her turn came around for the third time, she was excited and ready to go on her own. It was fun to see her move from nervousness to joy!

Nervousness to joy…
Isn’t that how things often work for us (all of us) when we think about trying something new? Often, we are nervous, anxious, or maybe even scared out of our wits – worrying about what “might” happen! It sometimes takes a “leap of faith” or a lot of persuasion to try that new (or different) “something”.  However, after we’ve taken that leap of faith, we find that its nothing like what we imagined. Sure; sometimes it takes practice to perfect that new “something”, but once we’ve made the initial leap of faith it gets easier and easier.

One final thought…
Don’t we need this? Trying new things, new experiences, growing, learning…
I’ve heard it said – if you ain’t growing or learning, you’re dying! I think it’s built into each of us from our first breath. Curiosity and a desire to learn. I think it’s certainly one way to find joy… try something new…
What are you nervous about?

Thanks for stopping by,