Post by fleabitten on Dec 2, 2014 20:38:49 GMT
Had a fabulous lesson this evening with H! Got regular instructor back which i was much relieved about and indoor has dried out enough that we were able to have the lesson there - just as well as it was absolutely freezing!
Packed a lot into the lesson, we did all flatwork which i was pleased about as H needs it. We warmed up in open order walk and trot doing 20m circles and transitions - not great work from H but on the positive side he was super calm
He has much improved with the other horses working around him and isnt as bothered with them riding round him now.
We worked on getting them working from behind the whole lesson and whilst H didnt get the 'softening into an outline' thing he tried hard in all the exercises and was really listening.
We had to trot for 10 steps and walk for 4 and concentrate on using our seat and using less leg and hand for the upward and downward transitions whilst also working on getting the horses responsive. He was very good at this and his transitions were so smooth, he was really responding very well for only being young and having had little schooling - in fact he was going better than murphy who takes a few seconds speeding up the walk before trot, tut tut! Murphy knows too much lol! We then moved on to trot to halt to trot and this was a little harder as he put up resistance to halt, i had to pull quite firmly and he grabbed the bit and tried to put his head down and shuffle about.
Then she tried to teach us to get the horses to stretch down and relax in their walk and trot and then pick them up and try and get them to take the reins forward and stretch down - i think H tried to stretch a little but mostly just went round like a donkey lol!
We did some leg yielding next with a transition to halt once we had reached the wall to get them working. Very impressed with H here as the right LY was so much improved he actually moved over woo hoo! (he always drifts left and doesnt listen to left leg) i also thought that his corners were much better but not so much on the left rein he wasnt bending as well that direction but still, a general improvement, i felt like he was listening to my bending aids much better.
Then we did some turn on the forehand and i was mega impressed with this as i havent been able to get him to do this as of yet. We had to do a full 180 against the wall and he was super!
Then to finish we did a little work on canter - he couldnt be assed to canter so was running in trot so RI told me to give him a big kick and a growl to get him going and it worked well, i feel much more confident in canter now too. we had to canter past the ride and do a few trot canter transitions and he was brill!
Really nice feeling to see a horse progressing!
Now the indoor is nearly dry the dressage will resume next week - ive still yet to try that prelim but now ive had a few weeks of canter practice im definitely ready to give it a go! Still gotta do the intro test as im in the league for that class.
Exciting news this week - murphy is coming back into work all being well - farrier coming thursday so hope to get riding him friday weather permitting and going to go up tomorrow to get tack organised and give him a good brush! Have missed the wee fluff ball! Will be great to get out again with my hacking buddy, have missed the craic!
Feeling a bit torn between the two horses - i will rather miss H when i go back to riding Murph!
Have thought about it a great deal and at the moment i think the best plan is to stick with murphy and not just because i like him!
H is for sale (reluctantly, but theres no regular rider for him) and he is affordable for me to buy with my savings - BUT, with being at college i cant afford to keep a horse. A part loan situation like i have with murphy would be good but there are no riding facilities where H is kept (fields and roadwork) so it would be a case of having to get taken places by mum and dad all the time. Full loan would be the same as owning cost wise really! Maybe just as well there are no riding facilities as it would be difficult to choose between the two! Initially i had thought that i wouldnt like H as he is young and id feel too nervous in new situations when i have relatively little experience in both riding young horses and also competition experience/skills. But i have grown in confidence on him in a very short time and its very enjoyable to see the progress with him, plus he has such a lovely nature, he doesnt seem like a 5yo! I do feel nervous riding him at times but then i remember i was bricking it when i started riding murphy and i think the nerves are a case of not knowing the horse well enough just! Also with a young horse i think i may doubt my skills and experience to do things at times, if he hasnt done something and ive never done it then we may hit a brick wall - whereas i know that i can go out and do ANYTHING at all with murphy because hes done it all before at some point and i can learn off him. I think the downside with murphy is that theres less progress to be made with schooling as hes reached his capabilities (although thats not to say he cant be pushed slightly in some areas!) but on the other hand ive got lots to learn competition wise so i shall take full advantage of that!
Plus less hassle and help required with murphy! and thats a good thing when im studying. it will probably be another 2 years anyway before im in a position to own again, assuming i manage to get a good job out of my course!
Anyway, getting carried away there! Just wanted to share my pride and excitement! german biscuits for all who read - yum!
PS - photo in picture gallery
Packed a lot into the lesson, we did all flatwork which i was pleased about as H needs it. We warmed up in open order walk and trot doing 20m circles and transitions - not great work from H but on the positive side he was super calm
He has much improved with the other horses working around him and isnt as bothered with them riding round him now. We worked on getting them working from behind the whole lesson and whilst H didnt get the 'softening into an outline' thing he tried hard in all the exercises and was really listening.
We had to trot for 10 steps and walk for 4 and concentrate on using our seat and using less leg and hand for the upward and downward transitions whilst also working on getting the horses responsive. He was very good at this and his transitions were so smooth, he was really responding very well for only being young and having had little schooling - in fact he was going better than murphy who takes a few seconds speeding up the walk before trot, tut tut! Murphy knows too much lol! We then moved on to trot to halt to trot and this was a little harder as he put up resistance to halt, i had to pull quite firmly and he grabbed the bit and tried to put his head down and shuffle about.
Then she tried to teach us to get the horses to stretch down and relax in their walk and trot and then pick them up and try and get them to take the reins forward and stretch down - i think H tried to stretch a little but mostly just went round like a donkey lol!
We did some leg yielding next with a transition to halt once we had reached the wall to get them working. Very impressed with H here as the right LY was so much improved he actually moved over woo hoo! (he always drifts left and doesnt listen to left leg) i also thought that his corners were much better but not so much on the left rein he wasnt bending as well that direction but still, a general improvement, i felt like he was listening to my bending aids much better.
Then we did some turn on the forehand and i was mega impressed with this as i havent been able to get him to do this as of yet. We had to do a full 180 against the wall and he was super!
Then to finish we did a little work on canter - he couldnt be assed to canter so was running in trot so RI told me to give him a big kick and a growl to get him going and it worked well, i feel much more confident in canter now too. we had to canter past the ride and do a few trot canter transitions and he was brill!
Really nice feeling to see a horse progressing!
Now the indoor is nearly dry the dressage will resume next week - ive still yet to try that prelim but now ive had a few weeks of canter practice im definitely ready to give it a go! Still gotta do the intro test as im in the league for that class.
Exciting news this week - murphy is coming back into work all being well - farrier coming thursday so hope to get riding him friday weather permitting and going to go up tomorrow to get tack organised and give him a good brush! Have missed the wee fluff ball! Will be great to get out again with my hacking buddy, have missed the craic!
Feeling a bit torn between the two horses - i will rather miss H when i go back to riding Murph!
Have thought about it a great deal and at the moment i think the best plan is to stick with murphy and not just because i like him!
H is for sale (reluctantly, but theres no regular rider for him) and he is affordable for me to buy with my savings - BUT, with being at college i cant afford to keep a horse. A part loan situation like i have with murphy would be good but there are no riding facilities where H is kept (fields and roadwork) so it would be a case of having to get taken places by mum and dad all the time. Full loan would be the same as owning cost wise really! Maybe just as well there are no riding facilities as it would be difficult to choose between the two! Initially i had thought that i wouldnt like H as he is young and id feel too nervous in new situations when i have relatively little experience in both riding young horses and also competition experience/skills. But i have grown in confidence on him in a very short time and its very enjoyable to see the progress with him, plus he has such a lovely nature, he doesnt seem like a 5yo! I do feel nervous riding him at times but then i remember i was bricking it when i started riding murphy and i think the nerves are a case of not knowing the horse well enough just! Also with a young horse i think i may doubt my skills and experience to do things at times, if he hasnt done something and ive never done it then we may hit a brick wall - whereas i know that i can go out and do ANYTHING at all with murphy because hes done it all before at some point and i can learn off him. I think the downside with murphy is that theres less progress to be made with schooling as hes reached his capabilities (although thats not to say he cant be pushed slightly in some areas!) but on the other hand ive got lots to learn competition wise so i shall take full advantage of that!
Plus less hassle and help required with murphy! and thats a good thing when im studying. it will probably be another 2 years anyway before im in a position to own again, assuming i manage to get a good job out of my course! Anyway, getting carried away there! Just wanted to share my pride and excitement!
german biscuits for all who read - yum! PS - photo in picture gallery
