I tend to post here when Halo and I do an event, or if I'm having training frustrations. We haven't had much of either lately, so it's time now to write about a good ride. I went out to the barn on Wednesday night. It was already dark when I got there, but there was a group jumping lesson going on, so all the lights were on in the outdoor arena. It was unseasonably warm, which was good because I forgot to bring a sweatshirt. I grabbed Halo out of the pasture, tacked up in English tack, and went up to the arena.
I hadn't ridden since last weekend, so I intended to longe. However, it's difficult to longe in the midst of a jumping lesson, so she only got about 5 minutes of longe line warmup before I got on. She was very mellow, and we did a nice warmup under saddle, mostly walking on a loose rein. As we were warming up, I observed some of the jumping lesson. I was watching a girl do a short course of jumps that included multiple lead changes. When her horse made an incomplete flying change (switched in front, not in back), the instructor reminded the girl to sit back when asking for the change. It was a light bulb moment for me.
Obviously Halo and I are not schooling lead changes. We're still working on getting the correct leads each direction on cue. Halo has a harder time getting her left lead, even though it is my good direction (supposedly). When the instructor told the girl to sit back, my light bulb moment was realizing that I have a tendency to lean forward when asking for the canter. My leaning is caused by two things - 1) leaning forward to indicate "go" and 2) nervousness on my part when I was first starting canter work with Halo.
I was nervous when I first started schooling canter work with Halo, and my body is doing what most human bodies do when nervous - curl up into the fetal position, which on a horse manifests itself as leaning forward. I'm not nervous any longer, but the habit managed to form over the past few months and stick with me. When I was teaching beginners, I would always start out explaining why you need to sit tall - because if you get scared and lean forward, most horses think, "go!" So in one way, it was effective, because Halo was picking up the canter and responding to my cue to go. But on the other hand, leaning forward was forcing her onto the forehand, and causing her to fall into the canter instead of making a strong transition from her hind end.
I decided to try out my new theory, that if I sat back and got out of her way, Halo would pick up the correct lead, and also have a stronger canter depart. What do you know - she nailed her leads the first time. Success! I was very glad for that jumping lesson, and happy to have a great ride on Halo. Hopefully our canter work will continue to improve from here.
Also, Halo is just shy of 15h now!
Showing posts with label height. Show all posts
Showing posts with label height. Show all posts
Friday, December 17, 2010
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Disappointment and Progress
Well, my holiday weekend didn't go quite as planned. Sunday was a beautiful day, and I planned to ride out with other people at the barn. I got out there, warmed Halo up, got her tacked up . . . and wimped out.
I was very disappointed in myself. I still rode her up and down the driveway and all around the property, but I couldn't quite bring myself to go back out on the road yet. It was a combination of Halo being a little on the spooky side since I hadn't ridden her in a couple of weeks, and me being nervous that all it would take was one more fall on the cement to do me in.
Still, I felt like crap most of the afternoon, like I failed myself and Halo. Today I feel somewhat better; I know I shouldn't punish myself for listening to my instincts and taking it easy after having an accident. I just don't ever want to be one of those riders who becomes too fearful to do what needs to be done to further the horse's training.
Monday was a little bit better. I didn't plan to ride out, because I didn't know if anyone would even be at the barn. As it turned out, there were a lot of people at the barn - the barn owner was having a kids' camp. The little girls always love Halo, and spoil her to death with treats and petting. Of course they always want to ride her, too, and I get to explain that she's just a baby and not actually trained yet.
Now that's a begging face!
I did ride her on Monday, but once again just around the barn. But since I wasn't hung up on my own inadequacies, we focused on actually doing something productive while wandering over the property. We practiced walking, stopping, backing up, and turning. Halo is getting very good about turning, and I think trail riding has helped that quite a bit. She does occasionally run through one of my legs, but she's starting to understand that pressure from one leg means she needs to move away from the pressure.
The main problem I had yesterday was that she is very responsive to nose pressure from side to side, but not so much straight back. (I'm still riding in a sidepull). She can flex clear around to either of my feet when asked, and she bends well through her turns. However, when I ask her to stop or back up, she tosses her head and is cranky about pressure directly on her nose. What is strange to me about that is that she yields well to nose pressure from the ground, either in the halter or sidepull, so that's not the problem. It has to be something I am doing. So that's something to think about for the next week or so.
I did have one funny moment with her - I was asking her to back up, and she was tossing her head and fussing, and I was beginning to get a little bit perplexed as to why she wouldn't listen. So I decided to start over and use Mugwump's technique of first giving the subtle cue (the one you want the horse to respond to), then escalating to a stronger cue, and then making her do it. Of course when I calmed down and gave the subtle cue, she backed up immediately. Ha! It was a good lesson to me that I don't have to expect her to be oblivious to cues. I should ALWAYS start with the subtle cue, and work from there, especially when something isn't going right.
The only other thing I have to report is that it appears Miss Halo may no longer be pony sized. She's going through another awkward growth phase and looking leggier and less round than a couple of months ago. I taped her at 14.2, maybe a little over that. I can't believe it! She's grown over SIX inches since July 2008.
I was very disappointed in myself. I still rode her up and down the driveway and all around the property, but I couldn't quite bring myself to go back out on the road yet. It was a combination of Halo being a little on the spooky side since I hadn't ridden her in a couple of weeks, and me being nervous that all it would take was one more fall on the cement to do me in.
Still, I felt like crap most of the afternoon, like I failed myself and Halo. Today I feel somewhat better; I know I shouldn't punish myself for listening to my instincts and taking it easy after having an accident. I just don't ever want to be one of those riders who becomes too fearful to do what needs to be done to further the horse's training.
Monday was a little bit better. I didn't plan to ride out, because I didn't know if anyone would even be at the barn. As it turned out, there were a lot of people at the barn - the barn owner was having a kids' camp. The little girls always love Halo, and spoil her to death with treats and petting. Of course they always want to ride her, too, and I get to explain that she's just a baby and not actually trained yet.
Now that's a begging face!
I did ride her on Monday, but once again just around the barn. But since I wasn't hung up on my own inadequacies, we focused on actually doing something productive while wandering over the property. We practiced walking, stopping, backing up, and turning. Halo is getting very good about turning, and I think trail riding has helped that quite a bit. She does occasionally run through one of my legs, but she's starting to understand that pressure from one leg means she needs to move away from the pressure.
The main problem I had yesterday was that she is very responsive to nose pressure from side to side, but not so much straight back. (I'm still riding in a sidepull). She can flex clear around to either of my feet when asked, and she bends well through her turns. However, when I ask her to stop or back up, she tosses her head and is cranky about pressure directly on her nose. What is strange to me about that is that she yields well to nose pressure from the ground, either in the halter or sidepull, so that's not the problem. It has to be something I am doing. So that's something to think about for the next week or so.
I did have one funny moment with her - I was asking her to back up, and she was tossing her head and fussing, and I was beginning to get a little bit perplexed as to why she wouldn't listen. So I decided to start over and use Mugwump's technique of first giving the subtle cue (the one you want the horse to respond to), then escalating to a stronger cue, and then making her do it. Of course when I calmed down and gave the subtle cue, she backed up immediately. Ha! It was a good lesson to me that I don't have to expect her to be oblivious to cues. I should ALWAYS start with the subtle cue, and work from there, especially when something isn't going right.
The only other thing I have to report is that it appears Miss Halo may no longer be pony sized. She's going through another awkward growth phase and looking leggier and less round than a couple of months ago. I taped her at 14.2, maybe a little over that. I can't believe it! She's grown over SIX inches since July 2008.
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Summer is Here
The heat has arrived in Texas with a vengeance! It is this time of year that I begin moaning to Casi about hell, and how close we must be living to it in order for it to be this hot. Fortunately Miss Halo is more heat tolerant than I am, because yesterday night it was her turn for a workout.
As usual, I cobbled together an odd assortment of tack for her to wear. I decided it was time for her to have something on her back, but I didn't want to use my english saddle since I'm still worried about it being a poor fit. All the synthetic western saddles were in use, so this was the solution. It actually worked out well. There's not much weight, but it does give her the feeling of the cinch. Also, it's a good thing for her to wear if I decide to get on. Strange as it seems to some people, I do like to get on babies bareback at first.
We did a brief longe workout - just enough to have her walk, trot, and canter on command both directions. She was very well behaved with only one or two bouncy canter strides. Of course neither of us counted on me being a moron and not checking the cinch one last time! As Halo made some lovely counter-clockwise canter circles, the bareback pad began to slide around her big round barrel. I said, "whoa!" and she stopped on a dime, the pad completing its slide over onto her right side. Poor confused filly! However, you can see from her reaction that it was not of any concern to her. I got her readjusted and snugged up between fits of laughter. I am SO glad to have such a mild-mannered baby horse!
After our brief longeing session, I got on for a few minutes. Casi led us a couple of times around the arena, and then we walked independently for a few more minutes near the gate. She's pretty good about steering and following her nose, but the go button doesn't work very well yet. I imagine I may get up on her 1 or 2x per month and do a little bit of walking. In those sessions, when I have an assistant, I'll have someone lead while I teach her the leg and voice cues for forward motion. When I don't have an assistant I probably won't ride, but from the ground I can do long reining to work on voice commands. In fact, I think that is what I will plan to do for our next session.
Halo got a warm water rinse and a mane and tail bath after her light workout, and then we took her height and weight. The baby is now a tiny bit shy of 14.2h at the withers and 14.3h at the hip. She weighs approximately 850lbs. At the end of July last year she was 13h at the withers, 13.3h at the hip, and weighed about 575lbs. I can't believe how much she's grown!
I've been using a height/weight tape to chart her progress, but at some point I plan to do a more accurate check with the following formula:
As usual, I cobbled together an odd assortment of tack for her to wear. I decided it was time for her to have something on her back, but I didn't want to use my english saddle since I'm still worried about it being a poor fit. All the synthetic western saddles were in use, so this was the solution. It actually worked out well. There's not much weight, but it does give her the feeling of the cinch. Also, it's a good thing for her to wear if I decide to get on. Strange as it seems to some people, I do like to get on babies bareback at first.
We did a brief longe workout - just enough to have her walk, trot, and canter on command both directions. She was very well behaved with only one or two bouncy canter strides. Of course neither of us counted on me being a moron and not checking the cinch one last time! As Halo made some lovely counter-clockwise canter circles, the bareback pad began to slide around her big round barrel. I said, "whoa!" and she stopped on a dime, the pad completing its slide over onto her right side. Poor confused filly! However, you can see from her reaction that it was not of any concern to her. I got her readjusted and snugged up between fits of laughter. I am SO glad to have such a mild-mannered baby horse!
After our brief longeing session, I got on for a few minutes. Casi led us a couple of times around the arena, and then we walked independently for a few more minutes near the gate. She's pretty good about steering and following her nose, but the go button doesn't work very well yet. I imagine I may get up on her 1 or 2x per month and do a little bit of walking. In those sessions, when I have an assistant, I'll have someone lead while I teach her the leg and voice cues for forward motion. When I don't have an assistant I probably won't ride, but from the ground I can do long reining to work on voice commands. In fact, I think that is what I will plan to do for our next session.
Halo got a warm water rinse and a mane and tail bath after her light workout, and then we took her height and weight. The baby is now a tiny bit shy of 14.2h at the withers and 14.3h at the hip. She weighs approximately 850lbs. At the end of July last year she was 13h at the withers, 13.3h at the hip, and weighed about 575lbs. I can't believe how much she's grown!
I've been using a height/weight tape to chart her progress, but at some point I plan to do a more accurate check with the following formula:
- Measure girth in inches
- Measure length in inches (point of hip to point of chest)
- Multiply Girth X Girth X Length, Divide by 300, Add 50
- Example 70" x 70" x 65" = 318,500 / 300 = 1061.67 + 50 = 1111.67 lbs.
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Back in the Saddle
Yesterday evening was the perfect night for a ride. I went out to the barn with the intention of riding Cash, but he got an eye injury this week. The barn owner let me ride a cute little Appaloosa instead. She warned me beforehand that he would want to go where he wanted to go, but he wouldn't hurt me or do anything spazzy. Well, that's just Appytude for you.
I got on bareback and rode for about half an hour in the outdoor arena. He did pull some when he wanted to go back toward the gate, but it was nothing I haven't dealt with before. I did what I usually do, and made the right thing easy and the wrong thing hard. As long as he went where I wanted, he got nice relaxed rein contact and me quiet on his back. If he started to barge off in his own direction, he got a gentle leg aid to block him from barging. If he didn't listen, he got a stronger leg aid and a rein check. As soon as he quit, back to me being gentle and quiet.
Overall it was a fun ride. He's a mellow horse who has a been-there-done-that kind of attitude. I just walked and trotted, but spent a good amount of time working on my sitting trot. I was very pleased to notice that I didn't get nearly as sore or tired as I expected. In fact, I still feel great today! I guess the gym is helping more than I thought.
Anyway, here's a picture of the view from Caddo's back:
After my ride, it was time to work with Halo. She whinnied and came when I called, which made me a happy horse mom. I was thrilled to see that the barn owners have finally opened up the bigger pastures for the horses during the day. Halo had spent all day enjoying fresh grass and more room to run and play with her buddies. She also made a new friend, a cute chestnut arab with a flaxen mane and tail. The benefits of having spent the day out in a bigger field were evident in her workout. She was very relaxed, and had less spastic energy than she usually does during her mid-week workout.
Though she was fantastic on the longe line, there was one setback last night that is going to require some work. While tied at the hitching rail she usually stands relaxed with her head down, or tries to eat grass on the other side of the rail if she can. Tonight she was doing that, but managed to get her head caught under the lead rope. What ensued was a panicked spazzing, backing up, and sliding on the mats until her head came free, and then she continued to set back for a few more seconds. Thank god that hitching rail is rooted in cement, or it could have been a huge wreck.
She quieted quickly after the episode was over, but she now has a big welt on the side of her neck where the rope was caught. Poor filly. Ideally, it would be nice to have somewhere to tie her above her head where something like this couldn't occur. However, there isn't a safe place like that at my barn. What I am going to do instead is spend some time teaching her a cue that Tara, one of her former owners, worked with her on before I got her. Tara taught Halo that pressure on the poll means "put your head down." Halo still responds to the cue, but it is time to take it to the next level. I plan to start working with her with the rope until she will give to pressure anywhere on her neck, head or face. She also needs practice with ropes being tossed over her face as would be done with reins. Right now she's still a little head shy about that. With how good Halo has become about longeing, I guess I should be glad she's given me a new project to work on. I just wish she hadn't had to injure herself to let me know that I needed to work on it.
At the end of the night it was time for worming, so I weighed and measured her to make sure I was giving the right dosage. Halo weighs in right now at about 800lbs according to the weight tape, and she is 14h or so. What she lacks in height, she is definitely starting to make up in width. As soon as she finishes shedding out, I'm going to post some new conformation pictures.
I got on bareback and rode for about half an hour in the outdoor arena. He did pull some when he wanted to go back toward the gate, but it was nothing I haven't dealt with before. I did what I usually do, and made the right thing easy and the wrong thing hard. As long as he went where I wanted, he got nice relaxed rein contact and me quiet on his back. If he started to barge off in his own direction, he got a gentle leg aid to block him from barging. If he didn't listen, he got a stronger leg aid and a rein check. As soon as he quit, back to me being gentle and quiet.
Overall it was a fun ride. He's a mellow horse who has a been-there-done-that kind of attitude. I just walked and trotted, but spent a good amount of time working on my sitting trot. I was very pleased to notice that I didn't get nearly as sore or tired as I expected. In fact, I still feel great today! I guess the gym is helping more than I thought.
Anyway, here's a picture of the view from Caddo's back:
After my ride, it was time to work with Halo. She whinnied and came when I called, which made me a happy horse mom. I was thrilled to see that the barn owners have finally opened up the bigger pastures for the horses during the day. Halo had spent all day enjoying fresh grass and more room to run and play with her buddies. She also made a new friend, a cute chestnut arab with a flaxen mane and tail. The benefits of having spent the day out in a bigger field were evident in her workout. She was very relaxed, and had less spastic energy than she usually does during her mid-week workout.
Though she was fantastic on the longe line, there was one setback last night that is going to require some work. While tied at the hitching rail she usually stands relaxed with her head down, or tries to eat grass on the other side of the rail if she can. Tonight she was doing that, but managed to get her head caught under the lead rope. What ensued was a panicked spazzing, backing up, and sliding on the mats until her head came free, and then she continued to set back for a few more seconds. Thank god that hitching rail is rooted in cement, or it could have been a huge wreck.
She quieted quickly after the episode was over, but she now has a big welt on the side of her neck where the rope was caught. Poor filly. Ideally, it would be nice to have somewhere to tie her above her head where something like this couldn't occur. However, there isn't a safe place like that at my barn. What I am going to do instead is spend some time teaching her a cue that Tara, one of her former owners, worked with her on before I got her. Tara taught Halo that pressure on the poll means "put your head down." Halo still responds to the cue, but it is time to take it to the next level. I plan to start working with her with the rope until she will give to pressure anywhere on her neck, head or face. She also needs practice with ropes being tossed over her face as would be done with reins. Right now she's still a little head shy about that. With how good Halo has become about longeing, I guess I should be glad she's given me a new project to work on. I just wish she hadn't had to injure herself to let me know that I needed to work on it.
At the end of the night it was time for worming, so I weighed and measured her to make sure I was giving the right dosage. Halo weighs in right now at about 800lbs according to the weight tape, and she is 14h or so. What she lacks in height, she is definitely starting to make up in width. As soon as she finishes shedding out, I'm going to post some new conformation pictures.
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Happy Valentine's Day!
I know I should have taken pictures of Halo draped in something red, pink, and garish, but all I've got today is a "Hi, mom!" picture that shows off her new and somewhat unfortunate hairdo.
I finally got tired of dealing with her mane being at that awkward between long and short stage, so I whacked it all off. I've finally come to terms with the fact that she'll look stupid showing in Halter and Showmanship with a long mane. I might as well get it short and start doing the maintenance now. Of course that's what I said to myself when I first got her last summer, and it didn't stick...but it's more realistic this year since she will actually be showing.
The second shot I have of her shows how much her conformation has changed. Part of it is weight gain and winter fuzz, but she's definitely filled out more and begun to look stockier. I'm not sure how she will look in the end, but for now I am thankful that her shoulders are starting to catch up with her butt height-wise, and she's getting some nice muscling (hopefully also from the longe exercise). She now measures 14.1h at the withers. Two more inches and she's not a pony! Keep your fingers crossed. :) She looks a bit cresty in this picture due to her mane sticking up from the haircut. When she sheds out a bit darker this spring I'm planning to do a full conformation critique with a comparison to last year's photos.
It was another cold and windy day today. We did a brief, saddle-free longe session and then got her tail washed up. Halo has some guests coming to see her tomorrow, which I will post all about tomorrow night or Monday. I think they'll come armed with cameras and carrots, and she won't have to work, so I imagine she'll be glad to see them!
Monday, September 8, 2008
Stormy Weather
Last week Casi and I had the pleasure of being in Louisiana over Labor Day weekend, aka when Hurricane Gustav was hitting. Fortunately we were far enough to the northeast that all we got was a ton of rain. Nevertheless, traveling did stall out blog posting for a time.
Miss Halo apparently did quite well without her moms around to keep an eye on her. Upon our return we were regaled with stories of her extensive mud rolling and general punk behavior. For the most part though, she looked good! And in other good news, the ticks in her ears mostly seem to have dropped off, and or be dead. She even lets me touch her ears again if I am gentle, and she loves a good scratch along her mane.
It is probably just delusional horse-mom vision, but every time I look at her she seems to be bigger. I don't feel like she's taller, but looking at her over this past weekend she seems to be getting more substance and width. We measured her yesterday and she is weighing in close to 700lbs. She's approximately 14h at the butt, and 13.3 at the withers. She squirms a lot though, so I'm sure the accuracy of those measurements is questionable.
Halo pulled her first extremely naughty move on Saturday, much to my surprise. She's always been quite good in hand, and not even too terrible when dealing with unfamiliar situations. On Saturday one of the barn owners let her horse go running down into the pasture while I was haltering Halo down in the field. The horses all went on alert, but Halo still stood quietly for me to get the halter on. But we got halfway up the hill and she decided to make a break for it. Fortunately I managed to hang on, so that she didn't learn she could get away by being a turkey. We made it to the top of the hill with continued fussing and whinnying, but no more escape attempts. I didn't give her any food while she was tied, but by the time she was up there, she was back to her usual placid self. She didn't give me any more trouble that day, and was excellent yesterday. But damn my shoulder hurts!
Here's the princess with her shiny polished feet (hoof conditioner).
Miss Halo apparently did quite well without her moms around to keep an eye on her. Upon our return we were regaled with stories of her extensive mud rolling and general punk behavior. For the most part though, she looked good! And in other good news, the ticks in her ears mostly seem to have dropped off, and or be dead. She even lets me touch her ears again if I am gentle, and she loves a good scratch along her mane.
It is probably just delusional horse-mom vision, but every time I look at her she seems to be bigger. I don't feel like she's taller, but looking at her over this past weekend she seems to be getting more substance and width. We measured her yesterday and she is weighing in close to 700lbs. She's approximately 14h at the butt, and 13.3 at the withers. She squirms a lot though, so I'm sure the accuracy of those measurements is questionable.
Halo pulled her first extremely naughty move on Saturday, much to my surprise. She's always been quite good in hand, and not even too terrible when dealing with unfamiliar situations. On Saturday one of the barn owners let her horse go running down into the pasture while I was haltering Halo down in the field. The horses all went on alert, but Halo still stood quietly for me to get the halter on. But we got halfway up the hill and she decided to make a break for it. Fortunately I managed to hang on, so that she didn't learn she could get away by being a turkey. We made it to the top of the hill with continued fussing and whinnying, but no more escape attempts. I didn't give her any food while she was tied, but by the time she was up there, she was back to her usual placid self. She didn't give me any more trouble that day, and was excellent yesterday. But damn my shoulder hurts!
Here's the princess with her shiny polished feet (hoof conditioner).
Monday, July 21, 2008
Baby's Got...Booty?
Quarter horses are supposed to have big butts, right? Plus there's that whole awkward yearling stage most horses go through where they're gawky and butt-high...right? These are the things I tell myself as I look at my cute one-year-three-months old filly. Yesterday we gave the little punk her first real bath, followed by her first weighing and measuring.
Look at that butt! Dear God. Although the scariest things are those spindly little pasterns of hers. I hope she grows into herself some, even if she doesn't have the best of bone on those legs. The pasterns are just so looooooong.
So now for the weights and measures; our girl is 13 hands at the withers, and 13.3 hands at the butt. According to the weight tape, she's just shy of 600 lbs. No wonder her butt looks so much bigger! I'm sure she'll even out some with time. My last baby was enormously butt-high as a yearling as well, and he grew up to be 16.2 hands. I know she won't get anywhere near that, but hopefully she'll at least catch up with her butt! That, or in the meantime I will get used to having a quarter horse.
Another way (besides chasing goats) that she's showing her cow blood is with her quick agility. One thing she came to me with was some good in-hand training. She's quite responsive on the lead rope, and pretty darn good without it as well. Here she is showing how daintily she can cross her legs over in a turn:
Try to ignore the terrible clothes. Halo probably has her head craned around to give the fisheye to the heinous outfit I'm wearing. It wouldn't be a stretch to say the little mare has better fashion sense than I do...but I digress.
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