Wednesday, April 23, 2014

Stella #19

Rode her around the property. I was curious how she'd do without a big warm up that potentially fires up pain in her hocks. I could tell I was riding a horse that needs a mental warm-up, as she was tighter and needed to move more. I do no warm up, just tacked up and went.

Played with confidence on obstacles, focus and following my focus. 

I have to say, she was less swishy and irritated than normal where I usually warm her up with cantering.

Stella #20

Played a bunch with trailer loading!  this was a good session for her trailer confidence. She became way more confident and was going in and out with ease. She was able to stand in the trailer and eat with a leg cocked. Good growth for her.

Stella #18

Tried a test with bute to see how she would feel after an anti-inflammatory was on board to fight pain and discomfort.  She was way more comfortable and able to allow her hind feet to come back enough for a trim. Rode her and felt much less tail swishing and negative response.

Poor girl needs some support for her physical comfort.

Wednesday, April 16, 2014

Stella #17

Met Wendy today for Stella's session. Played in the indoor at first, due to a cold breeze. Started online and played with different levels of energy to get more info on the motivation behind her pinned ears. I truly believe it's lack of confidence because she's the best when I'm super clear. When I'm softer, she pins her ears more. I'll keep working on that.

Then some liberty, but she had very little tension and was able to trot circles vs. her normal very fast canter. She also was listening and ready to come in as soon as I asked. Cool.

Rode her at all gaits, played with leg pressure and figuring out some more on tail swishing. Tried Wendy's saddle to see if it made any difference, not sure it did. She just needs more comfort under saddle in my opinion. Then, rode her out on the front pasture, looking for herd or barn sweetness - none!!  She did great. Really enjoying her progress.

Played in the obstacles to end it. Tractor tire was easier, but needs much more work. Mailbox, hanging obstacle, teeter totter...  not bad, but lots to improve on.

Good session.

Stella #16

After a nice warm up at liberty, then some w/t/c in the arena, we headed for obstacles and then the trail!  Had Tammy on rain for me to keep things calm. Followed Rain at first, but Stella was happy to lead!  She was calm, her tail was quiet, she had confidence and comfort I've not felt in the arena. We went about 2 hours, mainly walking and a little trot. Encountered dogs baking at fences, things blowing, squeezes through narrow channels...  She was stellar. She's a trail horse!  Deuce was next to us the whole time - no issue for her. Excellent!

Wednesday, April 9, 2014

Stella #15

Great session - rode her in outdoor then in the playground.  She was calm and connected.  Went over tractor tire and around other obstacles.

She's not confident with the tractor tires, so we will work on that. She will reluctantly step on, but wants off right away.

She's ready for the trail!

Stella #14

Showed Stella to a potential buyer today. We spent 2 hours together and she rode her on the end. Stella was very tight and forward tonight, which I think made the buyer hesitant. She wanted a more finished horse.

It was very nice to get Stella into all gaits, though. She relaxed eventually, but it took a bit of time.  She wanted to throw his nose high and we worked through that. She just needs more time to relax under saddle.

I was very pleased with her!

Saturday, April 5, 2014

Stella #13

Great, great session. Trotting and finding relaxation!  Cantering and finding an engaged back and less rushing. Had 2 incidents where she thought to go around the barrel one way and I the other. Both times, she nearly lost me. It scares her when her rider loses balance.  She's moving fast and she's so supple and bendy that I can feel like riding a snake with wings for a minute.

She made some really nice changes today!  Her headset was lower more often, she found reason to pop her head up high way less, she was trotting slower and hardly ever frantically.

Her warm up was way more connected!  After the ride, she didn't leave my side. So pleased.

Django #4 and #5

Long session today. Played online for a bit. Worked with django on maintain gait, cod and canter departs.

Rode django for a long time. Counterarcs, right lead canter, right side suppleness, bends, bends and bends...  he was pretty tired, but he did very well. He started off blowing me off, but ended very signed on to the partnership.  His counterarcs improved dramatically.  His right bend for much softer and his mouth was finally quiet at the end. He spends a lot of energy trying to find comfort in the snaffle bit without success so I focused on setting it up for him to find it.

Loved this session. Feel good about relating this back to his owner and jerking her find the feeling I found with him.

Wednesday, April 2, 2014

Django #3

Fun!  Played online, then liberty in the big arena. He enjoys leaving at a fast pace, so we moved to the round pen. Played with change of direction at the trot and yoyo. Tried to create an event with the rope between his front legs, but couldn't make it happen. 

Decent stick to me, but need to fix his strong desire to leave quickly.  It's quite fun for him to do that.  He comes right back, but he's enjoying his ability to choose.

Tuesday, April 1, 2014

Stella #12

Indoor arena on a super windy day with Wendy watching. Stella was awesome. Forward, relaxed, great liberty, just a great session.

She's really finding a lot of comfort with a low poll and that makes me happy. Her liberty is getting better and better with her finding fewer reasons to leave.

Stella #11

Trotting figure 8s. Working on relaxation. She did great. Nothing too exciting today, just helping her get comfortable under saddle.