Rode Kolo yesterday, and he did good. Had my dad hold on to a lunge line as he was being a bit silly and wanting to speed around. Got on, walked and trotted and he settled down, so I unclipped him and we walked around. He still isnt too sure about riding without an arena, and is still a little confused about where I want him to be. There is on side that is against the pasture fence and another part is a treeline and hes fine on those two sides, but one he gets to where there isnt a fence to follow he'll slow down and kin of goose his butt around trying to figure out what direction to go. After a few laps of just walking around he started to get the hang of it. His stop is great as always, turning was ok, id like to see it a little better but i have only been riding him once a week due to nasty stormy weather so im ok with it for now.
Having my old dressage trainer out to see him friday, so ill hopefully ride him then if the weathers nice
Ride In Sync
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Updates
Its been a while, but ive been busy with school and with Kolo, who is now at his new barn!
As for Jessie and Bailey, the lady who owns them has decided they are going up the mountain to a neighbors pasture while her place gets the weeds out and gets reseeded, so I will not be working with them for a while, if at all, as we are possibly moving out of state soon.
Kolo is doing great! He can now consistently walk and trot, and his canter is coming along nicely. He still isnt qute sure how to balance himself, but hes definitly getting there. Turns very nicely, has an excellent stop. He is progressing a lot faster than i thought he would.
I have only had one problem with him, and it only happened once thank goodness. It was pretty windy out, and i went out, decided to go ahead tack up and lunge him. He was already rather spooky and jittery. (Now, I dont have an arena to ride in, the only place to ride is a flat open space the barn owner has graded out for me.) Across the river a local corn maze had a band playing and i think something must have short circuited because there was a lovely screeching noise, which resulted in Kolo panicking and bolting. I tried to hang on to him, but he drug me a few feet and then jerked out of my hands and took off. Luckily the farm is a pretty enclosed area, but kolo went straight back to the pasture, over the fence and then stood stock still. I walked out to the pasture, caught him, took him back, lunged him and then put him up. We've never had an incident again.
Hopefully It will continue to stay that way
Ride In Sync
As for Jessie and Bailey, the lady who owns them has decided they are going up the mountain to a neighbors pasture while her place gets the weeds out and gets reseeded, so I will not be working with them for a while, if at all, as we are possibly moving out of state soon.
Kolo is doing great! He can now consistently walk and trot, and his canter is coming along nicely. He still isnt qute sure how to balance himself, but hes definitly getting there. Turns very nicely, has an excellent stop. He is progressing a lot faster than i thought he would.
I have only had one problem with him, and it only happened once thank goodness. It was pretty windy out, and i went out, decided to go ahead tack up and lunge him. He was already rather spooky and jittery. (Now, I dont have an arena to ride in, the only place to ride is a flat open space the barn owner has graded out for me.) Across the river a local corn maze had a band playing and i think something must have short circuited because there was a lovely screeching noise, which resulted in Kolo panicking and bolting. I tried to hang on to him, but he drug me a few feet and then jerked out of my hands and took off. Luckily the farm is a pretty enclosed area, but kolo went straight back to the pasture, over the fence and then stood stock still. I walked out to the pasture, caught him, took him back, lunged him and then put him up. We've never had an incident again.
Hopefully It will continue to stay that way
Ride In Sync
Friday, August 14, 2009
Jessie and Kolo
So the BO asked me to give all the horses a bridle path for her, and when I pulled Jessie out im almost positive that she has an abcess in her left front. Great, now to go treat it and hope for the best.
Kolo is recieving a bath this afternoon, then going to a small open show to do a halter class and walk around. Hopefuly all will go well.
Ride in Sync
Kolo is recieving a bath this afternoon, then going to a small open show to do a halter class and walk around. Hopefuly all will go well.
Ride in Sync
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Jessie/Bailey
Today I decided to just take it slow, as I had a non-rider friend out who wanted to see the girls. I just lunged Jessie, who did very good, she fussed a little bit about lunging but I just kept asking her to move out nd she got over it very quickly. After that I just worked on getting her to stand still at the mounting block, and it took her a while but after just repeatedly leading her up she stood still and let me just lean over her, I didnt have time to hop on today.
I pulled out bailey, rode her around a little bit and then let my friend hop up. Bailey packed her around like a trooper and then trotted in hand with me so my friend could go a little faster for a few steps.
Hopefully tommorow afternoon I will be hopping on Jessie if she continues to do well, though I will probably just work on standing for me to mount.
I pulled out bailey, rode her around a little bit and then let my friend hop up. Bailey packed her around like a trooper and then trotted in hand with me so my friend could go a little faster for a few steps.
Hopefully tommorow afternoon I will be hopping on Jessie if she continues to do well, though I will probably just work on standing for me to mount.
Monday, August 10, 2009
Jessie
So I went out and worked with Jessie this morning. Popped a saddle on her since she has no issues with that. Did work on some ground manners. She likes to be right on top of you so we worked on that, and stopping when I stop, backing up from halter pressure. Did that for about 15-20 minutes. Yes, her manners are THAT bad. Then I broke out the lunge line. Turns out she isn't overly fond of being lunged. She'd pin her ears, was baring her teeth, head straight up, trying to turn her butt to me with her hoof ready, the works. I just kept pushing her to do it and she finally went, but she went off crow-hopping turning her rear to me. I stopped her, made her start again, she crow hopped again. We repeated this, oh only about 15 times until she finally quit. Asked her to move out and this time she trotted off. Ok, so i would prefer a walk but I let it go, and just shook the line a little every few steps to get her to slow down. She trotted a few laps then finally walked. So, i stopped her, and we switched to the other side, and repeated the entire process again. Lunged her in all for about 25-30 minutes just trying to get a relaxed walk out of her.
Then the bridle. She has a lovely habit and trying to use you as a scratching post every chance she gets, so I'd push her head away, and try to slide the bridle on, and repeat. She finally quit and we got the bridle on. Im riding her in a copper mouth d-ring snaffle. By this time it was hot almost 95 out and I was pretty over heated.
I worked on just leading her up to the mounting block and making her stand there. She stands until you go to step on to the mounting block, but the moment you put your foot on the block she either turns her butt away or jumps forward and tries to trot a few steps. So I just kept leading her up, and standing on the block next to her. She finally stood still, let me mess with the saddle, and I leaned over her and she stood for it, so i went ahead and untacked her, hosed her down and put her up.
She is a lot more of a handful than i though before, and she has the "i want to see you make me do it." attitude that she has picked up from getting away with everything. My main goal for her right now is to lunge in a relaxed manner without arguing with everything I ask of her. Im not too concerned with getting on her right this moment but if she is cooperating with me tommorow then I will work on mounting again.
Ride In Sync
Then the bridle. She has a lovely habit and trying to use you as a scratching post every chance she gets, so I'd push her head away, and try to slide the bridle on, and repeat. She finally quit and we got the bridle on. Im riding her in a copper mouth d-ring snaffle. By this time it was hot almost 95 out and I was pretty over heated.
I worked on just leading her up to the mounting block and making her stand there. She stands until you go to step on to the mounting block, but the moment you put your foot on the block she either turns her butt away or jumps forward and tries to trot a few steps. So I just kept leading her up, and standing on the block next to her. She finally stood still, let me mess with the saddle, and I leaned over her and she stood for it, so i went ahead and untacked her, hosed her down and put her up.
She is a lot more of a handful than i though before, and she has the "i want to see you make me do it." attitude that she has picked up from getting away with everything. My main goal for her right now is to lunge in a relaxed manner without arguing with everything I ask of her. Im not too concerned with getting on her right this moment but if she is cooperating with me tommorow then I will work on mounting again.
Ride In Sync
Sunday, August 9, 2009
My training escapades
So why equine in sync you ask? Simply, I believe that a horse should be in tune with their rider, and the rider in tune to their horse. I do not believe in riding a horse with aggresion. For those horses who like to test, sometimes, a little force may be neccesary, but I believe that getting a horse to do what you what can be accomplished without striking them, or switching to a bigger bit, or putting on sharper spurs. I also believe that it can be done without bribing a horse with cookies, and without letting them be in your space and being dominant with you. There is a happy medium. No, I don't say, "I follow Natural Horsemanship", Im actually opposed to several big time NH trainers. I just follow what I have found works.
This blog is mainly just a journal for me to keep track of my horse training adventures, while providing a little entertainment for those who would like to watch my efforts. :) I regularly ride, start, and condition other people's horses, along with riding my own boy, Kolo. I have been riding in general for about 12 years but I have taken lessons for the past 8 and still do occasionally take lessons.
About me: I live in Western, Nc. Im homeschooled currently, and starting college next fall to get my occupational therapy assistant degree, and then hopefully going to get my masters and full o.t. license after that. While I have never shown at any shows of recognition, I show open circuits frequently and typically show other's horses for them, mainly hunter under saddle, or running barrels. I board my horse with a lady who runs a group home for mentally challenged adults, and I help her with the theraputic riding they do on occasion, and sometimes walk the girls through leadline classes for her. I hope to begin my dressage career with Kolo once he is under saddle completely. I also have waardenburg's. It is a genetic malformation that causes hand and foot deformation. <<< a mouthful huh?. So when I start posting pictures and videos of my rides, you are now aware, that no, it was not a tragic shark attack accident that caused this (though it is rather amusing to tell people that is whathappened).
My Riding Skills: I have shown hunter under saddle and huntseat equitation. I have schooled cross country in the past. I have jumped up to 3'6 flat jumps and 3' oxers, though that was about two years ago and I have not seriously jumped since due to starting to train horses instead of riding the school masters. I game horses on occasion, and mostly stick to barrels though I will run poles sometimes as well. I am basically a jack of all trades master of none. I dont claim to be wonderful, but I do claim that I know enough to place in lower level shows and get a horse through basic training.
While I only own one horse myself, I ride two others for my barn owner.
Kolo: Kolo is my personal horse. He is a 3yo friesian/arabian cross, about 15.1 and my dream horse. He is currently at a trainers barn being started, as I lacked an arena previously, and was NOT starting a 3yo who hadnt been handled in a 15acre field. He will be coming home within the next few weeks where I will take over his training. His previous owners were going through a rather nasty divorce, so he was only handled bare minimum, he got fed every day and had his feet trimmed every six weeks, but that was the only handling he had. While he still is rather impulsive and tends to get nervous easily, he is doing wonderfully, and now clips, bathes, picks up his feet, lunges, wears a saddle, and is now fine tuning his long lining skills.
Jessie: Jessie is my BO's arabian cross mare that she recently purchased. The girl that Jessie was purchased for to ride was too nervous to ride Jessie and wants nothing to do with her, which is understandable seeing as Jessie hasnt been ridden in 3 years, and is the epitamy of spazz attack arabian. She is quite the looker and stands around 15.2. I will be restarting her and hopefully attending a few shows next year.
Bailey: Bailey is my BO's 20yo QH mare. She's a pretty bay, about 15.3hh. She was once tossed out by the mounted police because they said she was insane and unpredictable, but she found her calling giving the handicap rides. She is not the unpredictable horse she was once called to be, and is semi-retired, occasionally giving pony rides, or having me giving her prescribed excercise to keep athritis at bay. Shes extremely spry at 20, and still w/t/c without problem, and while she has a mind of her own occasionally, she is an extremely kind horse and takes care of her rider. I hope to start working with her on some tackless riding to improve mine/her skills.
I hope you enjoy the blog, and hopefully some of my experiences will keep you entertained enough to keep you coming back ;)
Ride in Sync
This blog is mainly just a journal for me to keep track of my horse training adventures, while providing a little entertainment for those who would like to watch my efforts. :) I regularly ride, start, and condition other people's horses, along with riding my own boy, Kolo. I have been riding in general for about 12 years but I have taken lessons for the past 8 and still do occasionally take lessons.
About me: I live in Western, Nc. Im homeschooled currently, and starting college next fall to get my occupational therapy assistant degree, and then hopefully going to get my masters and full o.t. license after that. While I have never shown at any shows of recognition, I show open circuits frequently and typically show other's horses for them, mainly hunter under saddle, or running barrels. I board my horse with a lady who runs a group home for mentally challenged adults, and I help her with the theraputic riding they do on occasion, and sometimes walk the girls through leadline classes for her. I hope to begin my dressage career with Kolo once he is under saddle completely. I also have waardenburg's. It is a genetic malformation that causes hand and foot deformation. <<< a mouthful huh?. So when I start posting pictures and videos of my rides, you are now aware, that no, it was not a tragic shark attack accident that caused this (though it is rather amusing to tell people that is whathappened).
My Riding Skills: I have shown hunter under saddle and huntseat equitation. I have schooled cross country in the past. I have jumped up to 3'6 flat jumps and 3' oxers, though that was about two years ago and I have not seriously jumped since due to starting to train horses instead of riding the school masters. I game horses on occasion, and mostly stick to barrels though I will run poles sometimes as well. I am basically a jack of all trades master of none. I dont claim to be wonderful, but I do claim that I know enough to place in lower level shows and get a horse through basic training.
While I only own one horse myself, I ride two others for my barn owner.
Kolo: Kolo is my personal horse. He is a 3yo friesian/arabian cross, about 15.1 and my dream horse. He is currently at a trainers barn being started, as I lacked an arena previously, and was NOT starting a 3yo who hadnt been handled in a 15acre field. He will be coming home within the next few weeks where I will take over his training. His previous owners were going through a rather nasty divorce, so he was only handled bare minimum, he got fed every day and had his feet trimmed every six weeks, but that was the only handling he had. While he still is rather impulsive and tends to get nervous easily, he is doing wonderfully, and now clips, bathes, picks up his feet, lunges, wears a saddle, and is now fine tuning his long lining skills.
Jessie: Jessie is my BO's arabian cross mare that she recently purchased. The girl that Jessie was purchased for to ride was too nervous to ride Jessie and wants nothing to do with her, which is understandable seeing as Jessie hasnt been ridden in 3 years, and is the epitamy of spazz attack arabian. She is quite the looker and stands around 15.2. I will be restarting her and hopefully attending a few shows next year.
Bailey: Bailey is my BO's 20yo QH mare. She's a pretty bay, about 15.3hh. She was once tossed out by the mounted police because they said she was insane and unpredictable, but she found her calling giving the handicap rides. She is not the unpredictable horse she was once called to be, and is semi-retired, occasionally giving pony rides, or having me giving her prescribed excercise to keep athritis at bay. Shes extremely spry at 20, and still w/t/c without problem, and while she has a mind of her own occasionally, she is an extremely kind horse and takes care of her rider. I hope to start working with her on some tackless riding to improve mine/her skills.
I hope you enjoy the blog, and hopefully some of my experiences will keep you entertained enough to keep you coming back ;)
Ride in Sync
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