All The Kings' Horses

My ride with Gia started out really relaxed on Monday.  I wasn't sure what to expect since I had taken a few days off for the holidays, and Gia hadn't been worked in a week.  She seemed really relaxed in the barn, and, although she was a little fidgety at the mounting block, it was still better than the last time.  Once I allowed her to walk off, she was super quiet and relaxed, maybe more so than she has ever been when she first gets started.  She was a bit sluggish when I first asked for the trot, so I repeated the walk to trot transition a few times until she moved off promptly from my cue.  Then we set to work on going between the poles and trying to get her body to be more straight.  It was VERY windy, but she was only a little nervous and looky at first.  Once I put her to work, she relaxed completely.  We worked quite a bit on bending and straightness, and she seemed better about that than she has so far.  All in all, our ride was going quite well ... until I asked for t

I took Gia with me on Tuesday when I went to ride Butch.  She loaded in even less time that morning, and traveled fairly well.  She was a little spooky and looky when I walked her from the trailer to the hotwalker, but less so than the first time.  She very quietly walked on the hotwalker while I rode Butch.  She was slightly less looky as I walked her back to the trailer, and got back on the trailer fairly quickly.  It's a long drive (1 1/2 hours one way), and she traveled well on the way home until about 30 minutes out when I started to feel the trailer sway a little.  She was either pawing, or more likely, piaffeing, out of impatience.  There wasn't much that could be done while driving on the highway, but once we got into town and had to stop at lights, each time she pawed, I would let the truck go forward about a foot and then slam on the brakes.  It's not as bad as it probably sounds, but it does give the trailer a little jolt which knocks Gia a little off balance and

Today's weather was pretty soggy and cold.  So, in an effort to stay warm and dry, I did most of my rides in a quarter sheet.  I decided to try it on Gia and see how she would do with it.  It may not seem like a big deal to some, but to a horse, any small change can be a big deal, especially a young horse.  A quarter sheet is typically a short, lightweight blanket that covers the horse's hind quarters to keep them warm while they are working.  I will usually wrap mine around my waist on cold, rainy days to help keep my legs warmer and dryer as well.  Gia did not seem to be bothered by it at all in the beginning.  She was a bit more fidgety at the mounting block, and after I got on.  Her extra fidgetiness could have been caused by the sheet, but it's hard to say.  She started out super quiet at the walk, once I allowed her to move after she had stood still for three seconds.  We warmed up with the figure 8 through the poles, working on haunches left, and she showed no sig

Gia felt pretty relaxed as I bridled her and walked her out to the arena today.  So, I decided I did not need to lunge her today.  She stood fairly still while I mounted.  She fidgeted a little, but she is definitely improving in that area.  Once I was on, I reminded her to stand still anytime she took a step, until she could stand for a count of three.  That part was slightly better today too.  She did not feel as tense today at the walk, and we started out working on haunches left and going between the poles.  She might have been slightly more resistant to move her haunches left today, but not by much.  It was still way better than the first day, where she didn't understand it at all.  I also worked with her on down transitions from walk to halt.  Those took her a while, and I had to settle for a down transition that took several cues, but one where she didn't pull against me.  I continued to give her a strong kick anytime she leaned on the bit during the down transition. 

Gia seemed a little edgy today (possibly because of the dramatic drop in temperatures here), and since she had threatened to buck on Monday, I decided it would be in both our best interests to lunge her to start things out today.  I attached the lunge line a bit differently today.  I really wanted Gia to get a good stretch and loosen up on the lunge line, not just walk, trot and canter around.  So, I ran the line through her bit on the near side (the "near" side is the side closest to the handler at the time, usually, but not always, the left side), and then attached it to the buckle on the girth.  As Gia walked, trotted and cantered around, the line put a little downward pressure on her to encourage her to stretch as she moved.  I made sure the line was not taut so that there wasn't too much pressure.  After just a few steps, she really started to reach down and get into it! Probably due to the lunging, Gia was very quiet, almost perfect, while I mounted today.  I star

Gia stood ok at the mounting block today.  She was a little fidgety, but not as bad as she has been.  I decided to really work on keeping her straight today.  So, I started out with riding her at a walk on a figure 8, going between the poles in the center of the ring.  Since her haunches keep wanting to trail to the right, I asked her to position them to the left, as much as possible, no matter which direction we were traveling.  At the walk, she was doing fairly well.  When we moved to the trot, it was a different story.  I don't know if she was just in a mood today, or if she was already struggling with the haunches left work, but as soon as I asked her to pick up a trot, she started popping her behind up off the ground - a threat of bucking.  Lucky for me, it never got worse than a minor threat, and luckily, she didn't put much effort into it.  At first, I fussed at her and halted her sharply.  A few times like that didn't deter her, so then I added a kick.  Still not de

On Friday, I was going to get a video of Gia's piaffe at the mounting block, but she actually stood almost perfectly still.  The good news is that she stood still.  The bad news is that you don't get to see her piaffe ☺.  Her walk also started out a lot more relaxed than usual.  It was raining pretty steadily while I rode her on Friday, and I believe this was our first rainy ride, so that may have had something to do with her quietness.  Since Gia has been doing so well with the poles, and seems to enjoy the work.  And since I don't want to just come out and do the same thing day after day with her - walk, trot, canter, etc, which would create boredom and resentment and would diminish the joy she currently has in her work.  And since, one day, we will want to be ready to jump anyway.  I decided to start working with Gia on a variety of pole exercises that I have.  I have a wonderful book that has over 50 different exercises you can do with just poles on the ground.  This wi

No lunging for Gia before riding today.  She was quite fidgety at the mounting block though, showing off her potential for piaffe , as she was impatient to get started.  It took a little longer than usual to hop on because of this, but she did eventually stand still.  We started out walking in figure 8's and over poles.  She was, again, impatient to get going at the trot, so we stayed at the walk a bit longer, until she had finally relaxed and started stretching into it.  The trot work went really well.  She's not used to cantering in the arena yet, so she wasn't impatient to get anywhere☺.  We trotted in figure 8's and over poles as well.  At both gaits I also worked on keeping her straight, and getting her to move off my leg in order to achieve straightness.  By the end, the trot work was very solid in tempo and straightness.  It was a bit sloppy in the round pen today after all the rain we got, so I decided not to trek up to the round pen to canter.  Instead, I put

Gia had a special session today.  Every Tuesday I head down to Vass, NC to have a lesson on my competition horse Butch with Charlie Plumb at CDP Stables.  I had been waiting for a Tuesday when I had a little more time, to take Gia with me for a field trip off the property.  Any chance that I can use to get her off the property and have new experiences will give her more confidence for when she will eventually go to competitions.  I wanted to keep it very simple and easy, and it really was.  She hesitated a little when I asked her to get on the trailer this morning.  She never refused, she just wanted to take a little time to check it out.  She has been on both a large trailer and a smaller, 2 horse trailer.  However, this was a new 2 horse trailer that she had not been on before. ( I had to upgrade from my older, smaller trailer since Gia was too big for it!)  I have no problem letting her take her time to check things out, so it took about an extra 5 minutes to load her this morning

I got on Gia yesterday without lunging first again.  She was a little fidgety with standing at the mounting block - no better or worse than the last time.  I made sure to praise her when she did the right thing since she really lives for the praise!  She was much less tense when I first asked her to move off at the walk.   After only a few minutes, she was quite relaxed walking in a figure 8 and over the poles.  I also asked her to move off my leg whenever she felt crooked, and she complied fairly well.  We repeated everything at the trot.  She was a bit stiffer on her left side, but otherwise, she did really well!  I decided to add a new "trick" to her repertoire yesterday.  I started to teach her how to "turn on the forehand".  She had already learned how to do this from the ground, so now it's just a matter of reminding her of the cues and doing it from the saddle.  In a "turn on the forehand" (I'll call it "TOF" for short for the re

I decided not to lunge Gia again today.  We started out working at the mounting block.  She was much less fidgety, both before I got on and after I got on.  Her walk felt a bit tight, probably because she didn't get to loosen up on the lunge line.  She wasn't really distracted, but she did feel tense.  I worked her over the poles at the walk and trot, and used turns as needed to get her attention.  I also worked on getting her to soften, especially on the right side.  She was doing ok with that, but not as good as she has done on other days. When she was slightly better, I hopped off to take her up to the round pen for her canter work.  She was slightly more prompt after just one or two times asking her to canter from the ground.  Once I got on, she still felt tense and tight, and when I asked her to canter from the saddle, she felt slightly more explosive.  She definitely bucked a few times, but it wasn't the soft buck from the other day, it was slightly more powerful th

I decided to start yesterday's session out with no lunging.  It was a quiet day, and she has been going really well, so why not!  I started out working on standing still at the mounting block.  She was still fidgety, but slightly better than last time.  Once we got going at the walk, she was a bit more tense than last time, and slightly more looky, but not too bad.  I put her to work and kept her focused on going over poles, with extra turns when I lost her attention.  Once that felt good, I added the trot.  The poles were pretty easy for her today.  She only slightly hesitated at one or two of them in the beginning, and then she was perfectly fine.  I did ask for her to move off my leg and soften to my hand.  She was a little fussy about that work, but not terrible.  Once she was more obedient and responsive, I hopped off and took her up to the round pen.  Conditions finally felt right to try the canter again - not too wet, not too windy, fairly relaxed in her walk and trot work

Today started out normal enough.  But, by the time Gia was tacked up and ready to go, it had become quite windy.  I was leaning towards not riding her, but decided to play it by ear.  I started her out on the lunge line, as usual.  We had a lot of rain this weekend, so there was a big puddle in one corner of the arena, along with some trot poles, so we headed down to that end.  The first few times she approached the water, she stopped and checked it out, then hesitatingly walked through it.  I allowed the stop, especially since she didn't look like she was trying to get away from it, just trying to understand it.  Each time through, I encouraged her to keep moving, even if slowly, and praised her heavily when she made it completely through.  Trotting over the poles was a no-brainer today, and after several times through, the big puddle was fun not scary!  We did the same thing in the opposite direction, but she hardly slowed down.  She really seemed to enjoy the water!  She wasn