Spring flowers are coming up everywhere but it still feels a bit chilly today. We have 6 or 8 kinds of daffodils as well as grape hyacinths, lily-of-the-valley, forsythia and a plum tree in bloom. A week ago we were under snow.
Sat. morning the girls and I took Pico, Sunny, and Splash to Patty's for the party lesson (me/Splash, Kathy/Call, and Christina/Jetter), lunch, and the girls' lesson. The wind was howling with 40ish mph gusts so the covered arena was rather musical. Splash and Jetter handled the noise fairly well as did Call after a pretty energetic lounging session. After the usual warm-up exercises, we worked on leg yields to weave the cones. Believe it or not, Splash was moving out fairly well (perhaps all the wind noise bothered him a little). During canter work, we focused on changing the bend from outside to inside without loosing the canter. Not to bad and we had fun without falling off.
After lunch, the girls started their lesson in the outdoor arena (Pico is not good with arena/wind noise). Alaina and Sunny were fairly successful with "slow" but not so much with give to the bit. Ivy and Pico had some lovely movement and transitions but, also, not so much give to the bit. Hmmmmm.
While the girls were riding, I brushed and saddled Sister, then, lounged her with the German neck stretcher and a stretchy lounge line attached through the bit to the girth. This configuration really helped Sister work on inside bend while lounging and she worked fairly well in both directions.
Sister thinks that her sides are a no-touch zone. So, Patty has been working on leg yield, leg yield, let yield. Sister is getting the picture. And, Patty says she has not followed through with her threats to cow-kick or buck. So...
Gathering courage in both hands, I decided to try and ride Sister a bit. I used my dressage saddle and a western snaffle bit. I was worrying about to much leg (with the dressage saddle rather than a western saddle) and about bit pressure.
After removing the lounging gear, I mounted uneventfully. Then moved off at a walk. We walked around without any problem and then I tried a little trot. Sister MOVED OUT! I panicked and stopped. Patty and I discussed the seat/leg pressure needed when riding a horse that MOVES versus a horse who's mission to STAND STILL. We tried again, and little by little, I relaxed and Sister responded better. We joined Ivy and Alaina and did a little arena work. I leg yeilded into corners and circled when we went to fast. We finished with a bit of backing.
I didn't FALL OFF. YAYA!
The St. Jude Trail ride schedule for Sunday afternoon was postponed because trailer parking was to muddy. But, it was cold and cloudy most of the day and the wind was out of the north. Late afternoon the sun came out and the girls played in the arena with Pico and Diez. Poor Pico has a little rain-rot on his front pastern and he broke it open on a little jump - we will keep an eye and medicine on it and try to keep him de-mudded enough to clear it up.
Rumor has it that the YaYa's will ride again at Rita's on Thursday afternoon. I will try to escape work and join in. I can hardly wait!
YaYa! Yeah!
It may be President's Day Weekend, but sadly, I don't get Monday off. But the girs do, so we will try for a lesson late afternoon to give them a chance to practice one more time before the Will Rogers Classic. I plan to meet the gang at Patty's and get a quick ride in on Splash too.
Poor Splash got to work Friday and Saturday, not surprisingly, he didn't run to the gate to meet me when I went to catch him this morning. He didn't run away either. So, we loaded up and headed to Cheval Lake on the most beautiful Sunday in February. Mallory worked Sister on "one-rein" stops (trot only) but Sister is resistant and not happy in her work. She still expresses herself with tail swishes and even a kickout - she is not an easy mare and I will refrain from saying evil mare. She is still a green mare. Splash and I concentrated on trot and leg yeilds after warm up and brief canter both directions in the deep, sandy arena. Our halts need a lot of work but at we no longer back at every halt.
The girls started their ride in their western tack and all three were cantering merrily before Mallory and I could get up the hill to get started. Fairly soon, Roxy and Ivy went to swap to English so they could JUMP! Alaina watched until she couldn't stand it and swapped to English too. Sunny CAN jump. Roxy/Trooper jumped Fri/Sat/Sun, Ivy/Pico jumped Sat/Sun, and Alaina/Sunny jumped on Sunday. Roxy is working to slow and steady Trooper so he doesn't rush the jumps. Ivy needs to help Pico have confidence to really jump and made good progress this weekend. Both Ivy and Roxy rode an 8 jump course at Patty's including the scary barrel jump. Sunny is willing and Alaina needs to work on her balance to help Sunny land balanced. It looked like they were having to much fun.
Now, about that left diagonal. If I am not paying attention, I always come up on the right diagonal. This is probably because Splash is stronger on the left hind. So, on Friday, Roxy and I worked on getting left diagonal first try during our equitation practice. My method is to chant "up - up - up" with the left shoulder as we approach the transition. After a couple of tries, I was getting it every time - except - when Splash would throw in a mini canter stride. Was he trying to push me onto the right diagonal or was he just slipping into canter because I was pushing for impulsion?
At the Saturday Party Lesson, Splash had really good canter work - correct leads every transition and only one dropped canter while on the right lead. He feels better all the time at Patty's - he seems to like the footing. At Mallory's, he really labors in canter work in the deeper sandy footing. Our arena has deep and solid areas and Splash goes well in the solid areas and labors in the soft spots.
In addition to 3 sessions of equine therapy, I also got to see a musical, Deer Camp, with my YaYa Sisters on Saturday evening. It was a silly presentation about 4 men who go deer hunting every year but never really hunt. They are just hanging with their buds drinking beer and teasing each other. Very enjoyable and a good way to celebrate Nancy's birthday. Spring is almost here so I hope to have a YaYa Trail ride soon.
