Pony Power!

Sorry for the lack of updates. I haven't been up to much horsey things lately since everything has been so hectic with the barns changing. By November I will probably be back to the regular schedule again. Since I haven't had lessons, a woman that I know let me ride her driving pony, a cute cremello/champagne gene gelding named Pistachio. He is adorable! I had ridden in their driving cart last month, but this week I rode him for the first time.

Cutie!

 It was my first time riding a pony, so I wasn't quite used to it at first, but by the second ride on him, I was more used to it. Pistachio isn't worked under saddle too often, but he was fairly good for the first ride besides being very energetic and stopping at one corner of the arena, near his friend, a mini horse. I had to push him forward each time I reached that area.

Cantering

 For my second ride on him, which was Friday, he was much better. There was no stopping at that one corner, and no incidents. I trotted him around the arena, across the diagonals for a bit in both directions, then decided to try cantering him. I made a small circle the right, just as I did with Moe, to ask for a right lead canter first as he doesn't bend well to the left. Once he slowed down and became calm, I vocally asked for the canter. It went well! No sudden bumps as I expected. His transition was very smooth, as was his canter. He only managed a few strides at first, but I worked up to riding a longer canter and even cantered around the entire arena. I was surprised at how fast his canter was. He is speedy, so I had to work on half halting him to slow him down.

 I tried cantering to the left a bit, but I could tell he had a hard time bending that way and only did it for a little bit. I also tried leg yielding him since his owner said that Pistachio needs to practice it. He did it a little bit, yet didn't cross his legs over and go as sideways as he should. I rewarded his efforts with a pat and after a few minutes rode him on a makeshift serpentine(the arena wasn't marked) to get him to bend more.

 I will be riding him more times after this, and next weekend I will ride in his driving cart again and be a navigator for his owner at the driving event. I'm looking forward to it!

 Also check out this giveaway from Equestrian Journey.

Volunteering with Buddy Systems Therapy Riding and a Quick Ride on Chester

 Yesterday evening I volunteered with the Buddy Systems, a therapy riding program that my trainer, Meghan, helps run. Ginger, Reno, and Moe, the lesson horses, are the ones that are usually used for Buddy Systems. This time, Milo, a grey OTTB that just entered the program, was used as well.

 Mom and I were first with Moe and a girl named Kristen. Another woman led Moe(a halter is put over each horse's bridle), while Mom and I walked along the sides, supporting the girl. We walked around the arena several times, taught the riders a few stretches, then played a quick game with them. Each team led their horse and rider to one of the many buckets that hung on the fence. The rider would would grab an item from the bucket, and then the team would lead the rider over their own bucket. The rider would drop the item into the bucket before the team went to get another item. When the game was over, the riders dismounted one by one.

 A little later, the next session started. Milo had been put away, but Moe, Ginger, and Reno remained. This time, my mom and I were sidewalkers for Reno and his rider. One green and one red button, which the rider would press to tell us to stop and go, were affixed  to his saddle. After walking around the arena for a little bit, we once again played the fun game. All the riders seemed to enjoy it. At the end, we played red light, green light, with each team only stopping and going when the rider pressed the correct button(red to stop and green to go). I really enjoyed helping out and seeing how much the riders enjoyed being on a horse.

 After the Buddy Systems was over, I grabbed Chester and went for a quick evening ride to get to know him better. I rode him along the perimeter of the arena at the walk twice and did some walk-halt transitions. Then I made a trot circle around Meghan, riding it several times. Then I changed directions, heading to the right. There were a couple times when I didn't turn him all the way and he walked with his hindquarters to the wall, but it was otherwise great.

 A few minutes later, I dismounted and let my mom ride, as Meghan had suggested earlier this week so Mom can see if she likes Chester as well. My mom rode when she was my age, by stopped when she became an adult. Now that I am riding, she wants to get back into it again, which would be possible if I lease Chester.

 Since she hadn't been on a horse in a while, Mom just walked around for a couple of minutes. When she was done, she let me lead Chester back to the barn to untack and groom him. I then put him away so he could enjoy his dinner.

Pictures of Chester Potential Lease Horse

Here's some pictures from my lesson with Chester!

Beautiful

 

He makes me look small! 

I love his cute face!

You might be able to tell just from pictures but his walk and trot are forward and nice.

Circle at B 

Continuing the circle

Heading towards C

20m circle at C 

Continuing the circle

 I think leasing Chester would be an excellent idea. He seems like a friendly horse and is a joy to ride. His gaits, too, are forward and smooth because of his dressage training. I know he has a lot to teach me and I think we are going to be able to work out this lease. Yay! Here's a link to my post about the lesson.

Viva Carlos Blog Hop: Why Do You Continue to Ride?

 I don't always enter Viva Carlos blog hops, but this week's question really stuck out to me so I decided to write a post about it. L wrote, "Some of us are sidelined due to physical conditions, horse injuries, finances, or even lack of a equid to throw a leg over. Why do you continue to ride?

From Viva Carlos

 As many of you know, I don't have a horse of my own, which makes it hard to progress quickly and ride more than once a week. However, in spite of that, I do not give up on this sport and I continue to ride. Why? Because I can't imagine anything better. Horses are my passion. I love riding and just being around horses more than I like to do anything else, which is something only equestrians can understand. Although this sport is anything but easy all the time, I take the good with the bad and continue to ride because we love doing it. Horses seem to make my life whole, and now that I do ride I can hardly imagine life without them. My favorite horse quote perfectly describes why I ride. You've probably heard it before, but I will share it anyways.

From Pinterest,

   "I ride to fly, to feel, to touch to breathe, to laugh, to soar, to overcome, to relax, to prove them wrong, to belong, to feel strong, to heal, to love and be loved back, to communicate without words. I ride to live." -unknown

Thank you for hosting, L. 

Update on Largo

 I mentioned last week that my trainer had found a horse, Largo, that would be perfect for me. He is a 20-year-old 17.3 hand high warmblood that is trained in upper level dressage, which means he can leg-yield, change leads, and half pass. With those skills he could teach me a lot about dressage. There's nothing better than learning dressage on a trained dressage horse! I could take him to small local shows, and Meghan said I could even win several ribbons on him. I've been discussing the possibility of owning Largo with my parents. While we all agree that he would be a great starter horse, and even my mom would like to have him and start riding again(she rode a lot when she was my age) we decided that it wouldn't work out to have a horse right now. I'm disappointed, especially since this seems like a great opportunity, but I realize that there will be other horses. I hope we will find a horse like him when we are ready for owning a horse.

Nice Day for a Ride

 The weather was warm today, with very few clouds in the sky. It was excellent riding weather. I wore my new smoke-blue TuffRider breeches today, which I had gotten for my birthday earlier, and rode Reno because Ginger had just had lesson with a girl named Olivia. Reno was having his turnout time in a pasture behind the barn. When I went to get him, I couldn't find his halter, so Meghan told me to use one of the other horse's halter. I led him around the barn and inside, tying him in the cross-ties before getting him ready. While I was picking his hooves, Meghan painted them with black hoof dressing. I then put his boots on, saddled him, put his bridle on, and led him to the arena. Before mounting, I tightened his girth a bit more.

 I warmed Reno up by doing walk-halt transitions and riding around the arena twice. When I was toward the end of the second lap, Meghan told me to ride toward the corner across from the gate, where a set of jump standards with a couple of trot poles between then stood. I circled it at a walking tracking right first. Then I began trotting around it. Reno wanted to go fast today and began trotting too fast, sometimes even breaking into the canter. Because of this I rode him a small circles and gradually made them wider. After doing this for a bit, I slowed to the walk and changed directions. I once more began trotting.

 After that, I once more changed directions and started a new exercise. I began trotting a figure eight, doing the first part around the standards I was already riding around, and riding the second around another set of standards, which were by the gate. I did this so I could get better at changing my posting diagonal. After a while, I started a new figure eight, riding to the right around the original set of standards before going around two adjacent sets that were near the middle of the arena.

 Finally, I began that last exercise. I started by turning left and circling the original set of standards. Then, I rode around to ones near the gate, and finally heading back to the starting point. Next, I began trotting around the set of standards I had started at. I did several steps of canter in each direction then cooled Reno down.

 I rode him out of the arena to the end of the barn closest to the trail(right side if you look at it from the parking lot), then dismounted. He was very sweaty at the end of the ride, and hot, so Meghan told me to hose him down after grooming him if I had time. After leading him into the barn and tying him in the cross-ties, I untacked him, groomed him, and picked him hooves. Then I led him onto the concrete wash area and tied him to the bar. I turned on the hose and let it run for a bit until it was cool. Then I began spraying his legs, slowly working my way up his body as he got used to the water. Once he was cool and I had sprayed his entire body, I untied and returned him to the pasture. As soon as I left the pasture, he began to roll and got himself very dusty. He looked liked he had fun rolling! At least I had bathed him to cool him down, not clean him.

 It was a fun ride. My leg was better than last time, which is good.

Wasn't Doing My Best

 I had a riding lesson on Ginger Saturday. It was a little overcast, but not chilly. After grooming her and picking her hooves, I applied hoof dressing, then tacked her and brought her to the riding arena. Many of the  jump poles had been moved outside of the arena, and only four remained.

 I mounted Ginger and rode her at the walk around the arena, doing walk-halt transitions to warm up. Then I rode her over to a set of four walk poles nearby one of the long sides of the arena, circling to the left. I went over them a couple times before Meghan told to go over them at the trot. She adjusted them while I rode around the circle so I could trot over them.

 I didn't feel like I was doing my best for that lesson. My legs were not as solid as usually, and I was gripping with my knees rather than my calves. I think it might have to do with being a bit tired that day. Good thing Ginger was being nice for that lesson without bucking and only refusing to go from walk to trot a couple of times.

 I continued trotting on the circle on going over the set of poles for the rest of the lesson, changing directions a couple of time throughout the lesson by making a U-turn after going over the poles and heading back over, turning in the opposite direction after going over them.

 At the end of the lesson, I rode the loop that went around the barn and nearby pasture. Afterward, I dismounted in front of the barn, untacked Ginger, brushed her and picked her hooves, then returned her to her corral, which was attached to a paddock.

Cantering & Lungeing

 I had a really fun, productive lesson today. It began with me warming Reno up by walking around the arena and doing walk-halt transitions, like I usually do, and ended with me getting even better at posting. While I was warming up, Meghan set two pairs of poles in the dressage court half of the arena, marking the places where each circle would touch. Then, made a serpentine at the walk. Next, I trotted it.

 Once I had finished doing serpentines, I moved to the next part of the lesson. Meghan told me I would be cantering a few strides to get a feel for it(Reno is an older horse and thus doesn't canter well, and Meghan only wanted me to find out how cantering feels before I can do a lot of it), which I was excited about. She explained to me how to ask for it by making a kissing sound and squeezing with my legs, then told me to trot a circle before beginning.

 When I first asked Reno to canter, he just began trotting really quickly(I almost ran into a jump standard), not cantering, but before long he had cantered two strides, so I slowed him to a walk. The rocking motion of the canter was a bit hard to get used;  it almost felt like I was thrown forwards. The second and third time around was much better. I felt like I was sitting more smoothly in the saddle the third time, too.

 After that, Meghan decided I should try strengthening my posting work. She brought out a lungeline, hooked it to the bit, and tied the reins in a knot to prevent them from flying all over the place. Then, she told me to stretch my arms out while she asked Reno for a trot. Without having to worry about steering, I was able to work on posting well: not rising out of the saddle too much, sinking down too heavily, or putting my shoulders forward. Several times, Meghan had Reno change directions. She also had me put my hands out, on my head, on my hips, or on my thighs, but never on the mane, neck, or reins.

 When she was done lungeing Reno, Meghan told me to drop my stirrups and ride at the walk around the arena before returning to the dressage court to do a serpentine at the trot. After that, the lesson was over, so I dismounted and untacked.

 I have pictures and a video from the lesson. I haven't been able to post any of the videos yet, but hopefully I can upload them on YouTube later so you can watch me ride.

  I forget to mention that I had gotten gloves for Christmas so I used those in my last two lessons. I also got a crop, but I won't use it until I am a bit more experienced---there's already a lot to focus on when riding.

Runnin' in Circles

 Saturday's lesson brought a lot of learning. When I arrived at the barn, I went to fetch Reno, who was lying on his stomach at the back of his paddock, napping. I had to nudge him to make him get up. Then I brought him to the grooming stall to clean him and tack him up. Like last time, I used the dressage saddle.

 I warmed up by riding Reno around the arena at the walk, doing several walk-halt transitions at places I designated myself, rather than places Meghan told my to halt at. Then, I changed directions and gradually worked up to trotting. As usual, I started by doing corners, then short ends, and then long ends. Once I finished doing that, Meghan introduced something new to me: circles. She described how the typical dressage court consists of three adjacent 20 meter circles, each marked by several letters and lines.

 I practiced the circle with the points at C, H, between S and R, and M at the walk, then did it at the trot several times. Next, I did the S-R, E, L, and B circle at the walk and then the trot. Once I had done those several times, Meghan asked me if I knew how to do a figure eight. I guessed how to do it, and then Meghan had me execute it. After that, I moved on to doing the final circle in the court at the walk and then the trot. I did the figure eight involving it and then learned how to a serpentine. I did that once, at the trot.

 Meghan explained to me the importance of learning circles, telling me it is useful to learn how early on in case I will need to use them with another instructor or when showing.

 After finishing the serpentine, I dropped my stirrups and rode around the dressage half of the arena(As I have said before, the arena is cut in half lengthwise using poles, with one half marked with dressage letters) at the walk. Once I did that, I exited the arena, turning left toward where the trailers are parked when people bring their horses to the ranch. In this area is a steep ditch. Meghan had me practice riding hills on that ditch before riding around the barn and the adjacent pasture to to cool down like I usually do. This time, I rode in the opposite way I usually do.

 Overall, it was an awesome lesson with a lot of learning. I really enjoyed myself and can't wait to find out what I'll learn next time.

More Posting Work

 When I arrived at the barn today, I met Annica and her bay mare, Roxy, We talked a bit, then I went to fetch Reno from his paddock, leading him to a stall that is used from grooming. I brushed him and picked his hooves, which surprisingly were not caked in mud from his water trough. Once I was ready to saddle him, Meghan brought out a dressage saddle rather than the jumping saddle I used in my other lessons. She said the dressage saddle could help me with my posting. I put it on, tightened the girth, and led Reno to the mounting block in the arena.

 Before mounting, I checked his girth. Then I mounted and rode around the arena at the walk to warm Reno up. I did some walk-halt transitions, too. After that, I began working on trotting, starting by trotting corners, then short sides, and finally part of each long side. Meghan made sure I focused on posting in rythmn with Reno, making sure I rose out of the saddle rather than being bumped around. I can really the difference. By the end of the lesson, my posting had improved a lot.

 At the end of the lesson, Meghan told me that I am almost ready to begin riding Ginger regularly now. I will do another lesson on Reno next week, and after that lesson Meghan says I will begin riding Ginger every lesson. Once that happens, I can begin cantering. Yay!

 Before returning Reno to his paddock, I untacked him, brushed him and picked his hooves. I also brushed his tail.

 I really enjoyed my lesson and had a good time. Reno was such a good boy, too, and not energetic like last time.

Fast Reno

 Today for my lesson, I rode Reno again. Although I didn't ride in the round pen, I did a whole lot of trotting and rode without having Meghan help to guide Reno. I started by warming up with two laps at the walk. Then, I began trotting. At first, I only trotted around the corners, walking the rest of the way. I gradually worked up to trotting even longer distances. After doing a few laps with just trotting around the corners, I began trotting along the short sides of the arena, then walking again until I reached the other side. Meghan made sure I kept Reno, who often strayed to the inside of the arena, along the rail.

 Reno also showed me a side I have not seen before. Usually, he prefers to keep at a walk and has be encouraged a little to stay trotting. This time, however, he was eager to trot, and often began trotting at random times when I was supposed to be walking. He even added several canter strides randomly throughout the lesson, catching me off guard. The saying that says something along the lines of "Every ride you ride a different horse," really is true. Depending on the time of day and the mood the horse is, your ride can very different.

 Anyways, by the end of the lesson, I had worked up to trotting a consecutive lap all the way around the arena---twice!  I am really excited about that and feel pretty accomplished. Hopefully I can trot just as much next week, too.

 Meghan had pointed out several things I need to think more about next time I trot. She had to remind me to keep my shoulders back throughout the lesson, as well as to not lean forward too much, which makes Reno want to go faster. I'll have to keep this in mind and write it in my journal.

 I have some pictures of Silver Rose Ranch, the 60 acre ranch where I take lessons. I have only been to the front part, where the barn, arena, hay storage, round pen, and several pastures, covered outdoor stalls, and paddocks are. I think further along the trail I ride on to cool down is a house. I'll post some pcitures and give you a tour in another post.

Ginger

 Today, my older brother, Robin, accompanied my parents and I to the stable so he could watch my lesson before heading back to college. Meghan was giving a young girl a quick lesson on Reno, so she said I would get to ride Ginger today instead. I was excited about about that.

 Ginger is a chestnut mare, about 15.2 hands high. She was once a polo pony but was later sold to a woman in the Bay Area, who did jumping with her. Now, Meghan owns her and uses her as a lesson horse. Ginger is a little more energetic than Reno.

 When I tried to put the halter on, she raised her head a little bit, so had to reach a up to get it on. I led her to the crossties, hooked her up, and grabbed her grooming supplies from a shelf in the tack room. Unlike Reno, Ginger has been body clipped and has a short, pulled mane, like most other English horses. While I groomed her, I talked to her and tried to get to know her. Then I picked her hooves. She was reluctant to lift her first hoof, the left front, but she lifted the others almost immediately. Once I finished, I pet her and talked some more.

 By then, Meghan had come so I began to tack Ginger. I strapped on her boots, saddled her, put the bridle on, and led her into the arena. Usually, I mount using the large mounting stairs just outside the barn, but this time I used the smaller block that always stays in the arena. The arena had bee cut in half, lengthwise, with poles and dressage letters. Lily, one of the girls in Pony Club, was trotting on Milo, a tall dappled grey Thoroughbred.

 I rode the section she wasn't using and warmed up by halting and walking. Meghan taught me about the subtle aids, so I focused a lot on halting and going without using the reins and without saying, "whoa." Then, I did more trot work. Meghan made sure I kept contact with Ginger's sides and gripped her with the side of my calves, rather than pushing down hard in the stirrups. After working on that for a little bit, I rode the usual route around the barn to cool Ginger down. While I rode, Meghan told me that in my next lesson(next week), I would be riding Reno in the round pen to do even more trot work if it is not being used by someone else.

 Once Ginger was cooled down, I untacked her and began grooming. Lily soon brought Milo, who was wet from a bath, into the barn and tied him in the crossties next to me. Milo is a huge horse, at least 16 hands high, if not even taller. He actually came from the same polo barn as Ginger, but he never played in any games because he was not good at polo. Milo is the same OTTB that I saw in one of the outdoor stalls the first time I took a lesson.

 I finished grooming Ginger and picking her hooves, so I led her to her paddock. It was a great lesson. I learned a lot and I really enjoyed riding Ginger.

 P.S. I was wondering what you do to clean half chaps and/or boots. I just wiped mine down with a moist rag, but I wanted to what you do.

Five Day Challenge, Day 1

 Since Tracy at Fly on Over started the Five day Challenge, I have seen several people go join her so I decided to hop on too.

1. Most influential person on your riding.
 This is a hard one, because there are lots of people who have influenced my riding, and I can't narrow it down to just one single person. My parents have been a huge influence to my riding. After years of begging, they finally got me lessons, which is a dream come true for me. They are the reason I am riding right now. Another influencial person in my riding is my trainer, Meghan, my trainer. She has taught some of the basics of riding and horse handling, building that foundation of knowledge for me. Then, there are all my blogging buddies. You guys have been a great support to me, and your kind, supportive comments mean a lot.

2. A piece of tack you would love to splurge on.
Right now, I will not be getting tack since I do not yet have a horse, but I would to get a nice jump saddle and a bridle---both in black---once I do get my horse.

3. Top five riding playlist
 I don't listen to music while riding, particularly since I am a beginner and I find it a little hard to concentrate on things when I am listening to music. However, if I do ever listen to music when riding it will be upbeat songs or something that fits whatever I am doing.

4. Most important aspect of your barn.
  This is probably a common answer, but I love the people there. Everyone is kind and helpful. One of the girls there said that it would be cool if I would be part of their group lesson someday.

5. Three winter riding goals.
1. Improve at the trot.
2. Strengthen those riding muscles.
3. Start cantering by spring.

I hope you guys had an enjoyable Thanksgiving!

Trotting Pictures

Here are the pictures I promised!

Before fetching Reno from his paddock, I saw this cute paint named Ammo!

Warming up with circles.

Other than the fence in the way, this is one of the best pictures of me posting.

In this picture I am turning at the corner of the arena and preparing
to trot alongside the rail.

Trot!

Cooling down with a lap around the arena at the walk.

Saturday's Lesson

 Saturday I used my new riding clothes for the first time. Meghan was busy finishing up with the Pony Club testing(the local Pony Club meets at the same place I do lessons), so I went to go fetch Reno while Meghan was busy. I tied him by the tack room with a quick release knot and began grooming him. He wasn't too dirty this time, but his hooves were a pain to pick out. Early that week, it had rained to the point that the arena was too muddy to be usable, so his hooves were filled with so much mud that I couldn't even see the frog or the the sole. It took a few mintues to pick all the mud out. By that time, Meghan had finished up testing the Pony Club girls.

 Once Reno was clean, I put his boots on and tacked him up. The process moved more quickly now that I have practiced putting all the tack on a couple of times. After he was tacked, I lead him to the mounting block, got on, and rode toward the arena. Unlike the previous two times I have ridden, another person was in the arena, doing circles. It was not difficult riding with someone else in the aren, though.

 I started by walking, then halting at some of the dressage letters that were at the side of the arena. Next, I did several circles around a couple of the jumps. After that, I did some trot work. I practiced holding my balance while posting and I trotted the short side of the arena several times. By the end of the lesson, I was able to hold my balance for a little bit while Reno trotted the short side of the arena. To cool Reno down, instead of riding the loop around the barn, I walked him around the arena two times. Near the gate, he started to trot(I guess he really wanted to get back to his paddock), so I slowed him back down to a walk. I dismounted, the led Reno back to the barn.

 I untacked him, groomed him, and picked out his hooves and led him back to his paddock. Meghan said that next time I'll be able to do a lot more trotting. Yah! My older brother, who is away in college, will be able to watch this time. I can't wait.

 I'll upload the pictures later once I get them off the camera.

Riding Lesson Pictures

I have lots of pictures from Saturday's lesson, so I'm am only posting some of the best. Click here to read about my lesson.

Leading Reno to the barn.

Grooming Reno

Picking his hooves

Putting on his boots

Here I am learning how to put a bridle on.

In this one I am just mounting. I used a large mounting block to get on
more easily.

Now I am heading to the arena, that fenced off area to the right(it's kind of hard
to see). The white building is the barn.

I'm in the arena now. 

Here I am practicing turning.

In this last picture, I am beginning my trail ride to cool Reno down after the lesson.
I had two cross to bridges as I circled around the barn and one of the pastures.

Equestrian Activities: a Workout

I saw this one on Facebook and thought fellow equestrians would appreciate it. Bye bye long hours at the gym! Lol.

Ha ha! Who needs a gym membership when you have horses? Not me!
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