November 22, 2008

What a nice ride tonight :) After our lesson last week, it's been a series of late nights and really icy footing, so I haven't been able to ride much or much faster than a walk. Today I went out there around 4 pm, and the arena was nice enough to ride in. The lesson last week was fantastic-totally kicked my but physically, and she was great about giving me small things to work on. The hour literally flew by, and I knew I wanted to work on sitting the trot without stirrups, because she said that would also help a lot with my seat at the canter.

Today, after warming up (during which I had to pretend I was caring about what the BO's stepdaughter was rambling on about. Sounds mean, but I like to concentrate when I'm doing arena work.), we did a lot of trotting and I pretty much immediately crossed my stirrups over the pommel. Whew. I feel good and sore now, and I feel like Blaze was at a beautiful little jog. He's probably a total Western horse, ha. It's not like I'm looking to show with him, but if I did I could probably do English Pleasure. Anyway, the jog was slow and lovely, which made it incredibly easy to sit deep to, as well as keep my legs in the correct position. I'm not sure if it was easier because of the pace of the trot (which was decidedly slower paced), the fact that I had the practice last week or what, but I felt really good.

Now I'm trying to not feel guilty about wanting to go out and ride on one of my only 2 days of daylight on one of the only full days I get with my beau :/

November 11, 2008

God, what a crummy night. Thankfully I'm only referring to the current weather (butt effing cold and raining) and not to my time with Blaze tonight. Sometimes I feel like if I skip some rides/outings then I need to play catch up, but that's boring and I might hurt my brain trying to do all that recollecting. Tonight was a blast. I got off of work early in hopes of catching a little daylight, which I did. I now have him on a Weight Builder supplement, because he was looking a little ribby and I don't want there to be any chance he'll be cold and uncomfortable this winter. I would put him on beet pulp, but that has to be soaked and I don't have time to do that before getting out to the barn, at any point but weekends. I'd love to get him on some chaff, but the feed store I go to didn't have any. When Darlene makes her next feed run I'm going to see if she can look for some for me. I also need to find out if the geldings have a salt lick in their pasture-my boy needs his sodium!

He was a little bit of a butthead last time I rode: trying to pop his mouth forward and drop out of a gait (usually the trot) and he really wanted to turn back toward the gate and stop. It was frustrating. Tonight was much better. Amber and Jet were riding in the arena with us. He did try a few of those little tricks but I kept driving him forward with my legs and that helped for the most part. I am being really conscious of my hands and making sure that I'm not jerking his mouth at the trot or doing anything to provoke his actions, and I don't think that I am...hopefully the lesson I'm taking this Saturday will aid me in figuring it out. We did some nice little canter work both ways, but I'm catching myself standing a little in the stirrups so I don't come down and bang on his back. I really need someone to lunge him for me at the canter so I can work on sitting it well. He was a good boy though, and time really flies when you're having fun. I checked my watch to make sure we warmed up sufficiently, and the next time I checked we'd been riding for 45 minutes! Not bad for a Tuesday night in a dark arena with only 1 overhead light. I'm happy to know that we can easily ride in the arena after dark. He did stumble over a couple of rocks but nothing bad.

I ordered some all-natural hoof dressing and am pretty stoked for that to arrive. He is never thrilled to have his back feet picked (and I think tries to make up for that by immediately lifting his front feet the minute I touch his leg), and I want to make sure that his hooves are well protected come regular snow. Speaking of snow, we rode in snow last weekend! Nothing on the ground, just little flurries in the air. It was beautiful.

I have a gratin to pull out of the oven, but I probably won't be able to ride again until Thursday because of this shitty weather. boooooo...

November 1, 2008

Is it really November already? Blech. I am so tired from a late night last night, but I'm deliciously sore from a good RIDING session today! I decided to buy a $75 Crump saddle my BO had for sale, and am thrilled I did. It fits Blaze well, and fits my butt well too. It's old, no knee rolls, but it's really well made and comfortable. Plus, I am RIDING again. It's hilarious how sore I am. We probably did 30-45 minutes of just walking and trotting, and yowza. My thighs are burning. Good thing, I needed the workout today.

He's testing me a little bit, but in a way it's good-it reminds me he's not perfect. In the beginning of our ride, at the trot, he'll try and stop, attempting to pull the reins through my fingers. He'll also try and take his own paths at the trot. I'm finding that I need to ride with light contact with him, correct sharply but praise in a soft voice, and it's so fun to feel his improvement over the length of the ride.

Lucio is coming out with me tomorrow, so I hope I get some good riding shots and that I don't look too terrible. :)