GOOD girl!!!

 Today was lesson day with Liz! And.. I knew I had to start getting ready and was hoping to meander around a bit first but life happened and of course I wasn't quite ready. I was about to put the bridle on when she pulled up. Whooops! Oh well. I was hormonal and cranky and irritated and getting mad and frustrated at Funny for stupid little things. Sigh.. I said a quick prayer that God would turn my mood around. And I got on and headed to the arena. We got up there and I apologized to Liz. I told her I was super hormonal and cranky and if I shot her a death glare to not take it personally. I also told her that I needed her to call me out if I got mad at Funny without reason. We chatted briefly and I walked her around. We talked about our last lesson and kind of what I had done since. 

Mackenzie had come and taught Jean and her interns again so they had moved the jumps out and put down some poles. There were 4 poles in a cross on each end and then in between two little jump fillers side by side. So Liz told me to ride the circle over the poles, and then, while holding the bend, kind of leg yield her away to the side of the poles and then half pass her back to the other circle of poles. Except she didn't want me to really think half pass and leg yield because it wasn't that specific. It wasn't about the maneuver, as much as she wanted me to focus on my body and keep the bend. And... it was easy.. and then it was hard. Basically I tend to collapse in a way that half passing left is easy. Leg yielding right is easy. But the opposite is hard. Tracking right was much easier. Tracking left, I could get her to leg yield out really easily, but when we went to half pass in, she was already falling in so I almost over asked. I almost had to do "nothing" and she would naturally half pass in because that's how my body wants to be (Wrongly) positioned. But then I tried to over correct and would cross my left hand over and end up blocking her and creating a counterbend. It was hard to fix! I had work really hard to fight it and I'm still not 100% sure how I accomplished it. I know that I do need to keep my inside (left) leg on, OPEN my left hand instead of crossing it, and open my right rein a little too I think. And almost think of pushing her haunches back in. I think. We did that a bit and she was so lazy. Like...lazy enough that Liz had me hop off for a minute because she was a little afraid that Funny would try to lay down, like she was colicky. But no... she was just quiet. I do think she's in the lovey dovey phase of her heat cycle. 

So then we picked up the trot and Funny definitely perked up. Although overall today she was still much quieter and I did have to use my leg some. Oh, that was the other thing. She didn't want me kicking every stride... not even kicking, pulsing. I was trying to push her haunches out with each stride, in the right phase of the stride, but Liz told me to instead... put my leg on and leave it. And if she ignored me, give her a bump. But don't just kick every stride to kick every stride. And sure enough, it helps! So anyways.. we trotted and Liz didn't want me doing tight circles this week. She wanted me to trot around the arena but off the rail. If I needed to circle I could, but she wanted me to try to stay on straighter lines. And it was hard. We worked on me, and once I got balanced and settled... just wait it out, and Funny would come to me. And holy cow we got some really nice trot work!! Seriously nice trot work! Like... it's already so much nicer than it has been, but... today, we went from 6's, to 7... and then oooh, an 8, and then HOLY COW THAT WAS 2 or 3 STEPS OF 9!!!! And it was crazy cool because it only took the slightest little change in my body and she was suddenly this amazing fancy beast! It's so hard to even make notes because.. it's not one specific thing. It's a bit more of a feel. 

So... 

Tracking Right: It's harder to make it happen but almost easier to get it correct. Tracking left it's easier to cheat and have it look nice but harder to make it truly correct. So tracking right we'd go from a 5 to a 10, and stay in 5 or 6 most of the time, but tracking left we'd start at a 7 and vascillate between a 7 and an 8 the whole time. So.. interesting. 

Tracking Right: She wants to throw her haunches to the left/outside, and also throws me to the outside. So I had to sink into my outside stirrup and let her take me there, but then say.. .okay, you can go here, but now we have to balance underneath yourself here. So... sit left but then ask her to hold me. (similar thinking to my lesson with Jacel where I went from just leg yielding her out to catching the outside and riding inside leg to outside rein). So once I got into my left seat bone and thought about sitting onto my left hip/her left hind, lifting my inside seatbone, and turning my shoulder to the right, but then turning my head to the outside (which is apparently actually straight ahead), she was like "oooohhhhh" and lofty and balanced. If I don't turn my eyes to the "outside", then I tend to look in, which makes me think my shoulders are facing in but they aren't. So it feels silly and I feel like I'm looking way off in space, but I'm not. I have to keep my elbows moving and soft and keep my elbows at my side and my hands slightly wider. And we got some seriously nice trot steps! Especially when I slowed my post and thought about posting up and down vs forward. And when I sat .... a tiny bit behind the motion almost. That's not exactly it... and it's not exactly rolling onto my seat pockets.. but more lifting my sternum and core and just... tipping my butt a hair. I don't know.. I know what to do and I can feel her change when I get it but it's hard to put it into words. 

We let her have a breather because she was starting to fade. And she processed. And then I went to pick her back up and Liz yelled at me. I told her that she needed to re-explain the gathering thing because I thought I was doing it right. It wasn't a "take, take, take, take, take" in step with her steps.. it's a "take...step, step, step, take, take, step, step, take," WHEN she offers it. So... when there is slack in the reins, that's when I shorten them. Not shorten them to create more tension. And it's always two to one with the outside first. That's how you get them into the outside rein. OOOOHHHhh!! Okay, good because I was confused. And it definitely makes her less combative about it. And then bring my elbows slightly back to create more "take" but keep them moving and soft and following. 

Tracking Left: She went to pick up the trot as soon as I thought about it, but i felt like she braced a little so I didn't ask and waited til she softened again. Liz said that I was correct in waiting til she was soft... don't sacrifice the transition for a certain spot on the rail or certain time. Just wait til she's ready and then ask. But she also said that she wasn't bracing, so much as just hearing me. And sure enough, once I got her soft again and asked with my "energy" vs my leg, she went up into the prettiest upward transition. Tracking left feels way easier but it's not really truly correct. I have to sink into my right stirrup and post up and down. And stay looking ahead, or a little to the right/outside. My shoulders naturally tip to the inside, so I don't have to worry about them. But I definitely have to worry about my inside hand crossing over. And everytime I do that, bad things happen or bad things get worse. But if I just widen my hands and open my inside rein, she softens. And sometimes I even have to open my outside rein to give her shoulder somewhere to go. And then slow my post and think about breathing softly and my core lifting. And we got some really nice work that way too! 

So then we took another breather and then we picked her back up (more correctly this time) and went for the canter. We were aiming for walk to canter but if she trotted that was okay too. BUT we had to have a nice walk first. A nice soft relaxed walk. And it took a minute but we got it. She sort of trotted quick into the right lead the first time but it was okay. The canter was the same as the trot, more or less. Same things with my body. And it was quite nice. It was a little quick and big, especially since we weren't on circles. BUT it was still so much better than before. And Liz said we could "fix" it on small circles but we also needed to figure out how to fix it on the straight aways. And honestly... we did! She totally listened to me. Part of what helped was the very first exercise we did today. I almost rode her in a very slight and subtle leg yield to get her into the outside rein, especially on the left lead canter. And wow! It worked! And when I did that, she didn't feel like she was motorcycling in. Liz said it was hard for her and if she falls out of the canter, let her. Don't punish it. At one point I felt her starting to weaken, so I closed my legs and she didn't break, but then a few strides later she did. But that was okay, because I supported vs punishing and then allowed. And when I did ask for her to trot, beefore she broke on her own... SO MUCH MORE LEG! Ha ha. She came down so nicely but it was almost a canter to halt transition. Ha ha.. we're not there yet! 

We quit after that because she was sooooo good. We chatted a bit and I hopped off and she was snuggly. Liz mentioned how happy she looked too. Yay! I'm soooooo sooooo glad we've gotten over that combative phase of our relationship. And maybe I could have avoided it had I ridden differently... or maybe it was needed.. maybe I did have to prove to Funny that I was actually going to get to have a say, albiet a fair one... not to sound cliche, and I really don't believe in "asserting dominance" but.. to a point, maybe I had to prove to her that I was worthy of being in charge?? I don't know. Maybe not.. and maybe not as long as we fought. But, regardless, we've come out the other side and seem to be on the same team and as I kept saying before... "If we can just get on the same team, we're gonna have so much fun"... and it's true! THIS!!! THIS is what I've been waiting for! She's so responsive to my body language and so willing to try. And so freakin' athletic and talented. She's NICE!!!! So nice! And it's so fun when we're not fighting. For both of us. So WHEEEEEEEE!!! 

When we were chatting after Liz laughed and said my smile was awesome and I was no longer hormonal or angy anymore. NOPE! You fixed that!! :) :) :) But she pointed out that she teaches by little dopamine hits. Those moments of "aha" that make us feel so good. Me and Funny. And we want more of those. And they make us happy. And... it freakin' works and she's right! I'm sure the sunshine helped my mood too. And just getting to actually ride! And such a good ride too. So YAY!!!!!! 

I walked her home since she was so good and let her have some naked time. It's a hair chilly but.. it's about to be at least 36 hrs of below freezing and potentially up to 70 hours, so.. I felt like she would appreciate the naked time. :) Sadly I didn't get any photos because I was enjoying the ride so much and Liz didn't get any videos cause she left her phone in her car. But that's okay. It was WORTH IT!

Cold lunge

 photos: 1-26 cold day

lunged for a short bit, did pillars first and alternating raised poles. definitely a bigger stride than her siblings

good girl. got a nice trot. even played a tiny bit with bigger and smaller on the lunge. VERY Subtle changes. did some transitions 

finished with some leg yields and side pass. pretty good at side pass (more half pass, but still) and backing

back to blanketed!

Jumping at Home!

 We jumped at home today. Mackenzie had set up a fun little grid thing in the arena for Jean and her crew last week so I figured that since she had worked hard and we did dressage yesterday, that we would jump today. And I think that she's still in heat. She's not glaringly in heat but... she's acting like she's in heat. She's still kicking out at my leg and being proppy and bucky. But I think it's related to being in heat. So I figured today would be a fun day! 

 

After I got on she acted like she wanted to trail ride in the neighborhood so I let her. Of course right as we hit the end of our culdesac the neighbors came by on their four wheeler. I was thinking I might die, but... Funny was good and stood her ground and was brave. So then we walked down to the culdesac to the left and then crossed back over the street. We saw Dan in the pasture and he nickered at us. Then we headed back to the culdesac and headed to the arena. 

 

We started with a trot and she was a bit bouncy. And balky. She was fishtailing. But we managed a decent bit of trot after a bit. Then we cantered and then we jumped. We did some bendy lines... some diagonal lines. And then I got brave and did the inside line which had a 3 foot oxer. That I set up. Ha! Why does it look so big!? But she was good and we jumped it. She was a little squiggly to the last one. So then i set my phone up to video it and then we did it again. Then we did a few more of the smaller ones and practiced some bendy lines. She was still fairly rowdy. 

 

I let her rest for a few and then we picked up the trot. She was fussy at first but... I just made myself straight and correct and ignored the maneuvers she was throwing at me and just kept riding and she settled. And we got some nice work and then went the other way. It took another minute to get a nice trot that way but we did! Yay! So we quit and then hacked home. Good girl!

  

Birthday Ride!

 long hack alone. not jumpy. 

arena ride with kelli. very good. a bit resistant to bend right today. sassy, in heat. but really good. had a legit lovely working to lengthen to working. canters getting better. 

cool down hack with kelli and marvin. 

good pony

photos: my bday hack 

Sassy but lovely!

 Photos; Liz lesson day

lesson with liz. Funny's definitely in heat.

got tacked up and rode up. liz's dogs were running loose and came flying by. funny was good. got a little amped up but not terrible. was stupid at the gate because I really need to move those darn standards out of the way. 

talked with liz and walked and then eventually trotted a loose stretchy trot warm up. she was soooo good. walked with liz and worked on me. I collapse in my right core and tip forward to the right, stemming from my pelvis. So... think left shoulder back and upand turn my core left. She told me to bring my left leg back and down, which fixed my pelvis. but it was hard. but it did help. and that made funny straighter. Tracking left (because i'm turned right) Funny wants to fall right and overbend left, so... if I think shoulder fore, haunches out, it helps. especially if I think shoulder fore for ME! 

picked up the trot and it was a bit dramatic in the beginning of every restart but got nicer. worked on my body position and when i got straight, funny got straight and quite lofty and bouncy. yay! had some naughty moments. stayed on a small 15-18 ish meter circle. right shoulder drifted hard at a certain spot tracking left. I want to cross my left hand but thinking of opening it from my elbow helps. i also need slightly wider hands. like at my hips.. not at the wither. that allows her to find her balance. She wants to pull my forward so sit back on my left seatbone and lift and bring my left shoulder back. Open my core by opening my "pooch". My crotch to belly button collapse, so lift that and don't collapse my chin. lift my sternum. Tracking right i have to think about sitting behind her a little bit.. more like rolling back onto my seat.. vs getting perchy on my crotch. super subtle but a difference. 

got some nice work and then moved to the canter. better from the walk. (she's got those down pat). I have to follow her head... not lock my upper body and brace. We got an amazing right lead canter after multiple attempts. i thought about lifting her back with my back and sitting upright. Originally she told me to step into my left stirrup but that just makes me tip. I have to sit into my left buttcheek and lift my right shoulder and hip bone. tracking left is harder but easier. we got a nice canter there too but it got a little wild and wooly. spooked at a deer. then had a tantrum cause her foot hit the standard. had to give her time to process.

Build ME and she will come. Start and stop more often. don't pick a fight or let her pick a fight. Just place myself and give her whatever time it takes for her to come to that place. allow her to fall in or out of transitions as she needs. take the time to let her process when she starts getting rowdy. it's not so much her fighting as her being overstimulated. she does love me and is going to be phenomenal when we can get each other figured out. it is coming along though!! liz said her balance was much better in the trot already and it'll get there in the canter. and today.. that right lead canter felt AMAZING!!! And we had a step or two to the left that also felt amazing. 

good pony!

BRRRRRR!!! But also sweaty!!

  Today was COLD! So cold. And windy. I slept in and spent the morning finishing getting my new phone figured out and set up how I want it. And then Gargamel jumped on the desk and broke it, so then Mike and I had to reconfigure the office. And when we went outside to get the old desk, I was soooooo cold. I almost bailed on riding with Sharon. Especially because I still had to do a bunch of things before we could go. But, then I decided that I would be mad. And I could bundle up. And I'm glad I did! I found another pair of fleece breeches that are super warm, put on my winter tall boots, long underwear shirt, sweatshirt, and heat reflective vest, and jacket. And my ear muffs. 

 

We got to Ashland and got tacked up and headed out. My ears were cold but that was the only part really. The wind was fairly brutal so we stayed in the woods mosty. We did the "perimeter" trail more or less and even trotted up the backside of Ashland. It was a good ride. We had fun. 

 

Then I went to the arena and did some dressage. She wasn't quite as good as she was at home, but close. She started out quite nice. But then Erin showed up to give a lesson in the jump arena and that got Funny frazzled. She is loud! ;) But we still had a good ride. We had some nice leg yields and played with shoulder in and haunches in at the walk. And shoulder in at the trot. We also did turn on the forehand and turn on the haunches and she was good! We also did three changes.. all on command across the diagonal. BUT... they got a bit racy! But at least we have them. Whoo hooo! We got some nice canter work, though the left lead is still harder. It is better though when I think a bit of a counterflex. Our trot work was still better than it had been, but she got a bit quick and bracy again today. We'll keep working at it!

 

We walked around pterydactyl lake again to cool off. I was sweating!! Even though I had taken my jacket off. I would have taken my vest off but I had to have the pocket for my phone. But then once we took our hack, I was sweaty and cold. ;) 

 

It was cold enough that Funny was barely sweaty and I put her blanket back on for the ride home. Not the back on track!

 

I think next weekend we'll do a lesson with Kelly! Or the ride-a-test, but hopefully a lesson.

 

Alrighty then!!

 Alright Monkey!!! Way to bring it! 

 

I am running out of time to ride all the ponies these days... it's too cold to start early and then life gets in the way and then... then... then... So I managed to get Lyric ridden at Ashland and we had a lovely time. I got home and turned her out and grabbed Funny, who was luckily right by the gate. We got tacked up and headed to the arena. It was looking like we might get rained on! But we didn't. 

 

We hacked up there and did some walk warm up. We did shoulder in and haunches in and she's kind of getting the hang of it! Then we picked up the trot and she almost immediately went into a nice soft trot! In fact, the majority of our ride was a pretty decent tempo. She got a little quick a few times but nothing like she used to. And although she didn't get quite as "collected" as in our lesson.. mostly because I didn't insist... she spent a good chunk of the ride in a very nice lovely tempo and balance. She wasn't sitting behind as much as in our lesson, but she was sitting more than usual. It was a lovely ride! Even after we cantered. We had some really nice moments and overall, it's trending towards more good than bad! We're certainly getting more than just "moments" of good now. Yay!!! We even got some really nice canter work today. And she's letting me sit in the saddle instead of trying to get me to perch. We also did some nice trot shoulder ins at the sitting trot. And we had some good transitions within the gait at the trot. All off my seat and thighs. And we had some good canter to trot to canter transitions. We picked up the canter from the smaller trot and it helped. We did some 15 meter canter circles too. 

 

In fact, she was so good we quit pretty early on. It was still a 40 minute ride but that included the hack to the arena and back and our walk breaks, so... not as much "work" as we usually do. But honestly, she was so good that I didn't want to push for more and get into a fight or punish her try. Or have her get tired or fatigued and start to speed up again. So we didn't. We hacked back home. 

 

Good pony!!! I wonder if it's just me being a better rider (using my seat more instead of my hands), maturity as she's gotten older, or the saddle fitting her better?? Or all of the above most likely. Regardless, YAY!

 

 

Lunging day

 Lunge day

Hard lesson at kilkenny

 lesson at kilkenny with laura and smarty

tacked up and walked into indoor. a little spooky over drain to indoor but didn't jump it. walked around fine.. then jacel arrived so went to outdoor. blaze was running around. smarty was amped. funny spooked at blaze once but was fine. had a fun lesson. hard!!! but fun. tight arena, tight turns... barrel racing feeling in some of the turns. and deep footing at the edges of arena so a little scrambly. but... 

react quickly on backside so can ride softer after and to the fence. low hands. turn my body, not yank her face. ride inside leg to outside rein. use my corners. 

did the hard line first before we were supposed to. whoops. Jumped skinnies and a bit wiggly but went over. lost my stirrup and did 4 hard fences without it. had some struggles but had some good moments. fun!

Chewed on the fence decor like dan. ;) But not the actual scarecrows ;) 

Then went for a cool hack. neat property. geese almost scared her. 

good pony

photos: Kilkenny and lesson photos

endurance girl

Well that was fun! Although my knees disagree! 

 

We were invited to go ride the trails at Hard Labor with Jenny and Bentley. Yay! I need to get out there again to help make sure I don't get lost. And since it was just the two of us, I figured it would be an easier ride as far as not having to hold Funny back as much. 

 

 

And it was fun. But there was still some gait mismatch. Funny's just got such a big long trot that we kept leaving Bentley in the dust. But he walks faster. So we took turns. And it's hard for me to be in the lead and trotting because I'm not sure where I'm going or when the footing is going to be tough. But we had fun. Jenny is a good sport! We even cantered a tiny bit. Funny stayed pretty soft in her body throughout the ride, except when she was trotting behind Bentley. Then I was having to hold her off of him and she was inverting and twisting because she was practically on top of him! 

 

We ended up doing almost 11 miles with 42 minutes of trotting! No wonder my knees hurt when we got done. Ouch! Next time... not jump stirrup length!! Especially not XC jump stirrup length! Egads! But we had fun. And Funny didn't seem that tired. She definitely was feeling it but on the final stretch home she picked up the trot on her own and powered on. So... fitter than me ;) And.. I still don't know where the trails are taking me. Ha ha! But at least I feel like I have a slightly better grip on it. Now to get back out there again soon so that I don't forget!