Lesson on Forward

Last night Jen sent me an E-mail back rather quickly that said she could do a lesson before 12. Well, that is going to have to work because I can’t do it any other day this week. Although I am not a morning person I told her I would call her tomorrow.

This morning I pop out of bed around 8:40ish which is early for me! After I got dressed and came to, so to speak. I’m always zombieish in the morning I called Jennifer. She was perky, she is a morning person or at least more so than I am. The first thing that’s come out of her mouth was ‘You’re up!’ she knows I don’t do mornings well. A few laughs later and I tell her we will be loading horse’s in 30 mins.

Mom said she would be ready in 30 so I told Jen 30. Well after I fed and watered everyone, had breakfast, made sure I had money I went to hook the trailer up I had to wait for mom. She took an extra 30 mins before we were loading Wynter. Who was intrigued by a trailer ride. He never fails to jump in sometime gracefully and others… we’ll just say he falls in. He does this very acrobatic jump canter hop in mid air thing getting in the horse trailer. Some times it looks good while other times he just about falls over.

My friend Liz through Arlo in the trailer to go down and have a lesson. We weren’t sure how well that would go sees how Arlo hasn’t been ridden English all summer. He has be packing a western saddle and correctional through the trails. We drove the half an hour down to the ‘farm’ and get there about 12ish I was not happy, I hate being late. When I say I’m gonna be there I want to be there (early even) my mom on the other hand has time management issues. I think I broke a record throwing Wynter’s saddle on today!

I had my crop in my back pocket his saddle on and his bridle in my hands when I went into the main barn. Jennifer joked around with me saying it was about time. I was thoroughly surprised she wasn’t upset about me being late. We have been over the time thing a few times but she was in a good mood today. As I went about grabbing the lunge line and whip we were chatting with another client of hers. This lady I haven’t seen in like a year and a half. It was neat talking with her. She was ogling over Wynter, I commented that he was fat. Both disagreed with me. Jennifer liked him and that shocked me he looks like a slob right now! At least he was clipped.

Since he hasn’t been out in a while he was a little tense going through the barns but once in the pen he was like oh yeah I know this place, what ever. He reverted to lazy boy rather quickly! On the lunge he was not to eager to move out and he was lazy at the lope but I made him do it. When I brought him in to bridle him there was more ‘pretty’ talk. I think I seen his head swell! Once I got his bridle on Arlo and Liz came around the corner, making him stammer back and look oooh a Haflinger. Silly guy, he really knows his breed. He had to whinny at him which got him in trouble. As I started to take a step forward into the arena he did a full body shake. This sent his bridle twisting off his face. Some one said in a shocked voice ‘ohh he lost his bridle!’ I turned expecting to be holding on to the reins of a bridle laying on the ground. Nope it was just twisted in every direction. The bit hanging from his mouth and the crown piece splayed over his eyes, the throat latch was the only thing keeping it on. The cavason was still in place. I rolled me eyes, he did this from time to time, it was really neat when he did it on the lunge line!

I stuffed it back on his face and went to the mounting block. Once on I started to bend him and he was really sticky. I then sent him off in a jog which I usually don’t do right off and the first thing Jen asked me, I mean I have barely been on him for like 2 mins ‘Where are your spurs?’ Ummm… good question. The thing is I never wanted to have to ride him in them but we are at a point in his training that he needs the motivation. Liz then goes into a spiel about how she told me so. She had been telling me to use them for a while now. Bla bla bla, I’m bull headed and stubborn I know this. Sighing Liz points out there are some in the trailer. Jumping off I hand Jen my reins and run to the trailer. The only spurs there are the ones with missing rowels. Going back into the barn I told Jen I only had my Getto spurs since Liz has my good ones on. After laughing she said that they would work and I need to get new rowels for them. Add that to my list of crap to get.

I have never ridden him with spurs and the fact that he was trying to be sully only added to the drama. I knew once I touched him he was going to be pissed. We went back to circles. The thing that has been his undoing is straightness. Which is my fault I have been ridding him too slow causing him to go sideways. Like a fricken QH go figure right? So our big thing of the day was pushing his HIP out and his shoulder in. We started the day with little circles as I introduced him to my new spurs.

The first time he didn’t listen I dug a spur in to get him to move his rib cage and hip. At first he swung it into me and then he got spurred. That caused him to kick out, I knew it was going to happen. I laughed and dug in a little deeper until he gave. Ha ha ha we now have forward!!!! An exciting thing really. He went around in a circle and Jen yelled at me telling me to push his hip out and block his shoulder. All the while keeping him FORWARD! Say it with me FORWARD. She didn’t care if he cantered (which he did) she just wanted those back legs engaged. Once he was going forward and giving we went the other way. His left is a lot better than his right his right was the harder side to get centered and forward!

My word for the next 5 months is FORWARD! After we did a few post trotting we jogged and I could already feel the difference in him. There is a bounce step not a rounded plod. I learned this a long time ago and why I suddenly forgot is unknown to me. A jog is an up and down movement, if you see a rider going down the rail on her horse and she/he is going side to side they are NOT jogging they are walking. The horse is not doing a two beat movement let alone engaging the hind quarters. So I had a ‘get it together’ moment today. He did feel a lot better forward then he did when I had him to slow.

We let him have a breather and then went to the lope. Just working on the jog helped the lope work. Focusing on his hip and not his shoulder helped. She also told me not to ride him on the rail at all. He was like a magnet again to day, although today I had spurs. Tada! I don’t think I could have followed up our horrid ride any better than hauling him out to Jennifer. The lope work was light years better, although the entire ride we were in a match of wills. He insisted on being lazy and I insisted on being engaged.

I need a dressage arena with no rail. Ohh pasture…. Yeah everyone would love that. I have a 204 X 80 covered arena and I’m out working my stallion in the pasture. My family would be pissed!

After loping a bit both ways she sent us around the pen a few feet off the rail daring us to go straight. I felt like I was riding a haunches in the whole time going right. He was that out of whack. Jennifer said it looked like I was riding a ping ball, he was bouncing off my legs like crazy! He was trying to go to the rail so hard and not use his hind end. I was constantly tapping his hip in place which made him want to drop off onto the rail. That made me constantly pick his shoulder up. There was very very little time that I wasn’t fixing him. Going the other way he was a lot more put together, he gave me breathing room for a few seconds.

Ever since I started riding him again I’m trying to train my feel. I have always looked down (at the head or ground) so with him I try and look at the roof or at least the wall. It is a bad habit that I have devolved and if I want to be a more efficient rider I need to look up and feel what is going on under me. This creates a lot of problems for me the feel is different and I’m learning while training. Looking at the head doesn’t do much if anything it make things worse. With him its horrible it just makes him drop down even more.

We gave him yet another walk break this one lasting awhile, I even started to get board. Then she told us to lope again and use the whole pen. I don’t do that that much so it was a little odd. When he lopes I know that he canters low. His neck is quite low and he sucks him self under it’s just the way he was built, he has always wanted to carried himself low. Which is a great thing for western but there is something called too low. Well, today he went to another level and I felt like I had a headless Haflinger. Do you know how weird that feels at the canter while trying to stay off the rail and he is ping ponging between your legs the whole time? Talk about unstable.

I was laughing. I tend to laugh when things are hard, it helps my nerves or something. The sad thing is that in only do it around Jennifer, I think I need to try and do that alone just because it makes the training a lot less stressful or intense. Those emotions do not help the horse they feel that and then you get a bad ride. Its just like riding mad or irritated nothing good comes out of it. So I will be the crazy girl laughing like mad riding her horses… I’m ok with that.

Jen then tells me to bang him up, kinda like how you would check in a curb bit. Hands straight up no pulling a quick tug to raise his head. I felt like a retard but I was able to pick his head up. She explained that he was dumping everything he had on his front end and not using himself behind. Got it! I have to try and get his ears level. He really never goes THAT low but decided to today. I love it when they do something like that during a lesson, it’s when there perfect that is annoying. That’s kinda the whole idea of a lesson, to fix things…. My mare will do that with me, be perfect during a lesson. She is such a perfectionist. *rolls eyes*

After we loped we called it good, we weren’t sure if I had much horse let to do anything else with, he was pretty tired. For a few kicks and a little stubbornness he was in all actuality happy to work. He wasn’t shaking his head or pinning his ears or even twitching his tail. Not that he does that any other time. He just loves to work even if it is hard and he doesn’t feel like doing it. He has a stunning work ethic. At the end of the lesson Jen said I had been doing great with him all he needed was a little tweaking. That made me feel good. I’m not as incompetent as I thought I was! Ha ha ha.

He is my first stallion, but not my first greenie. I have had a LOT of those and each teaches you something different. I swear the hardest horse I have ever trained is and always will be Forba. She had no work ethic and was an utter cow. Jennifer told me to sell her the first week she was so bad, now she is tolerable. She canters which was something she didn’t do when I bought her. She is also ok with working although you can almost hear her swearing while you ride her around the arena. She grumbles to herself the whole time. She needs a sticker that says not suitable for children ha ha. The funny thing about her is that I wouldn’t put anyone but an advance intermediate rider on her in the pen but would put a 5 year old on her on the trails. She is so unlike Wynter he is always saying what next what else can I do for you? Sometimes he tells me I don’t feel like it but you know I have never had a Haflinger (except for Forba that is) that said I don’t want to they usually just say I don’t feel like it.

When we went back to the trailer I was really proud of him. He stood tied right next to Arlo and didn’t nicker or flirt let alone squirm. He was a rock star I was so pleased with him, he was so gelding like. Wynter stood there the whole time all us girls chatted. We went over today and how good it was (progress wise) I paid my bill and made an appointment for next Thursday. When I loaded him he did a flop and fell into the trailer he then had to whinny and tell everyone that he did that on purpose. Silly stallion.

Remind me to never take my truck again!!!! I have two tanks in my truck each tank is about $40 to fill and I had just filled both of them the beginning of this week. Once back at the house one whole tank was gone! Ugg I mean that’s ridicules. I only have a half of one tank and just enough to get to town and back in the one we used today. That’s just outrageous. I called my Dad because he takes care of the trucks problems since it is in his name technically speaking. He also knows trucks better than I do. He said it was the tires and he was in the process of finding new ones for it. That’s great but where am I going to get the money to fill the darn thing up again? We are so so taking the Dodge to lessons next Thursday. I refuse to take my truck new tires or not, its just way to much money in gas. New tires will be cool though!

So I’m done ranting about my truck, tomorrow Wyn and I will work on forward!