Equine Kingdom Riding Academy is no longer in operation.
These more than 2,000 unique pages are provided for historical and educational reference.
Equine Kingdom - Click to return to the homepage
Lessons  Arcade Anatomy Articles
Training Newsletters Library Breeds
Boarding Photos | Videos Classifieds Links
Wish List Education |Names Photography Quizzes
Advertising Miscellaneous Gifts   Humor U.S. Stables
Fun Facts Comments Stories  Books Tack Shop
History Glossary    
SiteMap Contact


ADVERTISE
HERE

Enjoy the exposure
of thousands of
views a month!!!

 Horse Owner's Veterinary Handbook (Howell Reference Books)

How to Think Like A Horse: The Essential Handbook for Understanding Why Horses Do What They Do

Horsekeeping on a Small Acreage: Designing and Managing Your Equine Facilities

 

Daily Training Weblog


Libby, Tootsie, Dandy, Rocky, Enoch, Lady

4/2/2008

Lady

Rode for about an hour, English. Tacked up in stall, better than usual - no fidgeting or walking around to get away from the girth. Rode in arena - did lots of circles, turns, starting & stopping. Had a hard time picking up right lead, although left was great every time. Finally got it after about ten tries or so, and it stayed consistently good after that. Reluctant to trot after about 45 minutes - it was pretty warm out, so it's probably because she was getting tired and sweaty. We worked pretty hard the entire time.
 

Libby

Started out using the draw reins, but they annoyed both of us so much that I just went ahead and took them off. Hasn't been ridden for a couple of weeks other than by Mariah, so she was fidgety and didn't want to settle down to work. Walked once around, then trotted - mare wanted to extend, so I let her. Beautiful working trot! Show stopping, if she'd keep her head down consistently. Definitely getting better at collection at the trot, although it needs a lot of work at a canter. I think she just still hasn't quite found her balance yet, at least with a rider. Cantering was horrendous today. The first three times around she bucked almost the whole way - it was like riding a roller coaster without a bar to hold you in. Once she kicked out really high and made contact with the top fence board on the arena fence! I pushed her through it though and didn't punish the bucks, just made her work harder until she realized that if she did nicely, she wouldn't have to work - but if she bucked, she just had to work more. I just let her canter/hand gallop as long as she wanted after that - which ended up being about 15 times around the arena before she chose to come back down to a walk. She was sweating heavily and breathing hard by the time we finished. I walked her out, turned her out with the other horses, and put tack away - and when I was walking back to my car, I went up to her in the pasture and she didn't walk away from me! Hooray! She looked at me, ears perked up, until I got to her and petted her. Usually she's very difficult to catch.
 

3/20/2008

Tootsie

A little better than yesterday. Fewer attitude problems, but chances are that's because she knows she's not getting away with anything, not with me on her. Stayed in the ring again. Jumpy/spooky for the first 10 minutes, then settled down. Trotted just fine - tripped/stumbled a lot yesterday, but nothing today other than sliding slightly in the mud a few times. With Mariah riding she kept trying all her old tricks. Kept at it, circling, resisting, using pressure and release to achieve results. Snotty as usual back when we first started her riding again - more a battle of wills than anything. Should be back to normal in a few weeks.


Lady

Rode while Mariah had her lesson on Tootsie. More stubborn than usual, surprisingly. Kept trying to back up or turn around. Trotted out nicely, steadily, and wasn't mean or intimidating to Tootsie even when they crowded each other. Walked/trotted over poles, didn't trip at all or even touch poles. Mare was sweating by the time we were done - rode for an hour and a half.


Rocky

Easy to catch, was very nice (no lipping/nipping) coming back to the barn. Little hard to turn, but not too bad. Learning slowly where his feet are. Walked - nice, a little slow, but not hesitant. Turned easily, leg yielding at a walk. Trotted with just a little resistance, moved out nicely after a minute or so of stretching. Cantered in both directions, all the way around the edge, AND in a nice circle. Trotted over poles. Getting much more responsive and nice at all three gaits.


 3/19/2008

Tootsie

First time riding in about 4 weeks. Walked, trotted, cantered - tried a lot of old tricks, not turning, throwing head around, interesting stupidity. Not limping anymore, thankfully. Did lots of random turns, over poles, circles. Makes abrupt turns, not smooth circles anymore. Interesting ride. Didn't limp anymore though.


3/18/2008


Rocky

Rode for about 30 minutes, using entire field (arena fence is down for field spraying). Didn't have much trouble at all, even going away from the barn rather than towards it. Trotted around the field so long even MY legs were sore! Nice forward trot, unlike yesterday - but completely in control. He increased and decreased speeds very nicely. Cantered in both directions - a bit difficult to initiate, but easy to sit and maintain. After unsaddling, I spent some time getting him to pick up his feet easily and on the "up" command. It will definitely take some time, but I think he'll be able to do it.



3/17/2008


Rocky


Rode in Arena. Worked at a walk and trot only. Seemed hesitant, reluctant even, to move out much.  Did lots of turns and reverses. Circling very nicely now, without falling in or bending out. Rode with a bit, Rocky didn't seem to be bothered by it. Wouldn't stand still to mount, but is doing much better pivoting on haunches and forehand to respect the human "bubble" on the ground. Stood still to open gate, turned easily either direct or neck rein. Trotted over poles and jumps, and thru cones, didn't miss a beat. Good workout - about 40 minutes of riding.




Dandy

Needed to somewhat wear him out since he's been somewhat stupid lately. Easy to catch in the field. Tacked up in arena.  No fussiness about having to leave the other horses, thankfully.  Rode at walk, trot, and canter.  Spent a lot of time counter clockwise, trying to correct the hips-in travelling. Trotted very slowly, had to use a lot of leg, and occasionally the crop. Cantering was decent - started off fairly quickly, but had trouble keeping him going. After a few pops with the crop he wanted to travel too quickly, which of course made the corners fall apart. Trotted well thru poles/barrels Student riding him this afternoon did very well and had no need for a crop. Older, stronger students have an easier time handling him than younger children.

2/28/2008


Libby

Worked in the round pen, lunging. Catching was very easy! She didn't even have a halter on, and I was able to walk up to her. Stopped about 5-10 feet from her, and she walked towards me instead of running away! What a breakthrough!!! I'm so excited about this. Got her back to the barn and groomed her, put her in the round pen, and let her run around for a little while. Had a difficult time getting her to go the way I wanted her to ' she kept doing rollbacks on the fence of her own accord! I eventually got her to do it though, and worked on using voice inflections to slow her down and speed her up, using the walk, trot, and canter. Put Mariah on her back and had her do a lesson on her ' at a walk and trot. Started in the round pen to see how Libby would do with a 10 year old on her, but she did just fine ' no fussiness whatsoever, which was a little bit surprising to me. We went up to the arena after a little while and spent the rest of the hour working over poles and crossrails. We were able to deduce that if there are poles in front of a crossrail, Libby is prepared for the jump and will not knock the jump over ' but if there are no poles, she hits the jump and knocks it over every time. Her spacing and distancing were very nice though, and she paced through the poles very nicely almost every time. Kept a nice, steady, consistent trot through the whole workout. Very proud of both horse and rider.



Enoch

Rode again to work the kinks out before Mariah rode him this afternoon. Did a lot of steady trotting at first ' he was better behaved than usual starting out ' didn't offer to break gait or speed up or anything like that. Worked a LOT on bending ' in the form of shoulder-ins, leg yields (which didn't work at ALL), and lots and lots of circles, at the trot and canter. Had to, as always, use a LOT of leg pressure to get him to bend at all. Utterly doesn't care about leg pressure ' most probable cause because he was a YMCA camp horse for so many years, and people couldn't care less if he was bending  - as long as he walked, trotted, and cantered they were happy. I'm not quite happy enough with that! He really needs to learn to turn better, too. Mariah was having a hard time turning him during her lesson, but that may have been because he was being stubborn, she wasn't doing it correctly, or a combination of both. Overall good results for today.



2/26/2008


Lady

Mostly this was just a workout for exercise, although we did a significant amount of work on bending. Transistions are impeccable ' will stop very nicely from a trot or walk, just with shifting weight and a soft voice command. Love this horse. Been working on neck reining ' not that she couldn't already do it, but that it was a little rusty. Doing better now with the refresher. Rode in the arena, did a fair bit of cantering ' picked up the correct lead every time. Also rode in the pouring down rain ' she didn't like it at first, but it was definitely something she needed to get used to, so we kept going. That was not very much fun. Saw her owner coming from the house with a huge blue and white umbrella and couldn't quite figure out just what the heck was coming her way! Spooked a little, but mostly just kept eyeing that direction and walking sideways. Haha.



2/25/2008


Enoch

Rode for a little while to get the kinks out ' doing much better with willingness to canter, either from a trot or walk- very little resistance. Spent a lot of time trotting. Always starts out at a pretty quick trot ' always have to do half halts and circles to get his attention and get him to slow down. Generally about 20 minutes into workout he'll start to settle down and listen to cues a little better. Takes SO much leg!!! Doing anything about keeping him turning correctly in the corners is an absolute chore! He tries so hard to just keep going straight. Ugh.


2/8/2008


Enoch

Rode in the ring ' spent a good deal of time grooming  and tacking up, especially with the girth ' reintroducing it, being very slow and gentle with it so he didn't get upset with it like he usually does. Went up the ring, mounted ' walked off as soon as I was in the saddle.
J Worked a lot at a walk and trot, starting, stopping. Started at a walk for about ten-fifteen minutes, just walking a few steps, then stopping. Got very responsive to weight and voice to stop, but still tries to run right thru the reins. Hmm. Moved on to trotting, horse went quickly at first, but did respond to rein/weight aids to slow down and move out better. Was overtracking at the walk, but just right at the trot. Did a lot of transitions and turns whenever he felt like he was getting robotic or slow. Cantered twice ' hard to get to canter the second time, but he did it. I think he thinks it is going to hurt or something, because he seems reluctant to do it. Jumped over everything in the arena without incident ' even the tire jump! He just looked at it once and sailed over it, pretty as you please. Will have to start raising jumps soon for a challenge. Little difficult to keep him going at a decent speed over them. Steering issues in the corners sometimes ' wanted to keep moving towards the gate, therefore was bent incorrectly. Overall very good workout. Results: ended better than we began with transitions at a walk and trot ' is very responsive even to voice aids now. I guess we'll see how long that lasts, though. Steering is better, but not perfect - still a little rough around the edges, and not always responsive.


2/7/2008


Tootsie

Rode in the ring again, at a walk/trot/canter, over jumps ' pretty much the same stuff I worked on the other day, but mixed up the center work ' turns, rollbacks, quick stops, transitions. Didn't do much cantering ' ground still very soft, but getting better. Mare doesn't like to work in mud ' prefers to stay in the grassy area next to the beaten path around the outer edge of the arena. Didn't show signs of a sore back this week. Acted up a little bit with Mariah, when she was riding out in the pasture yesterday. Went on a trail ride with Mariah, Tootsie was very good ' much calmer than she used to be. I think she's getting used to being off the farm and outside the arena. Just one of those things that takes lots of time and repetition.



Libby

Groundwork again ' has been kicking stall a LOT lately and her back hind leg swelled up a lot from the force. Worked on shoulder/hindquarter yielding, from both sides, on head lowering as well. Mare will keep her head where I put it now, unless she's majorly distracted by something else. Will back up easily and quietly, leads well with handler now. Been working on picking up and messing with feet a lot as well ' hopefully can ride again next week. Also been working on the 'go forward' cue, outside the stall/barn. Works very well with it, stops when asked as well.


2/6/2008

Tootsie

Rode in the ring at first, then out in the pasture, working on hills and walk/trotting on different raised terrain, to prepare for the endurance ride. Did a lot of trotting out in the field, without any resistance or fighting. Very pleased with her progress ' this is the horse that several months ago would not take a single step away from the arena unless it was towards the barn! We did some cantering in circles, worked in the middle of the arena to get her off the rail and work on her form and bending. Was pretty rough at first, couldn't place feet correctly, but got it after a little while and really got into the work. Only went over about five jumps ' didn't feel like putting them all back up (the other horses had knocked them over while grazing). Distancing okay, horse felt a little anxious going over jumps ' probably due to mushy ground from intense rain over the past week. Cantered a little, horse didn't slip ' so that was good. Collected up very nicely at a trot AND canter ' just need to get Mariah to be able to do the same thing.



Lady

Rode Lady in the ring for about 30 minutes at a walk, trot, canter ' stood still for mounting, only walked off when asked. Went over some ground poles at a walk and trot. Stumbled and didn't seem to know what to do with feet at a trot ' unusual. Rode out in the pasture with Mariah for her lesson ' mostly trotted for almost the entire hour, up and down hills. Kept wanting to veer over towards the gate every time we came around, but listened to my cues to keep her over on the rail, and didn't do anything unruly. Mare was very sweaty by the time we were done, but was very compliant and a very well behaved girl almost the entire time.
J


Rocky

rode in arena ' Calm for most part, didn't act pissy when coming up to the arena to ride, even though I was taking away from his buddies. Stood still to be mounted, but as soon as I was sitting he started to walk off. Was mostly easy to turn, but not completely ' still veered towards the gate when coming down towards the barn ' gotta love 'gate gravity'. Worked mostly at a walk and trot ' only cantered once, and he slipped and tripped because of the mud, so we canned that idea.  Trotted over a small crossrail and poles several times, with no incident.



2/5/2008


Dandy

Riding - during a student lesson, so mostly just exercise - worked on turning, starting, and stopping on slight cues - did pretty well. Still mostly very easy to catch, will stand still to be caught instead of walking away like usual. Starting work on trailer loading again tomorrow.


Rocky
Riding - first time under saddle in several weeks. Didn't seem too happy about being caught, but seemed to enjoy being groomed, and had a good attitude about being taken up to the arena, even without another horse along. Stood still to be mounted, but moved off without being told. Did a lot of work mostly at a walk and trot, because it's been raining a lot and the ground was really slippery. Turned pretty well, taking in the factor that all the other horses were down at the barn - which he tends to think isn't very fair. Worked a lot on neck reining and direct reining, plus leg pressure to work on yielding from many different things. Responses were better than usual. Went over a few small crossrails at a walk and trot, nothing major. Cantered once, slipped & tripped, and canned that idea for the day. Will wait until the ground is drier. Did a lot of walk/trot transitions. Had a really bad spook in the top corner where the trash cans are - didn't like the trash bags blowing in the wind at all. A less experienced rider would have come off. Maybe this was because he hasn't been up there in so long? Haven't ever seen him do anything like that before. Was fine after a couple of times around. Kept wanting to speed up going downhill; worked on collection and decreasing speed while maintaining rhythm.


1/30/2008

Tootsie

Riding and groundwork. Still working on lowering the head for the bridle and LEAVING it there. Took her a while to focus, but ended up doing better than usual - didn't lift her head up too high, and didn't really try to pull away after a lot of repetitions. Stood still for the saddle, even not being tied. (I think she wanted carrots). Worked in arena first, on trot endurance, then cantering nice and slowly. Trotted and cantered over jumps. Did well with distancing on all but one of the jumps, and landed on the correct lead all but once. Nice jump for her, tucks knees up nice and tight and bounces over everything.
 Walked/trotted/galloped out in the pasture as well - when I first walked out of the arena on her, I could tell she was thinking about refusing my command, and turning left to go back to the barn. I started talking to her, looked way ahead, and used my legs to create a wall on either side of her so all she could do was go forward - and it worked like a charm! She was so good! she walked all the way around the field as nice as you could ask for. I trotted when I got near the gate, and asked her to keep going  past it. She wasn't too thrilled with that idea, but did it anyway - so I gave her a reward and asked her to gallop. Oh she had so much fun! She didn't quite get it at first, that I was letting her do whatever - but then she took off and had a blast flying around the field. Then we did a few more trot rounds through the field, walked, then stopped and she stood still even though she wanted to go back to the barn. Unbridling was good - she dropped her head down to let me take the bridle off, and didn't pick her head back up right away.


Libby

No riding today - that hoof with the missing front shoe is starting to get more than a little beat up. SO we did a lot of groundwork - I groomed her really well, braided her mane (Which I definitely did NOT expect her to stand still for, but she did! The whole time, without being tied or even haltered!), and picked her feet up and cleaned them out. I got a long dressage whip and started teaching her the "go forward" cue. In doing that I picked a spot and drew an imaginary "dot" on her hip, and used the spot to tap with the whip. It took her a while to get it, but after the first time she realized that going forward made the annoyance stop, and each time after that it took less time to get her to go forward. Also worked on the "back up" cue with the whip - tapping her chest with the whip. That now only takes barely bringing the whip towards her chest (more like pointing to her) and she'll back up. All this was done in her stall, with very little room to move. I think she'll do even better in the round pen where we have plenty of room to work. Overall I'm very proud of her progress.


1/29/2008


Libby

I love this horse! She had such a good day today - well, not starting out, but we finished on a fantastically high note. I forgot the draw reins, so I used the martingale, and lengthened it with a piece of twine. Walking was nice and relaxed with a good long stride, even around the jumps and when Tootsie came flying by at a trot or canter. Weather was really nice, so warm-up didn't take as long as usual. Trotting was interesting - she threw her head around a lot at first, but eventually managed to give in to the pressure and collect up very nicely. We trotted a lot, in both directions, working on bending to the inside and dropping her head on cue - which got really good towards the end, with just a slight squeeze on the inside rein - she'd drop her head right down as pretty as you please. Tried trotting over a few jumps - HAHA. She plowed through them. Granted, they were higher than I've worked with her on before, but she didn't even make an effort to get over them. What a joke - we'll work on that. Lots of ground poles!!!!! Need to teach her to pick up her feet. Cantering was interesting at first - she took me around five or six times bucking nearly every step of the way - good thing I've got a good secure seat. After she finally got all that out of her system, I got the nicest canters out of her that she's ever done before. Dropped her head, collected, rounded her back out, got nice and slow, three-beat gait - it was gorgeous. I was so proud of her! And after she finally stopped bucking, she didn't do it again at all - not in either direction, regardless of how many times I cantered her. She was actually sweating by the time I was done - that's how much we worked. We rode for over an hour together.  


1/28/2008


Dandy

Riding - did very well! He's getting to be a better and better horse every week - to the point now where I can put a very small, young rider on him and trust him to take care of them. He hasn't done anything stupid or hyper or un-trustworthy in a very long time. Had one of my more experienced younger riders on him last week and she did very well - walk, trot, canter, and even jumping. Need to jump him more - he tends to trot to the jump then walk over it if not given enough incentive to keep trotting. Very lazy horse. Does very well yielding to the reins at a figure eight, but does even better if leg is added. Been working a lot on backing up - yielding the pressure as soon as he takes a step backwards. Lots of progress there! Even with a 40-pound 7-year old little girl on him, he'll back up with just a little bit of pressure on the reins.


1/25/08


Rocky

Did groundwork - shoulder & hip yields, lowering head. Did very well. Got a nasty bump on his nose a while ago - maybe two or three days - and it still bleeds occasionally. I think it might be painful - he got nippy after a little while of work, like he was annoyed - and usually he is such a sweet horse, I can't help but think he wasn't feeling very good.


Enoch

Riding - did very well. Lots of trot work, and work on the rail - staying out at the edge. Cantered several times. Does better going to the left than the right, and likes to go into the middle to start cantering. If not asked just right, he'll go into a faster trot instead of cantering. Trotted over poles very nicely, good spacing/distancing. Worked on walk/stop, with better response to the reins and seat.


1/24/08

Libby

Finally remembered to bring the draw reins! Tacked up easy, she was really slow going up to the arena - will need to work on leading again, especially with a bridle on instead of just a halter and lead rope - I think she tends to resent being bridled. Stood still to be mounted, but wanted to trot right away instead of warming up at the walk. Tootsie was being ridden at the same time, so she wanted desperately to keep up with her. Kept her at a walk, then slow trot, working on headset with draw reins. Resisted at first, but then figured out how much easier it is with her head down, and only had one more issue the entire time. Even got one really nice canter, with no bucking at all! Only asked once, anyway. Trotted for almost 20 minutes straight - did very well listening, circling when asked, and transitioning down to a walk. Overall much better ride than any other this week - just needs to get accustomed to draw reins again and start working in a nice frame until she can build the muscles to carry herself correctly without them.


Tootsie

Accidentally rode Tootsie again this week when I was only supposed to work with her twice. Still had a good workout - did a lot of trotting in preparation for the endurance ride, and also had Mariah and Tootsie trot for 20 minutes without stopping. Both of them were tired afterwards! Mariah is doing a fantastic job with her posting and cantering - the difference in both of them is tremendous. Tootsie will do a nice, slow canter for Mariah now because she finally learned to sit in the saddle correctly! Worked over jumps a little bit - maybe 10 times, over jumps a little higher than usual, at a trot and canter. Focused on landing on the correct lead. Need to work with Mariah on that and recognizing them, because she balances a lot better when she lands right.


Enoch

Did very well again - riding. Kept wanting to follow Prissy, who was being ridden as well, but eventually got over the obsession and actually started to listen. Walked, trotted, and cantered. Had a hard time getting the canter at first; he'd just go into a really fast ground-pounding trot. Worked over poles and over a small crossrail to get distancing and relaxation. Canter very nice - smooth, floaty, well-balanced once he got into it. Doesn't stay out on the rail very well - need to work on that. Stopping still difficult because he leans on the reins - need to incorporate sensitivity to rein pressure.


 1/23/08

Libby

Groundwork. Didn't have time to ride. Got her out of the stall and groomed her really well, brushed out her tail all pretty, got her to work on lowering her head on cue. Started shoulder & hindquarter yield work on the other side (left side), since she's getting really good at the other ones. Don't even have to touch her for hindquarter yield anymore - she'll move over if I just raise my hand towards her hips. Shoulder yield she'll move over nice and pretty with just a small amount of pressure, for a short amount of time. Tied her to see if she'd stand still - she didn't really. She moved very nicely for me, though, and I tacked her up and she was very good. Did some work with the saddle & bridle on, for a change from just the halter & lead rope.


Tootsie

Went for on hour long walk around a huge field and through the trails. Gave Mariah some homework - for working with her a LOT outside the arena, since most of the work I've been doing with her has been for jumping, and in the arena. She did pretty well on our walk - got a little pushy a couple of times, wanting to get excited and walk faster than me and get ahead, but mostly listened. She has a bad habit of turning her head in the direction of the barn - so if I'm leading her and she turns her head towards me, she runs into me with her head, and if she turns her head the other way, she's running over me because of her shoulders. Arg. That mostly got fixed, but it's going to take a lot of repetition, and a lot of time before she calms down completely and relaxes outside the farm. Being as high-strung as she is, it's really no surprise that she acts the way she does. She just has so much energy, and there's so much to see outside the farm.


Lady

Worked on the ground today - Goal is to get her to be good for the farrier. Her left front foot got injured when she was young, and as a result she's really tender on that foot most of the time. I got her out of her stall and tied her, then worked on grooming her for a good while - and making her stand still and stop trying to get at the other horses. Brushed out her mane and tail really well, and focused a lot on her front legs - brushing, fussing over them and everything. I got a hoofpick out of the tack room, then worked on picking up and holding both front feet, holding them for a few minutes, stretching them up and out, back and under, setting them down not all the way, picking them back up again. Tapped on the sore foot with the hoofpick after picking the stuff out of both of her hooves. She did really well - jerked a little bit one time when I was tapping at her hoof, but other than that she was a very good girl. Will work a lot on stretching and working with actual farrier tools to get her used to it all and accepting it.


Enoch

Rode Enoch for two hours today. He was easy to catch, and very behaved coming back - didn't have his ears back like he usually does. Tacking up was easy as usual, and he didn't pitch an attitude when I put the girth on. Rode during a lesson - did a lot of trotting and walking. No more spontaneously breaking into a trot without being asked. Very good on that! He walked calmly and didn't transition except when he was asked to, either up or down. Trotted out very nicely, relaxed, not too fast - this is strange because he only got ridden once last week. Worked over a lot of poles on spacing, distancing, all that good stuff. Varied speeds going into poles. Didn't canter - just working on trot work and turning right now. Still pretty difficult to stop - lot of resistance. Need to work on that. Jack rode Enoch for about 30 minutes - and he was so good! (the horse)

They walked and trotted, and even cantered a little bit. It's been a while since Enoch has had someone other than me on him, so I was a little concerned about how that would turn out - but he was good as gold. Didn't try anything stupid, kept his head up where it was supposed to be, and moved off of Jack's leg very well. For that I was proud of both of them. Jack really enjoyed riding him - so as long as I can manage to ride Enoch two or three times a week, I'll let Jack start riding him hopefully on a regular basis.

 
1/22/08

Libby

groundwork & riding. Hasn't actually been ridden for about a month; been working on groundwork the last few times. Remembers yielding work from last week! Respected my space on the ground and kept up while leading up to the arena. Stood still to be mounted, but was a little anxious to leave her pasture buddies, who were also getting hay. Walked fine, occasionally had to circle because she got too quick and forward. Actually did a few shoulder yields from the saddle! Seemed to really understand. Trotting was okay - didn't want to collect, remained strung out most of the time. Probably due to so much time in-between rides, and the cold, and the lack of draw reins. Cantering was awful - she was completely off balance and kept bucking because of it. Got about 2 nice canters out of at least 10 tries. Rode for about 30 minutes, did lots of trot circles, went over one jump. Dismounted and did groundwork with saddle on, using bridle.

50 reps shoulder yield
50 reps hindquarter yield
John Lyons was right - the more repetitions you do, the more the horse "gets" it! She did much better on the ground this time than last time.

Goal: To have a mare that is a partner on the ground, that moves with the handler, regardless of who it is, unhesitatingly, without question or balking. To have a horse that gives to pressure in any and every situation, goes forward, backwards, sideways when asked. To have a horse that trusts her rider/handler and is willing to try anything, and has the confidence to move forward in her training, whether it is trailering, showing, trail riding, endurance riding, or anything else.


Tootsie

Riding. Mariah wants to go on a 33-mile endurance ride in April, so after I worked out Tootsie's cold-jitters at a walk and trot, I started an exercise where she trotted steadily for about 20 minutes, then walked for about 5 minutes, trotted for another 15 minutes, then another 5 minutes walking. This was to get her accustomed to extended periods of doing the same thing - which we'll be doing on the endurance ride. While trotting, I worked on getting her collected and steady going through the corners, which she generally has a tendency to cut in or go straight instead of rounding her body around a turn. I let her pick her own speed at the canter this time, just for fun. She flew around a couple of times, then came back down to a walk quickly and smoothly at just a voice command and slight shift of weight. What a good girl! Stopped on the far side of the arena and worked on backing up, which she generally goes very crooked. Dismounted and walked back to barn from there.


Lady

Mostly riding. Was anxious and excited, hasn't been ridden or worked with for a month now. Walking up to ring, she crowded me a few times, but more than respected my request for her to move back out of my space. Wouldn't stand still to be mounted, and although she walked nicely, one corner at the top of the arena she kept going into sideways, and kept trying to turn around. Worked equally in both directions, at walk, trot, and canter. Trotted better going to the left, cantered better to the right. Picked up both leads at the canter. Went over 5 crossrails - that's more jumping than I've done with her before, and they were at least 18" jumps. She just trotted over them, didn't make a fuss about it or anything. She almost didn't pick her feet up high enough though, although she didn't knock anything over. Will work on jumping more often, maybe raising the jumps eventually, because she doesn't seem to mind it, and it doesn't seem to bother her bum foot. She started limping a little after cantering in both directions, which doesn't come as a surprise.


Dandy

Rode, did a little groundwork. 33 degrees outside and raining/misting while riding, so neither of us was completely in our comfort zone. He hasn't been ridden much since the week before Christmas, so he was more than a little reluctant to be asked to work harder than normal. Easy to catch - seemed to look forward to seeing me, since last work. Bridling was very easy - he opened his mouth for the bit, and didn't try to pull his head away at all! Walked from barn up to the arena, left the gate open. Walked & trotted - used long dressage whip to keep his body in line, not skewing off to the side the way he usually does. Boy was that difficult! When travelling to the left, he carries his hindquarters off the rail, almost like he's doing a continual haunches-in. So annoying. If you take off the inside rein (putting pressure to the outside), he tries to go into the middle. Did a lot of work using pressure-release cues - pressure with the whip to move his hips or his shoulder, release as soon as he moved the way I wanted. Same with an increase or decrease in speed - used leg pressure to move faster, weight to slow down, and released with the correct response. Canter was interesting - he didn't want to, probably because the ground was a little slippery - but he travels so crooked it's ridiculous. Spent a lot of time on circles, then did a lot of neck reining and moving off my leg to get him turning and responding to leg/rein cues. Canter was better after that, but still difficult, especially on one side, to keep him on the rail. Went over a few jumps, no issues there. After riding I dismounted and took him over to let him inspect the open horse trailer. He snorted and snuffled around, but nothing explosive.


Prissy

All groundwork - she desperately needed her bridle path and muzzle clipped! Unfortunately, she hates clippers. I twitched her nose with a humane twitch and clipped her bridle path, then her bottom lip. I took it off to work on her top lip, and she was really jumpy. Ever since I had those clippers that shocked her, she has been very wary of the clippers - hence, resorting to the twitch. I spent at least twenty minutes holding the clippers near her head (mostly with her jerking her head away), resting them on different parts of her body, both running and off, until she accepted them. Kept the clippers running in my right hand and used my left hand to massage her head, ears, and neck, sometimes passing my hand over the top of her muzzle. She usually yanked her head away as soon as my hand got anywhere near her mouth, but she soon figured out that as soon as she dropped her head and held still, my hand would go away. Stopped on a good note - got the running clippers held against her face, with her holding still, right above where her nostrils/mouth start. Good progress for the day!

 
1/15/08


Libby

Started groundwork plan. Worked in barn and in round pen. Yielding shoulder and hindquarters, on the near side. Worked on lowering head from pressure, and holding head still. leading around round pen with very slight pressure, stopping and starting, not crowding.
100 repetitions head lowering
100 repetitions shoulder yield
100 repetitions hindquarter yield
15 minutes starting, stopping, leading


Results:
Didn't know how to respond to shoulder yield request at first - hindquarters was a lot better. After about 70 or 80 reps, response got better unless horse was distracted (with wind or the other horses in the pasture). Head lowering good, could be quicker response - can't seem to hold head still, wants to look around too much. Hindquarter yield still good, mare walking better alongside handler.


Tootsie

Groundwork/jumping work. Sometimes has bridling issues. Worked on lowering head from pressure, and holding still at a certain level. Spirited going up to arena - stood still to be mounted, though! Did 25 minutes of walk/trot work, circling, diagonals across arena, rollback turns. Cantering more balanced, even with slippery ground. Distance and balance getting much better over jumps. Refused one jump b/c on the wrong lead. Sailed over everything else without hesitation. Really seems to enjoy jumping. Worked on simple lead changes at the trot, through the middle. Did some lead change work over fences, nailed it every time. Transition responses good.


Dandy

Worked on a lunge line for the first time, in front of the barn. Easy to catch, caught on quick to what I was asking.
100 reps of head lowering
50 reps shoulder yielding
50 reps hindquarter yielding

Leaned into pressure at first, before learning to move away from it. Head lowering was good - caught on quickly and repeated good performance. Went great on lunge line to the left - trotted out nicely, very little hesitancy, unless asked to canter - this was probably due to slippery ground and elevation. Changed direction and he couldn't figure out what to do - kept turning around to face me and going off at funny angles. Worked at it until he went around twice at a trot, then called it quits. He let me put his blanket on, while free-standing in the field. Relationship got better with this workout -horse didn't try to walk away when I went up to him.


Enoch

Worked on a lunge line for the first time, mainly to get rid of excess energy. Didn't like working out by the barn - probably too slippery or too much elevation for his liking. Will try next time on flat ground. Had ears pinned most of the time, especially when asked to switch gaits. Discomfort, bad memories of being lunged maybe? Kept coming really far in on one side, then really far out on another side. Again, this may have been due to the elevation. Trotted out nicely - with none of usual spunkiness. Walked on lunge, too. Will work in the arena next time.


Rocky

Horse doesn't respect people space very much. Spent most of time keeping his head away, by waving excess lead rope gently near shoulder when he got too close. Did lots of shoulder and hip yields - maybe 50 of each, on left side only. Doesn't seem to mind pressure - he leans into it! Needs to learn to yield and move away from pressure. I didn't lose my temper with him though! Shoulder yields very difficult, more so than hindquarters - but he's getting it, slowly but surely. Head lowering easy - thinks that any time a hand approaches him, it holds a treat, so he goes for it. Worked a lot on "my space, your space", both standing and while leading. Loaded on trailer 3 times very well yesterday. Horse needs consistency, but seems willing to learn and seems to enjoy a challenge.