I’m Back!

I haven’t posted in such a long time, my life has been pretty busy with school, mock trial, and riding!

Asia did not take to being a mentor for the new three year old!

In that time Spirit and I have started taking joint lessons with my mom which are actually really fun. We are now able to canter on a fifteen meter circle together! We have also done another dressage camp at our barn and it was especially helpful to review the changes made to the USDF tests. In every test you now need to halt and salute for a minimum of three seconds.

Asia has moved to a different field with one other horse who is also field board. It’s a very nice field and the run-in shed has a small tack room and grooming area attached to it! She is doing very well, the other day I saw her happily grazing by a herd of deer.

I hope everyone’s had a great weekend!

Midweek Review!

On Monday I had a lesson on Ines and it was so much fun! When I got on my instructor said that I immediately should have a forward, stretching walk. Once I achieved this we carried it to the trot where we practiced our extended trot and leg yields. The extended trot went much better today! Our leg yields could have been better though, I need to work on keeping her straighter. Then Mrs. Jaclyn told me to canter, and Ines’ canter was so different to any canter I’ve ever ridden because she is an Andalusian; we even went over cavelleti! I really can’t wait for my lesson on Thursday now! Although I couldn’t lunge Asia, I did get to spend time with her and she is doing very well.

On Tuesday I lunged Asia and it went much better! Last time I lunged her she reared and bolted when Della left the ring but I don’t know why I thought it would be okay to have them both in the ring together in the first place. Even though it was feed time during our session she did listen quite well. Asia even went over the cavelleti on the lunge line. I was very happy with her; we are making progress!

Today I groomed Asia but I didn’t lunge her as the ring was very busy due to the fact that the fencing in the outdoor is being redone! Whilst I am unable to ride Asia, I have started to ride another horse named Little Prince. His owner has very kindly offered for me to ride him during the week since she can only ride on the weekends. Today I rode him for the first time and we had a lot of fun! I didn’t ask too much of him since I have only started riding him but we did serpentine, figure eights, transitions from walk to trot and trot to walk, and even a little bit of leg yielding. He listens very well to my aids and softens very nicely on the bit, I’m really looking forward to riding him! The only problem I’m having is that I am really used to riding in a dressage saddle with very prominent knee blocks, well his saddle is a jumping saddle with no knee blocks and I’m supposed to have much shorter stirrups. That was what really threw off my seat, tomorrow I will see if my saddle fits him (it’s an all-purpose saddle) so fingers crossed!

Hope you have all had a good week so far, only two more days till the weekend!

 

To achieve you must go forward

I’m sorry I haven’t posted in a couple of days, I will write more regularly this week!

On Friday we had our lesson, it was tough but good! When I ask Asia to go on the bit I get so focused on her front end that I forget to maintain the energy from her hind end. Of course your horse can’t truly be in a good frame without going forward. For the first half of the lesson we worked on keeping an energetic working trot through different movements, but also giving a clear aid for more impulsion. I made the aid for this a squeeze from my calfs as I wanted to clearly differentiate from the aid of the canter. My instructor explained that when I ask for the canter I have focused more on lowering her head then getting more energy to go into the canter. When I do this then Asia will give a cow-kick to release the frustration that she feels from it. With my instructors help I was able to have many successful canter transitions that were much more comfortable for Asia. I will definitely make sure I keep on top of this for the last thing I want is for Asia to be uncomfortable. She seemed really relaxed after the canter and was blowing through her nostrils a lot so that is definitely a good sign!

Today I didn’t ride as I was watching the Nicolas Fyffe clinic at my barn. It was very, very helpful but I didn’t take notes as I had in his last two clinics, otherwise I can miss things if I am taking notes. I did get to spend time with Asia too which was really nice!

I hope everyone has had a great weekend with their horses!

Floating Rain

Since I had lessons today and yesterday, I decided to combine them into one post!

Yesterday we rode inside because it was raining, it was one of those mornings that make you want to roll over and go back to sleep; Asia seemed to be thinking along those lines. In the trot we were working on contact, impulsion, and leg yielding which all went really well! Although I didn’t have Asia in a forward enough trot which made our canter transitions fall apart, I learned more from it. For example, I always try to wait till Asia is on the bit, in a nice trot, and we are at a good spot to canter. However I realized that if the canter transition doesn’t work and then I wait until the trot is better before I canter, that this confuses her more than if I had asked again straight after. Once I did this then the canter transitions became more clear.

 

 

Today it really did feel like we were floating! Jaclyn, my instructor, had us start out by Asia stretching down on a long rein in the trot whilst asking for the bend. This helped Asia to stretch out, so when I shortened my rein she felt supple in her neck. I then went into sitting trot and used my pelvis to keep her straight, also I let my pelvis follow her motion which kept my whole position stronger. Once my contact was much steadier through my hand, we worked on leg yielding, lengthening, and shoulder-in which was a lot of fun! We also went over a cross rail I set up and we cantered as well, our transitions into it are improving. In the canter and shoulder-in I have to make sure my leg is stronger otherwise we drift a bit from the rail. Rereading this paragraph now it seems hard to believe that last year I was afraid of even getting on Asia!

Also, Asia was so cute before our ride! When I led her out of her stall our barn owner was just putting in lunch hay so I let Asia have a little bit of her flake out of my hands. Most horses would take a big chunk of it which would knock the flake right out of your hands, but not Asia, she just daintily took a couple nibbles as gentle as ever!

Jump for Joy

Today we had a great ride! After our lesson yesterday, we kept todays ride shorter but none the less it was very rewarding. Asia, along with the other horses, was pretty tired so we didn’t do as much. We worked on contact and the shape of our circle, also we jumped once we warmed up. My position still needs a lot of work as you can see in the photo but our approach was much more controlled and we didn’t rush like last time! I also need to work on our coming away from the jump, I take my leg off so then Asia starts to drift. After we finished we rode around the barn for a little which cooled us both down! I was very proud of Asia, she always teaches me so much about jumping and has helped me to stay collected as we approach the jump. What critique do you have for my jumping position, I would really appreciate any tips!

Leg Yielding and Shoulder-in and Haunches-in, Oh My!

Asia and I had our lesson today and it was a lot of fun! We worked on leg yielding, shoulder-in, lengthening, and even haunches-in; Asia was an absolute superstar. Leg yielding at the trot helped us to go deeper into the corners at the canter, our transitions were also more clear. We had never done shoulder-in and haunches-in before so I am very happy with our first attempt! What tips do you find help you with haunches-in or shoulder-in?

Soarin’

I was mistaken in my last post, my lessons this week are on Friday and Sunday. I rode outside again today because the great weather has continued! In the beginning Asia was a bit spooky as there was a lot of activity going on at the barn. Once we had warmed up a bit we then went over an 18 in. cross-rail I had set up. The jumping went really well and it helped  to relax us both, I used to have trouble with coming down too early but my trainer told me to hold onto her mane when I go over and that has helped my timing.  We even cantered over the jump once and it really did feel like we were flying when I could hear the wind pounding in my ears! She was perfect for the rest of our ride and she didn’t react to the car going by us when we walked back up to the barn! I do think that we need to jump more, at least once a week, because it really does help both of us. How often do you jump with your horse?

Presidential Ride

Asia and I had a truly wonderful ride today! It was a perfect temperature at 70 degrees so we decided to ride in the outdoor. I was able to get her on the bit after five minutes into the ride, we then worked on transitions, spiraling in and out on a circle, serpentine, and other things. Also, during a walk break we both saw three helicopters fly over which meant the President was in one of them! We also worked on our canter which went better today, our last transition went especially good thanks to the advice I got on my last post. Asia earned a well deserved in-hand graze after our ride which she really enjoyed as there were barely any flies. I am really looking forward to my lesson tomorrow and I will probably set up a few jumps for it!

In the summer do you prefer to ride inside or outside?

Asking for the Canter

Today Asia and I had a very good ride! It has cooled down quite a bit here so it was the perfect riding temperature this morning. Lately, we have been working on the contact and more often than not have I been able to get Asia on the bit. Different excercises such as changing our speed from going forward to slower and leg yielding have really helped us get to this point, I have also gotten better at keeping my hands steady. After my lesson on Friday I have been really trying to improve our canter; when I ask for the canter I brace and give my hands, this makes Asia brace. In my lesson I was able to work through this, but on my own I find it much more difficult to notice when I am bracing.  Does any other rider have this problem or have any tips to help it?