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Three rides:
Saturday was Minnie day. We put her and Trump on the trailer and went up to Kinney Hill to ride indoors, because it was cold. Minnie was very, very hyper, even though she's still sore and really only should be walked.![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
goddessfarmer told me that it would be OK to trot her down the long sides of the arena, but to go back to a walk on the short sides. The mare was having none of that, though she did go back to a walk, she fought me so much on the short sides (jigging, going sideways, doing all kinds of things that are bad for her hock) that we went back to just walking. She did calm down eventually. It didn't help that there was someone else besides us (me, goddessfarmer, and Alice) in the ring trying to do higher-level dressage stuff, and there I was on Crazy Mare with her nose up in the air who would not walk in a straight line and we probably looked like we were out of control. Ah well. I hope that the next time I ride Minnie, it's out in the woods, where she doesn't get bored.
Today, ride #1 was Bearito, who was a Bad Bad Pony. He was really fighting me to go fast, once we'd had our first canter (three laps around the huge indoor and he could have done ten!) Tina finally coached me through the Make the Pony Listen routine... Go, when he starts pulling stop him, make him back up, then go again, repeat ad infinitum until he stops pulling when he's allowed to go. And oh, he was MAD! Pinned his ears, tossed his head, stomped his feet, had a regular little Bearito temper tantrum every time I backed him up. (It's a good punishment, really, because horses hate going backwards, and they have to listen to you. And once they've backed up, you reward them by letting them go forward again.) After ten or fifteen minutes of this, he finally decided to be a Good Pony again. But my arms were like spaghetti by the end of it.
Ride #2 was on the lovely, lazy Trump, again at Kinney Hill. Poor Minnie pitched a fit when we took her boy away, but he was really good about getting on the trailer. Trump was more forward than usual, but still lazy, and one of my hips got sore, so I wasn't pressing him too much. We worked on collection, trying to get both him and me pretty, a little bit of leg yielding (which he does not do so willingly as Bearito), had a nice canter in each direction (with him being fabulous about going right into it with leg aids only), and so forth. He's Bearito's polar opposite in so many ways. Havinggoddessfarmer there riding Skippy was good too; I kept stealing glances at them, because they look so nice together. Minnie was thrilled when we brought Trump back.
Saturday was Minnie day. We put her and Trump on the trailer and went up to Kinney Hill to ride indoors, because it was cold. Minnie was very, very hyper, even though she's still sore and really only should be walked.
goddessfarmer told me that it would be OK to trot her down the long sides of the arena, but to go back to a walk on the short sides. The mare was having none of that, though she did go back to a walk, she fought me so much on the short sides (jigging, going sideways, doing all kinds of things that are bad for her hock) that we went back to just walking. She did calm down eventually. It didn't help that there was someone else besides us (me, goddessfarmer, and Alice) in the ring trying to do higher-level dressage stuff, and there I was on Crazy Mare with her nose up in the air who would not walk in a straight line and we probably looked like we were out of control. Ah well. I hope that the next time I ride Minnie, it's out in the woods, where she doesn't get bored.Today, ride #1 was Bearito, who was a Bad Bad Pony. He was really fighting me to go fast, once we'd had our first canter (three laps around the huge indoor and he could have done ten!) Tina finally coached me through the Make the Pony Listen routine... Go, when he starts pulling stop him, make him back up, then go again, repeat ad infinitum until he stops pulling when he's allowed to go. And oh, he was MAD! Pinned his ears, tossed his head, stomped his feet, had a regular little Bearito temper tantrum every time I backed him up. (It's a good punishment, really, because horses hate going backwards, and they have to listen to you. And once they've backed up, you reward them by letting them go forward again.) After ten or fifteen minutes of this, he finally decided to be a Good Pony again. But my arms were like spaghetti by the end of it.
Ride #2 was on the lovely, lazy Trump, again at Kinney Hill. Poor Minnie pitched a fit when we took her boy away, but he was really good about getting on the trailer. Trump was more forward than usual, but still lazy, and one of my hips got sore, so I wasn't pressing him too much. We worked on collection, trying to get both him and me pretty, a little bit of leg yielding (which he does not do so willingly as Bearito), had a nice canter in each direction (with him being fabulous about going right into it with leg aids only), and so forth. He's Bearito's polar opposite in so many ways. Having
goddessfarmer there riding Skippy was good too; I kept stealing glances at them, because they look so nice together. Minnie was thrilled when we brought Trump back.
