riding log -- more OMG jumping! and other stuff

[quietann]

Rode Trumpie this morning, under goddessfarmer's careful eye. We did a lot of flatwork with neck-flexes at walk, trot, and canter, and I discovered just how difficult this can be. Trumpie did what I asked him to do, which was often not what I wanted him to. He is very well trained ;) But OMG, for those brief periods when I got him on the bit, it was just *wonderful*. It was a hard workout for me** but not so much for him.

Then we went out to just do a few more jumps. We started with barrels and little green wall, both around 2 feet, and that was fine, though I need to remember to look *up* when I jump him. Then we tried the fan, which is a bit more complicated and a bit taller (2'6"?) The first time was not so good, mostly because Lazy Trumpie thought maybe he could get away with doing the little green wall right next to it instead, and the second time, when I got his line to the jump better, he went *HUGE* over it... but I stayed on, kept my stirrups, and except for the sudden feeling of vertigo, was fine.

The last jump we did is 3 feet or close to it. Now this is as high as I ever went as a teen, and I am so proud of myself for getting us over it, even if it was not pretty. Trumpie was soooo good for putting up with someone who doesn't quite have it all together over jumps, and is probably way too gentle with the aids. And I am thrilled, and feel ready for Tina on Monday.

Also, goddessfarmer is comfortable enough with how I am doing on Trumpie that on Monday, when neither she nor Alice will be able to ride him, I can take him out for a hack on my own after Tina's lesson :) No jumps, just trotting up and down hills as long as the weather is OK (and in the indoor ring if it's not.)

** bounce bounce bounce **

goddessfarmer and I went to lunch, and then back to her house so I could groom Minnie. Poor Minnie is very lonely, and itchy, and shedding like mad. She also looks a lot thinner, even though she's only been away from her buddies for a few days. She really appreciated being brushed, especially on her face, though she was less good about having her hooves picked out, probably because they were packed with dense, hard stuff and she didn't want to hold them up long enough for me to really get all the ick out. (Next time I will do them at the beginning, let her rest while I brush her, and then do them again.) She was a bit confused when, rather than tacking her up, I fed her two apples, and left... It was hard to leave her behind when she was nickering at me to try to get me to come back.

** BTW, riding and working with horses is doing wonderful things for my leg and arm muscles, and my butt :) I am not losing weight as far as I know (and I don't weigh myself, so I don't really know), but everything is firming up really well.

Comments

[buymeaclue.livejournal.com]

Hurrah! Sounds very pleasant. :)

[quietann.livejournal.com]

Well, so much of it is Trumpie :) He is a lazy boy, but he does like to jump. I am so used to using "gentle" aids on Minnie that I forget that it's OK to *boot* him, use the crop/dressage whip, really *feel* his mouth. He's a 17 year old TB/Hanoverian cross (or so J assumes; she got him from a horse dealer as a very green 5 year old, and he'd spent the first 4+ years of his life running in a herd in Canada), about 16.1 hands, very mellow except when he's not.

A few things bother him: measuring sticks (hence the "about"), having his mane pulled (she has to tranq him), nervous riders (which make him not a beginners' horse in spite of his great personality) and, alas, water. It turns out he has almost no depth perception, and water just freaks him out. He's also very cautious about cross-country, and needs a rider who can really tell him where the fence is and how big to jump. But he's really a love.

[chhotii.livejournal.com]

Yay for fun exercise!