Work or Pleasure?

Going to show on Tuesday at Frying Pan Farm in Herndon, VA. I think it is a great use of a PTO day! Amber is going to try and pass herself off as a pleasure horse which means I have to do a terrific acting job of making it look like she is easy to ride! If I can manage that, I deserve an Oscar.

I've tried all manners of transitioning up from a walk to a trot. From simply vocalizing "trot" to the slightest leg pressure or a cluck. She likes to bolt into a trot and then with half halts I can slow her down to reasonable pace. I've also had a great deal of success in getting her into a nice rhythm by sitting the first 5 or so strides and then posting. But as soon as my butt leaves the saddle she takes that as a cue to go faster. And I can't really sit the trot when the judge asks for a posting trot!

Another Amber gem is the "canter mentality." Once we work our way up to the canter whether in a lesson or just riding by ourselves, that's all she wants to do. And she's become accustomed to launching into a canter from the corners of the ring so I have to half halt in anticipation of her speeding up. Sometimes she'll get pissed and throw her head up and take the bit anyway. Thoroughbreds!!!

Anyways, the show should be fun. I am sitting at my desk with the Almanac of American Politics beneath by feet since I am trying to train my heels to stay down. The riders with the lowest heels tend to do well at FPF. Hopefully I can find some of those nice jointed stirrups at the Clifton Tent Sale this evening!

Photo: Amber checks out Icabod

Contrast

I thought about switching from English to Western. I went to a rodeo Saturday evening to cheer on Jean, Fareed and others from the farm. Barrel racing and pole bending are so much fun and they are all about speed not form! Amber definitely has speed but probably not the same acceleration as horses that compete in western events. And she doesn't quite have the ability to bend around barrels without knocking them over.

However about 10 hours later I was at a show in Quentin, PA to cheer on Julie and Rosie in their hunter show. And then I remembered how much I love English riding and going to shows. So I'm still an English girl although I will still continue to envy the adrenaline rush of western competition.

Amber was an absolute star when I rode her this evening. We struggled a bit with the left lead at the canter but finally got it in the end. I can't wait until our next competition!

Photos: Jean on Cisco, Julie and Rosie

The Hilltop Experience

There is really nothing like riding a galloping horse. When I was about 12 I decided that I wanted to be a jockey. I had a rocking horse that I "practiced" on. I made a little saddle complete with short stirrups. I don't think I really ever mastered the whipping technique however. :-)

I mentioned in the previous post that we went "hilltopping" last night. Hilltopping is cantering/galloping up a hill and (hopefully) stopping at the top. The purpose is to build muscles in the hindquarters from the impulsion required to get up the hill. As we know, Amber needs strong hindquarters to get her over the jumps. Trotting over poles helps but doesn't quite do enough.

I crouched low over her withers and urged her on but surprisingly Amber was still ready and willing to stop once we got to the top of the hill. We did this 4 times! I let Jean do the first two times because I didn't really believe Amber would stop when asked. I can't help but wonder if she'll get into such great shape that she wants to go up over the hill and down the other side. Haha.

Like, whatever....

I did not fall off and Amber did not run away with me. Galloping up the hill was FUN! But my evening is overshadowed by my frustration that I cannot get her to canter on the left lead consistently. It's the first time I feel we've really taken a step backward in the last few months. I should really be writing effusively about how great it feels is to "hilltop." Maybe tomorrow I'll feel less pissy.

Trotting and Cantering Awesomeness

I am tired, it is late, and I have to get up early tomorrow. I just wanted to say how awesome Amber was in our lesson this evening - at least with trotting and cantering. We found a nice slow trotting speed that I could probably ride all day (if I didn't have to post to it). And even better, I learned how to get her to canter on the left lead again. We also learned that Amber does not do bounce jumps, even baby ones. So that means more galloping up hills to strengthen the butt muscles. Yay!

I am on the market to purchase a saddle but am in no rush. I can use Jean's as long as I need to. Depending on the brand I need a 16.5-17" seat with a medium-narrow gullet. I also need forward flaps so my knees don't poke out over the edge of the flaps. Apparently Amber is not the only one with long legs! Ben was nice enough to let me try out his Bates. It was a little big in the seat so I felt like I was going to fall out of it. But otherwise a great fit for Amber.

Stay tuned for tomorrow's post. It will probably be titled with one of the following "pizza and beer","I fell off my horse" or "crazy out-of-control thoroughbred." :-)

Riding with friends is the best

I just wanted to give a shout-out to the wonderful supportive people in the Natural Connection. Such a wonderful, fun, supportive group of people! We opted for a trail ride yesterday in the cool confines of a Northern Virginia forest adjacent to the farm property. It really is the only thing you can do in 98 degree heat with 75% humidity. The outdoor is in the blazing hot sun and the indoor is stifling with not enough circulation.

Trail riding is a nice change of pace for horse and rider. I try not to let my equitation slack off too much though. :-) There were about a dozen of us - almost the whole herd, out on the trail. Did you know that squirrels prey on horses? Ben's horse Pheonix sure thought so! Fortunately there were about 4 horse lengths between Amber and Pheonix at the time so there wasn't a "cascade of spooking." Our route was mostly flat and grassy with one "strenuous" hill. The tricky part is not going up the hill but coming back. Amber thinks she can just charge down the hill. I would really like her to settle back on her hindquarters going down so I don't feel like I'm going to get launched over her head!

In the "horses are expensive and deliberately force us to spend money on them category" - princess dislodged her fly mask somewhere in the million acre field. Mommy is hoping there are some on sale at Dover's tent sale this weekend. For now, fly spray will have to do the trick.

A Good Workout

Tonight was simply a workout. Especially for me. We warmed up in the outdoor arena and everything was perfect. Except again she would not pick up her left lead when asked. I'm starting to wonder if it's a physical problem or just laziness. Or she just likes the right lead so much more! I managed to get her on the left by doing a tight flying lead change essentially making her so uncomfortable on the right lead she had to change to the left.

Then for a change of pace we went out into the pond field. There are 4-5 other horses in this field but it is big and has nice rolling hills that are good for cantering. We looped it one time and I could feel that Amber was getting antsy. She was out of earshot of her herd which is pastured on the opposite side of the farm. She didn't want to walk and then when I wouldn't let her she started doing her silly old tricks of trying to take the bit - head tossing, tongue over the bit. Cantering up the hills was fun. It would have been more fun if I could have just let her loose instead of worrying about how much braking power I would have at the top. This horse does not get tired. But I sure do and I will sleep well tonight.

Jumping "back" into it

I neglected to mention that Amber and I worked on ground work under the tutelage of "Cowboy Ben" and Carol on Sunday. I think my horse has ADD. She'll understand what she's supposed to do, then her brain will flitter away to the pasture where all her buddies are grazing. We made some progress with leading and I know what to do when she gets bossy on the ground.

I had ambitions of riding outside - galloping up hills in the fields to build strength, but rain canceled that. Instead we had to work indoors. It's a little bit tighter and Amber likes to cheat around the corners especially at any gait above a walk. We made significant progress at backing! I've tried backing her before and she just throws her head up in the air and tries to go forward into the bit. I got her to back up one step over the weekend, but leg pressure still means forward for her. So I sit up straight in the saddle and say "back" as I toggle the reins. I use my legs only to keep her straight as she backs up. We can do a good three steps now before she says "enough." I'll take it. :-)

Jean was gracious enough to supervise so I could go over a crossrail. For safety reasons, I never jump alone, and neither should anybody else! Amber is such an honest jumper and almost never tries to duck out. She does tend to not tuck her knees up as much as she should. I also had a harder time getting her to pick up the left lead cantering counterclockwise although I could get her to do a flying lead change. Jumping is the best part of riding. Some people enjoy dressage, others like barrel racing or roping, but jumping is definitely for me. And Amber is for me too. :-)

Back to Work

This has been my most physically active weekend in about a month. In both our softball games on Friday I played catcher which proved to be very strenuous on the quad muscles. Saturday evening I had my first lesson on Amber in what seems like forever and as a result my calf and shoulder muscles join my aching quadriceps. It's a good thing that my physical activity restriction is lifted in 2 days. I can't wait to go all out!

Amber was exceeding good in our lesson. She trots so nicely now. What a relief! I can't say I miss fighting over the trotting speed. After 15 minutes of war I would be completely exhausted and my hands would be raw even through my gloves. Now I feel as though we could trot all day. And then we cantered...fast!! There is truly nothing like riding a horse at his or her "all-out" speed. I've only done that a few times in my life. I would consider it my ultimate adrenaline rush. Amber has a very big canter stride and she tends to pound the ground. If I give her too strong of a cue she goes really fast. If my cue isn't strong enough she just trots faster before finally moving into a canter. Anyways, I cued too strongly and she moved into a very eager canter. So I said screw the canter and crouched flat over her neck on the long end of the arena. It's about 3-4 strides of gallop before we get to the short end and I used every bit of it. Problem is, she learns she can pick up a lot of speed on the long end and she goes faster instead of settling in to a nice canter. But it feels awesome and I tell myself it tires her out a tiny bit.

Once we got the canter "under control" we worked through a grid of ground poles. I say under control with quotations because a lot of the time it feels like we are barely controlled - hence the sore shoulders. I need to have a shorter inside rein so I can make a better approach without overbending into the corner. Sometimes steering Amber is like steering a big rig. Hopefully our bending exercises will help. The flying lead changes were not as sharp either. She was very content to canter counter-clockwise on the wrong lead for a good lap and a half. My trying to change her lead only resulted in a faster canter. We did the grid several times and the thing I love most about this horse is that she doesn't quit. If she gets tired she doesn't act like she is tired. Thoroughbreds may have small brains, but they have the biggest hearts.

Between now and the next lesson, I plan to continue working on bending exercises, trotting over poles, and cantering through the grid. Tomorrow I'm getting a massage.

90 Degrees and Still Fast

So tonight was the second time I've ridden Amber since I started this blog. It was just around 90 degrees at 8 o'clock. I refuse to let weather deter me from riding. Meteorologists are predicting a hotter than normal summer in the DC metro area. This is my third summer here and I think I have yet to see a "normal" summer.

I am really starting to love the fact that Amber is "miss prissy" when it comes to being clean. I can't remember ever having to brush large areas of crusted poop off of her body (knock on wood). She does manage to crap on her legs though especially when she's nervous like when we trailer to shows! I purchased a rubber curry comb a couple of weeks ago since they tend to be more gentle on thoroughbred's sensitive skin. And according to the August issue of Horse Illustrated it's one of the necessary tools to groom like a pro.

The last time I was able to ride it was mostly walking with a little trotting on the trails. Since there were no trail buddies, I elected to spend some time in the outdoor ring. We started out doing some bending around the leg. This has been a challenge because up until we began training her, leg always meant "go faster." And thoroughbreds do not usually need much of an invitation to go faster! I think my new favorite exercise is the 7,7,7 - seven strides of sitting trot, seven strides of posting, and seven strides of 2 point at the trot. Up until about a month ago it was 7 strides of sitting trot, 7 strides of posting, one stride of 2 point then straight into a canter. It's still tricky to keep a nice trotting rhythm in the 2 point position but otherwise Amber does quite well I've learned to control her rhythm at the posting trot by slowing my post (ha!). Also the more contact my butt has with the saddle, the easier it is to keep a nice slow rhythm whether it's at the trot or canter.

And then after being so disciplined, I earned my spot in the ranks among the world's worst horse trainers :-). Amber's best gait is fast. I like fast. However fast is not always an appropriate gait. See when I ask for a canter and I get fast, I should bring her back to the canter? Nah. To my defense I will say I did not expect such enthusiasm for fast in the heat. It took me by surprise so I had to just kind of go with it...you know. Amber does beautiful flying lead changes at the canter. We did a few of those and called it a day. The timing could not have been more perfect to end. Somebody within eyesight and earshot decided to use up the rest of his 4th of July firecrackers. Awesome.